Shongololos and Curlywees

Everyone knows shongololos, or millipedes as they are more widely known. The Zulu name has a lovely African ring to it and I have always known these creatures by that name.

I have wonderful memories of growing up in Zim, and I certainly remember shongololos. We used to gently touch them and watch in delight as they curled into a protective little ball, we would pick them up and wait for them to uncurl and then giggle at the tickle of their legs against our skin.

I don't see them often these days so I was delighted when I moved the water fountain in my garden and found one crawling around in the dirt (a shongololo in Jozi!!). I called out to the girls telling them I had found a shongololo, "A what??". I picked it up to show them. They disappeared quicker than I could say 'shongololo' to a distance far enough away but close enough to still be able to see. I explained how we used to play with shongololos as kids and eventually curiousity triumphed and my little Jem stuck out her hand to hold the crawling creature. She giggled as the tiny legs tickled her arm and soon both girls were jiggling for turns to hold it. Ellie shot up to her room to grab the magnifying glass and for quite a while my two little entomologists spent their time as children should - outdoors learning about nature.

"Children are born naturalists. They explore the world with all of their senses, experiment in the environment, and communicate their discoveries to those around them".

My Dad lived in Matsheumhlope. It may not be that far out of Bulawayo but as a child the route along the dusty roads seemed long - we managed to sing our way through at least 3 or 4 rounds of 'Row your boat' or 'There was an old woman who swallowed a fly' - and if we were travelling at night, we would see pookies (bush babies) in the trees, and so I guess it seemed far out of town. Another little creature I have fond memories of are curlywees, or ant lions as they are more commonly known. They live below the sand and build traps in the shape of little holes to catch unsuspecting ants. We used to be ever so careful about where we walked or rode so that we didn't cover up the traps. My Dad taught us how to coax the curlywees out of their homes by gently drawing with a stick along the slopes of the holes. Thinking that an ant had fallen into the trap, the curlywee would shoot out to grab its food only to find it had been tricked, but of course we were amazed to see the little guy, and often helped an ant to its doom by popping it into a curlywee hole.

Ella had heard my stories of curlywees and in true Ella fashion had turned to the always-available and ever-knowing Google to find a picture of one, so in October when we took the girls camping, I was chuffed to see some curlywee holes beside our tent. In the early morning sunshine, still in our PJs, we sat down together to find her first real curlywee. Ella was super impressed when the little guy savagely shot out of his hole to grab the 'ant'. Unfortunately Jem didn't get to see him, she was focused on her bowl of Pronutro, and you just don't get in the way of Jem and her Pronutro!

Our kids spend so much time in class, in front of the tv or at the computer that so much of their learning is done indoors - it's imperative that we get them outside to see, catch, touch and learn. On that same camping weekend, all the kids in the campsite would gather at the little stream to catch tadpoles, crabs and whatever else they could find. Just by their reaction to the creatures, you could make out the bullies from the more caring kids and it was interesting to see the young nature lovers put the bullies in their place. One little guy caused major drama when he knocked all the crabs out of another kid's bowl but he was so upset over the possibility of the creatures being hurt. I was sitting watching them, he looked up at me as the other kids scrambled to get their crabs back and said, "Jammer Tannie, maar hulle moet lewe!"

"Children are born with a sense of wonder and an affinity for Nature. Properly cultivated, these values can mature into ecological literacy, and eventually into sustainable patterns of living". Zenobia Barlow

xoxo