The Jackal: Character Design (part 1)

Jackals in Bushman rock painting

The Jackal was another frequently represented in the Bushman rock art. The Jackal was another that the shamans were believed could transform into. What was the most fascinating fact about the significance of the jackal in bushman culture was the contrasting position the jackal held in Bushman culture. The jackal or the fox is notorious is cultures around the world as the sly and cunning mischief makers. They are seldom the heroes of a story, often playing the antagonist role. For instance the famous story of the Blue Fox/Jackal or the character Tabaqui from the Jungle Book, the mad-cowardly jackal who eats the remains of Sher Khan's food. The Jackal has often played the anatagonist or the negative sidekick in popular fables, but not in bushman folklore. According to a /Xam person, 'the jackal is a sorcerer' who follows people when they are on hunts to ensure their safety. It follows them to make sure they are safely on their way home.  

At night, while are encamped on the way home, he barks, and they know that 'he is asking us whether we are still as well as we were when we left him'. They shout out to him,'There is nothing the matter with me, for I am still feeling as I did when I left you.'                                                                      - Passage from Images of Power, D.L Williams/ T.Dowson

Such stories alleviate the Jackal to almost a guardian figure, always looking out and ensuring the safety of it's children. Possessing powers of a sorcerer, makes the Jackal a very significant mythological figure in bushman culture. This became the inspiration behind the third super-therianthrope in my story.