206
Other place name s such as naku bare , hoṇṇe bare and du:pa bare are also peri-
odically mentioned. The implements mentioned in the songs may also vary, as in the
following:
hotta:ganambina odema:lu
soppi nerake ka:ra:naAn odema:lu 4 made from hottaga vine,
O Ka:ra:na who dwells in the shade of the leaves!and:karikamma jo:tura jo:ḷige
aṇṇa:ne:A jo:lige 5 made from black cloth,
O brother!The content of the Solega song(s) therefore contrasts sharply with that of the
Jenu- and Alu Kurumba honey song s. In the case of the former, Demmer [ 217 ]
writes that:
...the honey gatherers construct a context for their actions with [a] song which rhetorically
creates a common identity with the bees as affi nal relative. The gatherers regard the bees as
potential marriage partners, and in analogy address the mother of the bees as mother of their
affi nal partners.
Similar observations were made of the Alu Kurumba honey song by Kapp [ 218 ]:
Dieses in seiner Melodie von Melancholie getragene und in seinem Wortlaut poesievolle
Lied ist seinem Inhalt nach ein von einem jungen verliebten Mann an seine Braut gesun-
genes Liebeslied.
This song, with its melancholy melody and its poetic wording is, as revealed by its content,
a love song, sung by a young lovesick man to his bride.
To my knowledge, the kind of honey song described for the Kurumbas does not
exist in the Solega oral tradition. While there are reports that one Solega honey song
mentions “how the bees collect pollen from different fl owers” [ 88 ], there seems to
be no attempt to placate angry bees by claiming affi nal relationships with them.
Affi nal relations such as aṇṇa (brother) are indeed mentioned, as is ba:maida
(brother-in-law), as in the following:
paṭi hoṭi enda:de ba:maida
soppi nerake ka:ra:na(The rope) snaps, O brother-in-law,
O Ka:rana who dwells in the shade of the leaves!These, however, are most likely directed at other members of the honey - gathering
group, who may indeed by relatives of the singer. In any case, the Solega’s aware-
ness of honeybee biology rules out the possibility that they might be referring to the
bees as ‘brother’ or ‘brother-in-law’ (see below).
(^4) Another kind of rope.
(^5) A folded cloth purse for carrying honey.
7 Honeybee Lore