“Weathering the Storm”: Reading for Indigenous Climate Knowledge(s) in Selected Southern African Short Stories
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2663-6697/20189Keywords:
climate change, indigenous climate knowledge, mystical, mythical, dystopia, alternative realities, Kaluwe Haangala, Vuyokazi Ngemntu, When Graves Wail, The Serpent’s HandmaidenAbstract
This article explores indigenous experiences of climate change, focusing on different “technologies” such as the role of the mystic and the mythical in mitigating the effects of climate change. To this end, it offers a critical analysis of two short stories from southern Africa, “When Graves Wail” (2022) by Kaluwe Haangala and Vuyokazi Ngemntu’s “The Serpent’s Handmaiden” (2022). Rooted in traditional knowledge and cultural heritage, the two stories offer hope, renewal, and healing amidst drought-stricken landscapes. In both stories, mystical creatures like the inkanyamba (the rain snake) and the ancestors come to the rescue of the living as they face a dystopian future because of climate change. The article draws on Michael Warren’s concept of indigenous climate knowledge, which posits that this type of knowledge is usually forged through the community’s interaction with their environment. Through a postcolonial ecocritical lens, I make the argument that these African narratives amplify the unique voices and experiences of African people in their quest to cushion themselves from the effects of climate change such as severe droughts and flooding. Additionally, by foregrounding African experiences and responses to climate change, these narratives disrupt the dominant Global North discourse that portrays the African continent as powerless in the face of climate change. As this article will demonstrate, African stories that foreground indigenous knowledges create space for envisioning alternative realities that enable environmental preservation through context-based solutions that resonate with local communities.
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Accepted 2026-03-03
Published 2026-05-04
