The tokoloshe is a hairy, dwarf-like creature from Bantu

My dream is dying, am i the killer? The free ride is dead, it is over. My dream of the endless summer and working to surf is just a fantasy and I am the problem , I know I am slowly but surely  killing the dream.

Once upon a time I used to surf everyday, surfing in surf contests traveling the world having fun no worries in the world, Europe was heaven, endless surf spots not a soul to be seen, Hossegor was a fantasy big beach break barrels living in the car park in Estagnosse , this was not too long ago. In only 15 short years Hossegor is a joke, crowded, expensive, and the European centre of the surf industry, too many surf contests and far too much posing for such a good spot.

Spain is going the same way Mundaka apart from being a recent memory , is not even a good wave any more progress has killed the best left in the northern hemisphere, not to mention the crowds, only 10 years ago you could surf there with a handful of friends , not anymore.  Sopelana you cant even park at the beach anymore and have to pay to even park nearby.

Once upon a time I used to work in a small family surf company, and surf everyday, not anymore, all I do now sit in my office and sweat about minimum orders, more and more facturation, and more and more points of sale, all the while looking out of my office window to see if the wind is blowing the  right way. This year I have surfed 3 times.

I know I am not alone, all of us who once dreamt of working in the surf industry so we could keep surfing everyday are in the same boat, we are fucked, we don’t surf any more we encourage more and more fucking people to buy the look, buy the dream,  buy a surfboard, and go surfing, we support fucking surf schools, who are placing 1000 of fucking kooks in the lineup everyday, “The search is alive”, “live the lifestyle”, “only a surfer knows the feeling”, what a load of shit, deep inside I want an empty line up not a soul on the beach, and it all for myself, fuck the search, I want it at my local beach, no surf schools, no prancing want to be surfers. I want it for myself but am guilty of killing the very dream I wanted to keep alive.

I am killing every grommets dream of one day being the next Andy the next Kelly. The so called ASP Dream Tour, yes sorry to break it to you all , is another load of bullshit, Kirra the Superbank, yes a load of shit.

One of the best waves you will ever find, but on any given day 200 people frothing at the mouth fighting scratching to get a piece of it, not surfing, just another dream gone wrong. Bells another hoax, a pretty shit wave at best, hardly ever good, sorry that’s the truth, it’s the home of The Search and that’s what they have to do every year, search for a fucking wave to hold the contest.

At.Teahupoo, yes this is a big one, unbelievable stuff but in a world record time they have ruined it , jetskis tow-ins etc etc, surfing, I don’t think so. Fiji, yes surfing at a price an exclusive island resort $300 a day to be  able to enjoy this one, only for the very fortunate.

St Leu a gem real surfng here. J bay the best right hander in the world full stop, ruined by overdevelopment , and yes I am guilty here, Surf Camps rule, lets exploit everything we can, anyway we can, why not?. Trestles another hoax ,the American dream , nuclear power stations in the distance smog and traffic, the wave is pretty good though, its just the Americans.

Europe, Brazil, Hawaii sorry its all the same. How come have some of the worlds best surfers left the tour in mid year at the peak of their glory, Slater, Machado, Dorian, Malloy, Occy, Curren,Gerlach, shit that’s a heavy list and it gets bigger. Andy was dominant but we want to see Slater come back but we also want to see him lose, its all contradictions .

Every young surfer wants to be a star and be on the wct, yes you do all of you , we have sold you the dream , but it might be a nightmare by the time you achieve it, if you can, as the odds are less than winning the lottery, the system and ,yes once again I am guilty, will wear you down and break you slowly but surely into a machine and take you away your spark only the consistent can survive, brilliance will be extinguished.

The glory days are over, they are gone, dead and buried. It’s a new century and I must sell the dream, I must believe the dream, I must sell the dream, I must sell the dream, I must sell the dream. If not, how am I going to send my kids to the best school, how am I going to be able to afford that big house, that big car. How am I going to be able to afford that surf trip to some very expensive exotic location so I can surf with only 20 people in the line up , because my beach down the road where I used to surf now has 3 surf schools and 100 people, and yes I am guilty, one of those schools is mine.

All I wanted to do was be a surfer and surf forever, now I am a kook and I have killed my own dream, my kids will never have the days I had and that is a crime, surfing for surfing is gone, its all about money and contest results now, and I am responsible.

I have more than just blood on my hands. Tokolosh is back.

~ The Tokoloshe ~
 
Tokoloshe or Tikoloshe. From the Xhosa word uthikoloshe: The tokoloshe is a short, hairy, dwarf-like creature from Bantu folklore. It is a mischievous and evil spirit that can become invisible by swallowing a pebble. Tokoloshes are called upon by malevolent people to cause trouble for others. At it’s least harmful a tokoloshe can be used to scare children, but it’s power extends to causing illness and even death upon the victim.

The penis of the tokoloshe is so long that it has to be slung over his shoulder. Thus sexually well-endowed, the duties of the tokolosh include making love to its witch mistress. In return, it is rewarded with milk and food. In common with European myths and legends concerning familiars, salt must not be added to food offerings for tokoloshes. The witch keeps the tokoloshe docile by cutting the fringe of hair that hangs over its eyes.

In South Africa, where many white families have maidservants, the maids would often raise their beds by placing the legs of their beds on bricks. It was an almost universal belief, among white people, that this was to keep the occupant of the bed out of reach of the tokoloshe. The way to get rid of him is to call in the n’anga or witch-doctor who has the power to banish him from the area.

It seems incredible to most of us that there could be any truth in the legend of the tokoloshe or the power of the witch-doctor. But they do exist in some parts of Africa where superstition and legend is very much alive and well.

How many of us won’t walk under a ladder or touch wood in case something bad happens? Is that any less ridiculous? We should never underestimate the power of the mind.

~ The Tokoloshe ~

The power of myth - Surfersvillage