MARK OF THE HYENA: A Stranger in a Strange Land Novelette told in Three Stories

When a civilized man collides with a primitive man’s universe, will the true meaning of wisdom be revealed?Associate Professor Werner, a social scientist at an American college, dismissed the San Bushman of the Kalahari as primitives. His colleagues rejected Werner’s assertion that the San “had no literary accomplishments…and were a trivial people” due to the tribe’s around-the-fire oral history and tradition.After a challenge made and a wager agreed, Werner was sent to sub-Sahara Africa. The professor expected to his win this bet.Werner’s journey from civilization to the desert wastelands did not go as planned. N!xau, a proud descendant of the Khoisan, finds the professor near his wrecked car, bloodied, and dying of thirst.The professor’s deepest fears about primitive man now haunt him. Would the tribesman kill him? Or abandon him? Would Werner pay the ultimate price for his hubris before his mission had begun?Facing death by dehydration or as a hyena’s meal, reluctantly the American professor places himself at the mercy of the San. Eager to prove himself superior to the Bushman, Werner takes advantage of his hosts caring hospitality.Then again, in that simple place secrets do not remain hidden, and a cynical Werner learns the frightening truth…Being civilized and well-read are useless attributes when stranded in a barren desert; and that situational ignorance could be fatal.Mark of the Hyena is a cautionary tale of conflicting civilizations and the flaw of baseless pride by strangers in strange lands.REVIEW by Elizabeth Newton, author of View from the Sixth I eagerly dove into reading Mark of the Hyena. Fine’s writing is almost poetic; his use of words musical. This short story captures all the beauty and harshness of sub-Sahara Africa. When the San Bushman of the Kalahari, N!xau, comes across the barely living Professor Werner, this cautionary tale of “civilized” man versus “savage” begins. N!xau and his tribe have been pursuing an Oryx antelope when they discovered Werner, injured and dehydrated. Werner is in Africa fulfilling a bet; a bet he was confident he would win. The professor believes the San are “inept primitives.” However, it is the primitive San who provide Werner with some liquid which is acquired using fundamental skills; skills Werner, an egotistical American, knows nothing of. However, Werner views himself as superior to these diminutive people. Unable to communicate effectively, Werner is brought to the camp and cared for by N!xau and his wife, K/ora. Instead of appreciating the skills of the people, Werner views them as ignorant. Judging himself as superior, the tall, pale man believes he is entitled to all they can offer. Neither aware of, or caring to understand, what the tribe values, he takes advantage of their generosity. What Werner fails to appreciate is his lack of understanding of the ways of the people and the dangers of the situation show him to be the ignorant one. He is spied committing a heinous act by N!xau’s son, !Xi. Even a child in the desolate area is wiser than the well educated foreigner. The consequences of Werner’s false belief that he is the supreme being in this situation is proved wrong in a most delightful manner. Fine’s ability to present characters as diverse as these is a tremendous skill. The Bushmen are simple; their wisdom born of generations of experience passed down orally. Werner’s education does him no good in the strange environment he has taken no time to familiarize himself with.