The worship of the beetle by the Hottentots has been disputed. No doubt
it has not been their practice during the last fifty years. But that it
existed in more ancient times, is (I think) abundantly proved by the
evidence of trustworthy writers. Kolben, for example, has the following
explicit statement, made from his own experience.
"The Hottentots adore as a benignant Deity, a certain insect, peculiar
(it is said) to the Hottentot countries. This animal is of the
dimensions of a child's little finger; the back green, the belly
speckled white and red. It is provided with two wings and two horns.
To this little winged Deity, whenever they set eyes on it, they render
the highest tokens of veneration. If it honours their kraal with a
visit, the inhabitants assemble round it with transports of devotion, as
if the Lord of the Universe was come among them. If the insect happens
to alight on a Hottentot, he is looked upon as a man without guilt, and
distinguished and reverenced as a saint and the delight of the Deity
ever after. They declared to me that if this deified insect had been
killed, all their cattle would certainly have been destroyed by wild
beasts, and they themselves, every man, woman, and child of them,
brought to a miserable end."--_Kolben_, volume one, page 99.