On a number of other occasions, lions came at night to view the Ju/wasi. I remember one night in particular, when my mother was at the Ju/wa encampment, and I was in my parents’ tent at our camp writing notes. I soon heard a man’s strong voice in a stern, commanding tone telling someone to leave immediately. The Ju/wasi never took that tone with one another.

I came out of the tent to see what was happening, and behind some of the shelters I saw four very large lions, each three times the size of a person, all standing very tall as if on tiptoe, stretching their necks, looking over the tops of the shelters at the people. The women and children were sitting perfectly still, but two of the men were on their feet, standing with knees and elbows bent, the partial crouch of someone confronted. The lions began to shift a little, as if they were uneasy. They had been seen. What might have started as a viewing session was turning into a confrontation. They didn’t seem entirely comfortable with that.

The speaker was ≠Toma. Without taking his eyes off the lions, he repeated his command while reaching one hand back to grasp a flaming branch that someone behind him was handing to him. He slowly raised it shoulder-high and shook it. Sparks showered down around him. “Old lions,” he was saying firmly and clearly, “you can’t be here. If you come nearer we will hurt you. So go now! Go!”

He had the full attention of the lions. Perhaps they knew about burns. Also, like many other animals, they might have been impressed by the extra size the flaming branch had added to what at first might have seemed to be a little creature. Suddenly he became much bigger. The lions watched ≠Toma for a moment longer, then gracefully they turned and vanished into the night.

"Masculinity boils down to "protection and provision". They also discussed the importance of being "peaceful, but not harmless" and how being harmless is essentially the least masculine trait."

"Masculinity in and of itself is not toxic, it's the opposite of toxic. It's noble, it's stoic, it's strong; it's like a pillar for the family."

Aside from this notion of fecundity, there are other aspects that need discussion here. Most striking is a powerful belief that masculinity is an artificially induced status, that it is achievable only through testing and careful instruction. Real men do not simply emerge naturally over time like butterflies from boyish cocoons; they must be assiduously coaxed from their juvenescent shells, shaped and nurtured, counseled and prodded into manhood.

The real man gains renown by standing between his family and destruction, absorbing the blows of fate with equanimity.

"protection and provision"

ultimately we are more expendable than our loved ones and we need to be able to act on that.

It's hard to convey to those without kids how resonant that imagery is.