Legend of Dancing Goats

The Legend of Dancing Goats is a popular story about the origin of coffee.

Legend

Long ago, in what is now called Ethiopia, a young goatherd named Kaldi awoke one morning to discover his goats missing. As one cannot be a goatherd without goats, Kaldi determinedly set off to search the hillsides for his wayward flock.

Beneath the hot sun an exhausted Kaldi looked high and low when, much to his surprise, he stumbled upon his goats frolicking about each other as if dancing. Shocked and tired, the young goatherd gazed in awe at the capricious Capra dance.

Slowly, Kaldi returned from his wonderment and noticed some of the goats eating the red fruit of a nearby shrub. Having searched all day Kaldi was tired, but he was famished as well. Without thought he began walking toward the fruit. Yet, what if this fruit was the cause of his heretofore halcyon goats' boisterous behavior? Kaldi paused. Then again, he mulled, what if the goats only appear to be dancing because of his extraordinary hunger? Throwing caution to the wind, Kaldi joined the goats' feast.

Sometime later an monk from a local monastery passed nearby the same hill. Hearing a great and raucous clamor the imam investigated. "I am over tired and have fallen asleep at prayer again, for surely I must be dreaming!" thought the imam, for before him danced a local goatherd and his goats. The imam rubbed his eyes, but the merry dancers remained. The imam pinched himself, yet still the boy and his goats spun, jumped, and whirled. Aghast, the imam pulled Kaldi away and demanded an explanation for such bizarre behavior. After many questions the imam deduced that this energetic glee must have at its root the red fruit growing about them. Seeking greater understanding, he gathered some for further testing at his monastery. It was there he at last sampled the cherry himself and became infused with a great joie de vivre. That night, the imam spent more hours at prayer than ever before. "This is no ordinary fruit!" exclaimed the imam. Realizing the spiritual value of such a gift he shared it so that all may remain energetic and pray with greater fervor.

Uses in Popular Culture

The term "like a dancing goat" has been recently coined to describe a person, or object that shows the characteristics of one of Kaldi's caffeinated goats in it's physical or mental state. An example of this would be: "That girl is as focused as a dancing goat." or "That boy is a fidgety as a dancing goat."

External links

* [http://www.ico.org/coffee_story.asp International Coffee Organization] (mention of the legend)
*Kenneth Davids' [http://www.coffeereview.com/reference.cfm?ID=8 Coffee Review] (his story of the legend)