{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_71335/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_71335","id":"gutenberg_71335","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71335","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Tales -- South Africa","Xhosa (African people) -- Folklore"],"text":"KAFFIR FOLK-LORE:\n\n                 A Selection from the Traditional Tales\n\n                   CURRENT AMONG THE PEOPLE LIVING ON\n                 THE EASTERN BORDER OF THE CAPE COLONY\n\n\n                                  WITH\n                       COPIOUS EXPLANATORY NOTES.\n\n\n                                   BY\n                          GEO. Mc CALL THEAL,\n           AUTHOR OF \u201cA HISTORY OF THE COLONIES AND STATES OF\n                             SOUTH AFRICA.\u201d\n\n                            SECOND EDITION.\n\n                                LONDON:\n                  SWAN SONNENSCHEIN, Le BAS & LOWREY,\n                          PATERNOSTER SQUARE.\n                                 1886.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nOf late years a great deal of interest has been taken in the folklore\nof uncivilized tribes by those who have made it their business to study\nmankind. It has been found that a knowledge of the traditionary tales\nof a people is a key to their ideas and a standard of their powers of\nthought. These stories display their imaginative faculties; they are\nguides to the nature of the religious belief, of the form of\ngovernment, of the marriage customs, in short, of much that relates to\nboth the inner and the outer life of those by whom they are told.\n\nThese tales also show the relationship between tribes and peoples of\ndifferent countries and even of different languages. They are evidences\nthat the same ideas are common to every branch of the human family at\nthe same stage of progress. On this account, it is now generally\nrecognised that in order to obtain correct information concerning an\nuncivilized race, a knowledge of their folklore is necessary. Without\nthis a survey is no more complete than, for instance, a description of\nthe English people would be if no notice of English literature were\ntaken.\n\nIt is with a view of letting the people we have chosen to call Kaffirs\ndescribe themselves in their own words, that these stories have been\ncollected and printed. They form only a small portion of the folklore\nthat is extant among them, but it is believed that they have been so\nselected as to leave no distinguishing feature unrepresented.\n\nThough these traditionary tales are very generally known, there are of\ncourse some persons who can relate them much better than others. The\nbest narrators are almost invariably ancient dames, and the time chosen\nfor story telling is always the evening. This is perhaps not so much on\naccount of the evening being the most convenient time, as because such\ntales as these have most effect when told to an assemblage gathered\nround a fire circle, when night has spread her mantle over the earth,\nand when the belief in the supernatural is stronger than it is by day.\nHence it may easily happen that persons may mix much with Kaffirs\nwithout even suspecting that they have in their possession a rich fund\nof legendary lore.\n\nThere is a peculiarity in many of these stories which makes them\ncapable of almost indefinite expansion. They are so constructed that\nparts of one can be made to fit into parts of another, so as to form a\nnew tale. In this respect they are like the blocks of wood in the form\nof cubes with which European children amuse themselves. Combined in one\nway they present the picture of a lion, another combination shows a map\nof Europe, another still, a view of St Paul\u2019s, and so on. So with many\nof these tales. They are made up of fragments which are capable of a\nvariety of combinations.\n\nIt will surprise no one to learn that these tales are already\nundergoing great changes among a very large section of the natives on\nthe border. Tens of thousands of Kaffirs have adopted the religion of\nthe Europeans, and the facility with which such changes can be made as\nwere alluded to in the last paragraph has encouraged them to introduce\nideas borrowed from their teachers. Thus with them Satan\u2014of whom they\nhad no conception before the advent of Europeans\u2014is now the prompter to\nevil, and morals are drawn that never could have entered their heads in\ndays of old. Their tales are thus a counterpart of the narrators, in\npossessing an adaptability to growth and a power of conformation to\naltered circumstances.\n\nIt is necessary to say a few words concerning the care that has been\ntaken to give absolutely not a single sentence in any of these tales\nthat has not come from native sources. Most of them have been obtained\nfrom at least ten or twelve individuals residing in different parts of\nthe country, and they have all undergone a thorough revision by a\ncircle of natives. They were not only told by natives, but were copied\ndown by natives. The notes only are my own. I have directed the work of\nothers, but have myself done nothing more than was necessary to explain\nthe text. For this I can claim to be qualified by an intimate knowledge\nof the Kaffir people, gained through intercourse with them during a\nperiod of twenty years, and while filling positions among them varying\nfrom a mission teacher to a border magistrate.\n\nMost of the tales collected in this book have already appeared in\nvarious South African papers and magazines, some as far back as 1874.\nThey were arranged for publication in a volume which was to have been\nissued from the press of the Lovedale Missionary Institution, and the\nfirst sheet was already printed, when the disturbances of 1877 took\nplace. I was then called away to perform work of a very different kind,\nand the publication was necessarily suspended. The book is now issued,\nin the hope that it may be found useful, as throwing light upon the\nmode of life of a people who differ from ourselves in many respects\nbesides degree of civilization.\n\n\nGeo. M. Theal.\n\nJan. 1882.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                PAGE\nIntroductory Chapter regarding the Kaffirs                         1\nThe Story of the Bird that made Milk                              29\nThe Story of Five Heads                                           48\nThe Story of Tangalimlibo                                         56\nThe Story of a Girl who disregarded the Custom of Ntonjane        67\nThe Story of Simbukumbukwana                                      72\nThe Story of Sikulume                                             78\nThe Story of Hlakanyana                                           89\nThe Story of Demane and Demazana                                 118\nThe Story of the Runaway Children; or, the Wonderful Feather     122\nThe Story of Ironside and his Sister                             127\nThe Story of the Cannibal\u2019s Wonderful Bird                       133\nThe Story of the Cannibal Mother and her Children                137\nThe Story of the Girl and the Mbulu                              144\nThe Story of Mbulukazi                                           148\nThe Story of Long Snake                                          155\nThe Story of Kenkebe                                             158\nThe Story of the Wonderful Horns                                 169\nThe Story of the Glutton                                         172\nThe Story of the Great Chief of the Animals                      176\nThe Story of the Hare                                            179\nThe Story of Lion and Little Jackal                              186\nProverbs and Figurative Expressions                              191\nNotes                                                            207\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKAFFIR FOLK.\n\nINTRODUCTORY CHAPTER REGARDING THE KAFFIRS.\n\n\nIn South Africa the word Kaffir is often used in a general way to\nsignify any black native who is not the descendant of an imported\nslave, but on the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony the term is\nusually restricted to a member of the Amaxosa tribe. It is from\nindividuals of this tribe that the following stories have been\ncollected.\n\nEuropeans have designated these people Kaffirs ever since the discovery\nof the country, though they themselves cannot even pronounce the word,\nas the English sound of the letter r is wanting in their language. R in\nKaffir words, as now written, represents the same guttural sound as g\ndoes in Dutch, or the Scotch sound of ch in loch; thus Rarabe is\npronounced Khah-khah-bay. They have no word by which to signify the\nwhole race, but each tribe has its own title, which is usually the name\nof its first great chief, with the plural prefix Ama or Aba.\n\nA very large portion of South Africa is occupied by people of this\nrace. All along the eastern coast, as far south as the Great Fish\nRiver, the country is thickly populated with Kaffir tribes. On the\nother side of the mountains, the Bechuanas, their near kindred, are\nfound stretching almost across to the Atlantic shore, from the heart of\nthe continent southward to the Orange River.\n\nThe country lying between the present colonies of the Cape and Natal\nwas first explored by Europeans in the year 1688, and was then found to\nbe occupied by four great tribes,\u2014the Amampondomsi, the Amampondo, the\nAbatembu, and the Amaxosa,\u2014who formed nations as distinct from each\nother as are the French and the Italians. Their language was the same,\nand their laws and customs varied very slightly; but in all that\nrespected government they were absolutely independent of one another.\nIt has since been ascertained that the tribes further northward do not\ndiffer materially from these.\n\nThe Amaxosa were the farthest to the southward in 1688, as they have\nbeen ever since. On the coast they had then reached the Keiskama River,\nand there is good reason to believe that inland their outposts extended\nwestward as far as the site of the present village of Somerset East.\nThey were thus in contact with Hottentot tribes along an extended line,\nand an amalgamation of the two races had probably already commenced. It\nis certain that during the latter half of the last century a great many\nHottentots were incorporated with the Amaxosa.\n\nThe mode of incorporation was in most instances a selection of\nHottentot females after the destruction of their clan in war; but in at\nleast one case a Hottentot tribe became gradually a Kaffir clan by\nmixture of blood through adoption of Kaffir refugees. The people of\nthis tribe, a pure Hottentot one in 1689 and then called the Gqunaqua,\nwere found by a traveller a century later to resemble Kaffirs more than\nHottentots in appearance, and, except a few families, they are now\nundistinguishable from other members of the Amaxosa. Their original\nlanguage has been lost, but their old tribal title is yet retained in\nthe Kaffir form Amagqunukwebe.\n\nThis large admixture of Hottentot blood has not affected the mode of\ngovernment or the general customs of the Amaxosa, as is seen on\ncomparing them with other tribes to the north; but it has affected\ntheir personal appearance and their language. Many words in use by the\nwomen, though appearing in a Kaffir form, can be traced to Hottentot\nroots. Owing to this, their traditional stories may have been modified\nto some, though not to any great, extent\n\nIn a condition independent of European control, each Kaffir tribe is\npresided over by a great chief, whose government is, however, but\nlittle felt beyond his own immediate clan, each petty division being\nunder a ruler who is in reality nearly independent. The person of a\nchief is inviolable, and an indignity offered to one of them is\nconsidered a crime of the gravest nature. Such offshoots of the ruling\nhouse as are not of themselves chiefs are of aristocratic rank, and are\nexempt from obedience to the laws which govern the commonalty. With\nregard to the common people, the principle of the law is that they are\nthe property of the rulers, and consequently an offence against any of\ntheir persons is atoned for by a fine to the chief. Murder and assaults\nare punished in this manner. Thus in theory the government is despotic,\nbut in practice it has many checks. The first is the existence of a\nbody of councillors about the person of each chief, whose advice he is\ncompelled to listen to. A second is the custom that a man who can\nescape from a chief whose enmity he has incurred will be protected by\nany other with whom he takes refuge, so that an arbitrary or unpopular\nruler is in constant danger of losing his followers.\n\nThe chief in council makes the law and administers it, but from the\ncourts of the petty chiefs there is an appeal to the head of the tribe.\nOnly two kinds of punishment are known: fines and death. Lawsuits are\nof frequent occurrence, and many Kaffirs display great ability and\nremarkable powers of oratory in conducting them. The judges are guided\nin their proceedings by a recognised common law and by precedents,\nthough some of them are exceedingly venal. They will sit, however, with\nexemplary patience, for days together, to hear all the details of a\ncase, and, where bribery is impossible, their sentences are usually in\naccordance with strict justice.\n\nThe manner in which the Kaffirs became divided into independent tribes\nin ancient times is clearly shown by the law of succession to the\nchieftainship which is in force to the present day. The first wives of\na chief are usually the daughters of some of his father\u2019s principal\nretainers; but as he increases in power his alliance is courted by\ngreat families, and thus it generally happens that the last of his\nwives is the highest in rank. Probably she is the daughter of a\nneighbouring chief, for it is indispensable in her case that the blood\nof the ruling line should flow in her veins. She is termed the great\nwife, and her eldest son is the principal heir.\n\nAnother of his wives is invested at some period of his life, with the\nconsent of his councillors and friends, with the title of wife of the\nright hand, and to her eldest son is allotted a portion of the tribe,\nwith which he forms a new clan. The government of this is entrusted to\nhim as soon as he is full grown, so that while his brother is still a\nchild he has opportunities of increasing his power. If he is the abler\nruler of the two, war between them follows almost to a certainty as\nsoon as the great heir reaches manhood, and is invested with a separate\ncommand. Should peace be maintained, upon the death of his father the\nson of the right hand acknowledges his brother as superior in rank, but\npays him no tribute, nor admits of his right to interfere in any manner\nwith the internal government of the new clan.\n\nThus there was always a tendency to division and subdivision of the\ntribes, which was the great fault of the system. But while it operated\nagainst unity, it tended towards a rapid expansion of the people in a\ncountry where only a slight opposition could be made by the earlier\ninhabitants. The less powerful chief of the two would naturally desire\nto reside at a considerable distance from his competitor, and thus a\nnew tract of country would be taken possession of. About six\ngenerations ago a practice was introduced of dividing each tribe into\nthree sections, by the elevation of a third son to power, with the\ntitle of representative of the ancients. But it was not generally\nadopted until Gaika, about the beginning of the present century, gave\nit his countenance, since which time this custom has been almost\nuniversally followed by the Amaxosa, so that the number of petty chiefs\nand little clans is now very great.\n\nThe Kaffir of the coast region is a model of a well-formed man. In\ngeneral he is large, without being corpulent, strong, muscular, erect\nin bearing, and with all his limbs in perfect symmetry. His skull is\nshaped like that of a European; but here the resemblance ends, for his\ncolour is a deep brown, and his hair is short and woolly. His\nintellectual abilities are of no mean order, and his reasoning powers\nare quite equal to those of a white man. He is haughty in demeanour,\nand possesses a large amount of vanity. For anything approaching\nfrivolity he has a supreme contempt. The men are handsomer than the\nwomen, which is owing to the difference in their mode of living.\n\nTheir language is rich in words, and is musical in expression, owing to\nthe great number of vowels used. With very few exceptions the syllables\nend in vowels. In structure it differs greatly from the languages of\nEuropeans. The inflections take place at the beginning, not at the end\nof words. Thus the plural of indoda, a man, is amadoda, men; of umfazi,\na woman, is abafazi, women; of isikali, a weapon, is izikali, weapons.\nAnd so with every part of speech which is capable of being inflected.\nThis difference is, however, a slight one, when compared with the\nchanges which the other parts of speech undergo to make them harmonize\nin sound with the principal noun in the sentence. According as the noun\ncommences with a particular syllable, so the first syllable of the\nadjective, the verb, the adverb, and even the preposition, must be\naltered to agree with it in sound. Only the root syllables of these\nparts of speech remain the same in all combinations.\n\nKaffir words are in most instances combined together to form sentences\nin such a way that they cannot be separated from each other as English\nwords are. What appears in writing to be only one word, is often really\nthree or four, but as in another combination these would change their\npositions, and as very frequently a single letter represents a word, it\nwould create much greater confusion to separate them than to write them\nas one.\n\nThere is no difficulty whatever in expressing any ideas in the Kaffir\nlanguage. The present infinitive of any verb can be transformed into an\nabstract noun. The numerals are as complete as is necessary for any\ncalculation. Adjectives proper are not numerous, but their place is\nsupplied by abstract nouns; as if we should say, a thing with goodness,\ninstead of, a good thing. The adjective follows the noun, as abantwana\nbane, children four, izinto zine, things four.\n\nThe language of the Amaxosa contains three clicks, which are now\nrepresented in writing by the superfluous letters c, q, and x. These\nclicks are easily sounded separately by Europeans, the c by withdrawing\nthe tongue sharply from the front teeth, the q by doing the same from\nthe roof of the mouth, and the x by drawing the breath in a peculiar\nway between the tongue and the side teeth; but they generally prove an\ninsurmountable difficulty to an adult who wishes to learn to speak the\nlanguage. By such a person a syllable commencing with a click can only\nbe sounded as a distinct word with a considerable interval of time\nbetween it and the one before it. European children, however, readily\nlearn to speak it fluently.\n\nThe women do not always use the same words as the men, owing to the\ncustom called ukuhlonipa, which prohibits females from pronouncing the\nnames of any of their husband\u2019s male relatives in the ascending line,\nor any words whatever in which the principal syllables of such names\noccur. Owing to this custom, in many instances almost a distinct\ndialect has come into use. (This custom is referred to in a note to\nfollow the Story of Tangalimlibo.)\n\nBefore the advent of the white man, the Kaffirs knew nothing of letters\nor of any signs by which ideas could be expressed. Their history is\nthus traditional, and cannot be considered authentic beyond four or\nfive generations back. There are numerous old men in every clan who\nprofess to be acquainted with the deeds of the past, but their accounts\nof these seldom correspond in details beyond a period of about a\ncentury and a half. The genealogy of the great chiefs even, as given by\nthem, is not the same beyond the time of Sikomo, the eighth in order\nfrom the present one, while with regard to minor chiefs considerable\nconfusion exists two or three generations later.\n\nThey know of no other periods in reckoning time than the day and the\nlunar month, and can describe events only as happening before or after\nsome remarkable occurrence, such as the death of a chief. The different\nseasons of the year are indicated by the rise in the evening of\nparticular constellations, to which, as well as to several of the\nprominent stars and planets, they have given expressive names.\n\nUntil European clothing was introduced, the dress of the Kaffirs was\ncomposed of skins of animals formed into a square mantle the size of a\nlarge blanket, which they wrapped about their persons. The skin of the\nleopard was reserved for chiefs and their principal councillors alone,\nbut any other could be used by common people. Married women wore a\nshort leather petticoat at all times; in warm weather men and children\nwent quite naked. No covering was ordinarily worn on the head, though a\nfillet, intended for show, was commonly bound round it, and a fantastic\nhead-dress was used by the women on certain festive occasions.\n\nThey are fond of decorating their persons with ornaments, such as\nshells, teeth of animals, and beads, used as necklaces, copper and\nivory rings on their arms, etc. They protect their bodies from the\neffects of the sun by rubbing themselves all over with fat and red\nclay, which makes them look like polished bronze. Their clothing is\ngreased and coloured in the same manner.\n\nThey live in villages, large or small according to circumstances. Their\nhabitations consist of hemispherical huts formed of strong wickerwork\nframes thatched with reeds or grass; they are proof against rain or\nwind. The largest are about twenty-five feet in diameter, and seven or\neight feet in height in the centre. They are entered by a low, narrow\naperture, which is the only opening in the structure; their interior is\nsmoky and dirty, and not seldom swarms with vermin. The villages are\nusually in situations which command a good view of the surrounding\ncountry.\n\nThe Kaffirs are warlike in disposition and brave in the field, though\nwhen fighting with Europeans they seldom venture upon a pitched battle,\nowing to their dread of firearms. Their weapons of offence are wooden\nclubs with heavy heads, and assagais or javelins. The assagai (a\ncorruption of a Portuguese word derived from the Latin hasta) consists\nof a long, thin iron head, with both edges sharp, and terminating in a\npoint, and is attached by thongs to a slender shaft or rod. Poising\nthis first in his uplifted hand and imparting to it a quivering motion,\nthe Kaffir hurls it forth with great force and accuracy of aim. The\nclub is used at close quarters, and can also be thrown to a\nconsiderable distance. Boys are trained to the use of both these\nweapons from an early age. Before the introduction of firearms the\nKaffir used a shield to defend his person. It was made of ox-hide\nstretched over a wooden frame, and varied in size and pattern among the\nclans.\n\nThe warriors are formed into companies under their respective chiefs,\nand are not divided into regiments of about the same number. A battle\nbetween Kaffirs consists of a series of individual encounters, in which\nthe bravest combatants on each side challenge each other by name, and\nwhen one falls, another is called upon by the victor to take his place.\nThe height of ambition is to be mentioned in one of the rude chants\nwhich the bards, whose principal employment is to sing the praises of\nthe chief, compose on the occasions of festivals, and to hear one\u2019s\nname received with applause. The brave wear on their heads the feathers\nof the blue crane, which are given to them by the chief as tokens of\ndistinction, and which no one else is permitted to wear (except a\nsingle individual at a peculiar ceremony which will be referred to in a\nnote upon the custom of ntonjane).\n\nHorned cattle constitute their principal wealth, and form a medium of\nexchange throughout the country. Great care is taken of them, and\nparticular skill is exhibited in their training. They are taught to\nobey signals, as, for instance, to run home upon a certain call or\nwhistle being given. In former days every man of note had his racing\noxen, and prided himself upon their good qualities as much as an\nEnglish squire does upon his blood horses. Ox racing was then one of\nthe institutions of Kaffirland, and was connected with all kinds of\nfestivities.\n\nThe care of cattle is considered the most honourable employment, and\nfalls entirely to the men. They milk the cows, take charge of the\ndairy, and will not permit a woman even to touch a milksack. When\nEuropeans first visited them they had, in addition to the ox, domestic\ndogs and an inferior breed of goats, the last not considered of much\nvalue. Barnyard fowls were also found in their possession, but adults\nmade no use of either their flesh or their eggs.\n\nThe Kaffirs are an agricultural as well as a pastoral people. They\ncultivate the ground to a large extent, and draw the greater portion of\ntheir food from it. A species of millet, called by the colonists Kaffir\ncorn, was the grain exclusively cultivated by them prior to the advent\nof Europeans. Of this they raise large quantities, which they use\neither boiled, or bruised into a paste from which bread is made. They\nwere acquainted with the art of fermenting it and making a kind of\nbeer, which they were fond of drinking, and which soon caused\nintoxication. Of this grain they were careful always to keep a good\nstock on hand. They preserved it from the attacks of the weevil by\nstoring it in air-tight holes excavated beneath the cattle kraals. They\nhad also pumpkins, a species of gourd, a cane containing saccharine\nmatter in large quantities, and a sort of ground nut. The other\nproductions of their gardens, as we see them at present, have been\nintroduced since they became acquainted with the white man. Of those\nmentioned their food consisted, with the addition of curdled milk and\noccasionally flesh.\n\nThey have two meals a day, a slight breakfast in the morning, and a\nsubstantial repast at sunset. Boys in early youth are permitted to eat\nany kind of meat, even that of wild cats and other carnivora, but when\nthey reach the age of maturity the flesh of all unclean animals is\nrejected by them. They use no kinds of fish as an article of diet, and\ncall them all snakes, without distinction.\n\nThey have a system of religion which they carefully observe. It is\nbased upon the supposition of the existence of spirits who can\ninterfere with the affairs of this world, and who must therefore be\npropitiated with sacrifices. These spirits are those of their deceased\nchiefs, the greatest of whom has power over lightning. When the spirits\nbecome hungry, they send a plague or disaster, until sacrifices are\noffered and their hunger is appeased. When a person is killed by\nlightning no lamentation is made, as it would be considered rebellion\nto mourn for one whom the great chief has sent for. They have no idea\nof reward or punishment in a world to come for acts committed in this\nlife, and each of the commonalty denies the immortality of his own\nsoul.\n\nIn olden times, when common people died, their corpses were dragged\naway to a short distance from the kraal, and there left to be devoured\nby beasts of prey; but chiefs and great men were interred with much\nceremony. A grave was dug, in which the body was placed in a sitting\nposture, and by it were deposited his weapons of war and ornaments.\nWhen it was closed, such expressions as these were used: \u201cRemember us\nfrom where you are. You have gone to high places. Cause us to prosper!\u201d\n\nThey believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, whom they term\nQamata, and to whom they sometimes pray, though they never offer\nsacrifices to him. In a time of great danger a Kaffir will exclaim, \u201cO\nQamata, help me!\u201d and when the danger is over he will attribute his\ndeliverance to the same Supreme Being. The Kaffirs cannot define their\nbelief concerning Qamata very minutely, and they do not trouble\nthemselves with thinking much about the matter.\n\nThe largest amount of information on this subject which I ever obtained\nwas from a group of aged Gaikas, among whom was a celebrated native\nantiquary. Negatively they replied to my inquiries much better than\npositively.\n\n\u201cHad he been once a chief, such as Xosa or Tshawe?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo.\u201d\n\n\u201cWas he the first man, the father of the nations, the one whom some of\nthe old Fingoes call Nkulunkulu?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, not at all; Qamata was never a man.\u201d\n\n\u201cWas he the creator of all that we see, the mountains, and the sun, and\nthe stars?\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps he was, we don\u2019t know; he is greater than all these.\u201d\n\n\u201cWhere is he?\u201d\n\n\u201cEverywhere.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoes he see all things?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe think he does.\u201d\n\n\u201cDoes he help people?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe ask him to sometimes, and we believe he does.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs he altogether good, or altogether bad, or partly good and partly\nbad?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe don\u2019t know about that; but we think he is altogether good.\u201d\n\n\u201cAre there any others like him?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; he is all alone.\u201d\n\n\u201cIs there any other name for him?\u201d\n\n\u201cIn the olden times that was the only name, but now he is called by\nsome u-Tixo,\u201d (a name for God, introduced by missionaries).\n\nA superstitious act of a very peculiar kind is somehow or other\nconnected in their minds with prayer to, or worship of, Qamata. In\nvarious parts of the Kaffir country there are artificial heaps of\nstones, and a Kaffir, when travelling, may often be seen adding one to\nthe number. He repeats no words, but merely picks up a stone and throws\nit on the heap. Why does he do it? That good fortune may attend\nhim,\u2014that he may not be carried away by the river spirit when crossing\na stream,\u2014that he may find food prepared for him where he is to\nrest,\u2014that he may be successful in the business he is engaged in,\u2014or\nsomething of the kind that he is thinking of at the time. It is an act\nof superstition. But old men have told me, when I inquired the object\nof this act, that \u201cit was for Qamata.\u201d How? They did not know; but\ntheir ancestors had done the same thing, and said it was for Qamata;\nand so they did it too.\n\nThe influence of the unseen world is ever acting upon the Kaffir. Far\nnearer to him than Qamata or the spirits of his ancestors is a whole\nhost of water sprites and hobgoblins, who meet him turn which way he\nwill. There is no beautiful fairyland for him, for all these fanciful\nbeings who haunt the mountains, the plains, and the rivers, are either\nactively malevolent, or mischievous and addicted to playing pranks. To\nprotect himself from them he carries on his person charms in numbers,\nonly to find himself still exposed to their attacks. This superstition\ninfluences all his acts and gives a tone of seriousness to his\ncharacter.\n\nThe rites of religion consist merely in sacrifices to appease the\nspirits. These are numerous. On great occasions they are performed by\nindividuals who act the part of priests, on ordinary occasions by heads\nof families. The meat of the animal sacrificed is eaten, for the hunger\nof the spirit is allayed with the smoke. No sacred days or seasons are\nobserved.\n\nA corollary to the belief in malevolent spirits is the belief in\nwitchcraft. Certain persons obtain from the demons power to bewitch\nothers, and thus sickness and death are caused. The same individual who\nacts as a priest acts also as a witch-finder. In olden times the person\nwhom the witch-finder pronounced guilty was liable to confiscation of\nproperty, torture, and even death. The priest and witch-finder\nprofesses also to have the power of making rain, and of causing the\nwarriors of his clan to be invulnerable in battle. When following any\nof these occupations, he attires himself most fantastically, being\npainted with various colours, and having the tails of wild animals\nsuspended around him.\n\nBefore the supremacy of the Europeans it was seldom that the individual\nwho filled this office died a natural death. Sooner or later he would\nfail to cause rain to fall when it was needed, or warriors whom he had\nmade invulnerable would be struck down, or something else would happen\nwhich would cause him to be regarded as an impostor. He was then\ngenerally tied hand and foot and cast into the first stream at hand.\nNevertheless, implicit confidence was placed in his successor, until\nhe, too, met the same fate.\n\nSometimes a person intimates that he has received revelations from the\nspirit world. He is really a monomaniac, but if his statements are\nbelieved his power at once becomes greater than that of the highest\nchief, and his commands are implicitly obeyed.\n\nThe snake is treated with great respect by the Kaffirs. If one is found\nin a hut, the people will move out and wait patiently until it leaves.\n\nThe owner will say that it is perhaps the spirit of one of his\nancestors who has come to visit him in this form. It may be only an\nordinary snake, he will add, but it is not advisable to run any risk,\nlest harm should befall his house.\n\nIn the division of labour the cultivation of the ground falls to the\nwoman\u2019s share, as does also the collection of firewood, and the\nthatching of the huts. A man who meddles with work of this kind is\nregarded as an intruder into a domain not his own. The females look\nupon it as pertaining to them, just as in England they look upon\nhousework.\n\nThe descent of property is regulated in the same manner as the\nsuccession to the chieftainship.\n\nMany of their manufactures display considerable skill and ingenuity.\nForemost among these must be reckoned metallic wares, which include\nimplements of war and husbandry, and ornaments for the person. Iron and\ncopper are now obtained in trade from Europeans, but when the country\nwas first visited, the Kaffirs were found in possession of these\nmetals, and to the present day a few stubborn conservatives prefer to\nsmelt ore for themselves, as their ancestors did before them. There are\ncertain families to whom the working in metals is confined, the son\nfollowing the father in his occupation. This is the case with every\nkind of manufacture, and no one pretends to know anything about a trade\nwhich does not belong to his own family.\n\nIn many parts of the country iron ore of excellent quality is abundant,\nand this they smelt (or rather did so until recently) in a simple\nmanner. Forming a furnace of a boulder with a hollow surface, out of\nwhich a groove was made to allow the liquid metal to escape, and into\nwhich a hole was pierced for the purpose of introducing a current of\nair, they piled up a heap of charcoal and virgin ore, which they\nafterwards covered in such a way as to prevent the escape of heat. The\nbellows by which air was introduced were made of skins, the mouthpiece\nbeing the horn of a large antelope. The molten iron, escaping from the\ncrude yet effective furnace, ran into clay moulds prepared to receive\nit, which were as nearly as possible of the same magnitude as the\nimplements they wished to make. These were never of great size, the\nlargest being the picks or heavy hoes used in gardening.\n\nThe Kaffir smith, using a boulder for an anvil and a hammer of iron or\nstone, next proceeded to shape the lump of metal into an assagai head,\nan axe, a pick, or whatever was required. The iron was worked cold. In\nthis laborious operation a vast amount of patience and perseverance was\nexercised, and the article when completed was very creditable indeed.\n\nCopper is worked into a great variety of ornaments for their persons.\nThis metal is found in certain parts of the country, but it is now\ngenerally obtained in trade from Europeans.\n\nHardly less remarkable was their skill in pottery, an art rapidly\nbecoming lost since the introduction of European wares. Vessels\ncontaining from half a pint to fifty gallons were constructed by them\nof earthenware, some of which were highly ornamented, and were almost\nas perfect in form as if they had been turned on a wheel. Though they\nwere frequently not more than an eighth of an inch in thickness, so\nfinely tempered were they that the most intense heat did not damage\nthem. These vessels were used as beer pots, grain jars, and cooking\nutensils.\n\nIn the manufacture of wooden articles, such as spoons, bowls, fighting\nsticks, pipes (since the introduction of tobacco), rests for the head\nwhen sleeping, etc., they display great skill and no little taste. Each\narticle is made of a single block of wood, requiring much time and\npatience to complete it, and upon it is frequently carved some neat but\nsimple pattern.\n\nBaskets for holding grain, rush mats, bags, and drinking vessels made\nof grass are among the products of their labour. Rush bags are made so\ncarefully and strongly that they are used to hold water or any other\nliquid.\n\nSkins for clothing are prepared by rubbing them for a length of time\nwith grease, by which means they are made nearly as soft and pliable as\ncloth.\n\nIngenious as they are, the men are far from being industrious. A great\nportion of their time is spent in visiting and gossip, of which they\nare exceedingly fond. They are perfect masters of that kind of argument\nwhich consists in parrying a question by means of putting another. They\nare not strict observers of truth, and, though not pilferers, they are\naddicted to cattle lifting. According to their ideas, stealing cattle\nis not a crime; it is a civil offence, and a thief when detected is\ncompelled to make ample restitution; but no disgrace attaches to it,\nand they have no religious scruples concerning it.\n\nSuch, in brief, are the Kaffirs, the people among whom the following\nstories are current.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE BIRD THAT MADE MILK. I.\n\n\nThere was once upon a time a poor man living with his wife in a certain\nvillage. They had three children, two boys and a girl. They used to get\nmilk from a tree. That milk of the tree was got by squeezing. It was\nnot nice as that of a cow, and the people that drank it were always\nthin. For this reason, those people were never glossy like those who\nare fat.\n\nOne day the woman went to cultivate a garden. She began by cutting the\ngrass with a pick, and then putting it in a big heap. That was the work\nof the first day, and when the sun was just about to set she went home.\nWhen she left, there came a bird to that place, and sang this song:\n\n\n   \u201cWeeds of this garden,\n    Weeds of this garden,\n    Spring up, spring up;\n    Work of this garden,\n    Work of this garden,\n    Disappear, disappear.\u201d\n\n\nIt was so.\n\nThe next morning, when she returned and saw that, she wondered greatly.\nShe again put it in order on that day, and put some sticks in the\nground to mark the place.\n\nIn the evening she went home and told that she had found the grass\nwhich she had cut growing just as it was before.\n\nHer husband said: \u201cHow can such a thing be? You were lazy and didn\u2019t\nwork, and now tell me this falsehood. Just get out of my sight, or I\u2019ll\nbeat you.\u201d\n\nOn the third day she went to her work with a sorrowful heart,\nremembering the words spoken by her husband. She reached the place and\nfound the grass growing as before. The sticks that she stuck in the\nground were there still, but she saw nothing else of her labour. She\nwondered greatly.\n\nShe said in her heart, \u201cI will not cut the grass off again, I will just\nhoe the ground as it is.\u201d\n\nShe commenced. Then the bird came and perched on one of the sticks.\n\nIt sang:\n\n\n   \u201cCiti, citi, who is this cultivating the ground of my father?\n              Pick, come off;\n              Pick handle, break;\n            Sods, go back to your places!\u201d\n\n\nAll these things happened.\n\nThe woman went home and told her husband what the bird had done. Then\nthey made a plan. They dug a deep hole in the ground, and covered it\nwith sticks and grass. The man hid himself in the hole, and put up one\nof his hands. The woman commenced to hoe the ground again. Then the\nbird came and perched on the hand of the man, and sang:\n\n\n   \u201cThis is the ground of my father.\n    Who are you, digging my father\u2019s ground?\n    Pick, break into small pieces;\n    Sods, return to your places.\u201d\n\n\nIt was so.\n\nThen the man tightened his fingers and caught the bird. He came up out\nof the place of concealment.\n\nHe said to the bird: \u201cAs for you who spoil the work of this garden, you\nwill not see the sun any more. With this sharp stone I will cut off\nyour head!\u201d\n\nThen the bird said to him: \u201cI am not a bird that should be killed. I am\na bird that can make milk.\u201d\n\nThe man said: \u201cMake some, then.\u201d\n\nThe bird made some milk in his hand. The man tasted it. It was very\nnice milk.\n\nThe man said: \u201cMake some more milk, my bird.\u201d\n\nThe bird did so. The man sent his wife for a milk basket. When she\nbrought it, the bird filled it with milk.\n\nThe man was very much pleased. He said: \u201cThis pretty bird of mine is\nbetter than a cow.\u201d\n\nHe took it home and put it in a jar. After that he used to rise even in\nthe night and tell the bird to make milk for him. Only he and his wife\ndrank of it. The children continued to drink of the milk of the tree.\nThe names of the children were Gingci, the first-born son; Lonci, his\nbrother; and Dumangashe, his sister. That man then got very fat indeed,\nso that his skin became shining.\n\nThe girl said to her brother Gingci: \u201cWhy does father get fat and we\nremain so thin?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI do not know. Perhaps he eats in the night.\u201d\n\nThey made a plan to watch. They saw him rise in the middle of the\nnight. He went to the big jar and took an eating mat off it. He said:\n\u201cMake milk, my bird.\u201d He drank much. Again he said: \u201cMake milk, my\nbird,\u201d and again he drank till he was very full. Then he lay down and\nwent to sleep.\n\nThe next day the woman went to work in her garden, and the man went to\nvisit his friend. The children remained at home, but not in the house.\nTheir father fastened the door of the house, and told them not to enter\nit on any account till his return.\n\nGingci said: \u201cTo-day we will drink of the milk that makes father fat\nand shining; we will not drink of the milk of the euphorbia to-day.\u201d\n\nThe girl said: \u201cAs for me, I also say let us drink of father\u2019s milk\nto-day.\u201d\n\nThey entered the house. Gingci removed the eating mat from the jar, and\nsaid to the bird: \u201cMy father\u2019s bird, make milk for me.\u201d\n\nThe bird said: \u201cIf I am your father\u2019s bird, put me by the fireplace,\nand I will make milk.\u201d\n\nThe boy did so. The bird made just a little milk.\n\nThe boy drank, and said: \u201cMy father\u2019s bird, make more milk.\u201d\n\nThe bird said: \u201cIf I am your father\u2019s bird, put me by the door, then I\nwill make milk.\u201d\n\nThe boy did this. Then the bird made just a little milk, which the boy\ndrank.\n\nThe girl said: \u201cMy father\u2019s bird, make milk for me.\u201d\n\nThe bird said: \u201cIf I am your father\u2019s bird, just put me in the\nsunlight, and I will make milk.\u201d\n\nThe girl did so. Then the bird made a jar full of milk.\n\nAfter that the bird sang:\n\n\n   \u201cThe father of Dumangashe came, he came,\n    He came unnoticed by me.\n    He found great fault with me.\n    The little fellows have met together.\n    Gingci the brother of Lonci.\n    The Umkomanzi cannot be crossed,\n    It is crossed by swallows\n    Whose wings are long.\u201d\n\n\nWhen it finished its song it lifted up its wings and flew away. But the\ngirl was still drinking milk.\n\nThe children called it, and said: \u201cReturn, bird of our father,\u201d but it\ndid not come back. They said, \u201cWe shall be killed to-day.\u201d\n\nThey followed the bird. They came to a tree where there were many\nbirds.\n\nThe boy caught one, and said to it: \u201cMy father\u2019s bird, make milk.\u201d\n\nIt bled. They said: \u201cThis is not our father\u2019s bird.\u201d\n\nThis bird bled very much; the blood ran like a river. Then the boy\nreleased it, and it flew away. The children were seized with fear.\n\nThey said to themselves: \u201cIf our father finds us, he will kill us\nto-day.\u201d\n\nIn the evening the man came home. When he was yet far off, he saw that\nthe door had been opened.\n\nHe said: \u201cI did not shut the door that way.\u201d\n\nHe called his children, but only Lonci replied. He asked for the\nothers.\n\nLonci said: \u201cI went to the river to drink; when I returned they were\ngone.\u201d\n\nHe searched for them, and found the girl under the ashes and the boy\nbehind a stone. He inquired at once about his bird. They were compelled\nto tell the truth concerning it.\n\nThen the man took a riem and hung those two children on a tree that\nprojected over the river. He went away, leaving them there. Their\nmother besought their father, saying that they should be released; but\nthe man refused. After he was gone, the boy tried to escape. He climbed\nup the riem and held on to the tree; then he went up and loosened the\nriem that was tied to his sister. After that they climbed up the tree,\nand then went away from their home. They slept three times on the road.\n\nThey came to a big rock. The boy said: \u201cWe have no father and no\nmother; rock, be our house.\u201d\n\nThe rock opened, and they went inside. After that they lived there in\nthat place. They obtained food by hunting animals,\u2014they were hunted by\nthe boy.\n\nWhen they were already in that place a long time, the girl grew to be\nbig. There were no people in that place. A bird came one day with a\nchild, and left it there by their house.\n\nThe bird said: \u201cSo have I done to all the people.\u201d\n\nAfter that a crocodile came to that place. The boy was just going to\nkill it, but it said: \u201cI am a crocodile; I am not to be killed; I am\nyour friend.\u201d\n\nThen the boy went with the crocodile to the house of the crocodile, in\na deep hole under the water.\n\nThe crocodile had many cattle and (much) millet. He gave the boy ten\ncows and ten baskets of millet.\n\nThe crocodile said to the boy: \u201cYou must send your sister for the\npurpose of being married to me.\u201d\n\nThe boy made a fold to keep his cattle in; his sister made a garden and\nplanted millet. The crocodile sent more cattle. The boy made a very big\nfold, and it was full of cattle.\n\nAt this time there came a bird.\n\nThe bird said: \u201cYour sister has performed the custom, and as for you,\nyou should enter manhood.\u201d\n\nThe crocodile gave one of his daughters to be the wife of the young\nman. The young woman went to the village of the crocodile, she went to\nbe a bride.\n\nThey said to her: \u201cWhom do you choose to be your husband?\u201d\n\nThe girl replied: \u201cI choose Crocodile.\u201d\n\nHer husband said to her: \u201cLick my face.\u201d\n\nShe did so. The crocodile cast off its skin, and arose a man of great\nstrength and fine appearance.\n\nHe said: \u201cThe enemies of my father\u2019s house did that; you, my wife, are\nstronger than they.\u201d\n\nAfter this there was a great famine, and the mother of those people\ncame to their village. She did not recognise her children, but they\nknew her and gave her food. She went away, and then their father came.\nHe did not recognise them either, but they knew him. They asked him\nwhat he wanted. He told them that his village was devoured by famine.\nThey gave him food, and he went away.\n\nHe returned again.\n\nThe young man said: \u201cYou thought we would die when you hung us in the\ntree.\u201d\n\nHe was astonished, and said: \u201cAre you indeed my child?\u201d\n\nCrocodile then gave them (the parents) three baskets of corn, and told\nthem to go and build on the mountains. He (the man) did so and died\nthere on the mountains.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE BIRD THAT MADE MILK. II.\n\n\n    The following is another version of this story of the Bird that\n    made Milk, as current among the Barolongs, a tribe speaking the\n    Sechuana language, and residing beyond the Orange River. It was\n    written down for me by an educated grandson of the late chief\n    Moroko.\n\n\nIt is said that there was once a great town in a certain place, which\nhad many people living in it. They lived upon grain only. One year\nthere was a great famine. There was in that town a poor man, by name\nMasilo, and his wife. One day they went to dig in their garden, and\nthey continued digging the whole day long. In the evening, when the\ndigging companies returned home, they returned also. Then there came a\nbird and stood upon the house which was beside the garden, and began to\nwhistle, and said:\n\n\u201cMasilo\u2019s cultivated ground, mix together.\u201d\n\nThe ground did as the bird said. After that was done the bird went\naway.\n\nIn the morning, when Masilo and his wife went to the garden, they were\nin doubt, and said:\n\n\u201cIs it really the place we were digging yesterday?\u201d\n\nThey saw that it was the place by the people working on each side. The\npeople began to laugh at them, and mocked them, and said: \u201cIt is\nbecause you are very lazy.\u201d\n\nThey continued to dig again that day, and in the evening they went home\nwith the others.\n\nThen the bird came and did the same thing.\n\nWhen they went back next morning, they found their ground altogether\nundug. Then they believed that they were bewitched by some others.\n\nThey continued digging that day again. But in the evening when the\ncompanies returned, Masilo said to his wife:\n\n\u201cGo home; I will stay behind to watch and find the thing which eats our\nwork.\u201d\n\nThen he went and laid himself down by the head of the garden, under the\nsame house which the bird used always to stand upon. While he was\nthinking, the bird came. It was a very beautiful bird. He was looking\nat it and admiring it, when it began to speak.\n\nIt said: \u201cMasilo\u2019s cultivated ground, mix together.\u201d\n\nThen he caught it, and said: \u201cAh! is it you who eat the work of our\nhands?\u201d\n\nHe took out his knife from the sheath, and was going to cut the head of\nthe bird off.\n\nThen the bird said: \u201cPlease don\u2019t kill me, and I will make some milk\nfor you to eat.\u201d\n\nMasilo answered: \u201cYou must bring back the work of my hands first.\u201d\n\nThe bird said: \u201cMasilo\u2019s cultivated ground, appear,\u201d and it appeared.\n\nThen Masilo said: \u201cMake the milk now,\u201d and, behold, it immediately made\nthick milk, which Masilo began to eat. When he was satisfied, he took\nthe bird home. As he approached his house, he put the bird in his bag.\n\nWhen he entered his house, he said to his wife, \u201cWash all the largest\nbeer pots which are in the house,\u201d but his wife was angry on account of\nher hunger, and she answered: \u201cWhat have you to put in such large\npots?\u201d\n\nMasilo said to her: \u201cJust hear me, and do as I command you, then you\nwill see.\u201d\n\nWhen she was ready with the pots, Masilo took his bird out of his bag,\nand said: \u201cMake milk for my children to eat.\u201d\n\nThen the bird filled all the beer pots with milk.\n\nThey commenced to eat, and when they were finished, Masilo charged his\nchildren, saying,\n\n\u201cBeware that you do not tell anybody of this, not one of your\ncompanions.\u201d\n\nThey swore by him that they would not tell anybody.\n\nMasilo and his family then lived upon this bird. The people were\nsurprised when they saw him and his family. They said:\n\n\u201cWhy are the people at Masilo\u2019s house so fat? He is so poor, but now\nsince his garden has appeared he and his children are so fat!\u201d\n\nThey tried to watch and to see what he was eating, but they never could\nfind out at all.\n\nOne morning Masilo and his wife went to work in their garden, and about\nthe middle of the same day the children of that town met together to\nplay. They met just before Masilo\u2019s house. While they were playing the\nothers said to Masilo\u2019s children:\n\n\u201cWhy are you so fat while we remain so thin?\u201d\n\nThey answered: \u201cAre we then fat? We thought we were thin just as you\nare.\u201d\n\nThey would not tell them the cause. The others continued to press them,\nand said: \u201cWe won\u2019t tell anybody.\u201d\n\nThen the children of Masilo said: \u201cThere is a bird in our father\u2019s\nhouse which makes milk.\u201d\n\nThe others said: \u201cPlease show us the bird.\u201d\n\nThey went into the house and took it out of the secret place where\ntheir father had placed it. They ordered it as their father used to\norder it, and it made milk, which their companions drank, for they were\nvery hungry.\n\nAfter drinking they said: \u201cLet it dance for us,\u201d and they loosened it\nfrom the place where it was tied.\n\nThe bird began to dance in the house, but one said: \u201cThis place is too\nconfined,\u201d so they took it outside of the house. While they were\nenjoying themselves and laughing, the bird flew away, leaving them in\ngreat dismay.\n\nMasilo\u2019s children said: \u201cOur father will this day kill us, therefore we\nmust go after the bird.\u201d\n\nSo they followed it, and continued going after it the whole day long,\nfor when they were at a distance it would sit still for a little while,\nand when they approached it would fly away.\n\nWhen the digging companies returned from digging, the people of that\ntown cried for their children, for they did not know what had become of\nthem. But when Masilo went into the house and could not find his bird,\nhe knew where the children were, but he did not tell any of their\nparents. He was very sorry for his bird, for he knew that he had lost\nhis food.\n\nWhen evening set in, the children determined to return to their home,\nbut there came a storm of rain with heavy thunder, and they were very\nmuch afraid. Among them was a brave boy, named Mosemanyanamatong, who\nencouraged them, and said:\n\n\u201cDo not be afraid; I can command a house to build itself.\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cPlease command it.\u201d\n\nHe said: \u201cHouse appear,\u201d and it appeared, and also wood for fire. Then\nthe children entered the house and made a large fire, and began to\nroast some wild roots which they dug out of the ground.\n\nWhile they were roasting the roots and were merry, there came a big\ncannibal, and they heard his voice saying: \u201cMosemanyanamatong, give me\nsome of the wild roots you have.\u201d\n\nThey were afraid, and the brave boy said to the girls and to the other\nboys, \u201cGive me some of yours.\u201d\n\nThey gave to him, and he threw the roots outside. While the cannibal\nwas still eating, they went out and fled. He finished eating the roots,\nand then pursued them. When he approached they scattered some more\nroots upon the ground, and while he was picking them up and eating,\nthey fled.\n\nAt length they came among mountains, where trees were growing. The\ngirls were already very tired, so they all climbed up a tall tree. The\ncannibal came there, and tried to cut the tree down with his sharp and\nlong nail.\n\nThen the brave boy said to the girls: \u201cWhile I am singing you must\ncontinue saying, \u2018Tree be strong, Tree be strong!\u2019\u201d\n\nHe sang this song:\n\n\n       \u201cIt is foolish,\n    It is foolish to be a traveller,\n    And to go on a journey\n    With the blood of girls upon one!\n    While we were roasting wild roots\n    A great darkness fell upon us.\n    It was not darkness,\n    It was awful gloom!\u201d\n\n\nWhile he was singing, there came a great bird and hovered over them,\nand said: \u201cHold fast to me.\u201d\n\nThe children held fast to the bird, and it flew away with them, and\ntook them to their own town.\n\nIt was midnight when it arrived there, and it sat down at the gate of\nMosemanyanamatong\u2019s mother\u2019s house.\n\nIn the morning, when that woman came out of her house, she took ashes\nand cast upon the bird, for she said: \u201cThis bird knows where our\nchildren are.\u201d\n\nAt midday the bird sent word to the chief, saying, \u201cCommand all your\npeople to spread mats in all the paths.\u201d\n\nThe chief commanded them to do so. Then the bird brought all the\nchildren out, and the people were greatly delighted.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF FIVE HEADS.\n\n\nThere was once a man living in a certain place, who had two daughters\nbig enough to be married.\n\nOne day the man went over the river to another village, which was the\nresidence of a great chief. The people asked him to tell them the news.\nHe replied, that there was no news in the place that he came from. Then\nthe man inquired about the news of their place. They said the news of\ntheir place was that the chief wanted a wife.\n\nThe man went home and said to his two daughters: \u201cWhich of you wishes\nto be the wife of a chief?\u201d\n\nThe eldest replied: \u201cI wish to be the wife of a chief, my father.\u201d The\nname of that girl was Mpunzikazi.\n\nThe man said: \u201cAt that village which I visited, the chief wishes for a\nwife; you, my daughter, shall go.\u201d\n\nThe man called all his friends, and assembled a large company to go\nwith his daughter to the village of the chief. But the girl would not\nconsent that those people should go with her.\n\nShe said: \u201cI will go alone to be the wife of the chief.\u201d\n\nHer father replied: \u201cHow can you, my daughter, say such a thing? Is it\nnot so that when a girl goes to present herself to her husband she\nshould be accompanied by others? Be not foolish, my daughter.\u201d\n\nThe girl still said: \u201cI will go alone to be the wife of the chief.\u201d\n\nThen the man allowed his daughter to do as she chose. She went alone,\nno bridal party accompanying her, to present herself at the village of\nthe chief who wanted a wife.\n\nAs Mpunzikazi was in the path, she met a mouse.\n\nThe mouse said: \u201cShall I show you the way?\u201d\n\nThe girl replied: \u201cJust get away from before my eyes.\u201d\n\nThe mouse answered: \u201cIf you do like this, you will not succeed.\u201d\n\nThen she met a frog.\n\nThe frog said: \u201cShall I show you the way?\u201d\n\nMpunzikazi replied: \u201cYou are not worthy to speak to me, as I am to be\nthe wife of a chief.\u201d\n\nThe frog said: \u201cGo on then; you will see afterwards what will happen.\u201d\n\nWhen the girl got tired, she sat down under a tree to rest. A boy who\nwas herding goats in that place came to her, he being very hungry.\n\nThe boy said: \u201cWhere are you going to, my eldest sister?\u201d\n\nMpunzikazi replied in an angry voice: \u201cWho are you that you should\nspeak to me? Just get away from before me.\u201d\n\nThe boy said: \u201cI am very hungry; will you not give me of your food?\u201d\n\nShe answered: \u201cGet away quickly.\u201d\n\nThe boy said: \u201cYou will not return if you do this.\u201d\n\nShe went on her way again, and met with an old woman sitting by a big\nstone.\n\nThe old woman said: \u201cI will give you advice. You will meet with trees\nthat will laugh at you: you must not laugh in return. You will see a\nbag of thick milk: you must not eat of it. You will meet a man whose\nhead is under his arm: you must not take water from him.\u201d\n\nMpunzikazi answered: \u201cYou ugly thing! who are you that you should\nadvise me?\u201d\n\nThe old woman continued in saying those words.\n\nThe girl went on. She came to a place where were many trees. The trees\nlaughed at her, and she laughed at them in return. She saw a bag of\nthick milk, and she ate of it. She met a man carrying his head under\nhis arm, and she took water to drink from him.\n\nShe came to the river of the village of the chief. She saw a girl there\ndipping water from the river. The girl said: \u201cWhere are you going to,\nmy sister?\u201d\n\nMpunzikazi replied: \u201cWho are you that you should call me sister? I am\ngoing to be the wife of a chief.\u201d\n\nThe girl drawing water was the sister of the chief. She said: \u201cWait, I\nwill give you advice. Do not enter the village by this side.\u201d\n\nMpunzikazi did not stand to listen, but just went on.\n\nShe reached the village of the chief. The people asked her where she\ncame from and what she wanted.\n\nShe answered: \u201cI have come to be the wife of the chief.\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cWho ever saw a girl go without a retinue to be a bride?\u201d\n\nThey said also: \u201cThe chief is not at home; you must prepare food for\nhim, that when he comes in the evening he may eat.\u201d\n\nThey gave her millet to grind. She ground it very coarse, and made\nbread that was not nice to eat.\n\nIn the evening she heard the sound of a great wind. That wind was the\ncoming of the chief. He was a big snake with five heads and large eyes.\nMpunzikazi was very much frightened when she saw him. He sat down\nbefore the door and told her to bring his food. She brought the bread\nwhich she had made. Makanda Mahlanu (Five Heads) was not satisfied with\nthat bread. He said: \u201cYou shall not be my wife,\u201d and he struck her with\nhis tail and killed her.\n\nAfterwards the sister of Mpunzikazi said to her father: \u201cI also wish to\nbe the wife of a chief.\u201d\n\nHer father replied: \u201cIt is well, my daughter; it is right that you\nshould wish to be a bride.\u201d\n\nThe man called all his friends, and a great retinue prepared to\naccompany the bride. The name of the girl was Mpunzanyana.\n\nIn the way they met a mouse.\n\nThe mouse said: \u201cShall I show you the road?\u201d\n\nMpunzanyana replied: \u201cIf you will show me the way I shall be glad.\u201d\n\nThen the mouse pointed out the way.\n\nShe came into a valley, where she saw an old woman standing by a tree.\n\nThe old woman said to her: \u201cYou will come to a place where two paths\nbranch off. You must take the little one, because if you take the big\none you will not be fortunate.\u201d\n\nMpunzanyana replied: \u201cI will take the little path, my mother.\u201d She went\non.\n\nAfterwards she met a cony.\n\nThe cony said: \u201cThe village of the chief is close by. You will meet a\ngirl by the river: you must speak nicely to her. They will give you\nmillet to grind: you must grind it well. When you see your husband, you\nmust not be afraid.\u201d\n\nShe said: \u201cI will do as you say, cony.\u201d\n\nIn the river she met the chief\u2019s sister carrying water.\n\nThe chief\u2019s sister said: \u201cWhere are you going to?\u201d\n\nMpunzanyana replied: \u201cThis is the end of my journey.\u201d\n\nThe chief\u2019s sister said: \u201cWhat is the object of your coming to this\nplace?\u201d\n\nMpunzanyana replied: \u201cI am with a bridal party.\u201d\n\nThe chief\u2019s sister said: \u201cThat is right, but will you not be afraid\nwhen you see your husband?\u201d\n\nMpunzanyana answered: \u201cI will not be afraid.\u201d\n\nThe chief\u2019s sister pointed out the hut in which she should stay. Food\nwas given to the bridal party. The mother of the chief took millet and\ngave to the bride, saying: \u201cYou must prepare food for your husband. He\nis not here now, but he will come in the evening.\u201d\n\nIn the evening she heard a very strong wind, which made the hut shake.\nThe poles fell, but she did not run out. Then she saw the chief Makanda\nMahlanu coming. He asked for food. Mpunzanyana took the bread which she\nhad made, and gave it to him. He was very much pleased with that food,\nand said:\n\n\u201cYou shall be my wife.\u201d He gave her very many ornaments.\n\nAfterwards Makanda Mahlanu became a man, and Mpunzanyana continued to\nbe the wife he loved best.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF TANGALIMLIBO.\n\n\nThere was once a man who had two wives, one of whom had no children.\nShe grieved much about that, till one day a bird came to her and gave\nher some little pellets. The bird said she must eat of these always\nbefore she partook of food, and then she would bear a child. She was\nvery glad, and offered the bird some millet.\n\nBut the bird said: \u201cNo, I do not want millet.\u201d\n\nThe woman then offered an isidanga (an ornamental breast-band which\nwomen wear), but the bird said it had no use for that. Then she got\nsome very fine gravel and placed before the bird, which it received at\nher hands.\n\nAfter this the woman had a daughter. Her husband knew nothing of what\nhad happened, because he never went to her house. He did not love her\nat all, for the reason that she bore no children. So she said:\n\n\u201cI will keep my daughter in the house till my husband comes; he will\nsurely love me when he sees I have such a beautiful child.\u201d\n\nThe name given to the girl was Tangalimlibo.\n\nThe man went always to the house of the other wife, and so it happened\nthat Tangalimlibo was grown to be a young woman when her father first\nsaw her. He was very much pleased, and said:\n\n\u201cMy dear wife, you should have told me of this before.\u201d\n\nThe girl had never been out of the house in the daytime. Only in the\nnight-time she had gone out, when people could not see her.\n\nThe man said to his wife:\n\n\u201cYou must make much beer, and invite many people to come and rejoice\nwith me over this that has happened.\u201d\n\nThe woman did so. There was a big tree in front of the kraal, and the\nmats were spread under it. It was a fine sunny day, and very many men\ncame. Among them was the son of a certain chief, who fell in love with\nTangalimlibo as soon as he saw her.\n\nWhen the young chief went home he sent a message to the father of the\ngirl that he must send her to him to be married. The man told all his\nfriends about that. He told them also to be ready at a certain time to\nconduct his daughter to the chief. So they came and took her, and the\nmarriage feast was very great. The oxen were many which were killed\nthat day. Tangalimlibo had a large and beautiful ox given to her by her\nfather. That ox was called by her own name. She took off a piece of her\nclothing and gave it to the ox, which ate it.\n\nAfter she had been married some time, this woman had a son. She was\nloved very much by her husband, because she was pretty and industrious;\nonly this thing was observed of her, that she never went out in the\ndaytime. Therefore she received the name of Sihamba Ngenyanga (the\nwalker by moonlight).\n\nOne day her husband went to a distant place to hunt with other men.\nThere were left at his home with this woman only her father-in-law, her\nmother-in-law, and a girl who nursed the little child.\n\nThe father-in-law said:\n\n\u201cWhy does she not work during the day?\u201d\n\nHe pretended to become thirsty, and sent the girl to Tangalimlibo to\nask for water, saying:\n\n\u201cI die with thirst.\u201d\n\nThe woman sent water to her father-in-law, but he threw it on the\nground, saying:\n\n\u201cIt is water from the river I desire.\u201d\n\nShe said:\n\n\u201cI never go to the river in the daytime.\u201d\n\nHe continued to ask, saying again:\n\n\u201cI die with thirst.\u201d\n\nThen she took a milk-basket and a calabash ladle, and went weeping to\nthe river. She dipped the ladle in the water, and it was drawn out of\nher hand. She dipped the milk-basket in the water, and it was drawn\naway from her. Then she tried to take some water in her mantle, and she\nwas drawn under the surface. After a little time the girl was sent to\nlook for her, but she came back, saying:\n\n\u201cI found her not who is accustomed to draw water only in the night.\u201d\n\nHer father-in-law drove oxen quickly to the river. He took the big ox\nthat was called by her name and killed it. He put all the flesh and\neverything else that was of that ox into the river, saying:\n\n\u201cLet this be instead of my child.\u201d\n\nA voice was heard saying:\n\n\u201cGo to my father and my mother and say to them that I am taken by the\nriver.\u201d\n\nThat evening the little child of Tangalimlibo was crying very bitterly.\nIts father was not yet home. Its grandmother tried by every means to\nkeep it from crying, but in vain. Then she gave it to the nurse, who\nfastened it on her back. Still the child continued to cry. In the\nmiddle of the night the nurse went down to the river with the child,\nsinging this song:\n\n\n   \u201cIt is crying, it is crying,\n    The child of Sihamba Ngenyanga;\n    It is crying, it will not be pacified.\u201d\n\n\nThen the mother of the child came out of the river, and wailed this\nsong:\n\n\n   \u201cIt is crying, it is crying,\n    The child of the walker by moonlight.\n    It was done intentionally by people whose names are unmentionable.\n    They sent her for water during the day.\n    She tried to dip with the milk-basket, and then it sank.\n    Tried to dip with the ladle, and then it sank.\n    Tried to dip with the mantle, and then it sank.\u201d\n\n\nWith the name as a chorus at the end of each line.\n\nThen she took her child and put it to her breast to suck.\n\nWhen the child had finished sucking, she gave it back to the nurse,\ntelling her to take it home. She commanded the nurse never to say to\nany one that she came out of the water, and told her that when people\nasked where the child got food she must say she gave it berries to eat.\n\nThis continued for some days. Every night the nurse took the child to\nthe river, when its mother came out and suckled it. She always looked\nround to see that no one was present, and always put the same command\non the girl.\n\nAfter a time the father of the child returned from hunting. They told\nhim of Tangalimlibo\u2019s going to the river and not returning. Then the\nnurse brought the child to him. He inquired what it ate, and was told\nthat berries were given to it.\n\nHe said: \u201cThat cannot be so; go and get some berries, and let me see my\nchild eat them.\u201d\n\nThe girl went and brought some berries, but they were not eaten by the\nchild. Then the father of the child beat the girl until she told the\ntruth. She said she went at night to the river, when the mother came\nout and caressed her child and gave it of her milk.\n\nThen they made a plan that the husband of Tangalimlibo should hide\nhimself in the reeds and try and catch his wife when she came out of\nthe water. He took the skin of an ox and cut it into a long riem, one\nend of which he fastened round his waist. The other end he gave to the\nmen of that village, telling them to hold it fast and to pull hard when\nthey felt it being drawn from them.\n\nAt night the man hid himself in the reeds. Tangalimlibo came out of the\nwater and looked all round while she was singing her song. She asked\nthe girl if any one was there, and when the girl replied that there was\nno one she took her child. Then her husband sprang upon her, clasping\nher very tight. She tried to pull back, but the men at the village drew\nupon the riem. She was drawn away, but the river followed her, and its\nwater turned into blood. When it came close to the village, the men who\nwere pulling at the riem saw it, and became frightened. They let the\nriem go, when the river at once went back, taking Tangalimlibo with it.\n\nAfter that her husband was told of the voice which came from the water,\nsaying:\n\n\u201cGo to my father and my mother and tell them I am taken by the river.\u201d\n\nHe called his racing ox, and said:\n\n\u201cWill you, my ox, take this message to the father and mother of\nTangalimlibo?\u201d\n\nThe ox only bellowed.\n\nHe called his dog, and said:\n\n\u201cWill you, my dog, take this message to the father and mother of\nTangalimlibo?\u201d\n\nThe dog only barked.\n\nLast of all he called the cock.\n\nHe said: \u201cWill you, my cock, take this message to the father and mother\nof Tangalimlibo?\u201d\n\nThe cock answered: \u201cI will do so, my master.\u201d\n\nHe said: \u201cLet me hear what you will say.\u201d\n\nThe cock answered: \u201cI will sing\u2014\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cI am a cock that ought not to be killed\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    I have come to intimate about Tangalimlibo\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    Tangalimlibo is dead\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    She dipped water for a person that cannot be\n    named\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    It was tried to send an ox; it bellowed\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    It was tried to send a dog; it barked\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\u201d\n\n\nThe chief said: \u201cThat is good, my cock, go now.\u201d\n\nAs the cock was going on his way, some boys who were tending calves saw\nhim.\n\nOne of them said to the others: \u201cCome here, come here, boys; there is a\ncock for us to kill.\u201d\n\nThen the cock stood up, and sang his song.\n\nThe boys said: \u201cSing again, we did not hear you plainly.\u201d\n\nSo he sang again:\n\n\n   \u201cI am a cock that ought not to be killed\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    I have come to intimate about Tangalimlibo\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    Tangalimlibo is dead\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    She dipped water for a person that cannot be\n    named\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    It was tried to send an ox; it bellowed\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\n    It was tried to send a dog; it barked\u2014Cock-a-doodle-doo!\u201d\n\n\nThen the boys let him go on his way.\n\nHe travelled far from that place and came to a village, where the men\nwere sitting in the kraal. He flew up on the back of the kraal to rest\nhimself, and the men saw him.\n\nThey said: \u201cWhere does this cock come from? We thought all the cocks\nhere were killed. Make haste, boys, and kill him.\u201d\n\nThe cock began to sing his song.\n\nThen the men said: \u201cWait, boys, we wish to hear what he says.\u201d\n\nThey said to him: \u201cBegin again, we did not hear you.\u201d\n\nThe cock said: \u201cGive me some food, for I am very hungry.\u201d\n\nThe men sent a boy for some millet, and gave it to him. When he had\neaten, he sang his song.\n\nThe men said: \u201cLet him go;\u201d and he went on his way.\n\nThen he came to the village of the father of Tangalimlibo, to the house\nof those he was seeking. He told the message he was sent to carry. The\nmother of Tangalimlibo was a woman skilful in the use of medicines.\n\nShe said to her husband: \u201cGet a fat ox to go with us.\u201d\n\nThey arrived at the river, and killed the ox.\n\nThen that woman worked with her medicines while they put the meat in\nthe water. There was a great shaking and a rising up of the river, and\nTangalimlibo came out. There was great joy among those people when they\ntook her home to her husband.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE GIRL WHO DISREGARDED THE CUSTOM OF NTONJANE.\n\n\nThere was once a chief\u2019s daughter who had reached the age when it was\nnecessary for her to observe the ntonjane. She was therefore placed in\na hut, in which she was to remain during the period of the ceremony.\nOne day her companions persuaded her to go and bathe in a stream near\nat hand, though this was against the custom of the ntonjane. When they\ncame out of the water, they saw a snake with black blotches, called the\nIsinyobolokondwana, near their clothes. They were very much afraid, and\ndid not know what to do at first. But by-and-by one of them commenced\nto sing these words:\n\n\n   \u201cSinyobolokondwana,\n    Sinyobolokondwana,\n    Bring my mantle!\u201d\n\n\nThe snake replied:\n\n\n   \u201cTake it,\n    And pass on.\u201d\n\n\nThe companions of the chief\u2019s daughter, one after the other, asked the\nsnake for their mantles in this manner, and obtained permission to take\nthem. Last of all was the chief\u2019s daughter. But instead of speaking to\nthe snake respectfully as the others had done, she said mockingly,\n\u201cNgcingcingci, ngcingcingci.\u201d [1] So the snake became very angry, and\nbit her, when she immediately became of the same hideous colour as it\nwas. Her companions were so frightened that they left her and ran away\nhome. They put another girl in the hut, and pretended that she was the\nchief\u2019s daughter. The girl, thus left alone, went to a forest close by,\nand climbed up a tree to hide herself.\n\nAbout this time the chief was killing an ox on account of his daughter,\nand so he sent a young man to the forest to get pieces of wood with\nwhich to peg out the skin. The young man was cutting sticks, when he\nheard some one crying: \u201cMan cutting sticks, tell my father and mother\nthat the sinyobolokondwana bit me.\u201d He heard this repeated twice, and,\nwithout looking to see what was crying, he ran home and told the chief.\nTwo young men were then sent back with him to see what it was, one of\nthese happening to be the girl\u2019s brother. These two were told to hide\nthemselves and listen while the other cut the sticks. They did so, and\nheard the voice crying as before. Then the brother of the girl knew the\nvoice of his sister, and they all went to the tree where she was, and\ntook her home with them.\n\nThe chief was very much surprised to see his daughter in that state,\nand was so angry with her companions for taking her to the river, and\nthen for substituting another girl so as to deceive him, that he caused\nthem all to be killed.\n\nThen he sent some of his men with forty cattle to take his daughter to\na distant country, where she was to remain far away from him. They did\nas they were told, and built huts in that place to live in. After they\nhad been there a long time, they found that the cows which the chief\nsent with them were giving more milk than they could consume, so they\npoured what was left in a hole in the ground. To their amazement, the\nmilk rose, and rose, and rose, higher and still higher, till at last it\nstood up out of the ground like a great overhanging rock. They called\nthe girl to see this wonderful thing that was happening. In her\ncuriosity she went close to the precipice, when it fell down on her,\nand, as the milk ran over her, all her ugly blotched skin disappeared,\nand she was again beautiful as at first.\n\nSoon afterwards a young chief who was passing by saw the girl, and fell\nin love with her. He thought she was the daughter of one of the men who\nwere there to protect her, but when he made inquiries they told him she\nwas the daughter of their chief. Then he went to her father, and some\nof the men went also to tell how the milk had cured the girl. The young\nchief had very many cattle, which he offered to her father. So the old\nchief agreed to let him marry the girl, and she became his great wife,\nand was loved by him very dearly.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF SIMBUKUMBUKWANA.\n\n\nThere was a man whose wife had no children, so that he was much\ndissatisfied. At last he went to a wise woman (Igqirakazi) and asked\nher to help him in this matter. She said: \u201cYou must bring me a fat calf\nthat I may get its tallow to use with my medicine\u201d (or charms\u2014the\nKaffir word is Imifizi). The man went home and selected a calf without\nhorns or tail, which he took to the wise woman. She said: \u201cYour wife\nwill have a son who will have no arms and no legs, as this calf has no\nhorns and no tail.\u201d She told him, further, that he was not to inform\nany one of this.\n\nThe man returned to his home and told his friends what was to happen.\nNot long after this his wife bore a child, but it was a daughter and\nhad arms and legs. The man would not own that child, he said it was not\nhis. He beat his wife, and commanded her to take the child away and\nleave it to perish. Then he went to the wise woman, and told her what\nhad taken place. The wise woman said: \u201cIt was because you did not obey\nmy command about keeping this matter to yourself, but your wife will\nyet have a son without arms and without legs.\u201d\n\nIt was so. His wife bore another child, which was a boy without arms\nand without legs, therefore he was called Simbukumbukwana. He began to\nspeak on the day of his birth. During this time the girl that was first\nborn was growing up in the valley where her mother left her; she lived\nin a hole in an ant-heap, and ate honey, and \u201cnongwes,\u201d and gum.\n\nOne day the mother of Simbukumbukwana went to work in her garden, and\nleft the boy at home with the door fastened. While she was away the\ngirl came; she stood at a distance and said: \u201cWhere are the people?\u201d\n\nThere came a voice from inside which said: \u201cHere am I.\u201d\n\nShe said: \u201cWho are you?\u201d\n\nThe voice replied: \u201cI am Simbukumbukwana.\u201d\n\nShe said: \u201cOpen for me.\u201d\n\nHe answered: \u201cHow can I open? I have no legs and no arms.\u201d\n\nShe said: \u201cMy mother\u2019s Simbukumbukwana, have legs and arms\u201d\n(Simbukumbukwana sikama, yiba nemilenze nemikono).\n\nThen legs and arms came on the boy, and he arose and opened for his\nsister. She went in and swept the floor; then she took millet and\nground it and made bread. She told her brother when his parents asked\nhim who did these things to say that he did them himself, and if they\nshould ask him to do them again to reply, \u201cI have done it already.\u201d\nThen she said: \u201cMy mother\u2019s Simbukumbukwana, sink legs and sink arms\u201d\n(Simbukumbukwana sikama, tshona milenze tshona mikono). Then his legs\nand arms shrunk up, and his sister went away.\n\nAfter a time his father and his mother came home; they went in and saw\nthe clean floor and bread ready for eating. They were surprised, and\nsaid to Simbukumbukwana, \u201cWho did this?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI did.\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cDo so again that we may see you.\u201d\n\nHe answered: \u201cI have done it already.\u201d\n\nThe next day the woman went again to work in her garden, but the man\nhid himself to watch what would happen. After a time came the sister of\nSimbukumbukwana and said: \u201cWhere are the people?\u201d (Exactly the same\nconversation as before.) She went in and began to smear the floor;\nwater was wanting, so she sent Simbukumbukwana to the river for some.\nHis joy in walking was great, so that he did not stop at the river, but\nput the pot down there and continued to go forward. The girl thought he\nought not to be so long absent, for the river was close by, so she went\nto look for him. She saw him walking up a hill far away, and she called\nto him to return. He would not. Then she sang, Simbukumbukwana sikama,\ntshona milenze, tshona mikono, and immediately his legs shrank up. Then\nshe was going away, but her father came out and caught her; he kissed\nher, and said she must remain with him.\n\nHer mother was coming home, when she saw something moving on the\nhillside. She went to see what it was, and found her son. She said:\n\u201cHow did you come here?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI came by myself.\u201d\n\nShe said: \u201cLet me see you go further.\u201d\n\nHe answered: \u201cI have done it already.\u201d\n\nThen she put him on her back and went home. She found her daughter\nthere, and her husband much pleased. The girl said: Simbukumbukwana\nsikama, yiba nemilenze nemikono, and legs and arms came on him.\n\nOne day his sister and some other girls went to get red clay, and he\nfollowed them. When they looked behind they saw him, and his sister got\nangry. She said to him: \u201cWhat do you want here?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI am going for red clay for my mother.\u201d\n\nHis sister compelled him to sit down; but as soon as they went on, he\nfollowed; then his sister beat him, and left him in the path. After\nthat there was a heavy storm of rain, but none fell where the little\nboy was. When the rain was over, the other girls said to the one who\nhad beaten her brother: \u201cLet us go and look after the little boy.\u201d They\nwent and saw he was quite dry. He called to his sister: \u201cYou have\nbeaten me,\u201d but she asked him to forgive her.\n\nThen he said: \u201cI want my father\u2019s house to be here,\u201d and immediately it\ncame.\n\nHe said: \u201cI want the fire of my father to be here,\u201d and there was a\nfire.\n\nHe said to them: \u201cNow go in; although you have beaten me, there is a\nhouse and fire for you.\u201d\n\nHe said afterwards: \u201cI want the cattle of my father to be here,\u201d and at\nonce they were all there.\n\nThat was a nice place, so they remained there ever after.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF SIKULUME.\n\n\nThere was once in a certain village an old man who was very poor. He\nhad no children, and only a few cattle. One day, when the sky was clear\nand the sun was bright, he sat down by the cattle-fold. While he was\nsitting there, he noticed some birds close by which were singing very\njoyfully. He listened for a while, and then he stood up to observe them\nbetter. They were very beautiful to look upon, and they sang\ndifferently from other birds. They had all long tails and topknots on\ntheir heads. Then the old man went to the chief and told him what he\nhad seen.\n\nThe chief said: \u201cHow many were they?\u201d\n\nThe old man replied: \u201cThere were seven.\u201d\n\nThe chief said: \u201cYou have acted wisely in coming to tell me; you shall\nhave seven of the fattest of my cows. I have lost seven sons in battle,\nand these beautiful birds shall be in the place of my seven sons. You\nmust not sleep to-night; you must watch them, and to-morrow I will\nchoose seven boys to catch them. Do not let them out of your sight by\nany means.\u201d\n\nIn the morning the chief ordered all the boys of the village to be\nassembled at the cattle-fold, when he spoke to them of the birds. He\nsaid: \u201cI will choose six of you, and set my son who is dumb, over you,\nthat will make seven in all. You must catch those birds. Wherever they\ngo, you must follow, and you must not see my face again without them.\u201d\nHe gave them weapons, and instructed them that if any one opposed them\nthey were to fight till the last of them died.\n\nThe boys set off to follow those beautiful birds. They chased them for\nseveral days, till at last the birds were exhausted, when each of the\nboys caught one. At the place where they caught the birds they remained\nthat night.\n\nOn the morning of the next day they set out on their return home. That\nevening they came to a hut in which they saw a fire burning, but no one\nwas there. They went in, and lay down to sleep. In the middle of the\nnight one of those boys was awake. He heard some one saying: \u201cThere is\nnice meat here. I will begin with this one, and take this one next, and\nthat one after, and the one with small feet the last.\u201d The one with the\nsmall feet was the son of the chief. His name was Sikulume, for he had\nnever been able to speak till he caught the bird. Then he began to talk\nat once.\n\nAfter saying those words the voice was still. Then the boy awakened his\ncompanions, and told them what he had heard.\n\nThey said: \u201cYou have been dreaming; there is no one here; how can such\na thing be?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI did not dream; I spoke the truth.\u201d\n\nThen they made a plan that one should remain awake, and if anything\nhappened, he should pinch the one next him, and that one should pinch\nthe next, till all were awake.\n\nAfter a while the boy who was listening heard some one come in quietly.\nThat was a cannibal. He said the same words again, and then went out\nfor the purpose of calling his friends to come to the feast. The boy\nawakened his companions according to the plan agreed upon, so that they\nall heard what was said. Therefore, as soon as the cannibal went out,\nthey arose and fled from that place. The cannibal came back with his\nfriends, and when the others saw there was no one in the hut, they\nkilled and ate him.\n\nAs they were going on, Sikulume saw that he had left his bird behind.\nHe stood, and said: \u201cI must return for my bird, my beautiful bird with\nthe long tail and topknot on its head. My father commanded that I must\nnot see his face again unless I bring the bird.\u201d\n\nThe boys said: \u201cTake one of ours. Why should you go where cannibals\nare?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI must have the one that is my own.\u201d\n\nHe stuck his assagai in the ground, and told them to look at it. He\nsaid: \u201cIf it stands still, you will know I am safe; if it shakes, you\nwill know I am running; if it falls down, you will know I am dead.\u201d\nThen he left them to return to the hut of the cannibals.\n\nOn the way he saw an old woman sitting by a big stone. She said: \u201cWhere\nare you going to?\u201d He told her he was going for his bird. The old woman\ngave him some fat, and said: \u201cIf the cannibals pursue you, put some of\nthis on a stone.\u201d\n\nHe came to the hut and got his bird. The cannibals were sitting\noutside, a little way back. They had just finished eating the owner of\nthe hut. When Sikulume came out with his bird they saw him and ran\nafter him. They were close to him, when he took some of the fat and\nthrew it on a stone. The cannibals came to the stone, and began to\nfight with each other.\n\nOne said: \u201cThe stone is mine.\u201d\n\nAnother said: \u201cIt is mine.\u201d\n\nOne of them swallowed the stone. When the others saw that, they killed\nhim and ate him. Then they pursued again after Sikulume. They came\nclose to him again, when he threw the remainder of the fat on another\nstone. The cannibals fought for this also. One swallowed it, and was\nkilled by the others.\n\nThey followed still, and Sikulume was almost in their hands, when he\nthrew off his mantle. The mantle commenced to run another way, and the\ncannibals ran after it. It was so long before they caught it that the\nyoung chief had time to reach his companions.\n\nThey all went on their way, but very soon they saw the cannibals coming\nafter them. Then they observed a little man sitting by a big stone.\n\nHe said to them: \u201cI can turn this stone into a hut.\u201d\n\nThey replied: \u201cDo so.\u201d\n\nHe turned the stone into a hut, and they all went inside, the little\nman with them. They played the \u201ciceya\u201d there. The cannibals came to the\nplace and smelt. They thought the hut was still a stone, for it looked\nlike a stone to them. They began to bite it, and bit till all their\nteeth were broken, when they returned to their own village.\n\nAfter this, the boys and the little man came out.\n\nThe boys went on. When they reached their own home they saw no people,\ntill at length an old woman crept out of a heap of ashes. She was very\nmuch frightened, and said to them: \u201cI thought there were no people\nleft.\u201d\n\nSikulume said: \u201cWhere is my father?\u201d\n\nShe replied: \u201cAll the people have been swallowed by the inabulele\u201d (a\nfabulous monster).\n\nHe said: \u201cWhere did it go to?\u201d\n\nThe old woman replied: \u201cIt went to the river.\u201d\n\nSo those boys went to the river, and Sikulume said to them: \u201cI will go\ninto the water, and take an assagai with me. If the water moves much,\nyou will know I am in the stomach of the inabulele; if the water is\nred, you will know I have killed it.\u201d Then he threw himself into the\nwater and went down.\n\nThe inabulele swallowed him without tearing him or hurting him. He saw\nhis father and his mother and many people and cattle. Then he took his\nassagai and pierced the inabulele from inside. The water moved till the\ninabulele was dead, then it became red. When the young men saw that,\nthey cut a big hole in the side of the inabulele, and all the people\nand the cattle were delivered.\n\nOne day Sikulume said to another boy: \u201cI am going to the doctor\u2019s; tell\nmy sister to cook food for me, nice food that I may eat.\u201d This was\ndone.\n\nHe said to his sister: \u201cBring me of the skin of the inabulele which I\nkilled, to make a mantle.\u201d She called her companions, and they went to\nthe side of the river. She sang this song:\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cInabulele,\n    Inabulele,\n    I am sent for you\n    By Sikulume,\n    Inabulele.\u201d\n\n\nThe body of the inabulele then came out. She cut two little pieces of\nthe skin for sandals, and a large piece to make a mantle for her\nbrother.\n\nWhen he was a young man, Sikulume said to his friends: \u201cI am going to\nmarry the daughter of Mangangezulu.\u201d\n\nThey replied: \u201cYou must not go there, for at Mangangezulu\u2019s you will be\nkilled.\u201d\n\nHe said: \u201cI will go.\u201d\n\nThen he called those young men who were his chosen friends to accompany\nhim. On the way they came to a place where the grass was long. A mouse\ncame out of the grass, and asked Sikulume where he was going to.\n\nHe replied: \u201cI am going to the place of Mangangezulu.\u201d\n\nThe mouse sang this song:\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cTurn back, turn back, Sikulume.\n    No one ever leaves the place of Mangangezulu.\n    Turn back, turn back, O chief.\u201d\n\n\nSikulume replied: \u201cI shall not turn back.\u201d\n\nThe mouse then said: \u201cAs it is so, you must kill me and throw my skin\nup in the air.\u201d\n\nHe did so.\n\nThe skin said: \u201cYou must not enter by the front of the village; you\nmust not eat off a new mat; you must not sleep in a hut which has\nnothing in it.\u201d\n\nThey arrived at the village of Mangangezulu. They entered it from the\nwrong side, so that all the people said: \u201cWhy is this?\u201d\n\nThey replied: \u201cIt is our custom.\u201d\n\nFood was brought to them on a new mat, but they said: \u201cIt is our custom\nto eat off old mats only.\u201d\n\nAn empty hut was given to them to sleep in, but they said: \u201cIt is our\ncustom only to sleep in a hut that has things in it.\u201d\n\nThe next day the chief said to Sikulume and his companions: \u201cYou must\ngo and tend the cattle.\u201d\n\nThey went. A storm of rain fell, when Sikulume spread out his mantle\nand it became a hut as hard as stone, into which they all went. In the\nevening they returned with the cattle. The daughter of Mangangezulu\ncame to them. Her mother pressed her foot in the footprint of Sikulume,\nand he became an eland.\n\nThe girl loved the young chief very much. When she saw he was turned\ninto an eland, she made a great fire and drove him into it. Then he was\nburned, and became a little coal. She took the coal out and put it in a\npot of water, when it became a young man again.\n\nAfterwards they left that place. The girl took with her an egg, a\nmilksack, a pot, and a smooth stone. The father of the girl pursued\nthem.\n\nThe girl threw down the egg, and it became a mist. Her father wandered\nabout in the mist a long time, till at length it cleared away. Then he\npursued again.\n\nShe threw down the milksack, and it became a sheet of water. Her father\ntried to get rid of the water by dipping it up with a calabash, but he\ncould not succeed, so he was compelled to wait till it dried up. He\nfollowed still.\n\nThe girl threw down the pot, and it became thick darkness. He waited a\nlong time till light came again, when he followed them. He could travel\nvery quickly.\n\nHe came close to them, and then the girl threw down the smooth stone.\nIt became a rock, a big rock with one side steep like a wall. He could\nnot climb up that rock, and so he returned to his own village.\n\nThen Sikulume went home with his wife. He said to the people: \u201cThis is\nthe daughter of Mangangezulu. You advised me not to go there, lest I\nshould be killed. Here is my wife.\u201d\n\nAfter that he became a great chief. All the people said: \u201cThere is no\nchief that can do such things as Sikulume.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF HLAKANYANA.\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a village with many women in it. All the\nwomen had children at the same time except the wife of the chief. The\nchildren grew, and again all the women gave birth to others. Only the\nwife of the chief had no child. Then the people said: \u201cLet us kill an\nox, perhaps the wife of the chief will then bear a child.\u201d\n\nWhile they were killing the ox, the woman heard a voice saying: \u201cBear\nme, mother, before the meat of my father is all finished.\u201d\n\nThe woman did not pay any attention to that, thinking it was a ringing\nin her ears. The voice said again: \u201cBear me, mother, before the meat of\nmy father is all finished.\u201d\n\nThe woman took a small piece of wood and cleaned her ears. She heard\nthat voice again. Then she became excited. She said: \u201cThere is\nsomething in my ears; I would like to know what it is. I have just now\ncleaned my ears.\u201d\n\nThe voice said again: \u201cMake haste and bear me, mother, before the meat\nof my father is all finished.\u201d\n\nThe woman said: \u201cWhat is this? there was never a child that could speak\nbefore it was born.\u201d\n\nThe voice said again: \u201cBear me, mother, as all my father\u2019s cattle are\nbeing finished, and I have not yet eaten anything of them.\u201d Then the\nwoman gave birth to that child.\n\nWhen she saw that to which she had given birth, she was very much\nastonished. It was a boy, but in size very little, and with a face that\nlooked like that of an old person.\n\nHe said to his mother: \u201cMother, give me a skin robe.\u201d His mother gave\nhim a robe. Then he went at once to the kraal where the ox was being\nkilled.\n\nHe asked for some meat, saying: \u201cFather, father, give me a piece of\nmeat.\u201d\n\nThe chief was astonished to hear this child calling him father. He\nsaid: \u201cOh, men, what thing is this that calls me father?\u201d So he\ncontinued with the skinning of the ox. But Hlakanyana continued also in\nasking meat from him. The chief became very angry, and pushed him, and\nsaid: \u201cGet away from this place.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana answered: \u201cI am your child, give me meat.\u201d\n\nThe chief took a little stick, and said: \u201cIf you trouble me again, I\nwill strike you with this.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cGive me meat first, and I will go away;\u201d but the\nchief would not answer, because he was very angry.\n\nHlakanyana continued asking. Then the chief threw him outside the\nkraal, and went on with his work. After a little time, the child\nreturned, still asking.\n\nSo the chief said to the men that were with him: \u201cWhat strange thing is\nthis?\u201d\n\nThe men replied: \u201cWe don\u2019t know him at all.\u201d\n\nThe chief asked of them also advice, saying: \u201cWhat shall I do?\u201d\n\nThe men replied: \u201cGive him a piece of meat.\u201d\n\nSo the chief cut off a piece of meat and gave it to him. Hlakanyana ran\nto his mother and gave the meat to her to be cooked.\n\nThen he returned to his father, and said again: \u201cFather, give me some\nmeat.\u201d\n\nThe chief just took him and trampled upon him, and threw him outside of\nthe kraal, thinking that he was dead.\n\nBut he rose again and returned to his father, still saying: \u201cFather,\ngive me some meat.\u201d\n\nThen the chief thought to get rid of him by giving him meat again. The\nchief gave him a piece of liver. Hlakanyana threw it away. Fat was then\ngiven to him. He put it down on one side. Flesh was then given to him,\nand a bone with much marrow in it.\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cI am a man to-day.\u201d He said: \u201cThis is the beginning\nof my father\u2019s cattle.\u201d\n\nAt this time the men were saying to each other: \u201cWho will carry the\nmeat to our huts?\u201d\n\nHlakanyana answered: \u201cI will do it.\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cHow can such a thing as you are carry meat?\u201d\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cI am stronger than you; just see if you can lift\nthis piece of meat.\u201d\n\nThe men tried, but could not lift it. Then Hlakanyana took the piece of\nmeat and carried it out of the kraal. The men said: \u201cThat will do now,\ncarry our meat for us.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana took the meat and carried it to the house of his mother. He\ntook blood and put it on the eating mats at the houses of the men. The\nmen went to their houses, and said: \u201cWhere is our meat?\u201d They called\nHlakanyana, and asked him what he had done with the meat.\n\nHe replied: \u201cSurely I put it here where the blood is. It must have been\ntaken by the dogs. Surely the dogs have eaten it.\u201d\n\nThen those men beat the women and children because they did not watch\nthat the dogs did not take the meat. As for Hlakanyana, he only\ndelighted in this trick of his. He was more cunning than any of the old\nmen.\n\nHlakanyana said to his mother, that she must put the meat in the pot to\ncook, but that it must not be eaten before the next morning. It was\ndone. In the night this cunning little fellow rose and went to the pot.\nHis mother heard something at the pot, and struck with a stick.\nHlakanyana cried like a dog. His mother said: \u201cSurely a dog is eating\nthe meat.\u201d Hlakanyana returned afterwards, and left nothing but bones\nin the pot. In the morning he asked his mother for meat. His mother\nwent to the pot, and found nothing but bones. The cunning little fellow\npretended to be astonished.\n\nHe said: \u201cWhere is the meat, mother?\u201d\n\nHis mother replied: \u201cIt has been eaten by a dog.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cAs that is so, give me the bones, for you who are the\nwife of the chief will not eat from the same pot with a dog.\u201d\n\nHis mother gave him the bones.\n\nHlakanyana went to sleep in the same house with the boys. The boys were\nunwilling to let him sleep with them. They laughed at him.\n\nThey said: \u201cWho are you? You are just a child of a few days.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana answered: \u201cI am older than you.\u201d\n\nHe slept there that night. When the boys were asleep, he got up and\nwent to the cattle kraal. He killed two cows and ate all their insides.\nHe took blood and smeared it on one of the boys who was sleeping. In\nthe morning the men found those two dead cows.\n\nThey said: \u201cWho has done this thing?\u201d\n\nThey found the boy with blood upon him, and killed him, because they\nthought he was the robber.\n\nHlakanyana said within himself: \u201cI told them that I was older than they\nare; to-day it is seen who is a child and who is a man.\u201d\n\nAnother day the father of Hlakanyana killed an ox. The head was put in\na pot to be cooked. Then Hlakanyana considered in his mind how he could\nget that meat. So he drove all the cattle of the village into a forest,\na very thick forest, and tied them by their tails to the trees. After\nthat he cut his arms, and legs, and breast, with a sharp stone, and\nstood on a hill, and cried out with a loud voice: \u201cThe enemy has taken\nour cattle; the cattle are being driven away. Come up, come up; there\nis an army going away with the cattle.\u201d\n\nThe men ran quickly to him.\n\nHe said to them: \u201cWhy are you eating meat while the enemy is going away\nwith the cattle? I was fighting with them; just look at my body.\u201d\n\nThey saw he was covered with blood, and they believed it was as he\nsaid. So the men took their assagais and ran after the cattle, but they\ntook the wrong way. Only one old man and Hlakanyana were left behind.\n\nThen Hlakanyana said to the old man: \u201cI am very tired with fighting;\njust go to the river, grandfather, and get some water.\u201d\n\nThe old man went; and as soon as he was alone, Hlakanyana ate the meat\nwhich was in the pot. When the old man returned with the water he was\nvery tired, for the river was far for an old man to go to, therefore he\nfell asleep. When he was sleeping, Hlakanyana took a bone and put it\nbeside the old man. He also took some fat and put it on the mouth of\nthe old man. Then he ran to the forest and loosened the cattle that\nwere tied by the tails.\n\nAt this time the men were returning from seeking the enemy. Hlakanyana\nwas coming also from the other side with the cattle.\n\nHe shouted: \u201cI have conquered the enemy.\u201d He also said: \u201cThe meat must\nbe eaten now.\u201d\n\nWhen they opened the pot they found no meat. They found only dung, for\nHlakanyana had filled the pot with dung.\n\nThen the men said: \u201cWho has done this?\u201d\n\nHlakanyana answered: \u201cIt must be the old man who is sleeping there.\u201d\n\nThey looked, and saw the bone by the side of the old man, and the fat\non his mouth. Then they said: \u201cThis is the thief.\u201d They were intending\nto kill the old man because he had stolen the meat of the chief.\n\nWhen the children saw that the old man was to be killed, they said that\nhe did not eat the meat of the chief.\n\nThe men said: \u201cWe saw fat on his mouth and a bone beside him.\u201d\n\nThe children replied: \u201cHe did not do it.\u201d\n\nThe men said: \u201cTell us who did it.\u201d\n\nThe children answered: \u201cHlakanyana ate the meat and put dung in the\npot. We were concealed, and we saw him do it.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana denied. He said: \u201cLet me go and ask the women; perhaps they\nsaw who ate the meat of the chief.\u201d\n\nThe men sent a young man with him to the women; but when they were a\nshort distance away, Hlakanyana escaped.\n\nThe chief sent an army after him. The army pursued, and saw Hlakanyana\nsitting by a bush. They ran to catch him. When they came to the bush,\nonly an old woman was sitting there.\n\nThey said to her: \u201cWhere is Hlakanyana?\u201d\n\nThe old woman replied: \u201cHe just went across that river. See, you must\nmake haste to follow him, for the river is rising.\u201d\n\nThe army passed over the river quickly. Then that old woman turned into\nHlakanyana again. He said in himself: \u201cI will now go on a journey, for\nI am wiser than the councillors of my father, I being older than they.\u201d\n\nThe little cunning fellow went to a village, where he saw an old woman\nsitting beside her house.\n\nHe said to her: \u201cWould you like to be made young, grandmother?\u201d\n\nThe old woman replied: \u201cYes, my grandchild; if you could make me young,\nI would be very glad.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cTake that pot, grandmother, and go for some water.\u201d\n\nThe old woman replied: \u201cI cannot walk.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cJust try, grandmother; the river is close by, and\nperhaps you will be able to reach it.\u201d\n\nThe old woman limped along and got the water.\n\nThen Hlakanyana took a large pot and set it on the fire, and poured the\nwater into it.\n\nHe said to the old woman: \u201cYou must cook me a little first, and then I\nwill cook you a little.\u201d\n\nThe old woman agreed to that. Hlakanyana was the first to be put in the\npot. When the water began to get hot, he said: \u201cTake me out,\ngrandmother; I am in long enough.\u201d\n\nThe old woman took him out, and went in the pot for her turn. Soon she\nsaid: \u201cTake me out now, my grandchild; I am in long enough.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cNot yet, grandmother; it is not yet time.\u201d\n\nSo the old woman died in the pot.\n\nHlakanyana took all the bones of the old woman and threw them away. He\nleft only the toes and the fingers. Then he took the clothing of the\nold woman and put it on. The two sons of this old woman came from\nhunting.\n\nThey went into the hut, and said: \u201cWhose meat is this in the pot?\u201d\n\nHlakanyana was lying down. He said in a voice like that of their\nmother: \u201cIt is yours, my sons.\u201d\n\nWhile they were eating, the younger one said: \u201cLook at this, it is like\nthe toe of mother.\u201d\n\nThe elder one said: \u201cHow can you say such a thing? Did not mother give\nus this meat to eat?\u201d\n\nAgain the younger one said: \u201cLook at this, it is like the finger of\nmother.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cYou are speaking evil of me, my son.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said in himself: \u201cI shall be discovered; it is time for me\nto flee.\u201d So he slipped quietly out of the house and went on his way.\nWhen he got a little way off, he called out: \u201cYou are eating your\nmother. Did any one ever see people eating their mother before?\u201d\n\nThe two young men took their assagais and ran after him with their\ndogs. They came to the river; it was full.\n\nThe cunning fellow changed himself into a little round stone. One of\nthe young men picked up this stone, saying: \u201cIf I could see him, I\nwould just throw this stone at him.\u201d The young man threw the stone over\nthe river, and it turned into Hlakanyana again. He just laughed at\nthose young men.\n\nHlakanyana went on his way. He was singing this song:\u2014\n\n\n    Ndahlangana Nonothloya.      I met with Nonothloya.\n    Sapekapekana,                We cooked each other,\n    Ndagwanya,                   I was half cooked,\n    Wapekwa wada wavutwa.        She was well cooked.\n\n\nHlakanyana met a boy tending some goats. The boy had a digging-stick\nwith him. Hlakanyana proposed that they should pursue after birds, and\nthe boy agreed. They pursued birds the whole day.\n\nIn the evening, when the sun set, Hlakanyana said: \u201cIt is time now to\nroast our birds.\u201d\n\nThe place was on the bank of a river.\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cWe must go under the water and see who will come out\nlast.\u201d\n\nThey went under the water, and Hlakanyana came out last.\n\nThe cunning fellow said: \u201cLet us try again.\u201d\n\nThe boy agreed to that. They went under the water. Hlakanyana came out\nquickly and ate all the birds. He left the heads only. Then he went\nunder the water again. The boy came out while he was still under the\nwater.\n\nWhen Hlakanyana came out he said: \u201cLet us go now and eat our birds.\u201d\n\nThey found all the birds eaten.\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cYou have eaten them, because you came out of the\nwater first, and you have left me the heads only.\u201d\n\nThe boy denied having done so, but Hlakanyana said: \u201cYou must pay for\nmy birds with that digging-stick.\u201d\n\nThe boy gave the digging-stick, and Hlakanyana went on his way.\n\nHe saw some people making pots of clay. He said to them: \u201cWhy do you\nnot ask me to lend you this digging-stick, instead of digging with your\nhands?\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cLend it to us.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana lent them the digging-stick. Just the first time they stuck\nit in the clay it broke.\n\nHe said: \u201cYou have broken my digging-stick, the digging-stick that I\nreceived from my companion, my companion who ate my birds and left me\nwith the heads.\u201d\n\nThey gave him a pot.\n\nHlakanyana carried the pot till he came to some boys who were herding\ngoats. He said to them: \u201cYou foolish boys, you only suck the goats, you\ndon\u2019t milk them in any vessel; why don\u2019t you ask me to lend you this\npot?\u201d\n\nThe boys said: \u201cLend it to us.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana lent them the pot. While the boys were milking, the pot\nbroke. Hlakanyana said: \u201cYou have broken my pot, the pot that I\nreceived from the people who make pots, the people who broke my\ndigging-stick, the digging-stick that I received from my companion, my\ncompanion who ate my birds and left me with the heads.\u201d\n\nThe boys gave him a goat.\n\nHlakanyana came to the keepers of calves.\n\nHe said to them: \u201cYou foolish fellows, you only sit here and eat\nnothing. Why don\u2019t you ask me to let you suck this goat?\u201d\n\nThe keepers of calves said: \u201cAllow us to suck this goat.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana gave the goat into their hands. While they were sucking, the\ngoat died.\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cYou have killed my goat, the goat that I received\nfrom the boys that were tending goats, the boys that broke my pot, the\npot that I received from the people who make pots, the people who broke\nmy digging-stick, the digging-stick that I received from my companion,\nmy companion who ate my birds and left me with the heads.\u201d\n\nThey gave him a calf.\n\nHlakanyana came to the keepers of cows.\n\nHe said to them: \u201cYou only suck the cows without letting the calf suck\nfirst. Why don\u2019t you ask me to lend you this calf, that the cows may be\ninduced to give their milk freely?\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cLend us the calf.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana permitted them to take the calf. While the calf was in their\nhands it died.\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cYou have killed my calf, the calf that I received\nfrom the keepers of calves, the keepers of calves that killed my goat,\nthe goat that I received from the boys that were tending goats, the\nboys that broke my pot, the pot that I received from the people who\nmake pots, the people who broke my digging-stick, the digging-stick\nthat I received from my companion, my companion who ate my birds and\nleft me with the heads.\u201d\n\nThey gave him a cow.\n\nHlakanyana continued on his journey. He saw a young man going the same\nway.\n\nHe said: \u201cLet us be companions and travel together.\u201d\n\nThe young man agreed to that. They came to a forest.\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cThis is the place for picking up kerries.\u201d\n\nThey picked up kerries there.\n\nThen they reached another place, and Hlakanyana said: \u201cThis is the\nplace for throwing away kerries.\u201d\n\nThey threw the kerries away.\n\nAgain they came to another place, and Hlakanyana said: \u201cThis is the\nplace for throwing away spoons.\u201d\n\nThe companion of Hlakanyana threw his spoon away, but the cunning\nlittle fellow only pretended to throw his away. In fact, he concealed\nhis spoon. They went on.\n\nThey came to another place, and Hlakanyana said: \u201cThis is the place for\nthrowing knives away.\u201d\n\nIt happened again as with the spoons. Hlakanyana concealed his knife,\nwhen his companion threw his away.\n\nThey came to a certain place, and Hlakanyana said: \u201cThis is the place\nfor throwing away izilanda\u201d (awls used to make holes in skins when they\nare sewed together, and also for taking thorns out of the bare feet and\nlegs of pedestrians).\n\nHis companion threw his isilanda away, but Hlakanyana kept his. They\nwent on and reached a place where they had to walk on thorns.\nAfterwards they looked at their feet, and saw many thorns in them.\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cLet us sit down and take out the thorns.\u201d\n\nHis companion replied: \u201cI cannot do so, because I have no isilanda.\u201d\n\nThen Hlakanyana took the thorns out of his feet, and the other was\nobliged to walk lame. They came to a village.\n\nThe people said to them: \u201cTell us the news.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cJust give us something to eat first; look at our\nstomachs and behold the pinchings of hunger.\u201d\n\nThe people of that village brought meat.\n\nHlakanyana said to his companion: \u201cNow let us eat.\u201d\n\nThe companion of Hlakanyana answered: \u201cI have no knife.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cYou are just a child; I shall not lend you my knife.\u201d\n\nThe people of that village brought millet and put before them.\n\nHlakanyana said to his companion: \u201cWhy do you not eat?\u201d\n\nHe answered: \u201cI have no spoon.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cYou are just a child; I shall not lend you my spoon.\u201d\n\nSo Hlakanyana had all the meat and the millet to himself.\n\nHlakanyana met a girl herding some goats.\n\nHe said: \u201cWhere are the boys of your village, that the goats are herded\nby a girl?\u201d\n\nThe girl answered: \u201cThere are no boys in the village.\u201d\n\nHe went to the father of the girl and said: \u201cYou must give me your\ndaughter to be my concubine, and I will herd the goats.\u201d\n\nThe father of the girl agreed to that. Then Hlakanyana went with the\ngoats, and every day he killed one and ate it till all were done. He\nscratched his body with thorns.\n\nThe father of the girl said: \u201cWhere are all the goats?\u201d\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cCan you not see how I have been fighting with the\nwild dogs? The wild dogs have eaten the goats. As for me, I will stay\nhere no longer.\u201d\n\nSo he went on his way.\n\nAs he was going on, he saw a trap for catching birds. There were some\nbirds in it. Hlakanyana took the birds out and ate them. The owners of\nthe trap were cannibals. They saw the footprints of Hlakanyana, and\nsaid: \u201cThis is a little boy that is stealing our birds.\u201d They watched\nfor him. Hlakanyana came again to the trap and saw a bird caught in it.\nHe was just going to take the bird out when the cannibals caught him.\nThey made a big fire and put a pot on for the purpose of cooking him.\nHlakanyana saw two oxen. One was white, the other was red.\n\nHe said to the cannibals: \u201cYou can take which one of these oxen you\nlike instead of me.\u201d\n\nThe cannibals said: \u201cWe will take the white one, because it is white\ninside also.\u201d\n\nThen Hlakanyana went away with the red ox. The cannibals ate the white\nox, and then pursued after Hlakanyana. They came up to him by a big\nstone. He jumped on the stone, and sang this song:\u2014\n\n\n    Ndahamba ndayakuva indaba,      I went to hear the news,\n    Zemvula ku mankazana.           About rain from the girls.\n\n\nThe cannibals began to dance when they heard him sing. Then he ran\naway, and the stone continued to sing that song.\n\nAs he was journeying, Hlakanyana came to a place where some baboons\nwere feasting. He asked them for some food.\n\nThe baboons replied: \u201cIf you will go for some water for us, we will\ngive you food.\u201d\n\nHe agreed to that. When he returned with the water, the baboons refused\nto give him food. Then Hlakanyana shouted loudly and said: \u201cAt my\nvillage there is a marriage of baboons to-day.\u201d\n\nWhen the baboons heard that they fled, old and young. So Hlakanyana\nremained there, and ate all the food.\n\nAs he was going along, he saw a hyena building a house, having cooked\nsome meat. Hlakanyana asked the hyena to give him some.\n\nThe hyena said: \u201cNo, I will not give you any; it is too little even for\nme.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cWill you not have me to assist in building?\u201d\n\nThe hyena replied: \u201cI would have you without delay if you are intending\nto help me.\u201d\n\nWhile they were fastening the thatch, Hlakanyana sewed the hair of the\ntail of the hyena fast. Then he took the pot and sat down.\n\nThe hyena said: \u201cLet that pot alone, Hlakanyana.\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI am going to eat now.\u201d\n\nThe hyena wanted to come down, but he found his tail was fast.\nHlakanyana ate all the meat, and threw the bones at the hyena. The\nhyena tried to frighten him by saying there were many hyenas coming\nquickly to devour him. He just answered: \u201cThat is false;\u201d and continued\neating till the meat was finished. Then he went on his way.\n\nHlakanyana came to a river. He saw an iguana that was playing on an\nugwali (a simple musical instrument).\n\nHlakanyana said to the iguana: \u201cLend me your ugwali for a little,\nplease.\u201d\n\nThe iguana said: \u201cNo, you will run away with my ugwali.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cHow can I run away with a thing that is not mine?\u201d\n\nSo the iguana lent him the ugwali. When Hlakanyana saw that he could\nplay upon the instrument nicely, he ran away with it. The iguana\npursued him. Then Hlakanyana changed himself into a rush. The iguana\ntook that rush and threw it across the river, saying: \u201cIf I could only\nsee him, I would throw him like this.\u201d Then the rush turned to be\nHlakanyana again, and he went on his way playing on the ugwali of the\niguana.\n\nHlakanyana came to the house of a leopardess. He proposed to take care\nof her children while the leopardess went to hunt animals. The\nleopardess agreed to that. There were four cubs. After the leopardess\nhad gone to hunt, Hlakanyana took one of the cubs and ate it.\n\nAt the time for giving food, the leopardess came back and said: \u201cGive\nme my children that I may suckle them.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana gave one.\n\nThe mother said: \u201cGive all at once.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cIt is better that one should drink and then\nanother.\u201d\n\nThe leopardess agreed to that. After three had drunk he gave the first\none back the second time. Then the leopardess went to hunt again.\n\nHlakanyana took another of the cubs and ate it. He also made the door\nof the house very small so that the mother of the cubs could not come\nin, and then he made a little hole in the ground at the back so that he\ncould go out. The next day the leopardess came to give her children\nsuck. There were only two left now. Hlakanyana gave them both back the\nsecond time. After that the leopardess went away as before.\n\nHlakanyana ate another of the cubs, so that only one was left. When the\nmother came, he gave this one four times. When he gave it the last time\nthe leopardess said: \u201cWhy does my child not drink to-day?\u201d It was\nalready full, and did not want to drink more.\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cI think this one is sick.\u201d\n\nThe mother said: \u201cYou must take good care of it.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana promised to do so, but when the leopardess was gone he ate\nthat one also.\n\nThe next day when the leopardess came there was no cub left to give\nher. She tried to get in the house, but the door was too small. She sat\ndown in front to watch. Then Hlakanyana went out through the hole he\nhad made in the ground behind. The leopardess saw him and ran after\nhim. He went under a big rock, and cried out loudly for help, saying\nthe rock was falling.\n\nThe leopardess said: \u201cWhat is that you are saying?\u201d\n\nHlakanyana replied: \u201cDo you not see that this rock is falling? Just\nhold it up while I get a prop and put under it.\u201d\n\nThe leopardess went to hold the rock up, and Hlakanyana did not return.\nHe just ran away from that place.\n\nHlakanyana came to the village of the animals. The animals had trees\nthat bore fruit. There was one tree that belonged to the chief of the\nanimals only. This tree was a very good one, bearing much fruit on it.\nOne day when all the animals were assembled, Hlakanyana asked them the\nname of the tree of the chief. They did not know the name of that tree.\nThen Hlakanyana sent a monkey to the chief to ask the name of the tree.\nThe chief told the monkey. As the monkey was returning, he struck his\nfoot against a stone and fell down, which caused him to forget the name\nof the tree.\n\nIn the night when all were sleeping, Hlakanyana went up the tree of the\nchief and ate all the fruit of it. He took a branch of the tree and\nfastened it to one of the monkeys. In the morning when the animals\nawoke and found that the tree of the chief was finished in the night,\nthey asked each other: \u201cWhat became of the fruit of the chiefs tree?\nWhat became of the fruit of the tree of the chief?\u201d\n\nHlakanyana looked at the monkey with the branch on him, and said: \u201cIt\nis eaten by the monkey, it is eaten by the monkey; look at the branch\non him.\u201d\n\nThe monkey denied, and said: \u201cI don\u2019t know anything about it. I never\nate the fruit of the tree of the chief.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cLet us make a plan to find out who ate the fruit of\nthe tree of the chief.\u201d\n\nAll the animals agreed to this.\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cLet us put a rope from one rock to another, and let\nall go over it. He that has eaten the fruit of the tree will fall down\nfrom that rope.\u201d\n\nOne of the monkeys went over first. The next was Hlakanyana himself. He\nwent over carefully and avoided falling. It came to the turn of that\nmonkey with the branch on. He tried to go, but when he was in the\nmiddle he fell down.\n\nHlakanyana said therefore: \u201cI have told you that it is this monkey.\u201d\n\nAfter that he went on his way.\n\nHlakanyana came to the house of a jackal. He asked for food, but the\njackal said there was none. Then he made a plan.\n\nHe said to the jackal: \u201cYou must climb up on the house and cry out with\na loud voice, \u2018We are going to be fat to-day because Hlakanyana is\ndead\u2019\u201d\n\nThe jackal did so. All the animals came running to hear that news. They\nwent inside the house, because the door was open. Then Hlakanyana shut\nthe door, and the animals were caught. After that Hlakanyana killed the\nanimals and ate.\n\nHlakanyana returned to the home of his father again. He was told that\nhis sister was gone away for some red clay. When she was returning he\nshouted: \u201cLet all the black cattle which have white teeth be killed.\nThe daughter of my father is coming who has white teeth.\u201d\n\nThe chief said: \u201cWhat is the matter with you, Hlakanyana?\u201d\n\nHe just repeated the same thing.\n\nThe chief said: \u201cLet a black ox be killed, but you must not break any\nof its bones, because it belongs to the daughter of a chief.\u201d\n\nSo Hlakanyana got fat meat to eat that day.\n\nHlakanyana went one day to tend the calves of his father. He met a\ntortoise.\n\nHe said: \u201cWhere are you going to, tortoise?\u201d\n\nThe tortoise answered: \u201cTo that big stone.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana said: \u201cAre you not tired?\u201d\n\nThe tortoise replied: \u201cNo, I am not tired.\u201d\n\nHlakanyana took it and put it on his back. Then he went to the house of\nhis mother.\n\nHis mother said: \u201cWhat have you got there, my son?\u201d\n\nHlakanyana answered: \u201cJust take it off my back, mother.\u201d\n\nThe tortoise held fast to Hlakanyana, and would not be pulled off. His\nmother then heated some fat and poured on the tortoise. The tortoise\nlet go quickly, and the fat fell on Hlakanyana and burnt him, so that\nhe died. That is the end of this cunning little fellow.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF DEMANE AND DEMAZANA.\n\n\nOnce upon a time a brother and sister, who were twins and orphans, were\nobliged on account of ill usage to run away from their relatives. The\nboy\u2019s name was Demane, the girl\u2019s Demazana.\n\nThey went to live in a cave that had two holes to let in air and light,\nthe entrance to which was protected by a very strong door, with a\nfastening inside. Demane went out hunting by day, and told his sister\nthat she was not to roast any meat while he was absent, lest the\ncannibals should discover their retreat by the smell. The girl would\nhave been quite safe if she had done as her brother commanded. But she\nwas wayward, and one day she took some buffalo meat and put it on a\nfire to roast.\n\nA cannibal smelt the flesh cooking, and went to the cave, but found the\ndoor fastened. So he tried to imitate Demane\u2019s voice, and asked to be\nadmitted, singing this song:\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cDemazana, Demazana,\n    Child of my mother,\n    Open this cave to me.\n    The swallows can enter it.\n    It has two apertures.\u201d\n\n\nDemazana said: \u201cNo. You are not my brother; your voice is not like\nhis.\u201d\n\nThe cannibal went away, but after a little time came back again, and\nspoke in another tone of voice: \u201cDo let me in, my sister.\u201d\n\nThe girl answered: \u201cGo away, you cannibal; your voice is hoarse, you\nare not my brother.\u201d\n\nSo he went away and consulted with another cannibal. He said: \u201cWhat\nmust I do to obtain what I desire?\u201d\n\nHe was afraid to tell what his desire was, lest the other cannibal\nshould want a share of the girl.\n\nHis friend said: \u201cYou must burn your throat with a hot iron.\u201d\n\nHe did so, and then no longer spoke hoarse. Again he presented himself\nbefore the door of the cave, and sang,\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cDemazana, Demazana,\n    Child of my mother,\n    Open this cave to me.\n    The swallows can enter it.\n    It has two apertures.\u201d\n\n\nThe girl was deceived. She believed him to be her brother come back\nfrom hunting, so she opened the door. The cannibal went in and seized\nher.\n\nAs she was being carried away, she dropped some ashes here and there\nalong the path. Soon after this, Demane, who had taken nothing that day\nbut a swarm of bees, returned and found his sister gone. He guessed\nwhat had happened, and followed the path by means of the ashes until he\ncame to Zim\u2019s dwelling. The cannibal\u2019s family were out gathering\nfirewood, but he was at home, and had just put Demazana in a big bag,\nwhere he intended to keep her till the fire was made.\n\nDemane said: \u201cGive me water to drink, father.\u201d\n\nZim replied: \u201cI will, if you will promise not to touch my bag.\u201d\n\nDemane promised. Then Zim went to get some water; and while he was\naway, Demane took his sister out of the bag, and put the bees in it,\nafter which they both concealed themselves.\n\nWhen Zim came with the water, his wife and son and daughter came also\nwith firewood.\n\nHe said to his daughter: \u201cThere is something nice in the bag; go bring\nit.\u201d\n\nShe went, but the bees stung her hand, and she called out: \u201cIt is\nbiting.\u201d\n\nHe sent his son, and afterwards his wife, but the result was the same.\nThen he became angry, and drove them outside, and having put a block of\nwood in the doorway, he opened the bag himself. The bees swarmed out\nand stung his head, particularly his eyes, so that he could not see.\n\nThere was a little hole in the thatch, and through this he forced his\nway. He jumped about, howling with pain. Then he ran and fell headlong\ninto a pond, where his head stuck fast in the mud, and he became a\nblock of wood like the stump of a tree. The bees made their home in the\nstump, but no one could get their honey, because, when any one tried,\nhis hand stuck fast.\n\nDemane and Demazana then took all Zim\u2019s possessions, which were very\ngreat, and they became wealthy people.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE RUNAWAY CHILDREN; OR, THE WONDERFUL FEATHER.\n\n\nOnce in a time of famine a woman left her home and went to live in a\ndistant village, where she became a cannibal. She had one son, whose\nname was Magoda. She ate all the people in that village, until only\nherself and Magoda remained. Then she was compelled to hunt animals,\nbut she caught people still when she could. In hunting she learned to\nbe very swift of foot, and could run so fast that nothing she pursued\ncould escape from her.\n\nHer brother, who remained at home when she left, had two daughters,\nwhom he did not treat very kindly. One day he sent them to the river\nfor water, which they were to carry in two pots. These pots were made\nof clay, and were the nicest and most valuable in the village. One of\nthe girls fell down on a rock and broke the pot she was carrying. Then\nshe did not know what to do, because she was afraid to go back to her\nfather. She sat down and cried, but that did not help, the pot would\nnot be whole again.\n\nThen she said to her sister: \u201cLet us go away to another place, where\nour father will not be able to find us.\u201d\n\nShe was the younger and the cleverer of the two, and so she persuaded\nher sister. They walked away in the opposite direction from their home,\nand for two days had nothing but gum to eat. Then they saw a fire at a\ndistance, and went to it, where they saw a house. It was the house of\ntheir aunt, but they did not know it. They were afraid to go in, but\nMagoda came out and talked to them. When he heard who they were, he was\nsorry for them, and told them their aunt was a cannibal, giving them\nadvice not to stay there. But just then they heard her coming, so they\nwent into Magoda\u2019s house and hid themselves, for he lived in one house\nand his mother in another.\n\nThe woman came and said: \u201cI smell something nice; what is it, my son?\u201d\n\nMagoda said there was nothing.\n\nShe replied: \u201cSurely I smell fat children.\u201d\n\nBut as she did not go in, they remained concealed that night.\n\nThe next morning Nomagoda (so called because she was the mother of\nMagoda) went out to hunt, but she did not go far, so the children could\nnot get away. They went into her house, where they saw a person with\nonly one arm, one side, and one leg.\n\nThe person said to them: \u201cSee, the cannibal has eaten the rest of me;\ntake care of yourselves.\u201d\n\nWhen it was nearly dark, Nomagoda came home again, bringing some\nanimals which she had killed. She smelt that children had been in the\nhouse, so she went to her son\u2019s house and looked in.\n\nShe said to Magoda: \u201cWhy do you not give me some? Do I not catch\nanimals for you?\u201d\n\nThen she saw the children, and was very glad. She took them to her\nhouse, and told them to sleep. They lay down, but were too frightened\nto close their eyes. They heard their aunt say, \u201cAxe, be sharp; axe, be\nsharp;\u201d and to let her know that they were awake, they spoke of vermin\nbiting them.\n\nAfter a while the cannibal went to sleep, when they crept out, first\nputting two blocks of wood in their places, and ran away as fast as\nthey could. When Nomagoda awoke, she took the axe and went to kill\nthem, but the axe fell on the blocks of wood.\n\nAs soon as it was day, the cannibal pursued the children. They looked\nbehind, and saw clouds of dust which she made as she ran. There was a\ntall tree just in front of them, so they hastened to climb up it, and\nsat down among the branches. Nomagoda came to the tree and commenced to\ncut it down; but when a chip fell out, a bird (Ntengu) sang\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cNtengu, ntengu,\n    Chips, return to your places,\n    Chips, return to your places,\n    Chips, be fast.\u201d\n\n\nThe chip then went back to its place and was fast again. This happened\nthree times; but Nomagoda, who was very angry, caught the bird and\nswallowed it. When she put it in her mouth, one of the feathers dropped\nto the ground. Then she began to chop at the tree again; but as soon as\na chip was loose the feather sang\u2014\n\n\n   \u201cNtengu, ntengu,\n    Chips, return to your places,\n    Chips, return to your places,\n    Chips, be fast\u201d\n\n\nThe chip then stuck fast again. The cannibal chopped till she was\ntired, but the feather continued to keep the tree from receiving harm.\nThen she tried to catch the feather, but it flew about too quickly for\nher, until she sank down exhausted on the ground at the foot of the\ntree.\n\nThe children, up in the branches, could see a long way off; and as they\nstrained their eyes, they observed three dogs as big as calves, and\nthey knew these dogs belonged to their father, who was seeking for\nthem. So they called them by name, and the dogs came running to the\ntree and ate up the cannibal, who was too tired to make her escape.\n\nThus the children were delivered, and their father was so glad to get\nthem back again that he forgave them for breaking the pot and running\naway.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF IRONSIDE AND HIS SISTER.\n\n\nA long time ago a woman who went to cultivate her garden took her\nlittle daughter with her, and before she began to hoe the ground she\nlaid the child down in the shade of a tree. About midday there came two\nbirds and flew away with the girl. They carried her across a great\nriver, and laid her gently down in a pumpkin field on a plain.\n\nAs the birds were carrying her away, she called to her mother, who took\nno notice of her cries, because she could not imagine her child was\nbeing carried away. In the afternoon the girl was missing, and her\nmother searched for her without success. She made inquiries of the\nneighbours, and some of them told her they had heard the child crying,\n\u201cI am going away with the birds.\u201d\n\nThe plain on which the little girl was put down was near a town in\nwhich lived a nation of cannibals who had one leg much longer than the\nother. There she remained alone till the next day.\n\nThat night the chief of the cannibals dreamed that he saw a very pretty\ngirl in that place; so in the morning he sent a party of men to look\nfor her. When the girl saw them coming she was afraid, and hid herself\namong the pumpkins. But the men had already noticed where she was, so\nthey easily found her, and took her home with them.\n\nThe chief was very much pleased with her appearance. He gave her to his\nmother to take care of, and when she grew up he took her to be his\nwife.\n\nAfterwards she had two children, one very pretty, and with two legs\nlike her own; the other ugly, and like its father, with one leg longer\nthan the other. The cannibals saw the advantage of having two legs of\nequal length, and they became jealous of the woman and her child. They\ntold the chief it would be dangerous to allow the child to grow up,\nbecause then a nation stronger than themselves might arise. They\npersuaded him to consent to her being put to death, and then they\nrejoiced greatly, because she was very fat, and they intended to eat\nher; but one of them, who had more compassion than the others, told the\nwoman what they were about to do.\n\nAfter the little girl had been taken away by the birds, her mother had\na son, one of whose sides was flesh like other people\u2019s, and the other\nside was iron. His mother told him of his sister who was lost, and when\nhe became a man he determined to go in search of her.\n\nIn his journey he came to a great river full of water. He had an iron\nrod in his hand, with which he struck the water, and at the same time\nhe called out with a loud voice: \u201cRiver, I have no sister. Be empty.\u201d\n\nThen the river dried up, and he went safely across.\n\nAfter this he came to the stream where the cannibals drew their water,\nand concealed himself among the reeds which grew on its banks. While\nthere his sister came to get water, and he at once knew who she was.\nShe, of course, did not know him, but he told her he was her brother.\nThen she said the cannibals would eat him if he went to their town\nwithout an introduction. So they arranged that he should smear himself\nwith mud and go to the top of a high hill, and when he was coming down\nshe would tell the cannibals who he was.\n\nIronside went on the hill, and as soon as he came in sight of the town,\nhis sister said: \u201cThere is the servant of the wife of the chief of the\ncannibals.\u201d These words she repeated twice.\n\nWhen Ironside reached the town, a mat was brought to him and spread in\nfront of his sister\u2019s house; but after a time he was allowed to go\ninside, still covered with mud.\n\nThe next day they all went to hunt, and Ironside killed more game than\nthe others, upon which they became envious of him. This was shortly\nbefore the cannibals agreed to kill and eat the daughter of their\nchief. When the one who had compassion made known what was about to be\ndone, Ironside was present and heard what was told. He said to his\nsister that she must pluck the hair from her head and scatter it about\nin different directions. This she did, after which Ironside and his\nsister and her child left the town in haste.\n\nThe cannibals came, and when they could not find the child they called\nher loudly by name. Then the tufts of hair all answered in her voice,\nand the seekers became confused.\n\nIronside and his companions, having two legs, could walk much quicker\nthan the cannibals, and soon they were on the other side of the large\nriver. The child trembled, and was very much frightened; but Ironside\ntold her not to fear at all. After they had crossed, Ironside struck\nthe river with his iron rod, and said: \u201cRiver, I have found my sister.\nBe full.\u201d Then the water rose very high, quite to the top of the banks.\n\nA party of cannibals who were in pursuit came to the river after it was\nfull, and Ironside made a long rope, and threw the end over to them.\nThey caught hold of it, thinking that he would pull them across; but\nwhen they were in the middle of the river he let go the rope, and they\nwere all drowned. Another party then came and asked where their\ncompanions were. Ironside said they had gone to a ford further down;\nbut they knew that was not true, so they returned home. Afterwards they\ndiscovered who it was that gave warning of their intentions, and they\nkilled and ate that one.\n\nIronside took his sister home to her mother, who received her with the\ngreatest joy, never having forgotten her during that long time.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE CANNIBAL\u2019S WONDERFUL BIRD.\n\n\nA number of girls once went away from their homes early in the morning\nfor the purpose of getting imbola (the red clay with which they colour\ntheir bodies and clothes). Among them was the daughter of a chief, a\nvery pretty girl. After they had collected the imbola, they were about\nto return home, when one of them proposed that they should bathe in a\nlarge pool of water that was there. To this they all agreed, and so\nthey went into the water and played about in it for a long time. At\nlast they dressed themselves again, and set out for home; but when they\nhad gone some distance, the chief\u2019s daughter noticed that she had\nforgotten one of her ornaments, which she had taken off when they went\nto bathe. So she asked her cousin to return with her to get it. The\ncousin refused. Then she asked another girl, and another, but one and\nall refused to go back. She was thus obliged to return to the water\nalone, while the other girls went home.\n\nOn arriving at the pool, a big ugly cannibal with only one leg came up\nto her, caught her, and put her in his bag. She was so frightened that\nshe lay quite still. The cannibal then took her round to the different\nvillages and made her sing for him. He called her his bird. When he\ncame to a village he asked for meat, and when it was given to him he\nsaid: \u201cSing, my bird.\u201d But he would never open the bag so that any one\ncould see what sort of a bird he had.\n\nWhen the girls reached home, they told the chief that his daughter had\nreached the age of ntonjane, and they selected one of themselves and\nshut her up in a hut. The chief believed that story, and so he killed a\nlarge ox and said the people must eat. That day they ate fat beef, and\nwere very merry. The boys took meat, and went away from the village to\neat it.\n\nThe cannibal, who did not know that the girl\u2019s father was chief at this\nplace, came there just at this time. He said to the boys if they would\ngive him meat he would make his bird sing for them. So they gave him\nmeat, and he said: \u201cSing, my bird.\u201d The girl\u2019s brother was among those\nboys, and he thought the bird sang like his sister, but he was afraid\nto ask the cannibal to let him see. He advised the cannibal to go to\nthe village where the men were, and told him there was plenty of meat\nthat day.\n\nThe cannibal then went to the village and made his bird sing. The chief\nwanted very much to see the bird, but the cannibal would not open the\nbag. The chief offered him an ox for the bird, but the cannibal\ndeclined the offer. Then the chief made a plan. He asked the cannibal\nto go for some water, and said he would give him plenty of beef when he\nreturned. The cannibal said he would go if they would promise not to\nopen his bag while he was away. They all promised not to touch the bag.\nThey gave the cannibal a leaky pot to carry the water in, so that he\nwas gone a long time. As soon as he was out of sight the chief opened\nthe bag and took his daughter out. At first he could not believe it was\nhis daughter, for he thought she was observing ntonjane. But when he\nknew how those other girls had deceived him he said they must all die,\nand so they were killed. Then he put snakes and toads in the bag, and\ntied it up again.\n\nWhen the cannibal came back he complained of the leaky pot, but they\ngave him plenty of meat to satisfy him, so he picked up his bag and\nwent away. He did not know what had happened while he was absent. When\nhe came near his own house he called to his wife: \u201cMake ready to cook.\u201d\nHe sent and called all the other cannibals to come to a feast, and they\ncame expecting to get something nice. He let them wait a little to get\nvery hungry. Then he opened his bag and thought to take the girl out,\nbut found only snakes and toads in it. The other cannibals were so\nangry when they saw this, that they killed him and made their feast of\nhim.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE CANNIBAL MOTHER AND HER CHILDREN.\n\n\nThere was once a man and a woman who had two children, a son and a\ndaughter. These children lived with their grandfather. Their mother was\na cannibal, but not their father.\n\nOne day they said to their grandfather: \u201cWe have been long with you, we\nshould like very much to go and see our parents.\u201d\n\nTheir grandfather said: \u201cHo! will you be able to come back? Don\u2019t you\nknow your mother is a cannibal?\u201d\n\nAfter a time he consented. He said: \u201cYou must leave at such a time that\nyou may arrive there in the evening, so that your mother may not see\nyou, only your father.\u201d\n\nThe boy\u2019s name was Hinazinci. He said: \u201cLet us go now, my sister.\u201d\n\nThey started when the sun was set. When they arrived at their father\u2019s\nhouse, they listened outside to find out if their mother was there.\nThey heard the voice of their father only, so they called to him. He\ncame out, and when he saw them he was sorry, and said: \u201cWhy did you\ncome here, my dear children? Don\u2019t you know your mother is a cannibal?\u201d\n\nJust then they heard a noise like thunder. It was the coming of their\nmother. Their father took them inside and put them in a dark corner,\nwhere he covered them with skins. Their mother came in with an animal\nand the body of a man. She stood and said: \u201cThere\u2019s something here.\nWhat a nice smell it has!\u201d\n\nShe said to her husband: \u201cSohinazinci, what have you to tell me about\nthis nice smell that is in my house? You must tell me whether my\nchildren are here.\u201d\n\nHer husband answered: \u201cWhat are you dreaming about? They are not here.\u201d\n\nShe went to the corner where they were, and took the skins away. When\nshe saw them, she said: \u201cMy children, I am very sorry that you are\nhere, because I must eat people.\u201d\n\nShe cooked for them and their father the animal she had brought home,\nand the dead man for herself. After they had eaten, she went out.\n\nThen their father said to them: \u201cWhen we lie down to sleep, you must be\nwatchful. You will hear a dancing of people, a roaring of wild beasts,\nand a barking of dogs in your mother\u2019s stomach. You will know by that\nshe is sleeping, and you must then rise at once and get away.\u201d\n\nThey lay down, but the man and the children only pretended to go to\nsleep. They were listening for those sounds. After a while they heard a\ndancing of people, a roaring of wild beasts, and a barking of dogs.\nThen their father shook them, and said they must go while their mother\nwas sleeping. They bade their father farewell, and crept out quietly,\nthat their mother might not hear them.\n\nAt midnight the woman woke up, and when she found the children were\ngone, she took her axe and went after them. They were already a long\nway on their journey, when they saw her following them. They were so\ntired that they could not run.\n\nWhen she was near them, the boy said to the girl: \u201cMy sister, sing your\nmelodious song; perhaps when she hears it she will be sorry, and go\nhome without hurting us.\u201d\n\nThe girl replied: \u201cShe will not listen to anything now, because she is\nin want of meat.\u201d\n\nHinazinci said: \u201cTry, my sister; it may not be in vain.\u201d\n\nSo she sang her song, and when the cannibal heard it, she ran backwards\nto her own house. There she fell upon her husband, and wanted to cut\nhim with the axe. Her husband caught hold of her arm, and said: \u201cHo! if\nyou put me to death who will be your husband?\u201d\n\nThen she left him, and ran after the children again.\n\nThey were near their grandfather\u2019s village, and were very weak when\ntheir mother overtook them. The girl fell down, and the cannibal caught\nher and swallowed her. She then ran after the boy. He fell just at the\nentrance of his grandfather\u2019s house, and she picked him up and\nswallowed him also. She found only the old people and the children of\nthe village at home, all the others being at work in the gardens. She\nate all the people that were at home and also all the cattle that were\nthere.\n\nTowards evening she left to go to her own home. There was a deep valley\nin the way, and when she came to it she saw a very beautiful bird. As\nshe approached it, the bird got bigger and bigger, until at last when\nshe was very near it, it was as big as a house (i.e., a native hut).\n\nThen the bird began to sing its song. The woman looked at it, and said\nto herself: \u201cI shall take this bird home to my husband.\u201d\n\nThe bird continued its song, and sang:\n\n\n   \u201cI am a pretty bird of the valley,\n    You come to make a disturbance at my place.\u201d\n\n\nThe bird came slowly towards her, still singing its song. When they\nmet, the bird took the axe from the woman, and still sang the same\nsong.\n\nThe cannibal began to be afraid.\n\nShe said to the bird: \u201cGive me my axe; I do not wish for your flesh\nnow.\u201d\n\nThe bird tore one of her arms off.\n\nShe said: \u201cI am going away now; give me what is mine.\u201d\n\nThe bird would not listen to her, but continued its song.\n\nShe said again: \u201cGive me my axe and let me go. My husband at home is\nvery hungry; I want to go and cook food for him.\u201d\n\nThe bird sang more loudly than before, and tore one of her legs off.\n\nShe fell down and cried out: \u201cMy master, I am in a hurry to go home. I\ndo not want anything that is yours.\u201d\n\nShe saw that she was in danger. She said to the bird again: \u201cYou don\u2019t\nknow how to sing your song nicely; let me go, and I will sing it for\nyou.\u201d\n\nThe bird opened its wings wide, and tore open her stomach. Many people\ncame forth, most of them alive, but some were dead. As they came forth\nshe caught them and swallowed them again. The two children were alive,\nand they ran away. At last the woman died.\n\nThere was great rejoicing in that country. The children returned to\ntheir grandfather, and the people came there and made them rulers of\nthe country, because it was through them the cannibal was brought to\ndeath.\n\nThe girl was afterwards married to a son of the great chief, and\nHinazinci had for his wife the daughter of that great one.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE GIRL AND THE MBULU.\n\n\nThere was once a widow woman who had one son and two daughters. On a\ncertain day she went to her garden, taking with her one of the girls.\nWhile she was away the boy quarrelled with his sister and killed her.\n\nIn the course of the day the woman sent the girl that was with her to\nthe hut, and when she came there a fly told her what had happened. She\ndid not believe it.\n\nThen a mouse told her the same thing, but still she did not believe it\nwas true.\n\nAfterwards the fly told her to look in a certain place, and there she\nsaw the head and the bones of her sister.\n\nWhen the woman came home and found out what had happened, she killed\nher son. Then she gave the girl a stick, and told her to go to her\nuncle\u2019s house, saying that when she got there she must strike the\nground with the stick, and all the clothes and other things that\nbelonged to her would then rise up out of the earth. The woman said she\nwas now all alone, and therefore intended to kill herself.\n\nThe girl was very sorry, but she did as her mother told her. When she\nwas a little way off, she looked back and saw smoke coming out of the\nhut, from which she knew that her mother had burned herself and was no\nlonger a person under the sun.\n\nAfter this she met an old woman, who called to her, but she took no\nheed and walked on. Next she met a mbulu at a place close by a river.\nThe mbulu said, whoever wetted any part of their body in crossing the\nriver must go in and bathe. The girl was standing on the bank, and the\nmbulu struck the water with its tail and splashed it in her face, so\nthat she had to go in and bathe. Then the mbulu took her clothes and\nput them on.\n\nWhen the girl came out of the water she asked for her clothes, but the\nmbulu said: \u201cI will give them when you are dry.\u201d\n\nSo they went on together. After a while the girl asked again, and the\nmbulu said: \u201cI will give them when we get to the village.\u201d\n\nBut when they arrived there the mbulu said: \u201cYou must tell the people\nhere that you are my servant, and that I am the daughter of a chief.\u201d\n\nThe poor girl was so afraid that she promised to do so. They were well\nreceived at the village, because the people believed that the mbulu was\na great person. They wondered at her voice, but she told them she had\nbeen ill and her throat was not well yet.\n\nAfter a time one of the men of that kraal married the mbulu, and the\nreal girl was sent to the gardens to drive the birds away from the\ncorn. While engaged in this occupation she used to sing about the mbulu\ntaking her clothes and passing itself off for a person, until the women\nwho worked in the gardens took notice of this song of hers.\n\nThen they made a plan to find out if what the girl was singing was the\ntruth. They said: \u201cThe tail of a mbulu will want mice and fat,\u201d so they\nset snares to catch the mice. In the night the tail was pursuing mice,\nand itself got fast in a snare. The mbulu then asked the man who was\nmarried to her to go and get some medicine, as she was sick, and when\nthe man went she took off the snare.\n\nAfter this they made another plan. They said: \u201cThe tail of a mbulu will\nseek milk,\u201d so they dug a hole in the ground, put milk in it, and\nrequired every one in the village to jump over the hole. The mbulu was\nunwilling at first, but they urged her. She tried to jump quickly, but\nthe tail could not pass the milk. When it went down the people saw that\nthis was a mbulu, so they killed it and buried it in that hole.\n\nAfter this the same man who had married the mbulu took the girl to be\nhis wife. She had a child, and one day, when it was playing, a square\npumpkin came out of the ground where the mbulu was buried, and tried to\nkill the infant. But the people chopped the pumpkin in pieces, and\nburned it. They afterwards threw the ashes into a river, so that\nnothing more could come of that mbulu.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF MBULUKAZI.\n\n\nThere was once a man who had two wives, one of whom had no children,\nand for that reason she was not loved by her husband. Her name was\nNumbakatali. The other wife had one daughter who was very black, and\nseveral children besides, but they were all crows. The one who had no\noffspring was very downcast on that account, and used to go about\nweeping all day.\n\nOnce when she was working in her garden, and crying as usual, two doves\ncame and perched near her. One of them said to the other: \u201cDove, ask\nthe woman why she is crying.\u201d So the dove questioned her.\n\nShe replied: \u201cIt is because I have no children, and my husband does not\nlove me. His other wife\u2019s children are crows, which come and eat my\ncorn, and she laughs at me.\u201d\n\nThe dove said: \u201cGo home and get two earthen jars, and bring them here.\u201d\n\nNumbakatali went and got them. Then the doves scratched her knees till\nthe blood flowed, and put the blood in the jars. The woman gave the\ndoves some corn to eat, after which she took the jars home to her hut,\nand set them carefully down in a corner. Every day the two doves came\nto be fed, and always told the woman to look at what was in the jars.\n\nAt last, when she looked one day, she saw two children, one a boy, the\nother a girl, and both very handsome. She was very much delighted at\nthe sight, but she did not tell any one.\n\nWhen the children grew a little she made a snug place for them in the\nhut, where they were to sit all day, because she did not wish them to\nbe seen. Always before she went to her work she charged them not to go\nout, and as her husband never came to see her, no one knew of the\nexistence of these children except herself and a servant girl.\n\nBut one day, when they were big, she went out, and after she was away\nsome time, the boy said to his sister: \u201cCome, let us help our mother by\nbringing water from the river.\u201d\n\nSo they went for water; but they had not reached the river when they\nmet a company of young men with a chief\u2019s son, who was looking for a\npretty girl to be his wife. The young chief was called Broad Breast,\nbecause his chest was very wide, and it was also made of a glittering\nmetal that shone in the sun. These men asked for water to drink. The\nboy gave them all some water, but the young chief would only take it\nfrom the girl. He was very much smitten with her beauty, and watched\nher when she left, so as to find out where she lived.\n\nAs soon as the young chief saw the hut that the girl went to, he\nreturned home with his party and asked his father for cattle with which\nto marry her. The chief, who was very rich, gave his son many fine\ncattle, with which the young man went to the girl\u2019s mother\u2019s husband,\nand said: \u201cI want to marry your daughter.\u201d\n\nSo the girl who was very black was told to come, but the young chief\nsaid: \u201cThat is not the one I want; the one I saw was lighter in colour\nand much prettier.\u201d\n\nThe father replied: \u201cI have no other children but crows.\u201d\n\nBut Broad Breast persisted, so the man called his wives, both of whom\ndenied that there was such a girl. However, the servant girl went to\nthe man and privately told him the truth. In the evening he went to his\nwife\u2019s hut, and to his great joy saw the boy and his sister. He was so\ndelighted that he remained there that night, and after talking it over\nwith his wife, he agreed to let Broad Breast marry the girl.\n\nIn the morning a mat was spread in the yard, and the young chief was\nasked to sit down. The two children and the servant girl who told their\nfather about them were also called, and they all sat down on the mat.\n\nThe young chief, as soon as he saw her, said: \u201cThis is the girl I\nmeant.\u201d\n\nHe stayed part of the day, and then with his attendants went to his\nfather for more cattle, which, having obtained, he brought them to the\nfather of the girl.\n\nThe mother of the very black girl and the crows was very jealous when\nshe saw such a fine young chief coming with so many cattle. She wanted\nher daughter to be the one that was to be married; so she dressed her\nas finely as she could, but she had no such pretty clothes as the other\ngirl had. Her name was Mahlunguluza, for she was called after the\ncrows, who were the other children of her mother. The pretty girl\u2019s\nname was Mbulukazi, which name was given to her because her handsome\ndress was made of the skin of a mbulu.\n\nThe mother of Mahlunguluza spoke to the young chief about her daughter,\nand so he married both the girls. Their father gave to each an ox, with\nwhich they went to their new home. Mbulukazi\u2019s ox was a pretty young\none, and Mahlunguluza\u2019s ox was an old and poor one. When they arrived,\nBroad Breast gave to Mbulukazi a very nice new house to live in, but to\nMahlunguluza was given an old one quite in ruins.\n\nThen the very black one saw she was not loved, and she became jealous,\nso she made a plan to kill her sister. One day she told her she heard\ntheir father was sick, and proposed that they should go to see him.\nMbulukazi consented, and as soon as they obtained leave from their\nhusband they left. Their road led them along the edge of a cliff, below\nwhich was a deep pool of water.\n\nMahlunguluza lay down on the rock, and said: \u201cCome, see what is here in\nthe water.\u201d\n\nHer sister lay down with her head over the edge of the rock, when\nMahlunguluza jumped up quickly and pushed her over. Mbulukazi sank in\nthe water and was drowned. Then the very black one returned home, and\nwhen her husband asked where Mbulukazi was, she said that she was still\nwith their father.\n\nThe next day the ox of the drowned one came running to the village and\nwalked about lowing for a while, after which it tore down the old\nruined house of Mahlunguluza with its horns. Its actions attracted the\nnotice of the men, and they said: \u201cSurely this ox means something, why\nis it doing this?\u201d\n\nThen it went to the deep pool of water, the men following it; it smelt\nall over the rock, and then jumped into the water and brought out the\nbody of Mbulukazi. The ox licked her till her life came back, and as\nsoon as she was strong once more, she told what had happened.\n\nThey all went home rejoicing greatly, and informed Broad Breast. When\nthe young chief heard the story he was angry with Mahlunguluza, and\nsaid to her: \u201cGo home to your father; I never wanted you at all; it was\nyour mother who brought you to me.\u201d\n\nSo she had to go away in sorrow, and Mbulukazi remained the great wife\nof the chief.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF LONG SNAKE.\n\n\nOnce upon a time a certain girl left her father\u2019s place, and went to\nthe village of Long Snake. Having arrived at the village of Long Snake\nshe remained there, but the owner of the place was absent. The only\nperson present was the mother of the owner of the place.\n\nThen in the evening the mother of Long Snake gave that girl some\nmillet, and told her to grind it. After it was ground she made bread.\nWhen it was ready the mother of Long Snake said: \u201cCarry this bread into\nthe house of Long Snake.\u201d\n\nA short time after that girl went into the house, the owner of the\nplace arrived. Then she gave him bread and fermented milk, and he ate.\nWhen they had finished the food they went to sleep. Then early in the\nmorning Long Snake went away, because in the daytime he lived in the\nopen country.\n\nThe girl went to the house of the parents of Long Snake. The mother of\nLong Snake clothed her with a very beautiful robe. After she was\ndressed she called for an axe, and went to cut firewood. Having arrived\nin the open fields she did not cut the firewood, but she threw away the\naxe and ran to her father\u2019s place.\n\nWhen she arrived at her father\u2019s place, her sister asked for where she\nhad got that beautiful robe. She told her, and her sister said: \u201cI am\ngoing to that village too.\u201d\n\nThe girl said: \u201cJust listen, and I will tell you the custom of that\nvillage.\u201d\n\nBut her sister said in reply: \u201cI do not want you to tell me anything,\nbecause you yourself were not warned before you went.\u201d\n\nThen she set off at once, and went on till she arrived in the evening\nat the village of Long Snake. When she sat down the mother of Long\nSnake gave her millet, telling her to grind it and make bread. When it\nwas ready she took it into the house of Long Snake. Then in the evening\nthe owner of the place arrived, and the girl gave him bread and\nfermented milk. When they had finished eating they went to sleep, and\nearly in the morning Long Snake went away.\n\nThen the girl went to the house of Long Snake\u2019s parents. His mother\nclothed that girl also in the same manner as she had dressed the elder\none. Then she borrowed an axe and went to cut fuel. In doing so she\nmade an excuse to run away.\n\nOn this day, however, the man went after his wives, and arrived at his\nfather-in-law\u2019s place as the sun was setting.\n\nThey went out of the house that the bridegroom might sleep in it. While\nhe was eating, the people of the village piled up bundles of grass, and\nthe bridegroom was burned in the house. In this manner he died.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF KENKEBE.\n\n\nThere was once a great famine in a certain country, and the people were\nobliged to eat wild plants to keep themselves alive. Their principal\nfood during this time was nongwes (Hypoxis, p. 385, \u201cHarvey\u2019s Gen. S.\nA. Plants\u201d), which they dug out of the ground.\n\nThere was living at that place a man called Kenkebe, and one day his\nwife said to him, \u201cMy husband, go to my father and ask him to give us\nsome corn.\u201d\n\nThe man said: \u201cYes, I will go.\u201d\n\nSo he rose up early in the morning, and went on till he arrived at his\nfather-in-law\u2019s village, where he was received with every mark of\nkindness. A very large ox was killed for his entertainment. It was so\nlarge that it was six days before it was all eaten. His father-in-law\nasked of him the news.\n\nHe said: \u201cThere is no news to tell to friends. All the news is this,\nthat at my home there is not a grain to be eaten. Famine is over our\nheads. Will you give us some corn, for we are dying?\u201d\n\nHis father-in-law gave him seven bags (i.e. skins of animals dressed\nentire) full of millet, and his wife\u2019s sisters went with him to carry\nthem. When they came to a valley close by his home, he told his\nsisters-in-law that they could now go back to their father.\n\nThey said: \u201cHow will you manage to carry all those bags alone?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI shall be able to carry them all now, because we are not\nfar from my home.\u201d\n\nSo those girls went back to their father.\n\nThen he carried the bags one by one, and hid them in a cave under a\ngreat rock that was there. Afterwards he took some of the millet and\nground it. When it was ground very fine he made it into cakes just like\nnongwes. Then he dug some real nongwes out of the ground, and went home\nto his wife.\n\nHe said to her: \u201cThere is a great famine at your father\u2019s also. I found\nthe people there eating themselves.\u201d\n\nHe told his wife to make a fire. Then he pretended to cut a piece of\nmeat out of his thigh, and said: \u201cSo are they doing at your father\u2019s\nvillage. Now, my wife, let us do the same.\u201d\n\nHis wife cut a piece from her leg and roasted it. The piece that\nKenkebe put on the fire was some that he had brought home with him.\n\nThen Kenkebe s little boy said: \u201cWhy does my father\u2019s meat smell nice\nin roasting, and my mother\u2019s meat does not smell nice?\u201d\n\nKenkebe answered: \u201cIt is because it is taken from the leg of a man.\u201d\n\nAfter this he gave his wife some nongwes to roast. He took for himself\nsome of those he had made of corn.\n\nThe little boy said: \u201cWhy do my father\u2019s nongwes smell nice in\nroasting, and my mother\u2019s do not smell nice?\u201d\n\nKenkebe said: \u201cIt is because they were dug by a man.\u201d\n\nAfter eating, he went outside, but he had dropped one of his nongwes by\nthe fire. When he went out the boy found the nongwe. He broke it in two\nand gave half to his mother.\n\nHe said: \u201cThere is a difference between our nongwes and those of\nfather\u2019s.\u201d\n\nHis mother said: \u201cYes, my child, this one is made of corn.\u201d\n\nThe next morning, just at the first beginning of dawn, Kenkebe got up\nand went away with a pot in his hand. The boy was awake, and saw his\nfather go out. So he called to his mother, and said: \u201cMother, mother,\nwake, my father is going away with the pot in his hand.\u201d\n\nSo she got up, and they followed after Kenkebe. They saw him go to the\ncave where he took some corn out of one of the bags and began to grind\nit. Then they went on top of the rock, and rolled a big stone over.\n\nWhen Kenkebe saw the stone coming he ran away, but it followed close\nbehind him. He ran down the valley, the stone kept running too. He\njumped into a deep hole in the river, down went the stone too. He ran\nup the hill, up went the stone also. He ran over the plain, but\nwhenever he turned to look, the stone was there just behind him. So it\ncontinued all that day. At night he reached his own house, and then the\nstone stopped. His wife had already come home, and had brought with her\none of the bags of corn.\n\nKenkebe came in crying.\n\nHis wife said to him: \u201cWhy do you cry as if you were a child?\u201d\n\nHe said: \u201cBecause I am very tired and very hungry.\u201d\n\nShe said: \u201cWhere are your clothes and your bag?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cI was crossing a river, and I fell down. The stream\ncarried away my mantle, and my bag, and my kerries, and everything that\nwas mine.\u201d\n\nThen his wife gave him his mantle, which she had picked up when he was\nrunning away, and she said to him: \u201cYou are foolish to do such things.\nThere is no food for you to-night.\u201d\n\nThe next morning Kenkebe rose early and went out to hunt with his two\ndogs. The name of the one was Tumtumse, and the name of the other was\nMbambozozele. He found an eland with a young calf, which he drove to\nhis place. He cut an ear off the calf and roasted it in the fire. It\nwas fat, and he liked it so much that he cut the other ear off and\ncooked it also. Then he wished to kill the calf, but he said to\nhimself: \u201cIf I kill this calf I shall not be able to get milk from the\neland.\u201d\n\nSo he called his two dogs, and said to the one: \u201cTumtumse, my dog, if I\nkill this calf, will you imitate it and suck the eland for me?\u201d\n\nThe dog said: \u201cNo, I will bark like a dog.\u201d\n\nKenkebe said: \u201cGet out of my sight and never come near me again, you\nugly, useless animal.\u201d\n\nHe said to the other: \u201cMbambozozele, my dog, if I kill this calf, will\nyou imitate it and suck the eland for me?\u201d\n\nThe dog said: \u201cI will do so.\u201d\n\nThen he killed the calf and ate it. He took the skin and put it upon\nMbambozozele, so that the eland thought it was her calf that sucked\nbefore Kenkebe milked her. But one day the dog was sucking too long,\nand Kenkebe wanted him to leave off. He tried to drink just a few drops\nmore, when his master got angry and struck him with a stick. Thereupon\nthe dog began to howl, and the eland saw how she had been deceived. At\nonce she ran after Kenkebe and tried to stick him with her horns. He\nran one way and the eland ran after him, then he ran another way, and\nstill the eland chased him.\n\nHis wife came out and saw him running. She cried out to him: \u201cJump up\nquickly on the big stone.\u201d He did so, and the eland ran with such fury\nagainst that stone that it broke its head and fell down dead.\n\nThey then cut the eland up and wanted to cook it, but there was no\nfire. Kenkebe said to his son: \u201cGo to the village of the cannibals that\nis on that hill over the valley, and ask for some fire; but do not take\nany meat with you, lest they should smell it.\u201d\n\nThe boy went, but he hid a piece of meat and took it with him. When he\ngot to the first house he asked for fire, but they sent him to the\nnext. At the next they sent him farther, and so he had to go to the\nhouse that was farthest away. An old woman lived there. The boy gave\nher a little piece of meat, and said: \u201cDo not cook it till I am far\naway with the fire.\u201d\n\nBut as soon as the boy was gone, she put it on the coals. The smell\ncame to the noses of the cannibals, and they ran to the place and\nswallowed the old woman, and the meat, and the fire, and even the\nashes.\n\nThen they ran after the boy. When he came near his own house, he cried\nout: \u201cHide yourselves, you that are at home.\u201d\n\nHis father said: \u201cMy son is saying we must gather wood that will make\ncoals.\u201d\n\nHis mother said: \u201cNo, he is saying we must hide ourselves.\u201d\n\nThe boy cried again: \u201cHide yourselves.\u201d\n\nThen his mother hid herself in a bush; an old woman that was there\ncovered herself with ashes, and Kenkebe climbed up into a tree, with\nthe breast of the eland in his hand. The boy slipped into a hole that\nwas by the side of the path.\n\nThe cannibals came to the place. First they ate the eland. Then one of\nthem said: \u201cSearch under the ashes.\u201d\n\nThere they found the old woman, and they ate her. Then they said:\n\u201cSearch in the tree.\u201d\n\nThere they found Kenkebe. He cried very much, but they would not spare\nhim. They ate him and the breast of the eland. Then the wise one said:\n\u201cLook in the bush.\u201d\n\nThey looked there and found the wife of Kenkebe. They said: \u201cWe will\neat her another time,\u201d and so they took her home with them. They did\nnot look for the boy.\n\nThe woman made a plan to escape. She made beer for the cannibals, and\nthey all came to drink. They sat together in a big house, and drank\nvery much beer. Then she said: \u201cCan I go out?\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cYou can go, but come back quickly.\u201d\n\nShe said: \u201cShall I close the entrance?\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cClose it.\u201d\n\nThen she took fire and put it on the house and all those cannibals were\nburnt to death. So the woman escaped, and afterwards lived happily with\nher son.\n\n\n\n\nANOTHER STORY OF KENKEBE.\n\nAt a certain time, Kenkebe went to get his wife at the place of her\nparents. When he was on the way, he met a crow. He borrowed its eyes.\nThen he arrived at his wife\u2019s parents\u2019 place with the eyes of the crow.\n\nWhen he arrived, his wife said: \u201cWhere are your own eyes?\u201d\n\nHe replied: \u201cMy eyes have been taken away by the crows.\u201d\n\nThen his wife said: \u201cLet us go home.\u201d\n\nWhen they reached home, his wife said: \u201cTake those eyes, you silly one,\nto their owner, and bring back your own.\u201d\n\nAccordingly Kenkebe went for his eyes and got them back.\n\nThen, as he was returning, he met an ant, and exchanged stomachs with\nit. When he arrived at his house, his wife gave him food. After he had\nfinished eating, he went to milk a cow.\n\nWhen he was gone out, his little boy went to the place where he had\nbeen sitting. He said, \u201cMother, this food that is spilt here, whose is\nit?\u201d\n\nHis mother replied: \u201cPerhaps it has been spilt by your father. You must\nnot eat it until your father comes.\u201d\n\nWhen Kenkebe came in, his wife said: \u201cWhere does this food come from?\u201d\n\nThe man replied: \u201cMy stomach has been borrowed by an ant.\u201d\n\nHis wife said: \u201cYou must go and take this stomach back to-morrow.\u201d\n\nHe went to do so. When he arrived at the ant\u2019s place, he demanded his\nstomach. His stomach was given to him, and then he went home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE WONDERFUL HORNS.\n\n\nThere was once a boy whose mother that bore him was dead, and he was\nill-treated by his other mothers. On this account he determined to go\naway from his father\u2019s place. One morning he went, riding on an ox\nwhich was given to him by his father. As he was travelling, he came to\na herd of cattle with a bull.\n\nHis ox said: \u201cI will fight and overcome that bull.\u201d\n\nThe boy got off his ox\u2019s back. The fight took place, and the bull was\ndefeated. The boy then mounted his ox again.\n\nAbout midday, feeling hungry, he struck the right horn of his ox, and\nfood came out. After satisfying his hunger, he struck the left horn,\nand the rest of the food went in again.\n\nThe boy saw another herd of dun-coloured cattle. His ox said: \u201cI will\nfight and die there. You must break off my horns and take them with\nyou. When you are hungry, speak to them, and they will supply you with\nfood.\u201d\n\nIn the fight the ox was killed, as he had said. The boy took his horns,\nand went on walking till he came to a village where he found the people\ncooking a weed (called tyutu), having no other food to eat.\n\nHe entered one of the houses. He spoke to his horn, and food came out,\nenough to satisfy the owner of the house and himself. After they had\neaten, they both fell asleep. The owner of the house got up and took\naway the horns. He concealed them, and put two others in their place.\n\nThe boy started next morning with the horns, thinking they were the\nright ones. When he felt hungry, he spoke to the horns, but nothing\ncame out. He therefore went back to the place where he had slept the\nnight before. As he drew near, he heard the owner of the place speaking\nto the horns, but without getting anything out of them.\n\nThe boy took his horns from the thief, and went on his way. He came to\na house, and asked to be entertained. The owner refused, and sent him\naway, because his clothes were in tatters, and his body soiled with\ntravel.\n\nAfter that he came to a river and sat down on the bank. He spoke to his\nhorns, and a new mantle and handsome ornaments came out. He dressed\nhimself, and went on. He came to a house where there was a very\nbeautiful girl. He was received by the girl\u2019s father, and stayed there.\nHis horns provided food and clothing for them all.\n\nAfter a time he married the girl. He then returned home with his wife,\nand was welcomed by his father. He spoke to his horns, and a fine house\ncame out, in which he lived with his wife.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF THE GLUTTON.\n\n\nThere was once a man who quarrelled with his wife, so that she left\nhim, and went home to her father\u2019s place. When she got home she found\nnobody, for all the people had been swallowed by a monster. She went\ninto the house that used to be her father\u2019s, and noticed that there\nwere footprints of animals and spots of blood all over the floor. She\nthen got into the top of the hut and hid herself. She heard the monster\ncoming, saying:\n\n\n   \u201cO man, O man,\n    I have eaten,\n    And I am still living.\u201d\n\n\nShe kept awake. Shortly the house was filled with all kinds of animals,\nwhich made a fire, cooked their food, ate it up, and slept. Next\nmorning they awoke, and all went out to search for something to eat.\n\nThe woman had two children born while the animals were away. She came\ndown from her hiding-place, and took up a stone used for raising pots\nabove the fire (called isoko), and went again into her hiding-place.\n\nThe animals returned in the evening; and while their pots were on the\nfire, she threw down the stone into one of them. The animals all rushed\nout of the house. Outside they held a consultation, and their chief\ndecided that those living in holes should go to the holes, that those\nliving in forests should go to the forests, and that those living in\nrivers should go to the rivers.\n\nAfter this, the woman set a trap, and succeeded in catching a buffalo,\nbut she could not skin it. She saw a glutton (called an igongqongqo, a\nfabulous monster, like a man, but capable of devouring enormous\nquantities of food) coming, and asked him to help her. He consented.\n\nHe pulled out his knife and skinned the buffalo. She gathered some\nwood, and kindled a fire for the purpose of roasting the liver. The\nglutton roasted it. She went away and picked up an empty calabash, and\nwhen she returned she found the glutton roasting the legs, having\nalready eaten the liver. She then said: \u201cI am going for water.\u201d\n\nShe got behind a bush, and blew the empty calabash. The glutton\nwondered what this was, and called her. She continued blowing, until\nthe glutton was so frightened that he took his bag and put the\nremainder of the meat into it, and ran away.\n\nShe followed him, still blowing, until he threw away the bag containing\nthe meat. She still followed, blowing. The glutton stumbled, and fell\ninto a thorny bush, where he was held fast. The woman then ceased\nblowing, and heard him blubbering out:\n\n\n   \u201cLet me alone, lu bo bo,\n    Let me alone, lu bo bo.\u201d\n\n\nShe blew again, and he struggled and got free. He ran away with all his\nmight. She then took the bag home with her, made a fire, and cooked the\nmeat. When it was ready, she took it to her hiding-place, and lived on\nit till her children were able to run about outside.\n\nOne day, these twins asked their mother to make bows and arrows for\nthem. Their mother advised them not to wander away from the house,\nsaying to them: \u201cThe glutton will swallow you.\u201d\n\nBut at a certain time they left home, and went in the direction where\nthe monster lived. They found it asleep, and shot it with their arrows\nin both eyes. The boys returned home and told their mother. Next day\nthey went to the place, and found the glutton dead.\n\nThe boys heard people talking inside the glutton. Having told their\nmother, she took a knife and cut it open, when people came out, and\ncattle, and dogs. The people asked: \u201cWho killed the glutton?\u201d\n\nThe mother of the twins told them, and they rewarded the boys with a\nlarge number of cattle.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE GREAT CHIEF OF THE ANIMALS.\n\n\nThere was once a woman who had occasion to leave her home for a short\ntime, and who left her children in charge of a hare. The place where\nthey lived was close to a path, along which droves of wild animals were\naccustomed to pass.\n\nSoon after the woman left, the animals appeared, and the hare at sight\nof them became frightened. So she ran away to a distance, and stood to\nwatch. Among the animals was one terrible monster, which called to the\nhare, and demanded to know what children those were. The hare told\ntheir names, upon which the animal swallowed them entire.\n\nWhen the woman returned, the hare told her what had happened. Then the\nwoman gathered some dry wood, and sharpened two pieces of iron, which\nshe took with her and went along the path.\n\nNow this was the chief of the animals; therefore, when she came on a\nhill over against him, the woman began to call out that she was looking\nfor her children. The animal replied: \u201cCome nearer, I cannot hear you.\u201d\n\nWhen she went, he swallowed her also. The woman found her children\nalive, and also many other people, and oxen, and dogs. The children\nwere hungry, so the woman with her pieces of iron cut some pieces of\nflesh from the animal\u2019s ribs. She then made a fire and cooked the meat,\nand the children ate.\n\nThe other people said: \u201cWe also are hungry, give us to eat.\u201d\n\nThen she cut and cooked for them also.\n\nThe animal felt uncomfortable under this treatment, and called his\ncouncillors together for advice, but they could suggest no remedy. He\nlay down and rolled in the mud, but that did not help him, and at last\nhe went and put his head in the kraal fence, and died.\n\nHis councillors were standing at a distance, afraid to approach him, so\nthey sent a monkey to see how he was. The monkey returned and said:\n\u201cThose whose home is on the mountains must hasten to the mountains;\nthose whose home is on the plains must hasten to the plains; as for me,\nI go to the rocks.\u201d\n\nThen the animals all dispersed.\n\nBy this time the woman had succeeded in cutting a hole through the\nchief\u2019s side, and came forth, followed by her children.\n\nThen an ox came out, and said: \u201cBo! bo! who helped me?\u201d\n\nThen a dog, who said: \u201cHo! ho! who helped me?\u201d\n\nThen a man, who said: \u201cZo! zo! who helped me?\u201d\n\nAfterwards all the people and cattle came out. They agreed that the\nwoman who helped them should be their chief.\n\nWhen her children became men, they were out hunting one day, and saw a\nmonstrous cannibal, who was sticking fast in a mud hole. They killed\nhim, and then returned to tell the men of their tribe what they had\ndone. The men went and skinned the cannibal, when a great number of\npeople came out of him also. These joined their deliverers, and so that\npeople became a great nation.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE HARE.\n\n\nOnce upon a time the animals made a kraal and put some fat in it. They\nagreed that one of their number should remain to be the keeper of the\ngate. The first one that was appointed was the coney (imbila). He\nagreed to take charge, and all the others went away. In a short time\nthe coney fell asleep, when the inkalimeva (a fabulous animal) went in\nand ate all the fat. After doing this, he threw a little stone at the\nconey.\n\nThe coney started up and cried out: \u201cThe fat belonging to all the\nanimals has been eaten by the inkalimeva.\u201d\n\nIt repeated this cry several times, calling out very loudly. The\nanimals at a distance heard it, they ran to the kraal, and when they\nsaw that the fat was gone they killed the coney.\n\nThey put the fat in the kraal a second time, and appointed the muishond\n(iqaqa) to keep the gate. The mouse-dog consented, and the animals went\naway as before. After a little time the inkalimeva came to the kraal,\nbringing some honey with it. It invited the keeper of the gate to eat\nhoney, and while the muishond was enjoying himself the inkalimeva went\nin and stole all the fat. It threw a stone at the muishond, which made\nhim look up.\n\nThe muishond cried out: \u201cThe fat belonging to all the animals has been\neaten by the inkalimeva.\u201d\n\nAs soon as the animals heard the cry, they ran to the kraal and killed\nthe muishond.\n\nThey put fat in the kraal a third time, and appointed the duiker\n(impunzi) to be the keeper of the gate. The duiker agreed, and the\nothers went away. In a short time the inkalimeva made its appearance.\nIt proposed to the duiker that they should play at hide and seek. The\nduiker agreed to this. Then the inkalimeva hid itself, and the duiker\nlooked for it till he was so tired that he lay down and went to sleep.\nWhen the duiker was asleep, the inkalimeva ate up all the fat.\n\nThen it threw a stone at the duiker, which caused him to jump up and\ncry out: \u201cThe fat belonging to all the animals has been eaten by the\ninkalimeva.\u201d\n\nThe animals, when they heard the cry, ran to the kraal and killed the\nduiker.\n\nThey put fat in the kraal the fourth time, and appointed the bluebuck\n(iputi) to be the keeper of the gate. When the animals went away, the\ninkalimeva came as before.\n\nIt said: \u201cWhat are you doing by yourself?\u201d\n\nThe bluebuck answered: \u201cI am watching the fat belonging to all the\nanimals.\u201d\n\nThe inkalimeva said: \u201cI will be your companion. Come, let us sit down\nand scratch each other\u2019s heads.\u201d\n\nThe bluebuck agreed to this. The inkalimeva sat down; it scratched the\nhead of the other till he went to sleep. Then it arose and ate all the\nfat. When it had finished, it threw a stone at the bluebuck and awoke\nhim.\n\nThe bluebuck saw what had happened and cried out: \u201cThe fat belonging to\nall the animals has been eaten by the inkalimeva.\u201d\n\nThen the animals ran up and killed the bluebuck also.\n\nThey put fat in the kraal the fifth time, and appointed the porcupine\n(incanda) to be the keeper of the gate. The animals went away, and the\ninkalimeva came as before.\n\nIt said to the porcupine: \u201cLet us run a race against each other.\u201d\n\nIt let the porcupine beat in this race.\n\nThen it said: \u201cI did not think you could run so fast, but let us try\nagain.\u201d They ran again, and it allowed the porcupine to beat the second\ntime. They ran till the porcupine was so tired that he said: \u201cLet us\nrest now.\u201d\n\nThey sat down to rest, and the porcupine went to sleep. Then the\ninkalimeva rose up and ate all the fat. When it had finished eating, it\nthrew a stone at the porcupine, which caused him to jump up.\n\nHe called out with a loud voice: \u201cThe fat belonging to all the animals\nhas been eaten by the inkalimeva.\u201d\n\nThen the animals came running up, and put the porcupine to death.\n\nThey put fat in the kraal the sixth time, and selected the hare\n(umvundla) to be the keeper of the gate. At first the hare would not\nconsent.\n\nHe said: \u201cThe coney is dead, and the muishond is dead, and the duiker\nis dead, and the bluebuck is dead, and the porcupine is dead, and you\nwill kill me also.\u201d\n\nThey promised him that they would not kill him, and after a good deal\nof persuasion he at last agreed to keep the gate. When the animals were\ngone he laid himself down, but he only pretended to be asleep.\n\nIn a short time the inkalimeva went in, and was just going to take the\nfat when the hare cried out: \u201cLet the fat alone.\u201d\n\nThe inkalimeva said: \u201cPlease let me have this little bit only.\u201d\n\nThe hare answered, mocking: \u201cPlease let me have this little bit only.\u201d\n\nAfter that they became companions. The hare proposed that they should\nfasten each other\u2019s tails, and the inkalimeva agreed. The inkalimeva\nfastened the tail of the hare first.\n\nThe hare said: \u201cDon\u2019t tie my tail so tight.\u201d\n\nThen the hare fastened the tail of the inkalimeva.\n\nThe inkalimeva said: \u201cDon\u2019t tie my tail so tight;\u201d but the hare made no\nanswer. After tying the tail of the inkalimeva very fast, the hare took\nhis club and killed it. The hare took the tail of the inkalimeva and\nate it, all except a little piece which he hid in the fence.\n\nThen he called out: \u201cThe fat belonging to all the animals has been\neaten by the inkalimeva.\u201d\n\nThe animals came running back, and when they saw that the inkalimeva\nwas dead they rejoiced greatly. They asked the hare for the tail, which\nshould be kept for the chief.\n\nThe hare replied: \u201cThe one I killed had no tail.\u201d\n\nThey said: \u201cHow can an inkalimeva be without a tail?\u201d\n\nThey began to search, and at length they found a piece of the tail in\nthe fence. They told the chief that the hare had eaten the tail.\n\nHe said: \u201cBring him to me.\u201d\n\nAll the animals ran after the hare, but he fled, and they could not\ncatch him. The hare ran into a hole, at the mouth of which the animals\nset a snare, and then went away. The hare remained in the hole for many\ndays, but at length he managed to get out without being caught.\n\nHe went to a place where he found a bushbuck (imbabala) building a hut.\nThere was a pot on the fire with meat in it.\n\nHe said to the bushbuck: \u201cCan I take this little piece of meat?\u201d\n\nThe bushbuck answered: \u201cYou must not do it.\u201d\n\nBut he took the meat and ate it all. After that he whistled a\nparticular tune, and there fell a storm of hail which killed the\nbushbuck. Then he took the skin of the bushbuck, and made for himself a\nmantle.\n\nAfter this the hare went into the forest to get himself some weapons to\nfight with. While he was cutting a stick the monkeys threw leaves upon\nhim. He called to them to come down and beat him. They came down, but\nhe killed them all with his weapons.\n\n\n    This story terminates so abruptly that I have little doubt about\n    its being merely a fragment. There is a story very similar to it,\n    in which a pool of water is guarded by different animals in turn,\n    all of which are deceived by the jackal.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF LION AND LITTLE JACKAL.\n\n\nLittle Jackal one day went out hunting, when he met Lion. Lion proposed\nthat they should hunt together, on condition that if a small antelope\nwas killed it was to be Little Jackal\u2019s, and if a large one was killed\nit was to be Lion\u2019s. Little Jackal agreed to this.\n\nThe first animal killed was a large eland. Lion was very glad, and said\nto Little Jackal: \u201cI will continue hunting while you go to my house and\ncall my children to carry the meat home.\u201d\n\nLittle Jackal replied: \u201cYes, I agree to that.\u201d\n\nLion went away to hunt. When he had gone, Little Jackal went to his own\nhouse and called his own children to carry away the meat. He said:\n\u201cLion takes me for a fool if he thinks I will call his children while\nmy own are dying with hunger.\u201d\n\nSo Little Jackal\u2019s children carried the meat to their home on the top\nof a high rock. The only way to get to their house was by means of a\nrope.\n\nLion caught nothing more, and after a time he went home and asked his\nwife where the meat was. She told him there was no meat. He said: \u201cDid\nnot Little Jackal bring a message to my children to carry meat?\u201d\n\nHis wife replied: \u201cNo; he has not been here. We are still dying with\nhunger.\u201d\n\nLion then went to Little Jackal\u2019s house, but he could not get up the\nrock to it. So he sat down by the water and waited. After a time Little\nJackal came to get water. He was close to the water when he saw Lion.\nHe at once ran away, and Lion ran after him. He ran into a hole under a\ntree, but Lion caught his tail before he got far in. He said to him:\n\u201cThat is not my tail you have hold of; it is a root of the tree. If you\ndo not believe me, take a stone and strike it, and see if any blood\ncomes.\u201d\n\nLion let go the tail, and went for a stone to prove what it was. While\nhe was gone for the stone, Little Jackal went far into the hole.\n\nWhen Lion returned, he could not be found. Lion lay down by the hole\nand waited. After a long time Little Jackal wanted to come out. He went\nto the entrance and looked round, but he could not see Lion. To make\nsure, he said: \u201cHo, I see you, my master, although you are in hiding.\u201d\n\nLion did not move from the place where he lay concealed. Then Little\nJackal went out, and Lion pursued him, but he got away.\n\nLion watched for him, and one day, when Little Jackal was out hunting,\nhe came upon him in a place where he could not escape. Lion was just\nabout to spring upon him, when Little Jackal said softly: \u201cHush! do you\nnot see that bushbuck on the other side of the rock? I am glad you have\ncome to help me. Just remain here while I run round and drive him\ntowards you.\u201d\n\nLion did so, and Little Jackal made his escape.\n\nAt another time there was a meeting of the animals, and Lion was the\nchief at the meeting. Little Jackal wanted to go too, but there was a\nlaw made that no one should be present unless he had horns. So Little\nJackal took wax out of a nest of bees, and made horns for himself with\nit. He fastened the horns on his head, and went to the meeting. Lion\ndid not know him on account of the horns. But he sat near the fire and\nwent to sleep, when the horns melted.\n\nLion looked at him and saw who it was. He immediately tried to catch\nhim, but Little Jackal was quick, and sprang away. He ran under an\noverhanging rock and sang out: \u201cHelp! help! this rock is falling upon\nme!\u201d\n\nLion went for a pole to prop up the rock that he might get at Little\nJackal. While he was away, Little Jackal escaped.\n\nAfter that they became companions again, and went hunting another time.\nThey killed an ox. Lion said: \u201cI will watch it while you carry the\npieces away.\u201d\n\nLion gave him the breast, and said: \u201cTake this to my wife.\u201d\n\nLittle Jackal took it to his own wife. When he returned, Lion gave a\nshin, and said: \u201cTake this to your wife.\u201d\n\nLittle Jackal took the shin to Lion\u2019s house. Lion\u2019s wife said: \u201cI\ncannot take this, because it should not come here.\u201d\n\nLittle Jackal thereupon struck Lion\u2019s wife in the face, and went back\nto the place where the ox was killed. Lion gave him a large piece of\nmeat, and said: \u201cTake this to my wife.\u201d\n\nLittle Jackal took it to his own wife. This continued till the ox was\nfinished. Then they both went home. When Lion arrived at his house he\nfound there was weeping in his family. His wife said: \u201cIs it you who\nsent Little Jackal to beat me and my children, and is it you who sent\nthis shin? Did I ever eat a shin?\u201d\n\nWhen Lion heard that, he was very angry, and at once went to Little\nJackal\u2019s house. When he reached the rock. Little Jackal looked down and\nsaid: \u201cWho are you, and what is your name, and whose son are you, and\nwhere are you from, and where are you going to, and whom do you want,\nand what do you want him for?\u201d\n\nLion replied: \u201cI have merely come to see you. I wish you would let the\nrope down.\u201d\n\nLittle Jackal let down a rope made of mouse skins, and when Lion\nclimbed a little way up, the rope broke, and he fell and was hurt. He\nthen went home.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPROVERBS AND FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS.\n\n\nThe language of a Kaffir is adorned with figurative expressions, some\nof which are readily understood by an Englishman, but others, when\nliterally interpreted, are to us meaningless. Such expressions,\nhowever, are found upon inquiry to refer to some circumstance in their\nmode of living, or some event in their traditional history, which makes\nthe meaning very clear. A few of their commonest proverbs and\nfigurative expressions are here given:\u2014\n\nIsikuni sinyuka nomkwezeli.\n\nA brand burns him who stirs it up.\n\nThis proverb is an exact equivalent to our English one, Let sleeping\ndogs lie.\n\nNjengo mdudo ka Mapassa.\n\nLike the marriage feast of Mapassa.\n\nThis saying is used to denote anything unusually grand. The marriage\nfestivities of one of the ancients, Mapassa by name, are said to have\nbeen carried on for a whole year.\n\nIshwa lomhluzi wamanqina.\n\nMisfortune of soup made of shanks and feet.\n\nApplied to any person who never does well, but is always getting into\nscrapes. The kind of soup spoken of is very lightly esteemed by the\nKaffirs.\n\nAkuko mpukane inqakulela enye.\n\nOne fly does not provide for another.\n\nA saying of the industrious to the idle, meaning that each should work\nfor himself as the flies do.\n\nKude e-Bakuba, akuyiwanga mntu.\n\nBakuba is far away, no person ever reached it.\n\nBakuba is an ideal country. This proverb is used as a warning against\nundue ambition, or as advice to be content with that which is within\nreach. It is equivalent to our English saying, It is no use building\ncastles in the air.\n\nKuxeliwe e-Xukwane apo kumaqasho makulu.\n\nThey have slaughtered at Kukwane where much meat is obtainable.\n\nAccording to tradition, there was once a very rich chief who lived at\nKukwane (near King William\u2019s Town), and who was in the habit of\nentertaining strangers in a more liberal manner than any who went\nbefore or who came after him. This proverb is used to such as ask too\nmuch from others, as if to say, It was only at Kukwane that such\nexpectations were realized.\n\nQabu Unoqolomba efile.\n\nI rejoice that Kolomba\u2019s mother is dead.\n\nThe mother of Kolomba was, according to tradition, a very disagreeable\nperson. This saying is used when anything that one dreads or dislikes\nhas passed away.\n\nIzinto azimntaka Ngqika zonke.\n\nIt is not every one who is a son of Gaika.\n\nGaika was at the beginning of this century the most powerful chief west\nof the Kei. This proverb signifies that all are not equally fortunate.\n\nUyakulila ngasonye uxele inkawu.\n\nYou will shed tears with one eye like a monkey.\n\nA warning used to deter any one from being led into a snare of any\nkind. It is said that when a monkey is caught in a trap he cries, but\nthat tears come out of one eye only.\n\nLukozo lomya.\n\nIt is the seed of the umya (a species of wild hemp).\n\nThis saying is applied to any thing or person considered very\nbeautiful. The seed referred to is like a small jet black bead.\n\nUdhle incholo.\n\nHe has drunk the juice of the flower of the wild aloe.\n\nSaid of a dull, sleepy person. This juice when drunk has a stupefying\neffect, and benumbs the limbs so as to make them powerless for a time.\n\nIndonga ziwelene.\n\nThe walls have come into collision.\n\nSaid of any dispute between persons of consequence.\n\nUvutelwe pakati nje nge vatala.\n\nHe is ripe inside, like a water-melon.\n\nSaid of any one who has come to a resolution without yet expressing it.\nFrom its appearance it cannot be said with certainty whether a\nwater-melon is ripe or not.\n\nIsala kutyelwa siva ngolopu.\n\nA person who will not take advice gets knowledge when trouble overtakes\nhim.\n\nUyakuva into embi eyaviwa ngu Hili wase Mambalwini.\n\nYou will find out what Hili of the Amambalu experienced.\n\nHili, or Tikoloshe, is, according to the belief of the Kaffirs, a\nmischievous being who usually lives in the water, but who goes about as\na human dwarf playing tricks upon people. He milks the cows when no one\nis watching them. He causes women to fall in love with him, for he is\nof a very amorous disposition towards the female sex. The uncivilized\nKaffirs, even at the present day, do not doubt the existence of such a\nbeing. It is said that a long time ago there was a man of the Amambalu\nwho had good reason to suspect that his wife had fallen in love with\nHili. He accordingly pretended to go upon a journey, but returned in\nthe middle of the night and fastened his dogs at the door of his hut.\nHe then went inside and kindled a fire, when, as he anticipated, he\nfound Hili there. The man called his neighbours, who came with sticks\nand beat Hili till he was unable to move. They then tied him up in a\nbundle, fastened him to the back of the woman, and sent her away to\nwander wherever she liked.\n\nThis saying is applied as a warning to people to avoid doing wrong,\nlest the punishment of Hili overtake them.\n\nUlahla imbo yako ngopoyiyana.\n\nYou have cast away your own for that which you are not sure of.\n\nThis proverb is equivalent to the English one, A bird in the hand is\nworth two in the bush.\n\nYimbabala yolwantunge.\n\nHe is a buck of an endless forest.\n\nA saying applied to a shiftless person, one who never continues long in\nany occupation.\n\nUzipembela emoyeni.\n\nYou are lighting a fire in the wind.\n\nSaid to any one who favours strangers in preference to relatives, or to\ntheir disadvantage.\n\nYintlolela yombini.\n\nA spy for both.\n\nSaid of a talebearer.\n\nAkuko ramncwa lingagqimiyo kowalo umxuma.\n\nThere is no beast that does not roar in its den.\n\nThis proverb means that a man recognises no superior in his own\nestablishment. It is the Kaffir equivalent for, Every cock crows on his\nown dunghill.\n\nInja yomoya.\n\nA dog of the wind.\n\nA saying applied to any one who has no settled plan of living.\n\nUkaka kampetu.\n\nThe shield turned the wrong way.\n\nThis saying is applied to any one who goes over from one party to\nanother. It is a common expression for one who turns evidence against\naccomplices in crime.\n\nNgumpa wezala.\n\nIt is a cob stripped of maize in an ashpit.\n\nSaid of a worthless character.\n\nIsinama ndokunamatela.\n\nI, the adhesive grass, will stick fast to you.\n\nThe isinama is a kind of grass that sticks to one\u2019s clothing when it is\ntouched, and can hardly be brushed off afterwards. This proverb is used\nas a warning to any one to avoid a bad habit or an unworthy companion\nthat cannot easily be got rid of.\n\nAlitshonanga lingenandaba.\n\nThe sun never sets without fresh news.\n\nAmaqotyazana angalaliyo emzini.\n\nThey are people of experience who do not sleep at a strange place.\n\nThis proverb is used in praise of one who is smart in going a message,\nor who performs any duty at a distance quickly.\n\nWokolwa yeyokosa.\n\nYou will prefer roasted meat.\n\nThis saying is applied to any one who is boasting immoderately, as a\nwarning that if he does not take care he will get into trouble, when he\nwill be glad to take whatever comes to hand. He will prefer roast meat\nbecause it is easily cooked, and he will have neither time nor means to\nboil it. This saying is also used as a threat, as if one said, I will\npunish you thoroughly.\n\nKuhla ngamqalamnye.\n\nThroats are all alike in swallowing.\n\nThis proverb is used when one asks another for anything, and implies,\nIf you do not give to me now, I will not give to you when I have\nanything that you would like a share of.\n\nOmasiza mbulala.\n\nThe people who rescue and kill.\n\nThis saying is applied to Europeans. It first arose from the heavy\ndemands made by Lord Charles Somerset upon the Gaikas in return for\nEnglish protection, but the Kaffirs maintain that we have acted up to\nthe description ever since. It is sometimes put in this form, The\npeople who protect with one hand and kill with the other.\n\nKukuza kuka Nxele.\n\nThe coming of Nkele.\n\nNkele (the lefthanded), or Makana, one of the most remarkable men that\nKaffirland has produced, rose by his own merits from a private station\nto be the leader of the Ndlambe clans in the second decade of this\ncentury. It was he who united them against the English after Lord\nCharles Somerset invaded their country with a view of compelling them\nto recognise a chief whom they detested. He led in person the attack\nupon Grahamstown, and only retreated after the flower of his forces was\nswept away. To obtain peace for his people, he voluntarily surrendered\nto the English troops, and was sent as a prisoner of state to Robben\nIsland. In attempting to make his escape from the island in a boat, he\nwas drowned. But the Kaffirs would not believe that Makana was dead,\nfor they deemed him immortal. All through the wars of 1835, 1846\u20137, and\n1851\u20132, they looked for his reappearance to lead them to victory. Ten\nyears ago his personal ornaments were still in preservation at a\nvillage near King William\u2019s Town, but about that date the hope of his\nreturn was generally abandoned. Injunctions which Makana laid upon his\ncountrymen are still implicitly obeyed. Before his time the corpses of\ncommon people were not usually interred, but by his orders it has been\ndone ever since.\n\nThe saying implies anything long expected, but which never occurs. It\nis now in general use, though it is only of a few years\u2019 standing.\n\nIlizwe lifile.\n\nThe land is dead.\n\nA saying which implies that war has commenced.\n\nUbukulu abubangwa.\n\nOne does not become great by claiming greatness.\n\nThis proverb is used to incite any one to the performance of noble\ndeeds. It means, a man\u2019s actions, not his talk and boasting, are what\npeople judge of his greatness by.\n\nKuhlangene isanga nenkohla.\n\nThe wonderful and the impossible have come into collision.\n\nA saying applied to any intricate question.\n\nYinkungu nelanga.\n\nThe mist and the sun are together.\n\nA saying denoting a very great number.\n\nLunyawo lwemfene.\n\nIt is the foot of a baboon.\n\nA saying denoting a treacherous person.\n\nSova singasemoyeni.\n\nWe shall hear, we are on the side towards which the wind blows.\n\nThe saying denotes, we shall soon know all that is going on.\n\nUmke namangabangaba aselwandhle.\n\nHe has gone in pursuit of the (fabulous) birds of the sea.\n\nA saying applied to one whose ambitious aspirations are not likely to\nbe realized.\n\nUmona wasemlungwini ubandeza icitywa ungaliqabi.\n\nThey prevent us from getting red clay from the pit, and they do not use\nit.\n\nThis saying is used of Europeans, to denote that they act as the dog in\nthe manger towards the Kaffirs. It has unfortunately become a very\ncommon expression.\n\nUsela ngendebe endala.\n\nYou drink out of the old cup.\n\nThe indebe is a drinking vessel made of rushes. The saying is used to a\nwealthy man, and means, You use a vessel handed down to you from your\nancestors.\n\nUkasela eziko.\n\nYou are creeping on your knees to the fireplace.\n\nThis saying is used as a warning to any one who is following a course\nthat must lead to ruin. It is as if one said, You are like an infant\ncrawling towards the fire circle (in the middle of a Kaffir hut), who\nis sure to get burnt.\n\nUkuhlinza impuku.\n\nTo skin a mouse.\n\nA saying which implies, to do anything secretly. A mouse can be skinned\nwithout any one seeing it, but an ox cannot.\n\nYeyele ngelomkono.\n\nIt has stuck fast by one of the front legs.\n\nThis saying is used when one has committed oneself to any matter of\nimportance. An animal cannot extricate itself easily when fast by one\nof its front legs.\n\nUgqada mbekweni.\n\nOne who eats the remains of a meal without first obtaining permission.\n\nThis saying is used of an uncalled-for expression of opinion.\n\nUkaulela inkawu ziyakasela.\n\nYou disturb monkeys on their way to drink.\n\nThis saying is used to express uncalled-for interference.\n\nUmafa evuka njengenyanga.\n\nIt dies and rises like the moon.\n\nSaid of any question that springs up again after it is supposed to be\nsettled.\n\nAkuko nkanga idubula ingeti.\n\nThere is no wormwood that comes into flower and does not wither.\n\nA proverb descriptive of the life of man.\n\nUnyawo alunampumlo.\n\nThe foot has no nose.\n\nThis proverb is an exhortation to be hospitable. It is as if one said,\nGive food to the traveller, because when you are on a journey your foot\nwill not be able to smell out and avoid a man whom you have turned from\nyour door, but to your shame it may carry you to his.\n\nUzicandele umgalagala.\n\nYou have exposed yourself.\n\nThis saying is applied as a warning not to give anything to an\nimportunate person, as he would very likely be encouraged thereby to\ncontinue asking for more.\n\nInkala ixingetyeni.\n\nThe crab has stuck fast between the stones at the entrance of its hole.\n\nSaid of any one who is involved in difficulties of his own creation, or\nof one who raises an argument and is beaten in it.\n\nUbopelele inja enkangeni.\n\nHe has fastened a dog to a shrub.\n\nThis saying is used to denote a very greedy person, one who is so\ngreedy as to fasten his dog to a shrub that the animal may not beg for\nfood while he is eating. The shrub denoted is the very common one that\nis covered with yellow flowers at midsummer.\n\nYimbini yezolo yakwa Gxuluwe.\n\nGuluwe\u2019s two of yesterday.\n\nThis is a saying of any one who goes away promising to return, and does\nnot do so. It had its origin in an event which happened five\ngenerations back. Guluwe was a hunter of great renown, who crossed the\nKei with Khakhabay, the great-grandfather of the late Sandile. No man\nwas ever so skilful and successful in the pursuit of game as he. But\nwhen Khakhabay took possession of the Amatolas, which he purchased from\nthe Hottentot chieftainess Hoho, he found them infested by great\nnumbers of bushmen. One day Guluwe, who had two young men with him,\nkilled an eland, but while he was still shouting his cry of triumph:\n\u201cTsi! ha! ha! ha! ha! the weapons of Khakhabay!\u201d he was surprised by a\nnumber of these inhuman abatwa. They said: \u201cLook at the sun for the\nlast time, you shall kill no more of our game.\u201d Guluwe offered them a\nlarge quantity of dacha (a species of wild hemp, used for smoking) for\nhis ransom. One of the abatwa was unwilling to spare him, but all the\nrest agreed. They kept him with them while he pretended to send the two\nyoung men for the dacha, but privately he told them not to return. The\nbushmen then commenced to eat the eland. They ate that day, and all\nthat night, never ceasing to watch Guluwe. The next morning they asked\nhim when the young men would be back with the dacha, and he replied\nthat he did not expect them before sunset. The abatwa, gorged with\nmeat, then lay down to sleep, all except the one who advised that\nGuluwe should not be spared. That one watched a while longer, but at\nlength he too was overcome by drowsiness. Guluwe then with his assagai\nput one after another to death, until, forgetting himself, he shouted\nhis cry: \u201cTsi! ha! ha! ha! ha! Izikali zika Rarabe!\u201d This awakened the\nbushman who had advised that he should be killed; he now sprang to his\nfeet and escaped, calling out as he ran with the speed of the wind: \u201cI\nsaid this Guluwe of the Khakhabays should be destroyed; you who are\ndead have perished through not following my advice.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES.\n\n\nSTORY OF THE BIRD THAT MADE MILK.\n\n(a) The word amasi, translated milk, means that kind of fermented milk\nwhich is used by the Kaffirs. When taken from the cow, the milk is put\ninto a skin bag, where it ferments and acquires a sharp acid taste.\nWhen poured out for use by the master of the household, who is the only\none permitted to touch the milk-sack, a portion is always left behind\nto act as leaven. Amasi is very nutritious; it forms one of the\nprincipal articles of food of the Kaffirs, and is relished by most\nEuropeans in Kaffirland. In warm weather, especially, it is a pleasant\nand wholesome beverage.\n\n(b) Among the Kaffirs the work of cultivating the ground fell entirely\nupon the women in olden times. The introduction of the plough has\ncaused a change in this respect, but to the present day the planting\nand weeding is performed by females.\n\n(c) Ik\u00f9ba, a pick or hoe. Before the advent of Europeans, the largest\nimplement that was made was this instrument for breaking up the ground.\nIt was of nearly the same shape as a European hoe; but in place of\nhaving an eye, into which a handle could be fastened, it was made with\na top like a spike, which was driven into the large knob of a long and\nheavy club. It was at best a clumsy tool.\n\n(d) Kaffir law recognises the right of individuals to possess landed\nproperty. The chief allots a piece of ground to a family, by whom it is\nretained and held in possession as long as it is cultivated. It is\nforfeited by abandonment for a long time without assigning sufficient\ncause. It cannot be sold. Pasture land is held in common.\n\n(e) Itunga, a basket used to milk the cows in. It is woven so nicely as\nto be watertight. The Kaffirs are expert in making baskets and mats,\nbut never attempt to dye any of the materials of which they are\ncomposed, or otherwise to ornament them. They use mats as we use\ndishes, to eat from.\n\n(f) The potter\u2019s art is now being lost by the Kaffirs. The large jars\nare being replaced by wooden casks purchased from Europeans, and iron\npots have already come into general use.\n\n(g) The Kaffir house has only one opening, which is low and narrow, but\nwhich serves for door, window, and chimney.\n\n(h) The fireplace is a circle in the centre of the hut. It is made by\nraising a ring on the hard and smooth ant-heap floor. Round it the\ninmates sleep, while the back of the hut, or the side opposite the\nentrance, is used as a store room. There the jars and other household\nutensils would usually be placed.\n\n(i) Intambo, a riem, or thong of untanned oxhide.\n\n(j) Equivalent to saying that they journeyed for three days.\n\n(k) There are no crocodiles in the rivers of the present Amaxosa\ncountry, but the reptile and its habits are well known to the people by\nhearsay. According to their traditions, the tribe migrated from the\nnorth-east. It is not unlikely that the Xosa belief in a water-spirit\nwhich has power to charm people and entice them into rivers to their\ndestruction, may have originated in the fact of their having come from\na country where these destructive animals were common, as the spirit\nand the reptile have the same name. In this story it is seemingly a\ncrocodile that appears, but very shortly we learn that it is really a\nman who has been bewitched and forced to assume that appearance.\n\n(l) Boys \u201center manhood,\u201d or acquire the privileges of men, by a\nceremony similar to the ntonjane.\n\n(m) Up to this point there is nothing to indicate that the girl knew he\nwas not in reality a crocodile, but here it is evident that she was\naware he was a man under the power of a charm, for she uses a proper\nname when speaking of him, as is indicated by the prefix U.\n\n(n) The inference from this is that his enemies had bewitched him and\nmade him assume the appearance of a crocodile, but that the young woman\non account of her good qualities and great love for him had power to\ndispel the charm, and by licking his face had enabled him to resume his\nproper form as a man.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF FIVE HEADS.\n\nIn this story some liberty is taken with the Kaffir marriage\nceremonies, a description of which will serve as a key to much that is\ncontained in several of these tales. The whole of the ceremonies are\nincluded in the term umdudo, a word derived from the verb ukududa,\nwhich means to dance by springing up and down, as ukuxentsa means to\ndance by moving the upper part of the body. The dance at a marriage is\nconsidered of more importance than any of the others, and is therefore\nfrequently practised until skill in its performance is attained.\n\nThe marriage of a young Kaffir woman is arranged by her father or\nguardian, and she is not legally supposed to be consulted in the choice\nof a husband. In point of fact, however, matches arising from mutual\nlove are not uncommon. In such cases, if any difficulties are raised by\nthe guardians on either side, the young people do not scruple to run\naway together, after which their relatives usually come to an\narrangement. Yet instances are not wanting of girls being compelled\nagainst their wishes to marry old men, who have already perhaps five or\nsix wives. Kaffir ideas of some kinds of morality are very low. The\ncustom is general for a married woman to have a lover who is not her\nhusband, and little or no disgrace attaches to her on this account. The\nlover is legally subject to a fine of no great amount, and the husband\nmay give the woman a beating, but that finishes the penalty.\n\nThat which makes a Kaffir marriage binding in their estimation, is not\nthe performance of a ceremony, but the transfer of a certain number of\ncattle, as agreed upon, from the husband or his friends to the father\nor guardian of the woman. In practice the umdudo is often deferred to a\nconvenient season, yet the woman is considered not less a wife, and her\nchildren not less legal, provided always that the transfer of cattle\nhas taken place according to agreement. This system of transfer of\ncattle is of great advantage to a Kaffir female. It protects her from\ngross ill-treatment by her husband, as violence gives a woman\u2019s\nrelatives a right to claim her divorce without restoring the cattle. It\ncreates protectors for herself and her children in the persons of all\nthe individuals among whom the cattle are shared. And lastly, it gives\nher the status of a married woman in the estimation of her people,\nwhereas, if no cattle are transferred, she is not regarded by them as\nhaving the rank of a wife.\n\nMarriages are absolutely prohibited between people of the same family\ntitle. This peculiarity seems to indicate that the tribes and clans of\nthe present day are combinations of others that were dispersed before\ntheir traditional history commenced. A man may marry a woman of the\nsame clan that he belongs to, provided she is not a blood relative; but\nhe may not marry a woman whose father\u2019s family title is the same as his\nown, even though no relationship can be traced between them, and the\none may belong to the Xosa and the other to the Pondo tribe. As an\ninstance, we will take a man who belongs to, say, the Dushane clan of\nthe Xosa tribe, and whose family title is the Amanywabe. Among the\nTembus, the Pondos, the Zulus, and many other tribes, are people with\nthis same family title. They cannot trace any relationship with each\nother, but wherever they are found they have ceremonies peculiar to\nthemselves. Thus the customs observed at the birth of a child are\nexactly the same in every part of the country among people of the same\nfamily title, though they may never have heard of each other, while\nneighbours of the same clan, but of different family titles, have these\ncustoms altogether dissimilar. All the children take the family title\nof the father, and can thus marry people of the same family title as\nthe mother, provided they are not closely related in blood.\n\nMarriage proposals may come from the father or guardian of the young\nwoman, or they may first be made by the man himself or the relatives of\nthe man who wishes to take a wife. The father of a young man frequently\nselects a bride for him, and intimates his wish by sending a messenger\nto make proposals to the girl\u2019s father or guardian. In this case the\nmessenger takes some cattle with him, when, if the advances are\nfavourably received, an assagai is sent back, after which the relatives\nof the young people discuss and finally arrange the terms of the\nmarriage. If the proposal comes from the girl\u2019s father, he sends an\nassagai, which is accepted if the suit is agreeable, or returned if it\nis not.\n\nWhen the preliminary arrangements are concluded, a bridal procession is\nformed at the young woman\u2019s kraal, to escort her to her future home. It\nconsists of her relatives and all the young people of both sexes who\ncan get away. It leaves at such a time as to arrive at its destination\nafter dark, and endeavours to reach the place without attracting\nnotice. The bridal party takes with it a cow, given by the bride\u2019s\nfather or guardian to confer fortune upon her, and hence called the\nInqakwe. This cow is afterwards well taken care of by the husband. The\nparty has also an ox provided by the same person, as his contribution\ntowards the marriage feast. On the following morning at daylight the ox\nis killed, when a portion of the meat is taken by the bride\u2019s party,\nand the remainder is left for the people of the kraal. The bridegroom\u2019s\nfriends then send messengers to invite the people of the neighbourhood\nto the feast, and as soon as these arrive the dancing commences.\n\nIn the dance the men stand in lines three, four, or more rows in depth,\naccording to their number, and at a little distance behind the women\nstand in the same order, that is, they are ranged as follows:\u2014\n\n\n                     \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n                             LINES\n                     \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n                               OF\n                     \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n                              MEN.\n                     \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n                          OPEN SPACE.\n\n                     \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n                            LINES OF\n                     \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n                             WOMEN.\n                     \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n\nThe men stand with their heads erect and their arms locked together.\nThey are nearly naked, but wear ornaments of brass around their waists.\nThe trappings of the war dance are altogether wanting. The women are,\nhowever, in full dress, for their part consists only in singing. When\nall are ready, a man who has been selected for the purpose commences to\nsing, the others immediately join in, and at a certain note the whole\nof the men rise together from the ground. The dance consists merely in\nspringing straight up and coming down with a quivering of the body; but\nwhen the men warm to it, it gives them great satisfaction. The song is\nvery monotonous, the same note occurring at every rise from the ground.\nThis dancing, with intervals of rest and feasting, continues as long as\nthe bridegroom\u2019s relatives supply oxen for slaughter. A day suffices\nfor a poor man, but a rich man\u2019s marriage festivities may last a week\nor upwards.\n\nOn the closing day the bridegroom and his friends march from one hut,\nwhile the bride and her party march from another, so as to meet in\nfront of the entrance to the cattle kraal. The bride carries an assagai\nin her hand, which she throws so as to stick in the ground inside the\nkraal in an upright position. This is the last of the ceremonies, and\nthe guests immediately begin to disperse, each man taking home the\nmilk-sack which he had brought with him. In olden times ox-races\nusually took place on the closing day; but this custom is now falling\ninto neglect.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF TANGALIMLIBO.\n\nThis is a favourite story, and is therefore very widely known.\nSometimes it happens that native girls are employed as nurses by\nEuropeans, and that little children are taught by them to sing, or\nrather chant the song of the cock, so that this story may even be like\n\u201can old acquaintance with a cheerful face\u201d to many of our own race who\nhave grown up on the frontier.\n\nThe original of the first song is:\u2014\n\n\n    Uyalila, uyalila, umta ka Sihamba Ngenyanga.\n    Wenziwe ngabomu Sihamba Ngenyanga,\n    Ngabantu abantloni. Sihamba Ngenyanga.\n    Bamtuma amanzi emini. Sihamba Ngenyanga.\n    Waba kuka ngetunga, laza latshona. Sihamba Ngenyanga.\n    Waba kuka ngomcepe, waza watshona. Sihamba Ngenyanga.\n    Waba kuka ngexakato, laza latshona. Sihamba Ngenyanga.\n\n\nThat of the second is:\u2014\n\n\n    Ndiyi nkuku nje ndingebulawe. Kukulu ku-u-u.\n    Ndize kubika u-Tangalimlibo. Kukulu ku-u-u.\n    U-Tangalimlibo ufile. Kukulu ku-u-u.\n    Ukelele umntu ntloni amanzi. Kukulu ku-u-u.\n    Ibe kutunywa inkomo, yakonya. Kukulu ku-u-u.\n    Yaba kutunywa inja, yakonkota. Kukulu ku-u-u.\n\n\nAmong the Kaffirs a childless woman finds little or no favour. In many\ncases she would be treated by her husband in exactly the manner\ndescribed in this tale, so that by becoming a mother she might say from\nthe bottom of her heart, with Elizabeth of old, that \u201cher reproach was\ntaken away from among men.\u201d Sometimes she is returned by her husband to\nher parents, a proceeding commonly adopted when she has a marriageable\nsister who can be given to him in exchange. The husband is required,\nhowever, before repudiating his wife, to go through the customary\nceremonies, which are described in the following case tried before me\nwhen acting as a border magistrate in 1881:\u2014A, a Kaffir, sued B,\nanother Kaffir, to recover the value of a heifer lent to him two years\nbefore under these circumstances. B\u2019s wife, who was distantly related\nto A, had been married more than a year without bearing a child. B\nthereupon applied to him for a heifer, the hair of the tail of which\nwas needed by the doctor of the clan to make a charm to put round the\nwoman\u2019s neck. He had lent him one for the purpose, and now wanted\npayment for it. The defence was that A, being the woman\u2019s nearest\nrelative who had cattle, was bound to furnish a heifer for the purpose.\nThe hair of the tail was needed, the doctor had made a charm of it and\nhung it round the woman\u2019s neck, and she had thereafter given birth to a\nson. The heifer could not be returned after being so used. In this\ncase, if the plaintiff had been so nearly related to defendant\u2019s wife\nas to have participated in the benefit of the cattle given by her\nhusband for her, he could not have justified his claim under Kaffir\nlaw; but as he was very distantly connected, he got judgment. The\nfeeling entertained by the Kaffirs about the court in this instance was\nthat B had acted very ungratefully towards A, who had not even been\npresent at the woman\u2019s marriage feast, but who had cheerfully acted in\nconformity with the custom which requires that a charm must be made out\nof the hair of the tail of a heifer belonging to a relative of a\nchildless wife, in order to cause her to bear children.\n\nIt will be observed that the woman speaks of those whose names are\nunmentionable. According to Kaffir custom no woman may pronounce the\nnames of any of her husband\u2019s male relatives in the ascending line. She\nis bound to show them the greatest respect, and implicitly to obey\ntheir commands. She may not sit in the house where her father-in-law is\nseated, she may not even pronounce any word in which the principal\nsyllable of his name occurs. Thus, a woman who sang the song of\nTangalimlibo for me used the word angoca instead of amanzi for water,\nbecause this last contained the syllable nzi, which she would not on\nany account pronounce. She had therefore manufactured another word, the\nmeaning of which had to be judged of by the context, as standing alone\nit is meaningless.\n\nThe beer-drinking company on the mats under a tree, the escort of the\nbride to her husband, and the wedding feast are true to the life.\n\nThe idea of the Kaffir with regard to drowning is also shown very\ndistinctly in this tale. He believes that a spirit pulls the person\nunder water, and that this spirit is willing sometimes to accept an ox\nas a ransom for the human victim. How this belief works practically may\nbe illustrated by facts which have come under my own cognizance.\n\nSome time in 1875, a party of Kaffir girls went to bathe in a little\nstream not far from the place where I was then living. There was a deep\nhole in the stream, into which one of them got, and she was drowned.\nThe others ran away home as fast as they could, and there told a story\nhow their companion had been lured away from their side by the spirit\ncalling her. She was with them, they said, in a shallow part, when\nsuddenly she stood upright and said, \u201cIt is calling.\u201d She then walked\nstraight into the deep place, and would not allow any of them to touch\nher. One of them heard her saying, \u201cGo and tell my father and my mother\nthat it took me.\u201d Upon this, the father collected his cattle as quickly\nas possible, and set off for the stream. The animals were driven into\nthe water while the man stood on the bank imploring the spirit to take\nthe choicest of them and restore his daughter. The failure to get the\nexchange effected is still attributed by the relatives of the drowned\ngirl to the absence of one skilful to work with medicines.\n\nOn another occasion, a Kaffir was trying to cross one of the fords of a\nriver when it was in flood. He was carried away by the current, but\nsucceeded in getting safely to land some quarter of a mile or so\nfurther down. Eight or ten lusty fellows saw him carried off his feet,\nbut not one made the slightest effort to help him. On the contrary,\nthey all rushed away frantically, shouting out to the herd boys on the\nhill sides to drive down the cattle. As might be supposed, the escape\nof the man from being drowned was then attributed to his being in\npossession of a powerful charm.\n\nBesides these spirits, according to the belief of the Kaffirs, there\nare people living under the water, pretty much as those do who are in\nthe upper air. They have houses and furniture, and even cattle, all of\ntheir domestic animals being, however, of a dark colour. They are wiser\nthan other people, and from them the most skilful witchfinders are\nsupposed to obtain a portion of the knowledge of their art. This is not\na fancy of children, but the implicit belief of grown-up men and women\nat the present day. A knowledge of this is of great service to those\nwho have to do with Kaffirs. As an instance, a woman came to me in\nJuly, 1881, to beg assistance. A child had died in her village, and the\nwitchfinder had pointed her out as the person who had caused its death.\nHer husband was absent, and the result of her being \u201csmelt out\u201d was\nthat no one would enter her hut, share food with her, or so much as\nspeak to her. If she was in a path every one fled out of her way, and\neven her own children avoided her. Being in the colony she could not be\notherwise punished, but such treatment as this would of itself, in\ncourse of time, have made her insane. She denied most emphatically\nhaving been concerned in the death of the child, though she did not\ndoubt that some one had caused it by means of witchcraft. The\nwitchfinder was sent for, and, as the matter was considered an\nimportant one, a larger number of Kaffirs than usual appeared at the\ninvestigation. On putting the ordinary tests to the witchfinder he\nfailed to meet them, and when he was compelled, reluctantly, to admit\nthat he had never held converse with the people under the water, it was\neasy to convince the bystanders that he was only an impostor.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF THE GIRL WHO DISREGARDED THE CUSTOM OF NTONJANE.\n\nA large proportion of Kaffir tales have a similar termination with many\nEnglish ones; the heroine gets married to a prince. These show that a\ndesire for worldly rank is as great in the one people as in the other.\nMost Kaffir tales are destitute of moral teaching from our point of\nview. What recommendation, for instance, has the girl in this story to\nthe favour of the young chief?\n\nThe custom which the chief\u2019s daughter disregarded is the following:\u2014\n\nWhen a Kaffir girl arrives at the age of puberty, messengers are sent\nby her father to all the neighbouring villages to invite the young\nwomen to attend the \u201cNtonjane.\u201d The girl in the meantime is kept\nsecluded in the house of an aunt, or other female relative, and her\nfather does not see her. Soon parties are seen coming from all sides,\nsinging as they march. The first party that arrives halts in front of\nthe cattle kraal, where it is joined by those that come after. When the\ngirls are all assembled, the father chooses an ox to be slaughtered.\nThe meat is cooked, and men and women come from all directions to the\nfeast. The men then instruct the women to dress the girls for the\ndance, and when this is done they are ranged in rows in front of the\ncattle kraal. They are almost naked having on only a girdle round the\nwaist, and an apron, called cacawe, made for the occasion out of the\nleaves of a certain plant. In their hands they hold assagais, using\nthem as walking sticks.\n\nWhen all is ready, four of the girls step out of the front row and\ndance, the rest singing; and when these are tired four others step out,\nand so on, until all the girls present have danced. The spectators then\napplaud the best dancer, or if they do not at once unanimously fix upon\nthe same person, the girls dance until all present agree.\n\nThe girls then give room to the men and women, who form themselves in\nlines in the same manner, and dance until it is decided which of them\nsurpass the others. The dancing is continued until sunset, when the men\nand women return home, leaving the party of girls (called the \u201cjaka\u201d)\nwho remain overnight.\n\nNext day dancing is resumed in the same order, the guests usually\narriving very early in the morning.\n\nIf the girl\u2019s father is a rich man three oxen are slaughtered, and the\nntonjane is kept up for twelve days. On the thirteenth day the young\nwoman comes out of the house where she has all the time been living\napart from her family. If the girl is a chief\u2019s daughter the ntonjane\nis kept up for twenty-four days. All the councillors send oxen to be\nslaughtered, that there may be plenty for the guests to eat.\n\nThe following ceremony takes place on the occasion of a chief\u2019s\ndaughter coming out of the house in which she was concealed during the\ntwenty-four days:\u2014\n\nA son of her father\u2019s chief councillor puts on his head the two wings\nof a blue crane (the indwe), regarded by the Kaffirs as an emblem of\nbravery only to be worn by veterans in time of war. He goes into the\nhouse where she is, and when he comes out she follows him. They march\ntowards the kraal where the dancing took place, the girl\u2019s mother, the\njaka, or party of young women, the girl\u2019s father, and his councillors,\nforming a procession. More cattle are slaughtered for the \u201cindwe,\u201d and\nthen dancing is renewed, after which the girl drinks milk for the first\ntime since the day when she was concealed in the house. Large skins\ncontaining milk are sent from different kraals to the place where the\nntonjane is held. Some milk is put into a small vessel made of rushes,\na little of it is poured on the fireplace, the aunt, or other female\nrelative, in whose charge the girl was, takes the first mouthful, then\nshe gives the milk to the girl, who, after having drunk, is taken to\nher mother\u2019s house. The people then disperse, and the ntonjane is over.\n\nThis ceremony is frequently attended with gross licentiousness. The\ngirls of the jaka are allowed by immemorial custom to select\nsweethearts, and this liberty often leads to depravity.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF SIMBUKUMBUKWANA.\n\nCharms and medicines for the cure of diseases are classed together by\nthe Kaffirs. Some of the women as well as of the men have really a\nwonderful knowledge of the properties of herbs and roots. They are\nacquainted with various vegetable-poisons and with their antidotes, and\nnot unfrequently make use of them.\n\nA case recently came before me for investigation, in which a Kaffir\nwoman was suspected of having administered poison to another person. In\nher hut a great variety of roots and dried herbs was found. These were\ncarefully separated, and then persons skilled in such matters were\nbrought to give evidence as to their properties. Anything like\ncollusion was impossible, yet each one without hesitation stated what\neach medicine was to be used for, and all agreed.\n\nOne plant was for curing stomach-ache, another acted as an emetic, a\nthird cured the sting of a venomous insect, and so on. But among them\nwas a plant to be chewed when crossing a stream, to prevent the river\nspirit from biting a person. Another was a root to be used to gain the\nfavour of a judge during a trial. The method of using this last was as\nfollows:\u2014\n\nA portion of it was to be placed upon some coals, over which the man\nwas to sit, covering himself and the fire with his mantle so as to be\nthoroughly smoked. During the trial another portion was to be kept in\nthe mouth.\n\nNot the slightest distinction was made by the witnesses between these\ndifferent kinds of \u201cmedicines.\u201d\n\nThe Kaffir is a perfect slave to charms, and hardly ever undertakes any\nmatter of importance without using them.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF SIKULUME.\n\nThe game called Iceya is mentioned in this story as being played in the\nrock that became a hut. The games with which Kaffir boys are accustomed\nto amuse themselves are, as a rule such as require a large amount of\nexertion of legs, arms and lungs. In the European towns, and at Mission\nstations, they have generally adopted the English game of cricket, but\nat their own kraals they still practise the sports of their ancestors.\n\nAt a very early age they commence trials of skill against each other in\nthrowing knobbed sticks and imitation assagais. They may often be seen\nenjoying this exercise in little groups, those of the same age keeping\ntogether, for there is no greater tyrant in the world than the big\nKaffir boy over his younger fellows. Commencing with an ant-heap at a\ndistance of ten or fifteen yards, for a target, they gradually become\nso perfect that they can hit an object a foot square at double and even\ntreble that distance. The knobbed stick and the imitation assagai are\nthrown in different ways, the object of the first being to inflict a\nheavy blow upon the mark aimed at, while that of the last is to pierce\nit. This exercise strengthens the muscles of the arms, and gives\nexpansion to the chest. The result is that when the boys are grown up\nand become men, they are able to use their weapons without any further\ntraining. When practising, they keep up a continual noise, and if an\nunusually successful hit is made the thrower shouts the common Kaffir\ncry of exultation, Tsi! ha! ha! ha! ha! Izikali zika Rarabe! (The\nweapons of Kh\u00e0kh\u00e0bay).\n\nKaffir boys above the age of nine or ten years are fond of shamfighting\nwith sticks. They stand in couples, each with a foot advanced to meet\nthat of his antagonist, and with a cudgel elevated in the right hand.\nEach fixes his eye upon the eye of his opponent, and seeks to ward off\nblows as well as to inflict them. In these contests pretty hard strokes\nare sometimes given and received with the utmost good humour.\n\nA game of which they are very fond is an imitation hunt. In this, one\nof them represents a wild animal of some kind, a second acts as a\nhunter, and the others take the part of dogs in pursuit. A space is\nmarked off, within which the one chased is allowed to take breath, when\nhe is said to be in the bush. He tries to imitate as closely as\npossible the animal he is representing. Thus if he is an antelope he\nsimply runs, but if he is a lion he stands and fights.\n\nThe calves of the kraal are under the care of the boys, and a good deal\nof time is passed in training them to run and to obey signals made by\nwhistling. The boys mount them when they are eighteen months or two\nyears old, and race about upon their backs. When the boys are engaged\nin any sport, one of the number is selected by lot to tend the calves.\nAs many blades of grass as there are boys are taken, and a knot is made\non the end of one of them. The biggest boy holds the blades between the\nfingers and thumb of his closed hand, and whoever draws the blade with\nthe knot has to act as herdsman.\n\nThey have also a simple game called hide and look for.\n\nIf they chance to be disinclined for active exercise, they amuse\nthemselves by moulding clay into little images of cattle, or by making\npuzzles with strings. Some of them are skilful in forming knots with\nthongs and pieces of wood, which it taxes the ingenuity of the others\nto undo. The cleverest of them sometimes practise tricks of deception\nwith grains of maize. They are so sharp that although one is sure that\nhe actually sees the grain taken into the right hand, that hand when\nopened will be found empty and the maize will be contained in the left,\nor perhaps it will be exhibited somewhere else.\n\nThe above comprise the common out-door sports of boys up to the age of\nfourteen or fifteen years. At that time of life they usually begin to\npractise the different dances which they will be required to take part\nin when they become men. These dances differ one from another almost as\nmuch as those practised by Europeans.\n\nThe commonest indoor game of the Kaffirs is the one called Iceya. This\ncan be played by two persons or any number exceeding two. The players\nsit in a circle, and each has a little piece of wood, a grain of corn,\nor something of the kind. It must be so small that it can easily be\nconcealed in a folded hand, and no player must have more than one. If\nthere are many players they form themselves into sides or parties, but\nwhen they are few in number one plays against the rest. This one\nconceals the toy in either of his hands, and throwing both arms out\nagainst an opponent he announces himself either as an Inhlangano (one\nwho meets), or an Ipambo (one who evades). His opponent throws his arms\nout in the same manner, so that his right hand shall be opposite the\nfirst player\u2019s left, and his left opposite the first player\u2019s right.\nThe clenched hands are then opened, and if the toys are found to meet,\nthe first player wins if he has called himself an inhlangano, or loses\nif an ipambo. If the toys do not meet, the case is reversed. When there\nare many players, one after another is beaten until two only are left.\nThis part of the game is called the Umnyadala (the winding up). Those\ntwo then play against each other, and the one who is beaten is said to\nbe left with the umnyadala, and is laughed at. The winner is greeted as\nthe wearer of the tiger skin mantle. In playing, the arms are thrown\nout very quickly, and the words are rapidly uttered, so that a stranger\nmight fancy there was neither order nor rule observed. Young men and\nboys often spend whole nights playing the Iceya, which has the same\nhold upon them as dice upon some Europeans.\n\nNext to the Iceya, the most popular indoor game with Kaffir children is\nthe Imfumba. One of the players takes a grain of maize, or any other\nsmall substance, in his hands, and pretends to place it in the hands of\nthe others, who are seated in a circle around him. He may really give\nit to one of them, or he may keep it himself. One is then selected to\nguess in whose possession it is. [2]\n\nThe last of the Kaffir indoor games is called Cumbelele. Three or four\nchildren stand with their closed hands on top of each other, so as to\nform a column. They sing \u201cCumbelele, cumbelele, pangalala,\u201d and at the\nlast la they draw their hands back sharply, each one pinching with his\nthumb nail the hand above.\n\nToys, as playthings, are few in number. Bows and arrows are sometimes\nseen, but generally boys prefer an imitation assagai.\n\nThe nodiwu is a piece of wood about six or eight inches long, an inch\nand a half or two inches wide, and an eighth or a quarter of an inch\nthick in the middle. Towards the edges it is bevelled off, so that the\nsurface is convex, or consists of two inclined planes. At one end it\nhas a thong attached to it by which it is whirled rapidly round. The\nother end of the thong is usually fastened to a small round piece of\nwood used as a handle. The nodiwu, when whirled round gives forth a\nnoise that can be heard at a considerable distance. Besides the use\nwhich it is put to by the lads, when a little child is crying inside a\nhut its mother or nurse will sometimes get a boy to make a noise with a\nnodiwu outside, and then induce the child to be still by pretending\nthat a monster is coming to devour it. There is a kind of superstition\nconnected with the nodiwu, that playing with it invites a gale of wind.\nMen will, on this account, often prevent boys from using it when they\ndesire calm weather for any purpose. This superstition is identical\nwith that which prevents many sailors from whistling at sea.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF HLAKANYANA.\n\nI have greatly reduced this story in bulk by leaving out endless\nrepetitions of exactly the same trick, but performed upon different\nindividuals or animals. In all other respects it is complete. The word\nHlakanyana means the little deceiver.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF DEMANE AND DEMAZANA.\n\nAmong the natives of South Africa relationship is viewed differently\nfrom what it is by Europeans. I have more than once heard Kaffirs\naccused of falsehood because they asserted one person to be their\nfather or mother at one time and a different person at another time.\nYet they were telling the truth according to their ideas. A common\ncomplaint concerning native servant girls is that they claim every\nother person they meet as a brother or a sister. Now, from their point\nof view, what we should term cousins are really brothers and sisters.\nIt is not poverty of language, for they have words to express shades of\nrelationship where we have none, but a difference of ideas, that causes\nthem to use the same word for father and paternal uncle, for brother\nand cousin, etc. Bawo is the word used in addressing father, father\u2019s\nbrother, or father\u2019s half-brother. Little children say Tata. But there\nare three different words for father, according as a person is speaking\nof his own father or uncle, of the father or uncle of the person he is\nspeaking to, or of the father or uncle of the person he is speaking of.\nSpeaking of my father, bawo is the word used: of your father, uyihlo;\nof his father, uyise. Malume is the brother of any one called mother.\nMa is the word used in addressing mother, any wife of father, or the\nsister of any of these. The one we should term mother can only be\ndistinguished from the others, when speaking of her, by describing her\nas uma wam kanye\u2014i.e., my real mother; or uma ondizalayo\u2014i.e., the\nmother who bore me. Speaking of my mother, ma is the word used: of your\nmother, unyoko; of his or her mother, unina. A paternal aunt is\naddressed as dadebobawo\u2014i.e., sister of my father. Mnakwetu is the word\nused by females in addressing a brother, half-brother, or male cousin.\nMales, when addressing any of these relations older than themselves,\nuse the word mkuluwa; and when addressing one younger than themselves\nsay mninawe. Dade is used in addressing a sister, a half-sister, or a\nfemale cousin. Females, when speaking to any of these relations younger\nthan themselves, usually say msakwetu. Mtakama is an endearing form of\nexpression, meaning child of my mother. Bawomkulu is the address of a\ngrandfather. Makulu is grandmother. Mtshana is the son of a sister.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RUNAWAY CHILDREN.\n\nThere are three or four versions of this story, but all agree in the\nmain points. In one, it is the grandmother of the children who is the\ncannibal, in another, it is their mother, and in a third it is the\nhusband of their aunt. One version makes Magoda escape with the\nchildren, and introduces a great deal of obscenity. The parts referring\nto the bird and the manner of the children\u2019s delivery are the same in\nall. So also is the episode of the broken pot, but the conversation\nbetween the two girls differs in some respects.\n\nWhen a Kaffir woman is married, her husband\u2019s parents give her a new\nname, by which she is known to his family ever after. Upon the birth of\nher first child, whether son or daughter, she is frequently called by\nevery one else after the name given to the child, \u201cthe mother of\nso-and-so.\u201d\n\nThe ntengu is rather larger than a swallow, and is of a bright\nbluish-black colour. It may often be seen on the backs of cattle,\nseeking for insects on which it feeds.\n\n\n\n\nTHE GIRL AND THE MBULU.\n\nThe mbulu is a fabulous creature, firmly believed in by little folks.\nIt can assume the human form, but cannot part with its tail. One of its\npeculiarities is that it never speaks the truth when it is possible to\ntell a falsehood.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF LONG SNAKE.\n\nIn this story the girls are represented as taking fermented milk to the\nman. This is not in accordance with ordinary Kaffir usage, which\nprohibits females from serving out milk. But Long Snake, though a man,\nhas been bewitched and obliged to assume the appearance of a serpent,\nretaining however the faculties of a human being.\n\nKaffir women grind, or rather bruise, millet by putting it on a flat\nstone, before which the worker kneels, and crushing it with a small\nround stone held in the hands. When several are working near each other\nof an evening, they usually lighten their labours by a rude chant. The\nbruised substance is mixed with water, and formed into small loaves of\nvery insipid bread.\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF KENKEBE.\n\nIn the above story Kenkebe is represented as the personification of\nselfish greed. In this character his name has passed into a common\nproverb\u2014\n\n\n    Sibayeni sonke, Kenkebe.\n    We are all bridegrooms, Kenkebe.\n\n\nThis saying is used to any one who does not readily share food with\nothers. It means, we are all entitled to a portion, you greedy one. A\nKaffir, when eating, commonly shares his food with any others who may\nbe present at the time.\n\n\n\n\nSTORY OF LION AND LITTLE JACKAL.\n\nThis story is very likely of Hottentot origin. It is generally told by\nthe Kaffirs, but I have observed that it is a special favourite in\nplaces only where there is a very strong tinge of Hottentot blood.\n\nIt is capable of indefinite extension by the narrator, but the tricks\nof Little Jackal are always very silly ones. The above are among the\nbest of them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n[1] Words without meaning, but used to express contempt, being merely a\nrepetition of the sound ngci.\n\n[2] A Kaffir who went with the mission party from Lovedale to Lake\nNyassa, and remained there several years, informs me that he found the\nImfumba the commonest game of the children in that part of Africa. When\nhe had learned the language of the people there, he was surprised to\nhear many of the common Kaffir folklore stories told nearly as he had\nheard them related by Gaika women when he was a boy.","title":"Kaffir folk-lore : $b A selection from the traditional tales current among the people living on the eastern border of the Cape Colony with copious explanatory notes","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":44651}