Thank you for dropping by! This blog to dedicated to African fairy tales. ‘Kwesukela’ roughly translates to ‘once upon a time’. In Zulu and siSwati we start a fairy tale with ‘Kwesuka sukela’ or ‘Kwesukela’ which means ‘it started’.
Please see links below to my growing list of stories. You can sign up to get the latest story sent straight to your inbox. I also have a Kwesukela Stories YouTube channel if you’re looking for the audio of some of these stories as well as stories on ancient African history.
River Daughter: The story of Tsangalembiba who could not go outside during the day.
They say I betrayed my
people. They say I caused the downfall of my nation. All these deaths stopper
my mouth. I cannot plead for understanding. Forgiveness is unimaginable. Tens
of thousands of gaunt-eyed warriors, weeping mothers and dead children buried at
my feet. Many say I was a pawn of our enemies for how could a 15 year-old child
cause so much destruction? I am
Nongqawuse, and this is my story.
The day my life changed
began like any other. I was sent by my uncle to scare away birds from his crop
fields. I took my friend Nombanda with me. We spent some time chasing away the
birds – they can be stubborn things – and eventually I became hot and thirsty.
The fields lay next to a river, so I decided to go refresh myself. Nombanda
followed me. She always followed where I led.
I descended the river bank
and followed a path of rocks to my favourite pool. I crouched down and let the
cool water lap around my legs. The river sounds lulled my mind into a
meditative state. Suddenly two men and a woman appeared in front of us. They
looked at once familiar and strange. My mind screamed at me to run. That these
people were not human at all. Their dark skin glowed too brightly. Their long
brown hair constantly moved even though no breeze stirred around us. Their eyes
were a colour I could not name, and I found I could not look directly at them.
Then they spoke. In voices that sounded like roaring fire. I would have run but
my feet were rooted to the ground.
They spoke of a new day
for my nation. A day when we would defeat our enemies and the cattle would no
longer become sick. They told me how this would come to be. My heart
constricted in fear at the great burden that had been laid upon me. To save my
people. And then they disappeared. I immediately fell into the water in exhaustion
and Nombanda rushed forward to rescue me from drowning. Her eyes were
bewildered. She kept asking me what was wrong. It slowly dawned on me that she had
not seen what I had seen! She had not seen them.
She had not heard them speak. She had not felt their power.
I did not have time to explain everything to Nombanda. I had to get to my uncle immediately. We rushed back and found him home. I told him of how the ancestors had visited me and the prophecy they had foretold. They had told me that we had to slaughter all the cattle, and cease all cultivation. We were to build new homes and abandon witchcraft and adultery. In return for our obedience, our enemy would be swept into the sea. The drought would be broken and our cattle would no longer die of mysterious sicknesses. I had to make my uncle understand the importance of this message, else our people were doomed. As councilor, he had the Chief’s ear. Who would listen to a young girl who saw visions?
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This is based on the true story of Nongqawuse – a Xhosa girl who lived more than 100 years ago. She was an orphan, brought up by her uncle Mhlakaza. Her people waged war with the British, who wanted to rule over the Xhosa and their land. The wars killed many of the Xhosa and their cattle. Then, to make things worse, their cattle became sick. They caught a lung disease from a herd of cattle that White settlers brought from Europe. Their grain was also infected with a disease that killed the maize before it was ripe. The Xhosa believed that these diseases were ubuthi, or evil, caused by witchcraft. They also blamed the White settlers for their problems, because they took their land and tried to destroy their traditions and beliefs.
Then Nongqawuse had a vision. One day she went to a river pool and spirits appeared to her. Nongqawuse told her people that the spirits had told her a new day would come for the Xhosa. Their ancestors would rise from the dead and they would bring new cattle with them. The ubuthi would stop, and the land would be full of new grain. The sun would set in the East and a whirlwind would come and blow all the Whites into the sea.
(End of part 1) On
completing her tale, the Ka of the woman, then said, ‘now you know the truth of
this book. It is not yours to take and you have no claim upon it.’ Setna
thought on all the Ka had said, and he was a little frightened, but his desire
for the book was strong and he believed he would be able to defeat the power
that had overcome Nefrekeptah. ‘I will take it by force then,’ he said. The two
Kas drew away from Setna in fear upon hearing this. Anherru was stunned by his
brother’s response and unsettled by the woman’s story. Before Anherru could
plead with Setna to take heed of the Ka’s tale, the Ka of Nefrekeptah
arose from out of his body and said, ‘if after hearing the tale my wife has
told you, you are still determined to have the book, then it must be yours. But first, you must win it from me, if your
skill is great enough, by playing the game of senet. If you lose, you will die.
Dare you do this?’
The silence was palpable as Setna wrestled with his feelings. His brother Anherru watched him with fascinated horror. Setna’s desire for the book finally overcame his fear. ‘I dare,’ he said, sounding braver than he felt. The Ka of Nefrekeptah conjured a senet set out of the air and they began to play. The first round was won by Setna, and he immediately became overconfident. He lost the second round and the next. Every time he lost, he sank into the ground. After a few losses he had sunk up to his waist. In desperation he called out to his brother to help him. He sent Anherru to find a twig from a sacred Persea tree and bring it to him. Anherru ran as fast as he could to find the tree – though it took him a long time as the tomb was surrounded by dessert. By the time he returned, only Setna’s head was above ground. Setna told Anherru to touch the twig to his face, after which he spoke a great incantation which released him from Nefrekeptah’s power and banished the Ka. Setna was then able to rise out of the ground. He snatched the book off Nefrekeptah’s chest and ran out of the tomb with the wails of the two Kas following him.
When he finally reached home, Setna read from the Book
of Wisdom. As the Kas had said, he had the ability to
enchant all that was on the land, the sea, and the air. He knew the speech of
all beasts and the secrets of the gods. He could read the future hidden in the
stars. Setna felt his life had reached his zenith, and no man could touch him for
wisdom and power. Other priests, scholars and magicians were in awe of him. Pharaoh
was extremely proud and happy to have such a powerful object in the hands of
his son. He anticipated using it to protect his kingdom from outside enemies.
Some days after reading the book, Setna began to have
bad dreams. In the beginning, he could not remember what had happened, but he
woke up inexplicably exhausted and bad-tempered. As time went on, he began to
remember more and more of the dreams. They were terrible. He would dream of Nefrekeptah
leading him around his house where he was horrified to see the dead bodies of
his wife and children. Then Nefrekeptah would lead him to the Pharaoh’s palace
where he would see his brothers and father, also dead. Their faces ravaged by a
terrible plague. Over and over again Nefrekeptah showed him these horrors and
Setna knew that is what would come to pass should he not return the book. Setna
did his best to avoid sleeping, but he was only a man after all. Besides, even
while he was awake the visions of his nightmares haunted him.
Finally, Stena appeared before Pharaoh to beg to return the book. His father scoffed at him and accused him of being frightened by insubstantial phantoms. Upon realising arguing was futile, Setna decided to show Pharaoh what he had seen, although he did not want to inflict his nightmares on anyone else. He put Pharaoh to sleep with magic, then whispered his visions in the Pharaoh’s ear. The spell worked in such a way that as Setna spoke, Pharaoh saw all that was described to him in his dreams. He twitched on the throne and his face convulsed in horror. When sweat broke upon his brow, Setna decided it was time to lift the spell. Pharaoh sat up in wide-eyed terror and told Setna to immediately return the book to Nefrekeptah’s tomb.
Setna did as his father had ordered and never looked back. The dreams stopped, and he lived to a ripe old age surrounded by his wife and children.
There once was a young prince called Setna who was a great scholar and magician. While the other princes reveled in hunting and doing battle, Setna loved nothing more than perusing great dusty books and learning about ancient hieroglyphics. While studying one day, he came across the story of another prince – Nefrekeptah – who like him, had been a wise man and magician. He had been even greater than Setna as he had read from the book of Thoth, the god of wisdom. This book had been buried with Nefrekeptah at his royal tomb in Memphis. The more Setna read about Nefrekeptah, the more discontented he became. Finally, he resolved nothing would do but for him to travel to this tomb and recover the book so that he may learn all wisdom.
He sought out his brother Anherru to aid him on his quest. Anherru could see the desperation for the book written all over Setna’s face and he found he had no choice but to go along with his brother. On reaching Memphis, they found the tomb of Nefrekeptah without any difficulty as his father had been a great Pharaoh. Inside the tomb, the found Nefrekeptah lying in silent death, and next to him were two Kas – or spirits. One was of a woman and the second was of a young boy. Setna bowed respectfully to the Kas and said ‘I greet you, dead son of a dead Pharaoh. I am Setna, the priest of Ptah, son of Rameses and I come for the Book of Thoth. Let me take it in peace – else I will take it by force.’ The Ka of the woman responded by saying ‘Do not take the book priest of Ptah for it will bring you sorrow like it did my husband. Take heed of my tale.’
The Ka of the woman then began to tell the tale of the
disaster that befell her husband. He had been studying one day when an old
priest mocked him saying ‘all you read is worthless for only the book of Thoth
holds true wisdom. The god wrote it in his own hand. Once you have read its pages
you will have the ability to enchant all that is on the land, the sea and the air. You will know the speech of all
beasts and the secrets of the gods. You will be able to read the future hidden
in the stars.’ Upon hearing this Nefrekeptah was consumed by the need to find
this book – just as Setna had been. The priest then gave him directions to
where the book lay and instructions on how to retrieve it. In return, the
priest received gold, silver, and gems.
Nefrekeptah took his wife and child with him to the
place the priest had directed him. He had said the book was to be found in the
middle of the Nile at Koptos. Once he had settled his wife and child, Nefrekeptah
sailed his boat into the middle of the Nile. The priest had said the book was
to be found inside an iron box, surrounded by a serpent who could not die. To
retrieve the book, Nefrekeptah created a magical boat and filled it with phantom
men. He tasked these apparitions with finding the book for him at the bottom of the
river, then sank the boat. He then returned to the shore to wait.
For three days and nights the men worked until finally, the magic boat arose out of the water and drifted silently to the shore. The men had found the book! As soon as the boat touched the sand, the men disappeared into thin air. Nefrekeptah walked calmly towards the boat, and as he approached the iron box, he saw the serpent that could not be slain rear its head threateningly. He conjured a sword out the air and fast as lightening cut off the serpent’s head. The head flew into the air, but within moments the two pieces of the serpent were joined together again. After a couple more attempts, he had to agree with the words of the old priest – the serpent could not be slain. Nefrekeptah had no intention of giving up however. He cut off the serpent’s head again, but this time as it flew off he caught it and rubbed it on the sand at his feet. The sand prevented the serpent’s head from re-joining its body and so it was defeated. Nefrekeptah then opened the iron box. Within it, he found an ivory box. He opened the ivory box and found a gold box nestled inside it. Inside the gold box, he finally found the book of Thoth. Eagerly, he lifted up the book and began to read. It was as the old priest had said! He had the ability to enchant all that was on the land, the sea, and the air. He knew the speech of all beasts and the secrets of the gods. He could read the future hidden in the stars.
He then decided it was time to return home and went to
fetch his wife and child. As they set sail upon the Nile an invisible power
suddenly seized their son and he leapt off the boat and disappeared beneath the waters
of the river. Nefrekeptah was shocked and his wife wailed in terror. Quickly he
opened the book of Thoth and read the spell which would bring his son back. At
once, their son’s body floated up to the surface and they lifted it into the
boat. He was dead, however, and no spells
could bring him back. Nefrekeptah was able to enchant his Ka into speaking, and
then questioned it on what had happened. The Ka told them that once Thoth had
found out that his book had been taken he appeared before Amun Ra, the father
of all gods and demanded justice. Amun Ra told him to deal with Nefrekeptah as
he saw fit, and gave him the power to dispense sorrow and punishment. This
power had drowned their son.
Nefrekeptah and his wife were heartbroken at the death of their son. After burying him, they continued with the journey as Nefrekeptah had resolved that his father would be very happy to have the book of Thoth in his possession. One day during their journey Nefrekeptah’s wife was seized by the same power which had taken her son and she jumped overboard the boat and drowned. Once again Nefrekeptah had to bury a loved one and his grief was terrible. When he finally reached his home, the Pharaoh came aboard to greet his son. What he found was Nefrekeptah lying dead on the boat with the book of Thoth resting on his chest. After all the torment the book had caused his son, Pharaoh determined it was best that the book be buried with Nefrekeptah.
On completing her tale, the Ka of the woman, then said, ‘now you know the truth of this
book. It is not yours to take and you have no claim upon it.’ Setna thought on
all the Ka had said, and he was a little frightened, but his desire for the
book was strong and he believed he would be able to defeat the power that had
overcome Nefrekeptah. ‘I will take it by force then,’ he said. The two Kas drew
away from Setna in fear upon hearing this. Anherru was stunned by his brother’s
response and unsettled by the woman’s story. Before Anherru could plead with
Setna to take heed of the Ka’s tale, the
Ka of Nefrekeptah arose from out of his body and said, ‘if after hearing the
tale my wife has told you, you are still determined to have the book, then it
must be yours. But first, you must win it from me, if your skill
is great enough, by playing the game of senet. If you lose, you will die. Dare
you do this?’
Part
two continues next week. Subscribe to ensure you don’t miss it!
There once was a man called Motu who lived alone and loved to work on his farm. His pride and joy was his garden which was filled with large plantain trees. He watched patiently as they slowly ripened and looked forward to gifting some to his friends and neighbors. He was therefore alarmed when he went to check on his ripened fruit one morning and found that bunches of plantain had been cut away. This happened again and again until Motu had finally had enough. He decided to lie in wait and catch the thief.
One night, he wrapped himself in a blanket and sat hidden in the corner of his garden. Time dragged on as he waited for the thief to appear, and eventually he started nodding off. He pinched himself to keep awake and continued to stare into the darkness. Suddenly, he felt a strong wind gush past him and as it subsided, he was shocked to hear whispering and furtive movements around the trees. He moved closer to see better and soon realized the thieves were none other than the Cloud people! They were so called because they lived high up in the mountains, and their domain was continually obscured by the clouds. They were never seen among regular people and it is said the reason they lived in their cloud kingdom was because they communed with the gods to ensure good rainfall and harvests for the people below.
Motu, felt honored that the Cloud people had such a liking for his plantains and he was reluctant to disturb their feasting. However, his eye fell upon one of the women of the Cloud people. She was beautiful beyond belief. Her hair coiled about her head in intricate braids and her supple brown skin glowed softly in the moonlight. Motu came closer and closer, mesmerised by the cloud woman. A breeze started to gather around his ankles and he knew that the cloud people were calling the wind to carrying them away again, back to their mountains. Motu could not bear the thought of never seeing the Cloud woman again and as the wind gathered force to carry her people away, Motu reached out his hand and caught the woman’s wrist. She remained on the ground as her people floated away carried by the fast wind.
She stared in shock as her people disappeared then turned angrily to shout at Motu. ‘Why did you do that?’ she demanded. ‘Now they have left me behind and I have not learnt how to call the wind!’ Motu quailed at her anger, but bravely answered her. ‘I could not let you leave me,’ he pleaded. ‘Please, stay here with me. You can have plantains whenever you want, and I will grow anything else you desire.’ As the sun rose, the woman looked into Motu’s eyes and into his heart. She saw the truth – that he did truly love her. Finally she smiled and agreed to go back to his house with him. After a short time they were married, and lived very happily together. He did all he could to please her and she made his home very comfortable. Within a few days of living with him she realized that the people of Motu’s village had no knowledge of fire. And so, the next time the Cloud people came to visit her, she asked them to bring fire with them. The villagers were very grateful to her and all loved her.
All was well until one day when the Cloud people came to visit Motu’s wife and brought her a basket. It was covered, and when they left Motu asked to see what was inside. She refused to show him, telling him it was part of the magic that her people worked to ensure the land remained fertile. She told him to never look in the basket. Motu agreed and life continued. However, he was very curious about the basket, and eventually his curiosity overcame his better sense and he opened the cover while his wife was out. He saw nothing in the basket. However, it smelt like rich soil after a rainstorm. He covered the basket back up, his curiosity somewhat satisfied.
His wife returned later that afternoon and as soon as she saw him she asked, ‘Motu, why did you open the basket? Did I not tell you to stay away from it?’ Motu was shocked at her question and wondered how she knew. He quickly decided there was no point in lying. ‘Well there wasn’t anything in there my heart, so does it really matter?’ ‘Fool!’ she cried, ‘you have cursed your village. You will know nothing but drought and famine for the next three years!’ Motu began to shake with fear, but his wife was not done yet. She lifted her face and started chanting in the strange language only the cloud people used. A wind began to blow around them and Motu grew even more afraid as he saw that his wife was leaving him. ‘Please,’ he begged ‘don’t leave! I promise I will always listen to whatever you say.’ ‘Too late,’ Motu replied as her feet hovered off the ground. ‘I must leave.’ And with those words, the wind propelled her into the sky and she was never seen again.
Motu was heart broken and grieved for his wife. To make matters worse, her prediction came true and the rains refused to fall for three long years. By the end of it, Motu had truly learnt his lesson.
There once was a young woman called Nomakhosi who was unable to have children. As the years went by she became sadder and sadder, losing her laugh and distancing herself from the rest of her village. One evening she wandered down to the river so as to escape the celebrations in her village. She sat on the grass with a huge sigh and stared moodily at the rushing water.
Suddenly an old woman appeared in front of her as if from nowhere. Nomakhosi was startled, but assumed she simply had not been paying attention which is why the old woman’s appearance was such a surprise. ‘You are in pain my child’ said the old woman. It was not a question and Nomakhosi could not deny the obvious. ‘I can help you conceive a child – the most beautiful girl – only if you do as I ask’. Nomakhosi turned to the old woman to dismiss her crazy assertion but as she looked into the old woman’s eyes she realized this woman wasn’t what she seemed. The night sky seemed to be reflected in her eyes and the stars danced in their depths. This woman was one of the river spirits! Nomakhosi felt a cold fear grip her heart and she moved as if to escape. But then as she remembered the woman’s words she paused. She was desperate to have a child and perhaps the river spirit could help. ‘What must I do’ she answered, her voice trembling. The old woman gave her a mysterious smile and handed Nomakhosi a round smooth stone. It looked as though the light of the moon had been caught inside it. As Nomakhosi gazed in wonder at the stone the old woman said ‘put that stone beneath your sleeping mat, and every night you must come to the river and have a sip of water until the day you give birth. Once the child is born, do not ever let her outside when the sun is up. For she will die’. Nomakhosi nodded her agreement – too afraid to speak. The old woman smiled once more, stepped into the shadows and disappeared. After a moment Nomakhosi returned home.
The next morning her meeting with the river spirit
seemed like a dream. And yet there was the stone with it’s magical light
staring back at her. She resolved to do as the river spirit had told her. After
all she had nothing to lose. So, every night she went to the river and after a
time she had the most beautiful girl anyone had ever seen. Everyone who saw her
was charmed by her beautiful, laughing face. Nomakhosi named her Tsangalembiba
and told everyone that a sangoma had decreed that she never be allowed outside
while the sun was out as it would kill her. As she grew Tsangalembiba made many
friends and the whole village loved her. Everyone loved to hear her sing and
see her dance, and the other young girls came to her to have their hair
braided.
Eventually however the time came for her father to
marry her off. Nomakhosi begged him to let her stay home but he would not hear
of it. He could not have an unmarried daughter living at home. What would the
other men say? Besides, he said Tsangalembiba was so beautiful, her new husband
would overlook her inability to work outside during the day. And so, accompanied
by much weeping from her mother, Tsangalembiba undertook the journey to her
marital home.
When her in-laws learnt that Tsangalembiba could only go outside at night they were very surprised and disconcerted. However, like many before them, they were completely taken by her beauty and grace. Tsangalembiba missed home terribly, but she resolved to make new friends and to be the best wife to her husband. Her husband- Themba could not believe his luck that he had such a woman as a wife. He strutted around his village with an exceedingly puffed up chest for a while. That was, until the malicious whispers about his wife began to reach his ears. The women grumbled that they had to do her share of water carrying. They said there likely was never any songoma who said she couldn’t go outside in the sun, but that she was just lazy. The men laughed quietly to themselves and said he was an idiot for letting his wife dupe him like that. Themba’s chest began to deflate and his heart to harden. He started seeing Tsangalembiba’s refusal to go outside as a means to humiliate him in front of his family, and eventually he decided he was having none of it.
He stormed in to their hut one day and demanded she go fetch him water from the river. She looked out fearfully at the sun which was high in the clear blue sky. ‘But my husband, you know that if I go outside I will die’. ‘Nonsense!’ Themba shouted. ‘I’ve never heard of any such thing in my life. You are making this up because you are lazy. Now go!’. Tsangalembiba realised that her husband was beyond reason and no good would come of arguing with him. She hoped he would come to his senses while she was out and come get her before her curse ran its course. She gathered her pot and walked down to the river. The sun was like spears of fire on her back and she stumbled along with her eyes half closed. Her husband had crept along behind her unseen – half guilty and half defiant. By the time Tsangalembiba arrived at the river she could hardly breath. As her feet touched the water she felt her body weaken further. She thought she could hear faint voices coming from the bottom of the river. Calling to her. Themba watched as his wife fell gently into the river. He screamed out her name as her head was submerged under the water. That was the last anyone ever saw of Tsangalembiba.
Themba ran to the water’s edge and called out his wife’s name until his voice grew hoarse and tears streamed down his eyes. But Tsangalembiba did not come back. The river spirits had taken back the gift they had given. Themba realised that he had to explain to his wife’s family what had happened and that he was too afraid to do so. He spotted a frog squatting at the river’s edge and asked it ‘Frog, if I send you to explain to my wife’s family what happened what would you say?’ ‘Croak, croak’ said the frog. And not much else. Themba frowned angrily at the frog then marked an eagle perched on a tree. He asked it ‘Eagle, if I send you to explain to my wife’s family what happened what would you say?’. ‘Caaaaww’ said the eagle. And that was it. Themba muttered angrily about the stupidity of eagles. He continued to ask animal after animal and none gave him the right answer. Finally, he asked the rooster and the rooster answered ‘Tsangalembiba fell into the river. Her husband sent her to fetch water during the day. She is gone’. Themba bade the rooster go deliver the message. The rooster did as Themba asked and Tsangalembiba’s family were heartbroken to learn of her death.
There once was a king who one day decided to call all his people to him. He sent out messengers to every corner of his kingdom. He told them to call all the old men and old women, mothers, fathers, boys and girls. Once the people had gathered the king emerged from his palace surrounded by his chiefs. His wives followed behind. The king stood before the wise old men and women of his kingdom and asked, ‘ Is there anyone among you who knows of ingcavulele’? ‘No, your majesty, we do not know of this creature’, they answered. They had all had never even heard the name ingcavulele. The king moved on and stood in front of the men and women. He asked the same question and received the same response. The king moved on again, finally standing before the young girls and boys. Again, he asked, ‘Do any of you know of ingcavulele?’. He was met with silence as the boys and girls glanced anxiously at each other.
The king became visibly upset at his people’s lack of knowledge and all become afraid that his anger would be unleashed upon them. As the silence stretched on and people started shuffling uncomfortably, a young boy stood up to answer the king. All eyes turned to him as he spoke. ‘My eternal king, you who knew all while we knew nothing, Majesty, mountain of the nation, I know of ingcavulele.’ The people gaped at the young man and inwardly sighed in relief. The king broke into a smile and walked closer to speak to the young man. ‘I want the hide of ingcavulele, you know the creature, go fetch it to me so we can slay it and take it’s hide’. ‘My king’, the boy replied ‘I have a small request. Please give me a one bag full of fleas, one full of ticks, and one full of ants’. The boy’s strange request was fulfilled and burdened with his bags of insects and some food, he set off to find ingcavulele.
The young boy walked for some days using secret paths few knew. Finally he reached a valley filled with lakes where he had heard from his great grandfather that ingcavulele was to be found. He walked up to the first lake which looked ominous. It was deathly still and bright green. As he stood at the shore he knew for certain that something lived beneath the waters. For the first time he felt fear creep into his heart. He was about to face the monster. But he had come too far to turn back. And besides, the king was counting on him. The wrath of the king could be more terrible than the monster. Therefore, he gathered the shreds of his courage about him and began to sing ‘ngcavulele, ngcavulele, the king desires the beauty of ngcavulele, the king wants to wear ngcavulele’. As his song came to an end the waters of the lake began to ripple and ingcavulele rose out of the water to face him. The boy shook with fright and all the food he had eaten that morning disappeared. The creature opened its mouth wide displaying a cavernous mouth empty of teeth. ‘I have no teeth to eat you with young one’ ingcavulele said, then promptly dropped back into the depths of the lake.
After catching his breath and allowing his heart to beat at
more normal pace, the boy continued to another lake. Again, the lake was
ominously still and darkly green. Standing at the shore he sang his song.
Another ingcavulele merged from the waters, toothless as its cousin and let him
move on for it could not eat him. With a mixture of relief and disappointment,
the young boy moved on to the next lake. For the next two days he criss-crossed
the valley, standing at lake after lake, singing his song. Many times, ingcavulele
emerged, declaring itself harmless for lack of teeth. At times his song was met
with silence.
Eventually he arrived at the last lake, his hope lost. The
danger of disappointing the king had become more frightening to him than the
thought that of what would happen once he found ingcavulele with teeth. While
contemplating the punishment the king would mete out on him and his family
should he fail, he become completely despondent. But what else could he do but
sing his song one more time? So, with a heavy heart he began to sing.
‘Ngcavulele, ngcavulele, the king desires the beauty of ngcavulele, the king
wants to wear ngcavulele’. As the last words of his song were whipped away by a
breeze, the waters of the lake began to froth and churn. Suddenly ingcavulele
arose from the water, large, sharp white teeth glinting in the sun. ‘I say to
you boy start running while I prepare’ the creature roared. The young by did
not have to be told twice. He immediately took to his heels running in the
direction of home. Not long after he felt the ground shake beneath him and he
risked a quick glance behind him only to see the ingcavulele bearing down upon
him. Soon he felt it’s breath caressing his neck and he decided it was time to
throw the first bag to the ground. It burst open and ticks tumbled out.
Ingcavulele could not resist stopping to lick every tick. The young boy made
the most of the monster’s distraction, and ran as if his life depended on it.
Which of course it did.
Too soon ingcavulele was once more right behind the boy,
it’s sharp teeth uncomfortably close to his head. He threw down the second bag
and ants rushed out in all directions. Again, ingcavulele stopped to lick every
last one of the creatures. The distraction was temporary however and only
served to increase the monster’s appetite and make it more determined to catch
and eat its true prey. The boy ran on, desperately afraid that his strength
would fail him at the last and he would collapse in exhaustion. His only
salvation was that he had spent most of his young life herding goats – which are
the most active and clever of the domesticated animals. His feet were tough and
his lungs were strong. He ran on, ingcavulele annoyed and ravenous behind him.
Soon enough ingcavulele was close enough to snap at his legs
and he threw down his last bag full of fleas. Now fleas are great jumpers and catching them
all was no mean feat for ingcavulele. The creatures were quite active, hopping
all over the place so ingcavulele spent some time preoccupied in this task.
Once done, ingcavulele set off once more to catch the young boy. Alas for
ingcavulele, the boy had already sighted his home. People going about their day
stopped as they heard the boy shout ‘plant the stakes, plant the stakes in the
kraal!’ From the distance they made out the tiny figure of the boy running
towards the kraal with the larger figure of ingcavulele lumbering behind him.
Quickly the young men did as the boy instructed and then
melted away into hiding. The young boy ran straight for the kraal, weaving his
way in between the stakes and climbing into a tree overhanging the far side of
the kraal. Avoiding the sharp stakes was not possible for ingcavulele who was
close enough for his spittle to spray over the young boy’s back.
Ingcavulele stomped upon stake after stake and eventually
the wounds were too much for the monster and it collapsed dead in the kraal.
The men emerged from hiding and began to butcher ingcavulele, careful not to
ruin the hide. From the hide they fashioned a large shield and spear for the
king.
The king was very pleased with the work and bravery of the
young boy and rewarded him with many cows.
Kwesukela Stories 