THE PORTUGUESE IN SOUTH AFRICA FROM 1505 TO 1700.

CHAPTER VI.

SPECIMENS OF BANTU FOLKLORE.

Among a people without knowledge of letters historical legends and traditional tales occupy the same place as books with Europeans, and thus form perfect guides as to their powers of expression and thought. It will be necessary in succeeding volumes to relate the history of many tribes, as preserved by their antiquaries, so that examples of this portion of what may be termed Bantu literature need not be given here ; but a few specimens of folklore tales will not be regarded as out of place. Readers must bear in mind that full grown men and women who have never been under European influence really believe many of the actors in these tales to have had an existence, so that they are not merely stories to amuse children.

THE STORY OF TANGALIMLIBO.

There was once a man who had two wives, one of whom had no children. She grieved much about that, till one day a bird came to her and gave her some little pellets. The bird said she must eat of these always before she partook of food, and then she would bear a child. She was very glad, and offered the bird some millet. But the bird said : "No, I do not want millet." The woman then offered an isidanga (an ornamental breast-band which women wear), but the bird said it had no use for that. Then she got some very fine gravel and placed before the bird, which it received at her hands.

After this the woman had a daughter. Her husband knew nothing of what had happened, because he never went to her house. He did not love her at all, for the reason that she bore no children. So she said: "I will keep my daughter in the house till my husband comes ; he will surely love me when he sees that I have such a beautiful child." The name given to the girl was Tangalimlibo.

The man went always to the house of the other wife, and so it happened that Tangalimlibo was grown to be a young woman when her father first saw her. He was very much pleased, and said: "My dear wife, you should have told me of this before."

The girl had never been out of the house in the daytime. Only in the night she had gone out, when people could not see her.

The man said to his wife: "You must make much beer, and invite many people to come and rejoice with me over this that has happened." The woman did so. There was a big tree in front of the kraal, and the mats were spread under it. It was a fine sunny day, and very many men came. Among them was the son of a certain chief, who fell in love with Tangalimlibo as soon as he saw her. When the young chief went home he sent a message to the father of the girl that he must send her to him to be married. The man told all his friends about that. He told them also to be ready at a certain time to conduct his daughter to the chief. So they came and took her, and the marriage feast was very great. The oxen were many which were killed that day. Tangalimlibo had a large and beautiful ox given to her by her father. It was called by her name. She took off a piece of her clothing and gave it to the ox, which ate it.

After she had been married some time, this woman had a son. She was loved very much by her husband, because she was pretty and industrious ; only this thing was observed of her, that she never went out in the daytime. Therefore she received the name Sihamba Ngenyanga (the walker by moonlight).

One day her husband went to a distant place to hunt with other men. There were left at his home with this woman only her father-in-law, her mother-in-law, and a girl who nursed the little child. The father-in-law said : "Why does she not work during the day?" He pretended to become thirsty, and sent the girl to Tangalimlibo to ask for water, saying: "I die with thirst." The woman sent water to her father-in-law, but he threw it on the ground, saying: "It is water from the river I desire." She said: "I never go to the river in the daytime." He continued to ask, saying again : "I die with thirst." Then she took a milk-basket and a calabash ladle, and went weeping to the river. She dipped the ladle in the water, and it was drawn out of her hand. She dipped the milk-basket in the water, and it was drawn away from her. Then she tried to take some water in her mantle, and she was drawn under the surface.

After a little time the girl was sent to look for her, but she came back, saying : "I found her not who is accustomed to draw water only in the night."

Her father-in-law drove oxen quickly to the river. He took the big ox that was called by her name and killed it. He put all the flesh and everything else that was of that ox into the river, saying : "Let this be instead of my child." A voice was heard saying : "Go to my father and my mother and say to them that I am taken by the river."

That evening the little child of Tangalimlibo was crying very bitterly. Its father was not yet home. Its grandmother tried by every means to keep it from crying, but in vain. Then she gave it to the nurse, who fastened it on her back. Still the child continued to cry. In the middle of the night the nurse went down to the river with the child, singing this song :

"It is crying, it is crying,

The child of Sihamba Ngenyanga;

It is crying, it will not be pacified."

Then the mother of the child came out of the river, and wailed this song:

"It is crying, it is crying, Sihamba Ngenyanga,

The child of the walker by moonlight. Sihamba Ngenyanga.

It was done intentionally by people whose names are unmentionable. Sihamba Ngenyanga.

They sent her for water during the day. Sihamba Ngenyanga.

She tried to dip with the milk-basket, and then it sank. Sihamba Ngenyanga.

Tried to dip with the ladle, and then it sank. Sihamba Ngenyanga.

Tried to dip with the mantle, and then it sank. Sihamba Ngenyanga."

Then she took her child and put it to her breast to suck. When the child had finished sucking, she gave it back to the nurse, telling her to take it home. She commanded the nurse never to say to any one that she came out of the water, and told her that when people asked where the child got food she must say she gave it berries to eat. This continued for some days. Every night the nurse took the child to the river, when its mother came out and suckled it. She always looked round to see that no one was present, and always put the same command on the girl.

After a time the father of the child returned from hunting. They told him of Tangalimlibo's going to the river and not returning. Then the nurse brought the child to him. He inquired what it ate, and was told that berries were given to it. He said: "That cannot be so; go and get some berries, and let me see my child eat them." The girl went and brought some berries, but they were not eaten by the child. Then the father of the child beat the girl until she told him the truth. She said she went at night to the river, when the mother came out and caressed her child and gave it of her milk.

Then they made a plan that the husband of Tangalimlibo should hide himself in the reeds and try to catch his wife when she came out of the water. He took the skin of an ox and cut it into a long riem, one end of which he fastened round his waist. The other end he gave to the men of that place, telling them to hold it fast and to pull hard when they felt it being drawn from them. At night the man hid himself in the reeds. Tangalimlibo came out of the water and looked all round while she was singing her song. She asked the girl if any one was there, and when the girl replied that there was no one she took her child. Then her husband sprang upon her, clasping her very tight. She tried to pull back, but the men at the village drew upon the riem. She was drawn away, but the river followed her, and its water turned into blood. When it came close to the village, the men who were pulling at the riem saw it, and became frightened. They let the riem go, when the river at once went back, taking Tangalimlibo with it.

After that her husband was told of the voice which came from the water, saying : "Go to my father and my mother and tell them I am taken by the river." He called his racing ox, and said : "Will you, my ox, take this message to the father and mother of Tangalimlibo?" The ox only bellowed. He called his dog, and said : "Will you, my dog, take this message to the father and mother of Tangalimlibo?" The dog only barked.

Last of all he called the cock. He said : "Will you, my cock, take this message to the father and mother of Tangalimlibo?" The cock answered : "I will do so, my master." He said: "Let me hear what you will say." The cock answered : "I will sing

"I am a cock that ought not to be killed — Cock-a-doodle-doo!

I have come to intimate about Tangalimlibo — Cock-a-doodle-doo!

Tangalimlibo is dead — Cock-a-doodle-doo!

She dipped water for a person that cannot be named — Cock-a-doodle-doo!

It was tried to send an ox ; it bellowed — Cock-a-doodle-doo!

It was tried to send a dog ; it barked — Cock-a-doodle-do !"

The chief said : "That is good, my cock, go now." As the cock was going on his way, some boys who were tending calves saw him. One of them said to the others : "Come here, come here, boys ; there is a cock for us to kill." Then the cock stood up, and sang his song. The boys said : "Sing again, we did not hear you plainty." So he sang again : "I am a cock" &c. (as above). Then the boys let him go on his way.

He travelled far from that place, and came to a village where the men were sitting in the kraal. He flew up on the back of the kraal to rest himself, and the men saw him. They said : "Where does this cock come from? We thought all the cocks here were killed. Make haste, boys, and kill him." The cock began to sing his song. Then the men said : "Wait, boys, we wish to hear what he says." They said to him: "Begin again, we did not hear you." The cock said : "Give me some food, for I am very hungry." The men sent a boy for some millet, and gave it to him. When he had eaten, he sang his song. The men said: "Let him go," and he went on his way.

Then he came to the village of the father of Tangalimlibo, to the house of those he was seeking. He told the message he was sent to carry. The mother of Tangalimlibo was a woman skilful in the use of medicines. She said to her husband : "Get a fat ox to go with us." They arrived at the river, and killed the ox. Then that woman worked with her medicines while they put the meat in the water. There was a great shaking and a rising up of the river, and Tangalimlibo came out. There was great joy among those people when they took her home to her husband.

THE RUNAWAY CHILDREN, OR THE WONDERFUL FEATHER.

Once in a time of famine a woman left her home and went to live in a distant village, where she became a cannibal. She had one son, whose name was Magoda. She ate all the people in that village, until only herself and Magoda remained. Then she was compelled to hunt animals, but she caught people still when she could. In hunting she learned to be very swift of foot, and could run so fast that nothing she pursued could escape from her.

Her brother, who remained at home when she left, had two daughters, whom he did not treat very kindly. One day he sent them to the river for water, which they were to carry in two pots. These pots were made of clay, and were the nicest and most valuable in the village. One of the girls fell down on a rock and broke the pot she was carrying. Then she did not know what to do, because she was afraid to go back to her father. She sat down and cried, but that did not help, the pot would not be whole again. Then she said to her sister : "Let us go away to another place, where our father will not be able to find us." She was the younger and the cleverer of the two, and so she persuaded her sister.

They walked away in the opposite direction from their home, and for two days had nothing but gum to eat. Then they saw a fire at a distance, and went to it, where they saw a house. It was the house of their aunt, but they did not know it. They were afraid to go in, but Magoda came out and talked to them. When he heard who they were, he was sorry for them, and told them their aunt was a cannibal, giving them advice not to stay there. But just then they heard her coming, so they went into Magoda's house and hid themselves, for he lived in one house and his mother in another.

The woman came and said : "I smell something nice; what is it, my son?" Magoda said there was nothing. She replied : "Surely I smell fat children." But as she did not go in, they remained concealed that night.

The next morning the mother of Magoda went out to hunt, but she did not go far, so the children could not get away. They went into her house, where they saw a person with only one arm, one side, and one leg. The person said to them : "See, the cannibal has eaten the rest of me ; take care of yourselves."

When it was nearly dark, the mother of Magoda came home again, bringing some animals which she had killed. She smelt that children had been in the house, so she went to her son's house and looked in. She said to Magoda : "Why do you not give me some? Do I not catch animals for you?"

Then she saw the children, and was very glad. She took them to her house, and told them to sleep. They laid down, but were too frightened to close their eyes. They heard their aunt say : "Axe, be sharp ; axe, be sharp;" and to let her know that they were awake, they spoke of vermin biting them. After a while the cannibal went to sleep, when they crept out, first putting two blocks of wood in their places, and ran away as fast as they could. When the mother of Magoda awoke, she took the axe and went to kill them, but the axe fell on the blocks of wood.

As soon as it was day, the cannibal pursued the children. They looked behind, and saw clouds of dust which she made as she ran. There was a tall tree just in front of them, so they hastened to climb up it, and sat down among the branches. The mother of Magoda came to the tree and commenced to cut it down ; but when a chip fell out, a bird (ntengu) sang :

"Ntengu, ntengu,

Chips, return to your places,

Chips, return to your places,

Chips, be fast."

The chip then went back to its place and was fast again. This happened three times ; but the mother of Magoda, who was very angry, caught the bird and swallowed it. When she put it in her mouth, one of the feathers dropped to the ground. Then she began to chop at the tree again ; but as soon as a chip was loose the feather sang:

"Ntengu, ntengu,

Chips, return to your places,

Chips, return to your places,

Chips, be fast."

The chip then stuck fast again. The cannibal chopped till she was tired, but the feather continued to keep the tree from receiving harm. Then she tried to catch the feather, but it flew about too quickly for her, until she sank down exhausted on the ground at the foot of the tree. The children up in the branches could see a long way off ; and as they strained their eyes, they observed three dogs as big as calves, and they knew these dogs belonged to their father, who was seeking for them. So they called them by name, and tbe dogs came running to the tree and ate up the cannibal, who was too tired to make her escape. Thus the children were delivered, and their father was so glad to get them back again that he forgave them for breaking the pot and running away.

THE STORY OF KENKEBE.

There was once a great famine in a certain country, and the people were obliged to eat wild plants to keep themselves alive. Their principal food during this time was nongwes (Hypoxis), which they dug out of the ground. There was living at that place a man called Kenkebe, and one day his wife said to him : "My husband, go to my father and ask him to give us some corn." The man said : "Yes, I will go." So he rose up early in the morning, and went on till he arrived at his father-in-law's village, where he was received with every mark of kindness. A very large ox was killed for his entertainment. It was so large that it was six days before it was all eaten.

His father-in-law asked of him the news. He said : "There is no news to tell to friends. All the news is this, that at my home there is not a grain to be eaten. Famine is over our heads. Will you give us some corn, for we are dying?" His father-in-law gave him seven bags (i.e., skins of animals dressed entire) full of millet, and his wife's sisters went with him to carry them. When they came to a valley close by his home, he told his sisters-in-law that they could now go back to their father. They said : "How will you manage to carry all those bags alone?". He replied : "I shall be able to carry them all now, because we are not far from my home." So those girls went back to their father.

Then he carried the bags one by one, and hid them in a cave under a great rock that was there. Afterwards he took some of the millet and ground it. When it was ground very fine he made it into cakes just like nongwes. Then he dug some real nongwes out of the ground, and went home to his wife. He said to her : "There is a great famine at your father's also. I found the people there eating themselves." He told his wife to make a fire. Then he pretended to cut a piece of meat out of his thigh, and said : "So they are doing at your father's village. Now, my wife, let us do the same." His wife cut a piece from her leg and roasted it. The piece that Kenkebe put on the fire was some that he brought home with him. Then Kenkebe's little boy said : "Why does my father's meat smell nice in roasting, and my mother's meat does not smell nice?" Kenkebe answered : "It is because it is taken from the leg of a man."

After this he gave his wife some nongwes to roast. He took for himself some of those he had made of millet. The little boy said : "Why do my father's nongwes smell nice in roasting, and my mother's do not smell nice?" Kenkebe said : "It is because they were dug by a man." After eating, he went outside, but he had dropped one of his nongwes by the fire. When he went out the boy found that nongwe. He broke it in two and gave half to his mother. He said: "There is a difference between our nongwes and those of father." His mother said : "Yes, my child, this one is made of millet."

The next morning, just at the first beginning of dawn, Kenkebe got up and went away with a pot in his hand. The boy was awake, and saw his father go out. So he called to his mother, and said: "Mother, mother, wake, my father is going away with the pot in his hand." So she got up, and they followed after Kenkebe. They saw him go to the cave, where he took some corn out of one of the bags and began to grind it. Then they went on top of the rock, and rolled a big stone over.

When Kenkebe saw the stone coming he ran away, but it followed close behind him. He ran down the valley, the stone kept running too. He jumped into a deep hole in the river, down went the stone too. He ran up the hill, up went the stone also. He ran over the plain, but whenever he turned to look, the stone was there just behind him. So it continued all that day. At night he reached his own house, and then the stone stopped.

His wife had already come home, and had brought with her one of the bags of millet. Kenkebe came in crying. His wife said to him : "Why do you cry as if you were a child?" He said : "Because I am very tired and very hungry." She said : "Where are your clothes and your bag?" He replied : "I was crossing a river, and I fell down. The stream carried away my mantle, and my bag, and my keries, and everything that was mine." Then his wife gave him his mantle, which she had picked up when he was running away, and she said to him : "You are a very foolish man to do such things. There is no food for you tonight."

The next morning Kenkebe rose early and went out to hunt with his two dogs. The name of the one was Tumtumse, and the name of the other was Mbambozozele. He found an eland with a young calf, which he drove to his place. He cut an ear off the calf and roasted it in the fire. It was fat, and he liked it so much that he cut the other ear off and cooked it also. Then he wished to kill the calf, but he said to himself : " If I kill this calf I shall not be able to get milk from this eland." So he called his two dogs, and said to the one : "Tumtumse, my dog, if I kill this calf, will you imitate it and suck the eland for me?" The dog said: "No, I will bark like a dog." Kenkebe said : "Get out of my sight and never come near me again, you ugly, useless animal." He said to the other : "Mbambozozele, my dog, if I kill this calf, will you imitate it and suck the eland for me?" The dog said : "I will do so."

Then he killed the calf and ate it. He took the skin and put it upon Mbarobozozele, so that the eland thought it was her calf that sucked before Kenkebe milked her. But one day the dog was sucking too long, and Kenkebe wanted him to leave off. He tried to drink just a few drops more, when his master got angry and struck him with a stick. Thereupon the dog began to howl, and the eland saw how she had been deceived. At once she ran after Kenkebe and tried to stick him with her horns. He ran one way and the eland ran after him, then he ran another way, and still the eland chased him. His wife came out and saw him running. She cried out to him : "Jump up quickly on the big stone." He did so, and the eland ran with such fury against that stone that it broke its head and fell down dead.

They then cut the eland up and wanted to cook it, but there was. no fire. Kenkebe said to his son : "Go to the village of the cannibals that is on that hill over the valley, and ask for some fire ; but do not take any meat with you, lest they should smell it." The boy went, but he hid a piece of meat and took it with him. When he got to the first house he asked for fire, but they sent him to the next. At the next they sent him farther, and so he had to go to the house that was farthest away. An old woman lived there. The boy gave her a little piece of meat, and said: "Do not cook it till I am far away with the fire."

But as soon as the boy was gone, she put it on the coals. The smell came to the noses of the cannibals, and they ran to the place and swallowed the old woman, and the meat, and the fire, and even the ashes. Then they ran after the boy. When he came near his own house, he cried out : "Hide yourselves, you that are at home." His father said : "My son is saying we must gather wood that will make coals." His mother said: "No, he is saying we must hide ourselves." The boy cried again: "Hide yourselves." Then his mother hid herself in a bush ; an old woman that was there covered herself with ashes, and Kenkebe climbed up into a tree, with the breast of the eland in his hand. The boy slipped into a hole that was by the side of the path.

The cannibals came to the place. First they ate the eland. Then one of them said : "Search under the ashes." There they found the old woman, and they ate her. Then they said : "Search in the tree." There they found Kenkebe. He cried very much, but they would not spare him. They ate him and the breast of the eland. Then the wise one said : "Look in the bush." They looked there and found the wife of Kenkebe. They said : "We will eat her another time," and so they took her home with them. They did not look for the boy.

The woman made a plan to escape. She made beer for the cannibals, and they all came to drink. They sat together in a big house, and drank very much beer. Then she said : "Can I go out?" They said : "You can go, but come back quickly." She said : "Shall I close the entrance?" They said : "Close it." Then she took fire and put it on the house, and all those cannibals were burnt to death. So the woman escaped, and afterwards lived happily with her son.

STORY OF THE GREAT CHIEF OF THE ANIMALS.

There was once a woman who had occasion to leave her home for a short time, and who left her children in charge of a hare. The place where they lived was close to a path, along which droves of wild animals were accustomed to pass. Soon after the woman left, the animals appeared, and the hare at sight of them became frightened. So she ran away to a distance, and stood to watch. Among the animals was one terrible monster, which called to the hare, and demanded to know what children these were. The hare told their names, upon which the animal swallowed them entire.

When the woman returned, the hare told her what had happened. Then the woman gathered some dry wood, and sharpened two pieces of iron, which she took with her and went along the path.

Now this was the chief of the animals ; therefore when she came on a hill over against him, the woman began to call out that she was looking for her children. The animal replied : "Come nearer, I cannot hear you." When she went, he swallowed her also. The woman found her children alive, and also many other people, and oxen, and dogs. The children were hungry, so the woman with her pieces of iron cut some flesh from the animal's ribs. She then made a fire and cooked the meat, and the children ate. The other people said : "We also are hungry, give us to eat." Then she cut and cooked for them also.

The animal felt uncomfortable under this treatment, and called his counsellors together for advice, but they could suggest no remedy. He lay down and rolled in the mud, but that did not help him, and at last he went and put his head in the kraal fence, and died. His counsellors were standing at a distance, afraid to approach him, so they sent a monkey to see how he was. The monkey returned and said: "Those whose home is on the mountains must hasten to the mountains ; those whose home is on the plains must hasten to the plains ; as for me, I go to the rocks." Then all the animals dispersed.

By this time the woman had succeeded in cutting a hole through the chief's side, and came forth, followed by her children. Then an ox came out, and said : "Bo! bo ! who helped me?" Then a dog, who said : "Ho! ho! who helped me?" Then a man, who said : "Zo!zo! who helped me?" Afterwards all the people and cattle came out. They agreed that the woman who helped them should be their chief.

When her children became men, they were out hunting one day, and saw a monstrous cannibal, who was sticking fast in a mud hole. They killed him, and then returned to tell the men of their village what they had done. The men went and skinned the cannibal, when a great number of people came out of him also. These joined their deliverers, and so that people became a great nation.

THE STORY OF DEMANE AND DEMAZANA.

Once upon a time a brother and sister, who were twins and orphans, were obliged on account of ill usage to run away from their relatives. The boy's name was Demane, the girl's Demazana. They went to live in a cave that had two holes to let in air and light, the entrance to which was protected by a very strong door, with a fastening inside. Demane went out hunting by day, and told his sister that she was not to roast any meat while he was absent, lest the cannibals should discover their retreat by the smell. The girl would have been quite safe if she had done as her brother commanded. But she was wayward, and one day she took some buffalo meat and put it on a fire to roast.

A cannibal smelt the flesh cooking, and went to the cave, but found the door fastened. So he tried to imitate Demane's voice, and asked to be admitted, singing this song :

Demazana, Demazana,

Child of my mother,

Open this cave to me.

The swallows can enter it.

It has two apertures."

Demazana said : "No. You are not my brother ; your voice is not like his." The cannibal went away, but after a little time came back again, and spoke in another tone of voice : Do let me in, my sister." The girl answered : "Go away, you cannibal ; your voice is hoarse, you are not my brother."

So he went away and consulted with another cannibal. He said : "What must I do to obtain my desire?" He was afraid to tell what his desire was, lest the other cannibal should want a share of the girl. His friend said : "You must burn your throat with hot iron." He did so, and then no longer spoke hoarse. Again he presented himself before the door of the cave, and sang :

" Demazana, Demazana,

Child of my mother,

Open this cave to me.

The swallows can enter it.

It has two apertures."

The girl was deceived. She believed him to be her brother come back from hunting, so she opened the door. The cannibal went in and seized her. As she was being carried away, she dropped some ashes here and there along the path. Soon after this, Demane, who had taken nothing that day but a swarm of bees, returned and found his sister gone. He guessed what had happened, and followed the path by means of the ashes until he came to Zim's dwelling. The cannibal's family were out gathering firewood, but he was at home, and had just put Demazana in a big bag, where he intended to keep her until the fire was made.

Demane said : "Give me water to drink, father." Zim replied : "I will, if you will promise not to touch my bag." Demane promised. Then Zim went to get some water ; and while he was away, Demane took his sister out of the bag, and put the bees in it, after which they both concealed themselves.

When Zim came with the water, his wife and son and daughter came also with firewood. He said to his daughter: "There is something nice in the bag ; go and bring it." She went, but the bees stung her hand, and she called out : "It is biting." He sent his son, and afterwards his wife, but the result was the same. Then he became angry, and drove them outside, and having put a block of wood in the doorway, he opened the bag himself. The bees swarmed out and stung his head, particularly his eyes, so that he could not see. There was a little hole in the thatch, and through this he forced his way. He jumped about, howling with pain. Then he ran and fell headlong into a pond, where his head stuck fast in the mud, and he became a block of wood like the stump of a tree. The bees made their home in the stump, but no one could get their honey, because when any one tried his hand stuck fast.

Demane and Demazana then took all Zim's possessions which were very great, and they became wealthy people.

STORY OF THE GIRL AND THE MBULU.

There was once a widow woman who had one son and two daughters. On a certain day she went to her garden,, taking with her one of the girls. While she was away the boy quarrelled with his sister and killed her. In the course of the day the woman sent the girl who was with her to the hut, and when she came there a fly told her what had happened. She did not believe it. Then a mouse told her the same thing, but still she did not believe it was true. Afterwards the fly told her to look in a certain place, and there she saw the head and the bones of her sister.

When the woman came home and found out what had happened, she killed her son. Then she gave the girl a stick, and told her to go to her uncle's house, saying that when she got there she must strike the ground with the stick, and all the clothes and other things that belonged to her would then rise up out of the earth. The woman said she was now all alone, and therefore intended to kill herself.

The girl was very sorry, but she did as her mother told her. When she was a little way off she looked back and saw smoke coming out of the hut, from which she knew that her mother had burned herself and was no longer a person under the sun. After this she met an old woman, who called to her, but she took no heed and walked on. Next she met a mbulu (a fabulous animal capable of assuming the human form but retaining its tail) at a place close by a river. The mbulu said that whoever wetted any part of the body in crossing the river must go in and bathe. The girl was standing on the bank, and the mbulu struck the water with its tail and splashed it in her face, so that she had to go in and bathe. Then the mbulu took her clothes and put them on. When the girl came out of the water she asked for her clothes, but the mbulu said : "I will give them when you are dry."

So they went on together. After a while the girl asked again, and the mbulu said : " I will give them when we get to the village." But when they arrived there the mbulu said : "You must tell the people here that you are my servant, and that I am the daughter of a chief." The poor girl was so afraid that she promised to do so. They were well received at the village, because the people believed that the mbulu was a great person. They wondered at her voice, but she told them she had been ill and her throat was not well yet.

After a time one of the men of that kraal married the mbulu, and the real girl was sent to the gardens to drive the birds away from the millet. While engaged in this occupation she used to sing about the mbulu taking her clothes and passing itself off for a person, until the women who worked in the gardens took notice of this song of hers. Then they made a plan to find out if what the girl was singing was the truth. They said: "The tail of a mbulu will want mice and fat," so they set snares to catch the mice. In the night the tail was pursuing mice, and itself got fast in a snare. The mbulu then asked the man who was married to her to go and get some medicine, as she was sick, and when the man went she took off the snare.

After this they made another plan. They said: "The tail of a mbulu will seek milk," so they dug a hole in the ground, put milk in it, and required every one in the village to jump over the hole. The mbulu was unwilling at first, but they urged her. She tried to jump quickly, but the tail could not pass the milk. When it went down the people saw that this was a mbulu, so they killed it and buried it in that hole.

After this the same man who had married the mbulu took the girl to be his wife. She had a child, and one day when it was playing a square gourd came out of the ground where the mbulu was buried, and tried to kill the infant. But the people chopped the gourd in pieces, and burned it. They afterwards threw the ashes into a river, so that nothing more could come of that mbulu.

[The foregoing tales were collected among Xosas and Tembus, and were revised for the author of this volume by several ancient dames. With but slight variations they are known to all the Bantu tribes as far north as Lake Nyassa. The following is said by several correspondents not to be known in the interior, though it is one of those most commonly told by the Xosas, who have probably adopted it from the Hottentot females whose blood was mingled with that of their Bantu ancestors. It will be observed that none of the actors in it are human beings.]

STORY OF THE HARE.

Once upon a time the animals made a kraal and put some fat in it. They agreed that one of their number should remain to be the keeper of the gate. The first one that was appointed was the coney (imbila). He agreed to take charge, and all the others went away. In a short time the coney fell asleep, when the inkalimeva (a fabulous animal) went in and ate all the fat. After doing this, he threw a little stone at the coney. The coney started up and cried out : " The fat belonging to all the animals has been eaten by the inkalimeva." It repeated this cry several times, calling out very loudly. The animals at a distance heard it, they ran to the kraal, and when they saw that the fat was gone they killed the coney.

They put fat in the kraal a second time, and appointed the muishond (iqaqa) to keep the gate. The muishond consented, and the animals went away as before. After a little time the inkalimeva came to the kraal, bringing some honey with it. It invited the keeper of the gate to eat honey, and while the muishond was enjoying himself the inkalimeva went in and stole all the fat. It threw a stone at the muishond, which made him look up. The muishond cried out; "The fat belonging to all the animals has been eaten by the inkalimeva." As soon as the animals heard the cry, they ran to the kraal and killed the muishond.

They put fat in the kraal a third time, and appointed the duiker (impunzi) to be the keeper of the gate. The duiker agreed, and the others went away. In a short time the inkalimeva made its appearance. It proposed to the duiker that they should play at hide and seek. The duiker agreed to this. Then the inkalimeva hid itself, and the duiker looked for it till he was so tired that he lay down and went to sleep. When the duiker was asleep, the inkalimeva ate up all the fat. Then it threw a stone at the duiker, which caused him to jump up and cry out : "The fat belonging to all the animals has been eaten by the inkalimeva." The animals, when they heard the cry, ran to the kraal and killed the duiker.

They put fat in the kraal the fourth time, and appointed the bluebuck (iputi) to be the keeper of the gate. When the animals went away, the inkalimeva came as before. It said : "What are you doing by yourself ?" The bluebuck answered : "I am watching the fat belonging to all the animals." The inkalimeva said : "I will be your companion. Come, let us sit down and scratch each other's heads." The bluebuck agreed to this. The inkalimeva sat down ; it scratched the head of the other till he went to sleep. Then it arose and ate all the fat. When it had finished, it threw a stone at the bluebuck and awoke him. The bluebuck saw what had happened, and cried out : "The fat of all the animals has been eaten by the inkalimeva." Then the animals ran up and killed the bluebuck also.

They put fat in the kraal the fifth time, and appointed the porcupine (incanda) to be the keeper of the gate. The animals went away, and the inkalimeva came as before. It said to the porcupine : "Let us run a race against each other." It let the porcupine beat in this race. Then it said : "I did not think you could run so fast, but let us try again." They ran again, and it allowed the porcupine to beat the second time. They ran till the porcupine was so tired that he said : "Let us rest now." They sat down to rest, and the porcupine went to sleep. Then the inkalimeva rose up and ate all the fat. When it had finished eating, it threw a stone at the porcupine, which caused him to jump up. He called out with a loud voice : "The fat belonging to all the animals has been eaten by the inkalimeva." Then the animals came running up, and put the porcupine to death.

They put fat in the kraal the sixth time, and selected the hare (umvundla) to be the keeper of the gate. At first the hare would not consent. He said: "The coney is dead, and the muishond is dead, and the duiker is dead, and the bluebuck is dead, and the porcupine is dead, and you will kill me also." They promised him that they would not kill him, and after a good deal of persuasion he at last agreed to keep the gate. When the animals were gone he laid himself down, but he only pretended to be asleep. In a short time the inkalimeva went in, and was just going to take the fat when the hare cried out : "Let the fat alone." The inkalimeva said : "Please let me have this little bit only." The hare answered, mocking : "Please let me have this little bit only." After that they became companions. The hare proposed that they should fasten each other's tails, and the inkalimeva agreed. The inkalimeva fastened the tail of the hare first. The hare said : "Don't tie my tail so tight." Then the hare fastened the tail of the inkalimeva. The inkalimeva said : "Don't tie my tail so tight;" but the hare made no answer. After tying the tail of the inkalimeva very fast, the hare took his club and killed it.

The hare took the tail of the inkalimeva and ate it, all except a little piece which he hid in the fence. Then he called out : "The fat belonging to all the animals has been eaten by the inkalimeva." The animals came running back, and when they saw that the inkalimeva was dead they rejoiced greatly. They asked the hare for the tail, which should be kept for the chief. The hare replied : "The one I killed had no tail." They said : "How can an inkalimeva be without a tail?" They began to search, and at length they found a piece of the tail in the fence. They told thechief that the hare had eaten the tail. He said : "Bring him to me." All the animals ran after the hare, but he fled, and they could not catch him. The hare ran into a hole, at the mouth of which the animals set a snare, and then went away. The hare remained in the hole many days, but at length he managed to get out without being caught.

He went to a place where he found a bushbuck (imbabala) building a hut. There was a pot on the fire with meat in it. He said to the bushbuck : "Can I take this little piece of meat?" The bushbuck answered: "You must not do it." But he took the meat and ate it all. After that he whistled a particular tune, and there fell a storm of hail which killed the bushbuck. Then he took the skin of the bushbuck, and made for himself a mantle.

After this the hare went into the forest to get himself some weapons to fight with. While he was cutting a stick the monkeys threw leaves upon him. He called to them to come down and beat him. They came down, but he killed them all with his weapons.

CHAPTER VII.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BANTU (continued).