THE WAS IN TIMES of long ago a certain old woman; she was living with her daughter; she was the mother-in-law. Her son-in-law offered her amasi, telling her to eat; for there was not much food, it was a famine. She refused the amasi. He offered her a cow, telling her to eat the milk: she refused, saying she could not eat the milk of her son-in-law.

In the digging season she was very hungry; she was in the habit of returning home at moon, and she would open her son-in-law’s house, and pour out the amasi and eat it. But when the sun had set, her s0n-in-law said, speaking to his wife, “Go home and boil some maize, that we may mix it with the amasi, for the calabash is now full.” On their arrival she boiled maize, and made a soft mass; the husband went and took the calabash; he found it empty; there was now nothing but whey in it. They and their children will die, for a thief is eating their milk, through this great famine.” The old woman did thus at all times. But the husband and wife did not know that the milk was taken by their mother.

One day the husband lay in wait, and caught their mother; but their mother cried, saying, “I did it for the first time this very day.” Her son-in-law said, “Go and fetch for me water at a place where no frog cries; and I will not expose you to the people.”

He gave her a water-vessel. She went on and on for a long time, passing many rivers; she came to rivers which she did not know; she asked, “Is there any frog here?” A frog answered, “Khhwe, I am here.” She passed on, and came to another place; she saw a pool; she went to it and dipped water; a frog said, “Khhwe, I am here.” She poured it out. She travelled acting thus, and the frog answering in like manner, for there were frogs in every pool. She came to another pool and said, “Is there a frog here?” No frog answered. She sat down and dipped water. But when the vessel was nearly full (for it was a very large one), a frog said, “Khhwe, I am here.” She poured out the water again, now crying and saying, “Woe is me, mamo! I merely took of my own accord the amasi of my son-in-law for food.” She went on and came to a very great pool. There were many paths which went to the pool. She was afraid. There were many shady trees on the banks of the pool. She went to the pool and sat down; she said, “Is there any frog here?” There was no answer. She repeated her question. There was no answer. She dipped water into the vessel; the vessel was very full. When it was full, she drank very much, until the vessel was empty. She dipped again till it was full; she drank; she was no longer able to drink the whole, she had pain in the stomach, for she was unable to leave off drinking, it was so nice.

But when she wished to arise and depart, she was unable to arise; she dragged the water-vessel, and went into the shade, and sat down there, for she was unable to walk. At length it was noon; there came a rock-rabbit, and said, “Who is this sitting in the shade of the king?” She said, “It is I, father. I was about to depart; but my limbs failed me.” The rock-rabbit said, “You will soon see Ugunqu-kubantwana.” She went and drank at the pool, and returned to the shade. A duiker came and said, “Who is this sitting in the shade of the king?” She said, “It is I father. I was about to depart, but my limbs failed me.” The duiker said, “You will soon see Ugungqu-kubantwana.” A leopard came and said, “Who is sitting in the shade of the king?” She said, “It is I father. I was about to depart, but my limbs failked me.” The leopard said, “You will soon see Ugungqu-kubantwana.” All animals came saying the same. And when at length it was about sunset, there came very many and great animals; all the animals said the same.

When the sun was setting, she heard a great noise – gungqu, gungqu. She was afraid and trembled. At length there appeared something greater than all the animals she had seen. When it appeared the all said with one accord, “This is Ugungqu-kubantwana.” When it came in sight, while still at some distance, she said, “Who, who are you sitting in the shade of Ugungqu-kubantwana?” Then the old woman had no more any power to speak; it was now as though death had already come to her. Ugungqu-kubantwana asked a second time. The old woman replied, “It is I, my lord. I was thinking of departing, but my limbs failed me.” She s aid, “You will soon see Ugungqu-kubantwana.”

The creature went to the river; when she reached it, she knelt on her knees, and drank the pool; although it was very great, she drank until the mud at the bottom of the pool appeared. She then sat down. And there were oribis there, who were the officers of Ugungqu-kubantwana; there were also hyenas. Ugungqu-kabantwana said, “Let her be eaten.” The hyenas agreed. But the oribis said, “She shall be eaten when she is fat. I chief.” Again she said, “Let her be eaten.” The oribis said, “It is now dark; she shall be eaten in the morning, O chief.”

It was dark; they slept, and all the animals slept. But some animals put off sleeping because they wished that she should be eaten. At length it was midnight and all were asleep. But four oribis had not gone to sleep; they arose and took the old woman, and raised her and placed her on the back of three of them; the fourth oribis took the water-vessel. They ran during the night, and went and placed her on the border of her village. Then they returned with speed, saying, then they should get back before morning. And truly they soon arrived at the pool again.

One said to the other, “What shall we do? Let us devise a plan, that it may not appear that it is we who have enabled her to flee.” The others said, “Since the animals which like to eat men are the leopard, the lion, other wild beasts, and hyenas–” Then one said, “Let us smear mud on the hyenas, for it is they who like to eat men; and the chief will agree and say, “They have taken the game of the chief, and gone and eaten it at a distance.’ For if we smear the leopard it will feel (for it is a very wrathful creature) and awake, and all the people will awake, and the cief say, it is we who have taken away the game, and gone to eat it.” So all the other oribis agreed. They went and smeared the mud on the legs of the hyenas; and when they had cleansed themselves they went and lay down where they had lain.

In the morning all the animals arose and said, “Where is the game of the chief? She will kill the oribis, it was they who objected to its being eaten.” The oribis at once awake, saying, “The chief will look at the feet of all the people. If they have not gone anywhere, they will be clean. But if they have gone, there will be seen mud on their feet and their legs.” The chief agreed, and said to the oribis, “make haste at once, and look for the muddy legs, and let them he seized and brought to me.” All the animals stood forth, and looked at each other; there was found mud on the hyenas. The oribis said, “It is the hyenas who have taken and eaten her, for they are animals which like to eat men.” The hyenas were seized and taken to the chief. She seized the three hyenas, and ate them.

The old woman remained at the border of the kraal; at length she saw some one belonging to her home; he told her son-in-law; he went and fetched her and the water-vessel. The son-in-law continually drank the water which his mother-in-law had brought.

It came to pass on the day the water was finished the old woman said, “Since I went and fetched water, do you go and fetch for me the liver of an ingogo.” Many loaves were made for him to eat on his journey, for it was a great way off. In the morning, carrying the loaves, he set out on his journey, sleeping in the open air; at length he arrived at the new moon, and found very many izingogo, leaping on the bank of a river, at play. He approached them, he too now running and now going on his hands and feet. The old izingogo said, “There is out ingogo.” The young ones said, “What kind of ingogo is that, which has hair like a man; and little eyes like a man; and little ears like a man?” The old ones said, “It is an ingogo; by such and such things we see it is nought but an ingogo; by such and such things we see it is nought but an ingogo; by such and such things we see it is nought but an ingogo.” So the little ones were silent. But when they were by themselves they laughed, saying, “That is not an ingogo.” At length they returned to their homes.

On his arrival the man had noticed that there was at the kraal a grandmother, who was now old. In the morning the others said, “Go, fellow, we are going to hunt.” He said, “I am tired; I shall not go today.” All the old ones went; the young ones said, “Let us come home by and by, and find that you have already fetched firewood for cooking.” The little ones said, “We do not like to leave our grandmother alone with the person who has come.” So they went to hunt. At length they returned; on their arrival the little ones were sitting still; the old ones were angry, and said, “we are already come from hunting; but you have not been to fetch firewood.” The little ones were silent. The game was cooked. They ate and lay down.

In the morning they said, “Let us go and hunt.” He went with them. They went and hunted, and returned in the afternoon; they found the little ones too now returning from fetching wood. They cooked their game. The newly arrived ingogo said, when the game was dressed, “Just put aside a leg for me, for I have a pain in my stomach. I cannot just now eat meat.” They assented, and put aside a leg for him. They lay down.

In the morning they asked him how his stomach was. He said, “It is still painful.” They said, “Let us go and hunt.” So they went, and he remained alone with the little ones. As soon as the hunters were gone, he said, “Do you go and fetch me some water from the river, that I may drink.” They took a water-vessel and went with it. But the vessel leaked, having a hole in the bottom. They arrived at the river, and dipped water; the vessel leaked. They took a long time in returning from the river. But the moment they had gone, the ingogo arose and took a spear, and killed the grandmother of the izingogo who were absent. He cut open the chest and bowels; the liver appeared; he took it out; he looked on every side; he looked upwards and saw an uvati; he took it down and fled.

When the sun was setting the little izingogo returned; when they were in the lower part of the village, saw much blood which had run on the path, now dry, for he had stabbed the old ingogo in the morning. They at once ran home; on their arrival they entered the house; but the house was very long, and not very light inside; they found their grandmother dead. They went out, running with all their might, crying, and looking in the direction whither they had gone to hunt. When they saw the old ones, the littles ones cried out again and again saying, “What kind of an ingogo is that who has eyes like a man?” The old ones said, “what has happened?” The little ones replied, “He has killed grandmother.” They ran, they threw down their game; they carried their spears in their hands. They asked, “In what direction has the man gone who we thought was an ingogo?” The little ones said, “We saw him not; we had gone to fetch water; on our return we found grandmother dead; but saw no more of him.”

They followed his track by the blood where it had gone dropping in the path. They ran; when it was dark they slept in the open country. In the morning they awoke and ran with all their might. When it was noon, the man who was carrying the liver looked and saw much dust behind him. He ran very fast. But the real izingogo were more swift than he; for he was a man; they were animals. At midday they saw him. It was a though they flew through catching sight of him. He saw that they would soon catch him. He ascended a very long steep place; when he was at the top, they were reaching the bottom; he descended; he found very much long and thick grass; he took the uvati, and sat down, and churned it, and kindled a fire, and set the grass on fire; it surrounded the steep hill; the izingogo fled, for they feared the fire; they went back from the mountain by the way they came. And he ran forward until it was dark without seeing them.

He slept. In the morning he awoke and fled. That night he slept at another village on the high land. In the morning he awoke and ran. At noon he looked behind him, and saw the izingogo coming to him running. And those who had lagged behind, being tired, now when they saw him ran rapidly; it was again as if their fatigue was at an end. Again he saw they were about to catch him. He churned the uvati, and kindled fore, and burnt the grass: when they saw the fore burning, they halted. He ran and saw them no more; until he had slept twice in the way he did not see them. On the third day, the day he would reach his own people, he saw them at noon; they pursued him; he hastened and approached near the villages, and then turned back.

The izingogo returned to their own home. On their arrival they took the grandmother, and boiled her in a large pot. They took a whole day cooking her. Until it was morning they kept up the fire, and during the morning they kept up the fire. At noon they took her out of the pot, and placed her on the feeding-mats; she remained there till she was cold. The old ones said to the little ones, “Let us eat your grandmother, then we shall not die.” So they ate her up.

The son-in-law of the old woman reached his home; on his arrival he gave her the liver. She said, “You have done well, my child.”

EXPLANATIONS BY THE ZULU NARRATOR

UGUNGQU-KUBANTWANA WAS SO CALLED BECAUSE SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF ALL ANIMALS, FOR SHE WAS THEIR CHIEF; AND AS REGARDS THE POOL, THE ANIMALS USED TO GO TO IT FIRST AND DRINK, AND LEAVE WATER FOR HER, FOR SHE COULD NOT DRINK FIRST, FOR ALL THE WATER WOULD HAVE BEEN EXHAUSTED BEFORE THE ANIMALS HAD DRUNK IF SHE HAD DRUNK FIRST; AND AS TOHER BODY, ON ONE SIDE THERE WAS A COUNTRY, ON THE OTHER RIVERS AND GREAT FORESTS; BUT THE RIVERS WHICH WERE IN HER THE ANIMALS DID NOT LIKE TO DRINK, FOR THEY WERE LIKE COMMON WATER; THAT POOL AT WHICH THEY ALL DRANK WAS, AS IT WERE, MILK; THEREFORE THEY DID NOT DRINK AT OTHER RIVERS, THEY DRANK AT THE POOL. SHE WAS CALLED UGUNQU BECAUSE WHEN SHE WAS STILL AT A DISTANCE SHE WAS HEARD COMING, FOR WHEN SHE WAS MOVING THERE WAS HEARD A GREAT NOISE, AND THEY HEARD THAT SHE WAS COMING BY THE GUNQU, GUNGQU.

THE IZINGOGO WERE APPARENTLY MEN; BUT IT CAME TO PASS BY THEIR CHOICE THEY LIVED IN THE OPEN COUNTRY, UNTIL THEY WERE CALLED ANIMALS, FOR THEY LIVED IN THE OPEN COUNTRY, AND THEREFORE THEY ATE MAN. BUT WHEN THERE ARRIVED A MAN WHO CAME FROM OTHER MEN WHO PRACTICED THE SAME HABITS AS THEMSELVES, THEY REJOICED, SAYING, HE TOO WAS AN INGOGO, BECAUSE HE DID AS THEY DID. BUT THE DISCERNMENT OF THE CHILDREN, WHO WERE ON THEIR GUARD AGAINST HIM, SAYING, “IT IS NOT AN INGOGO.” AND EVEN THOUGH THE OLD ONES WERE ANGRY AND BEAT THEM, THEY DENIED NOTWITHSTANDING THEY WERE BEATEN. THEY USED TO GO AND PLAY ON THE BANK OF THE RIVER; ON THEIR ARRIVAL THEY CONTENDED BY LEAPING, SAYING THAT HE WHO COULD NOT LEAP WAS NOT AN INGOGO; THE LITTLE ONES LEAPED TOO; AND IF THERE CAME A MAN FEIGNING TO AN INGOGO, THEY WOULD GO WITH HIM TO THE BANK, AND TELL HIM TO LEAP LIKE THEM; FOR IT IS SAID, WHEN THEY LEAPED THEY WERE LIGHT, BECAUSE THEY ATE RED EARTH.

THE IZINGOGO USED TO GO ON ALL FOURS; THEY HAD TAILS; BUT THEY TALKED LIKE MEN.

[ ZULU ]