🧚 Xxxi.--chief Kekong’s Daughter ’ndere Who Married a Python., part 1 · page 2

It was not until after they had walked for two days that they reached Chief Kaku’s town, and when he saw them he was so glad that he at once had a goat killed in front of ’Ndere and sprinkled the blood over her feet.44 The chief then had a plentiful supply of food brought, which was given to the python and his wife, and a room was appointed for their use.45

When the evening came, all the men and women were called together to dance and sing, the chief giving them plenty of palm wine to drink and doing everything he could think of to show ’Ndere that the python was his son.46 As soon as the play had commenced, Chief Kaku told the python to come to his house, so that ’Ndere was left in the house which had been set apart for the use of her husband and herself.47 The chief then asked the python to return all the different limbs and other parts of the body which he had borrowed from the different young men of the town as he had promised to do.48 But the python begged to be allowed until midnight before he returned the things he had borrowed, saying, “My wife and I have only just arrived, and it would be a shameful thing if I have to join her crawling on my belly.”49 The chief agreed to allow the python until midnight, and the python then went off to join his wife in their house.50

When midnight came the python got up and went to the chief’s house and returned the different portions of the young men’s bodies which he had borrowed.51 He then returned to ’Ndere in his natural form of a python, but when she saw him she denied that he was her husband.52 During the remainder of the night the python tried to convince ’Ndere that he was the man she had married, but she sat up the whole night and refused to have anything to do with him.53

As soon as it was light ’Ndere went with the python to the chief’s house, and asked him whether the python was his son whom she had married.54 The chief answered her that the python was his son, and that she was his wife.55 He also said that his son was going to return to Okuni the following day, and that she would have to accompany her husband. ’56 Ndere was not at all pleased to see her husband going about on his stomach, and refused to sit near him all the day.57 When night came she went into a separate house and would not let the python in.58

That night Chief Kaka gave orders to four of his young men to arm themselves with sharp matchets, and to lie in wait on the road to Okuni.59 He told them to kill the python and to bring ’Ndere back to him.60 This the young men promised to do, and set off before it was light, telling no one where they were going.61

After the python and his wife had had their early morning food, they started off for Okuni, but when they arrived at the first water outside the town where the road branched off to the farm, the python, remembering that ’Ndere had refused to marry Chief Kaku, thought it very probable that the chief would cause him to be waylaid and his wife taken away from him.62 He therefore determined to follow the farm road, which, although much longer, he thought would probably be safer; he thus missed the four men who were lying in wait for him.63

Towards the evening the four young men returned to the town and reported to the chief that ’Ndere and her husband had not passed along the road which they were guarding.64 Chief Kaku then guessed that they must have taken the farm road, and had probably arrived safely at Okuni.65 Although the python had escaped the trap which the chief had set for him, he had no intention of letting him go, and now that he had seen ’Ndere again he was more determined than ever to possess her for himself, and at once began to plan how he should kill the python and induce ’Ndere to marry him.66 As he could not send his young men to Okuni to kill the python and take ’Ndere away by force, as that would mean war between the two countries, for which he was not prepared, seeing that the Okuni people were very powerful, he determined to wait and lay another trap for the python.67 The chief knew that ’Ndere was very dissatisfied at having a snake as a husband, and would probably be glad to marry him, although he was rather old, rather than continue to live with the python, providing the python could be got rid of.68 He therefore decided to wait until the dry season came round, when the python would go to his farm, and might be killed without causing any trouble.69 But the first thing he had to do was to get ’Ndere to agree to come to him, so he sent off two of his young men to watch the python’s house, and told them to pretend they came from a distant country.70 He sent messages by these men to ’Ndere, telling her to do everything her husband told her to do, and that when the time arrived for making the new farms he would have the python killed, and she could then come and marry him.71

The young men went to Okuni as they were ordered, and, after watching for some time, at last met ’Ndere alone at the spring, where she was getting water, and gave her the messages from the chief. ’72 Ndere, who hated the python, agreed to help, and said she would be glad to marry anyone who would get rid of the python; so the young men returned and told the chief what she had said.73

When the time arrived for making the farms, the python took all his people out into the bush, but as they had no matchets or arms to use them with, all they could do was to roll themselves about in the grass and then burn it.74 Every morning when the python and the rest of his people went to the farm, ’Ndere followed later, bringing the foo-foo and soup in calabashes.75 The python would not allow her to go so far as the farm, as he told her she was such a fine girl that if the other pythons saw her they would certainly be so envious of him that they might kill him in order to get her for themselves.76 He therefore showed her a place where she was to bring the food; here he had made a string of snail shells hung on sticks, and told ’Ndere to rattle them when she brought his food, and that he would come to her.77 The first day the pythons went to work on the farm ’Ndere brought the food and rattled the snail shells as she had been directed to do, and very soon afterwards the python came and took the calabashes away to the place where they were working, telling ’Ndere to wait until he had finished eating.78 When he had eaten all the food he returned to the place where he had left his wife, and found her waiting for him.79 He then said, “My good woman, you have done well, you hear my voice properly,” and having given her the empty calabashes, ’Ndere returned to her home.80