🧚 The Story of Hlakanyana.

Once upon a time there was a village with many women in it.1 All the women had children at the same time except the wife of the chief.2 The children grew, and again all the women gave birth to others.3 Only the wife of the chief had no child.4 Then the people said: “Let us kill an ox, perhaps the wife of the chief will then bear a child.”5

While they were killing the ox, the woman heard a voice saying: “Bear me, mother, before the meat of my father is all finished.”6

The woman did not pay any attention to that, thinking it was a ringing in her ears.7 The voice said again: “Bear me, mother, before the meat of my father is all finished.”8

The woman took a small piece of wood and cleaned her ears.9 She heard that voice again.10 Then she became excited.11 She said: “There is something in my ears; I would like to know what it is.12 I have just now cleaned my ears.”13

The voice said again: “Make haste and bear me, mother, before the meat of my father is all finished.”14

The woman said: “What is this? there was never a child that could speak before it was born.”15

The voice said again: “Bear me, mother, as all my father’s cattle are being finished, and I have not yet eaten anything of them.”16 Then the woman gave birth to that child.17

When she saw that to which she had given birth, she was very much astonished.18 It was a boy, but in size very little, and with a face that looked like that of an old person.19

He said to his mother: “Mother, give me a skin robe.”20 His mother gave him a robe.21 Then he went at once to the kraal where the ox was being killed.22

He asked for some meat, saying: “Father, father, give me a piece of meat.”23

The chief was astonished to hear this child calling him father.24 He said: “Oh, men, what thing is this that calls me father?”25 So he continued with the skinning of the ox.26 But Hlakanyana continued also in asking meat from him.27 The chief became very angry, and pushed him, and said: “Get away from this place.”28

Hlakanyana answered: “I am your child, give me meat.”29

The chief took a little stick, and said: “If you trouble me again, I will strike you with this.”30

Hlakanyana replied: “Give me meat first, and I will go away;” but the chief would not answer, because he was very angry.31

Hlakanyana continued asking.32 Then the chief threw him outside the kraal, and went on with his work.33 After a little time, the child returned, still asking.34

So the chief said to the men that were with him: “What strange thing is this?”35

The men replied: “We don’t know him at all.”36

The chief asked of them also advice, saying: “What shall I do?”37

The men replied: “Give him a piece of meat.”38

So the chief cut off a piece of meat and gave it to him.39 Hlakanyana ran to his mother and gave the meat to her to be cooked.40

Then he returned to his father, and said again: “Father, give me some meat.”41

The chief just took him and trampled upon him, and threw him outside of the kraal, thinking that he was dead.42

But he rose again and returned to his father, still saying: “Father, give me some meat.”43

Then the chief thought to get rid of him by giving him meat again.44 The chief gave him a piece of liver.45 Hlakanyana threw it away.46 Fat was then given to him.47 He put it down on one side.48 Flesh was then given to him, and a bone with much marrow in it.49

Hlakanyana said: “I am a man to-day.”50 He said: “This is the beginning of my father’s cattle.”51

At this time the men were saying to each other: “Who will carry the meat to our huts?”52

Hlakanyana answered: “I will do it.”53

They said: “How can such a thing as you are carry meat?”54

Hlakanyana replied: “I am stronger than you; just see if you can lift this piece of meat.”55

The men tried, but could not lift it.56 Then Hlakanyana took the piece of meat and carried it out of the kraal.57 The men said: “That will do now, carry our meat for us.”58

Hlakanyana took the meat and carried it to the house of his mother.59 He took blood and put it on the eating mats at the houses of the men.60 The men went to their houses, and said: “Where is our meat?”61 They called Hlakanyana, and asked him what he had done with the meat.62

He replied: “Surely I put it here where the blood is.63 It must have been taken by the dogs.64 Surely the dogs have eaten it.”65

Then those men beat the women and children because they did not watch that the dogs did not take the meat.66 As for Hlakanyana, he only delighted in this trick of his.67 He was more cunning than any of the old men.68

Hlakanyana said to his mother, that she must put the meat in the pot to cook, but that it must not be eaten before the next morning.69 It was done.70 In the night this cunning little fellow rose and went to the pot.71 His mother heard something at the pot, and struck with a stick.72 Hlakanyana cried like a dog.73 His mother said: “Surely a dog is eating the meat.”74 Hlakanyana returned afterwards, and left nothing but bones in the pot.75 In the morning he asked his mother for meat.76 His mother went to the pot, and found nothing but bones.77 The cunning little fellow pretended to be astonished.78

He said: “Where is the meat, mother?”79

His mother replied: “It has been eaten by a dog.”80

Hlakanyana said: “As that is so, give me the bones, for you who are the wife of the chief will not eat from the same pot with a dog.”81

His mother gave him the bones.82

Hlakanyana went to sleep in the same house with the boys.83 The boys were unwilling to let him sleep with them.84 They laughed at him.85

They said: “Who are you?86 You are just a child of a few days.”87

Hlakanyana answered: “I am older than you.”88

He slept there that night.89 When the boys were asleep, he got up and went to the cattle kraal.90 He killed two cows and ate all their insides.91 He took blood and smeared it on one of the boys who was sleeping.92 In the morning the men found those two dead cows.93

They said: “Who has done this thing?”94

They found the boy with blood upon him, and killed him, because they thought he was the robber.95

Hlakanyana said within himself: “I told them that I was older than they are; to-day it is seen who is a child and who is a man.”96

Another day the father of Hlakanyana killed an ox.97 The head was put in a pot to be cooked.98 Then Hlakanyana considered in his mind how he could get that meat.99 So he drove all the cattle of the village into a forest, a very thick forest, and tied them by their tails to the trees.100 After that he cut his arms, and legs, and breast, with a sharp stone, and stood on a hill, and cried out with a loud voice: “The enemy has taken our cattle; the cattle are being driven away.101 Come up, come up; there is an army going away with the cattle.”102

The men ran quickly to him.103

He said to them: “Why are you eating meat while the enemy is going away with the cattle?104 I was fighting with them; just look at my body.”105

They saw he was covered with blood, and they believed it was as he said.106 So the men took their assagais and ran after the cattle, but they took the wrong way.107 Only one old man and Hlakanyana were left behind.108

Then Hlakanyana said to the old man: “I am very tired with fighting; just go to the river, grandfather, and get some water.”109

The old man went; and as soon as he was alone, Hlakanyana ate the meat which was in the pot.110 When the old man returned with the water he was very tired, for the river was far for an old man to go to, therefore he fell asleep.111 When he was sleeping, Hlakanyana took a bone and put it beside the old man.112 He also took some fat and put it on the mouth of the old man.113 Then he ran to the forest and loosened the cattle that were tied by the tails.114

At this time the men were returning from seeking the enemy.115 Hlakanyana was coming also from the other side with the cattle.116

He shouted: “I have conquered the enemy.”117 He also said: “The meat must be eaten now.”118

When they opened the pot they found no meat.119 They found only dung, for Hlakanyana had filled the pot with dung.120

Then the men said: “Who has done this?”121

Hlakanyana answered: “It must be the old man who is sleeping there.”122

They looked, and saw the bone by the side of the old man, and the fat on his mouth.123 Then they said: “This is the thief.”124 They were intending to kill the old man because he had stolen the meat of the chief.125

When the children saw that the old man was to be killed, they said that he did not eat the meat of the chief.126

The men said: “We saw fat on his mouth and a bone beside him.”127

The children replied: “He did not do it.”128

The men said: “Tell us who did it.”129

The children answered: “Hlakanyana ate the meat and put dung in the pot.130 We were concealed, and we saw him do it.”131

Hlakanyana denied.132 He said: “Let me go and ask the women; perhaps they saw who ate the meat of the chief.”133

The men sent a young man with him to the women; but when they were a short distance away, Hlakanyana escaped.134

The chief sent an army after him.135 The army pursued, and saw Hlakanyana sitting by a bush.136 They ran to catch him.137 When they came to the bush, only an old woman was sitting there.138

They said to her: “Where is Hlakanyana?”139

The old woman replied: “He just went across that river.140 See, you must make haste to follow him, for the river is rising.”141