SOUTHERN AFRICAN FOLK TALESTHE EGG CHILD
One day, a girl who was out plucking leaves with her friends
found an egg that belonged to a hyena and took it home, but her
mother threw it on the fire. Then the hyena came looking for its
egg and was angry when the girl’s mother explained what she
had done. The hyena threatened her, and made her promise to
hand over her next child. After that, the hyena waylaid the woman
every day, threatening to eat her if she did not give him a child. Then
one day the woman noticed a swelling on her shin. This boil grew
until it burst and a boy emerged, fully armed and able to walk and
talk. He told her he was Kachirambe, the child of the shin bone.
When the hyena came to claim him, the wonder child was too swift
and clever to be caught. He rounded on the hyena, and killed it.
THE BOY WARRIOR
Once, a terrible monster rampaged through a Basuto
village. It ate all the animals and people except for one
pregnant woman who had hidden in an animal pen.
Then, swollen with food, the monster got stuck in a
mountain pass and could not move. The same day the
woman gave birth – not to a baby, but to a fully grown
young man. She named her son Moshanyana, meaning
“little boy” – Ditaolane, in some versions – and told
him what had happened. Immediately he killed the
beast, and when he cut open its belly, all the people
it had swallowed
came out alive.THE ARRIVAL OF DEATH
When he created humans, the supreme god decided
that they should live forever. He looked for a messenger
to deliver this good news to them, and his eye chanced
upon the chameleon. But chameleons travel slowly, and
the creature was distracted, stopping often on the way
for food or to take a nap. After a while the supreme god
changed his mind, thinking that it was better for his
creations to have a limited life. This time, he chose a
diferent messenger to deliver the news – the fast-
moving gecko. There is no overturning a divine
command once it has been delivered, so whether
people would die or live forever depended on which
messenger arrived first. Unfortunately for mankind, the
gecko soon overtook the chameleon and gave the people
the message that they would not live forever.
Divining charms
When the wonder-child Moshanyana
was born, he was already wearing a
necklace made from a collection of
bones that could be used for divination.Hyena
The hyena’s odd appearance links it
in Southern African myth with strange
events, hence the tale of it laying an egg.Cooking for the family
The girl’s mother had no use for the
hyena’s egg, so she threw it into the
fire used to cook the family’s food.Moshanyana
The young boy Moshanyana
emerged from the womb
fully armed. He was seen as
a saviour of his people.Chameleon
A creature that often
appears in African myths,
the chameleon’s slow way
of moving is usually
highlighted in these stories.Gecko
The gecko’s speed and its ability to
travel across vertical surfaces are its
key attributes. These features make it
a popular subject in many African legends.135