Kadu was a native lad of Uganda, who having made blood brotherhood with
a young Zanzibari of his own age, asked permission to join our
expedition of 1874-77. He survived the perils of the descent of the
Congo, and in 1879 enlisted again, and served faithfully another term of
three years in Africa. He afterwards joined Mr H.H. Johnston on his
visit to Kilimanjaro, and proved himself as devoted to him as he had
been for seven years to me. It was while road-making along the banks of
the Congo, after becoming thoroughly conversant with the Zanzibari
vernacular, that he entertained us with his remarkable legends. Next to
his countryman Sabadu he was the most entertaining.
One of the first tales he related to us was about Kimyera, a king of
Uganda, who by his exploits in hunting deserves to be called the Nimrod
of that country. It ran as follows:--
Many ages ago Uni reigned as king over Unyoro, a great country which
lies to the north and west of Uganda. One day he took to wife Wanyana,
a woman of the neighbouring kingdom, who on the first night she had been
taken into the inner harem manifested a violent aversion for his person.
At that time a man named Kalimera, who was a dealer in cattle, was
visiting the court, and had already resided some months there as an
honoured guest of the king, on account of his agreeable manners, and his
accomplishments on the flute. During his stay he had not failed to note
the beauty of the young women who were permitted to crowd around him
while he played; but it had long been observed that he had been
specially attracted by the charms of Wanyana. It was whispered by a few
of the more maliciously disposed among the women that a meeting had
taken place, and that an opportunity had been found by them to inform
each other of their mutual passion. However that may be, King Uni,
surprised at the dislike which she manifested towards him, forbore
pressing her for the time, trustfully believing that her sentiments
would change for the better after a more intimate acquaintance with him.
Meantime he built for her a separate apartment, and palisaded its court
closely around with thick cane. His visits were paid to her on
alternate days, and each time he brought some gift of bead or
bark-cloth, or soft, furry hide, in the hope of winning her favour.
In time she discovered that she was pregnant, and, fearing King Uni's
wrath, she made a compact with him that if he would abstain from
visiting her for one month she would repay his kindness with all
affection. Uni gladly consented to this proposal, and confined his
attentions to sending his pages with daily greetings and gifts.
Meantime she endeavoured through her own servants to communicate with
Kalimera, her lover, but, though no effort on her part was wanting, she
could gain no news of him, except a report that soon after she had
entered the harem of Uni, Kalimera had disappeared.
In a few days she was delivered of a fine male child, but as she would
undoubtedly be slain by the king if the child was discovered, she
departed by night with it, and laid it, clad in fur adorned with fine
bead-work, at the bottom of a potter's pit. She then hastened to a
soothsayer in the neighbourhood, and bribed him to contrive in some way
to receive and rear her child until he could be claimed. Satisfied with
his assurance that the child would be safe, Wanyana returned to her
residence at the court in the same secret manner that she had left it.
Next morning Mugema, the potter, was seen passing the soothsayer's door,
and was hailed by the great witch-finder.
"Mugema," said he, "thy pots are now made of rotten clay. They are not
at all what they used to be. They now crumble in the hand. Tell me why
is this?"
"Ah, doctor, it is just that. I thought to bribe thee to tell me, only
I did not wish to disturb thee."
"It is well, Mugema; I will tell thee why. Thou hast an enemy who
wishes evil to thee, but I will defeat his projects. Haste thou to thy
pit, and whatever living thing thou findest there, keep it, and rear it
kindly. While it lives thou art safe from all harm."
Wondering at this news, Mugema departed from the soothsayer's house, and
proceeded to the pit where he obtained his clay. Peering softly over
the edge of the pit, he saw a bundle of bark-cloth and fur. From its
external appearance he could not guess what this bundle might contain,
but, fearing to disturb it by any precipitate movement, he silently
retreated from the pit, and sped away to tell his wife, as he was in
duty bound, and obtain her advice and assistance, for the wife in all
such matters is safer than the man. His wife on hearing this news cried
out at him, saying:
"Why, what a fool thou art! Why didst thou not do as the soothsayer
commanded thee? Come, I will go with thee at once, for my mind is
troubled with a dream which I had last night, and this thing thou
tellest me may have a weighty meaning for us both."
Mugema and his wife hurried together towards the clay-pit, and as her
husband insisted on it, she crept silently to its edge to look down. At
that moment the child uttered a cry and moved the clothes which covered
it.
"Why, it is a babe," cried the woman; "just as I found it in my dream.
Hurry, Mugema. Descend quickly, and bring it up to me; and take care
not to hurt it."
Mugema wondered so much at his wife's words that he almost lost his
wits, but being pushed into the pit he mechanically obeyed, and brought
up the bundle and its living occupant, which he handed to his wife
without uttering a word.
On opening the bundle there was discovered the form of a beautiful and
remarkably lusty child, of such weight, size, and form, that the woman
exclaimed:
"Oh! Mugema, was ever anybody's luck like this of ours? My very heart
sighed for a child that I could bring up to be our joy, and here the
good spirits have given us the pick of all the world. Mugema, thy
fortune is made."
"But whose child is it?" asked Mugema, suspiciously.
"How can I tell thee that? Hadst thou not brought the news to me of it
being in the pit, I should have been childless all my life. The
soothsayer who directed thee hither is a wise man. He knows the secret,
I warrant him. But come, Mugema, drop these silly thoughts. What
sayest thou? shall we rear the child, or leave it here to perish?"
"All right, wife. If it prove of joy to thee, I shall live content."
Thus it was that the child of Wanyana found foster-parents, and no woman
in Unyoro could be prouder of her child than Mugema's wife came to be of
the foundling. The milk of woman, goat, and cow was given to him, and
he throve prodigiously; and when Mugema asked the soothsayer what name
would be fittest for him, the wise man said:
"Call him Kimyera--the mighty one."
Some months after this, when Kimyera was about a year old, Wanyana came
to the potter's house to purchase pots for her household, and while she
was seated in the porch selecting the soundest among them, she heard a
child crying within.
"Ah, has thy wife had a child lately? I did not observe or hear when I
last visited thee that she was likely to become a mother."
"No, princess," replied Mugema; "that is the cry of a child I discovered
in the clay-pit about a year ago."
Wanyana's heart gave a great jump, and for a moment she lost all
recollection of where she was. Recovering herself with a great effort,
she bade Mugema tell her all about the incident: but while he related
the story, she was busy thinking how she might assure herself of his
secrecy if she declared herself to be the mother of the child.
Mugema, before concluding his story, did not fail to tell Wanyana how
for a time he had suspected his wife of having played him falsely, and
that though he had no grounds for the suspicion further than that the
clay-pit was his own and the child had been found in it, he was not
quite clear in his mind yet, and he would be willing to slave a long
time for any person who could thoroughly disabuse his mind of the doubt,
as, with that exception, his wife was the cleverest and best woman in
Unyoro.
Wanyana, perceiving her opportunity, said:
"Well, much as I affected not to know about the child, I know whose
child it is, and who placed it in the pit."
"Thou, princess!" he cried.
"Yes, and, if thou wilt take an oath upon the great Muzimu to keep it
secret, I will disclose the name of the mother."
"Thou hast my assurance of secrecy upon the condition that the child is
not proved to be my wife's. Whosoever else's it may be, matters not to
me; the child was found, and is mine by right of the finder. Now name
the mother, princess."
"Wanyana!"
"Thine?"
"Even so. It is the offspring of fond love, and Kalimera of Uganda is
his father. The young man belongs to one of the four royal clans of
Uganda, called the Elephant clan. He is the youngest son of the late
king of Uganda. To him, on his father's death, fell his mother's
portion, a pastoral district rich in cattle not far from the frontier of
Unyoro. It was while he drove fat herds here for sale to Uni that he
saw and loved me, and I knew him as my lord. Dreading the king's anger,
he fled, and I was left loveless in the power of Uni. One night the
child was born, and in the darkness I crept out of the king's court, and
bore the babe to thy pit. To the wise man I confided the secret of that
birth. Thou knowest the rest."
"Princess, my wife never appeared fairer to me than she does now, and I
owe the clear eye to thee. Rest in peace. My wife loves the babe, let
her nurse it until happier times, and I will guard it safe as though it
were mine own. Ay, the babe, I feel assured, will pay me well when he
is grown. The words of the wise man come home to me now, and I see
whereby good luck shall come to all. If bone and muscle can make a
king, Kimyera's future is sure. But come in to see my wife, and to her
discretion and wisdom confide thy tale frankly."
Wanyana soon was hanging over her child, and, amid tears of joy, she
made Mugema's wife acquainted with his birth, and obtained from her
earnest assurance that he would be tenderly cared for, and her best help
in any service she could perform for Kimyera and his mother.
Great friendship sprang up between Princess Wanyana and the potter
Mugema and his wife, and she found frequent excuses for visiting the
fast-growing child.
Through the influence of the princess, the potter increased in riches,
and his herds multiplied; and when Kimyera was grown tall and strong, he
was entrusted by his foster-father with the care of the cattle, and he
gave him a number of strong youths as assistants. With these Kimyera
indulged in manly games, until he became wonderfully dexterous in
casting the spear, and drawing the bow, and in wrestling. His swiftness
exceeded that of the fleetest antelope; no animal of the plain could
escape him when he gave chase. His courage, proved in the defence of
his charge, became a proverb among all who knew him. If the cry of the
herdsman warned him that a beast sought to prey upon the cattle, Kimyera
never lost time to put himself in front, and, with spear and arrow, he
often became victor.
With the pride becoming the possessor of so many admirable qualities, he
would drive his herds right through the corn-fields of the villagers,
and to all remonstrances he simply replied that the herds belonged to
Wanyana, favourite wife of Uni. The people belonged to her also, as
well as their corn, and who could object to Wanyana's cattle eating
Wanyana's corn?
As his reputation for strength and courage was well known, the villagers
then submissively permitted him to do as he listed.
As he grew up in might and valour, Uni's regards cooled towards Wanyana,
and, as she was not permitted that freedom formerly enjoyed by her, her
visits to Kimyera ceased. Mugema sympathised with the mother, and
contrived to send Kimyera with pots to sell to the people of the court,
with strict charge to discover every piece of news relating to the
Princess Wanyana. The mother's heart dilated with pride every time she
saw her son, and she contrived in various ways to lengthen the
interview. And each time he returned to his home he carried away some
gift from Wanyana, such as leopard-skins, strings of beast claws, beads,
and crocodile-teeth, girdles of white monkey-skin, parcels of ground
ochre, or camwood, or rare shells, to show Mugema and his wife. And
often he used to say, "Wanyana bade me ask you to accept this gift from
her as a token of her esteem," showing them similar articles.
His mother's presents to him in a short time enabled him to purchase two
fine large dogs--one was black as charcoal, which was named by him
_Msigissa_, or "Darkness," the other was white as a cotton tuft, and
called _Sema-gimbi_, or "Wood-burr." You must know that it is because
of the dog Darkness, that the Baboon clan of Uganda became so attached
to black dogs, by which they perpetuate the memory of Kimyera.
When he had become the owner of Darkness and Wood-burr, he began to
absent himself from home for longer periods, leaving the herds in charge
of the herdsmen. With these he explored the plains, and hills, and
woods to a great distance from his home. Sometimes he would be absent
for weeks, causing great anxiety to his kind foster-parents. The
further he went the more grew his passion to know what lay beyond the
furthest ridge he saw, which, when discovered, he would be again tempted
to explore another that loomed in the far distance before him. With
every man he met he entered into conversation, and obtained a various
knowledge of things of interest relating to the country, the people, and
the chiefs. In this manner before many months he had a wide knowledge
of every road and river, village and tribe, in the neighbouring lands.
On his return from these daring excursions, he would be strictly
questioned by Mugema and his wife as to what he had been doing, but he
evaded giving the entire truth by rehearsing the hunting incidents that
attended his wanderings, so that they knew not the lands he had seen,
nor the distances that he travelled. However, being uneasy in their
minds they communicated to Wanyana all that was related to them and all
they suspected. Wanyana then sought permission to pay a visit to the
potter and his wife, and during the visit she asked Kimyera, "Pray tell
me, my son, whither dost thou travel on these long journeys of thine to
seek for game?"
"Oh! I travel far through woods, and over grassy hills and plains."
"But is it in the direction of sunrise, or sunset, is it north or is it
south of here?"
To which he replied: "I seek game generally in the direction whence the
sun rises."
"Ah!" said Wanyana. "In that way lies Ganda, where thy father lives,
and whence he came in former days to exchange cattle for salt and hoes."
"My father! What may be my father's name, mother?"
"Kalimera."
"And where did he live?"
"His village is called Willimera, and is near the town of Bakka."
"Bakka! I know the town, for in some of my journeys I entered a long
way into Uganda, and have chased the leopard in the woods that border
the stream called Myanja, and over the plains beyond the river many an
antelope has fallen a victim to my spear."
"It is scarcely credible, my son."
"Nay, but it is true, mother."
"Then thou must have been near Willimera in that case, and it is a pity
that thou shouldst not have seen thy father, and been received by him."
A few days later Kimyera slung his knitted haversack over his shoulder,
and with shield, two spears, and his faithful dogs Darkness and
Wood-burr, he strode out of the potter's house, and set his face once
more towards the Myanja river. At the first village across the stream
he questioned the natives if they knew Willimera, and was told that it
was but eight hours east. The next day he arrived, and travelled round
the village, and rested that night at the house of one of the herdsmen
of Kalimera. He made himself very agreeable to his host, and from him
he received the fullest information of all matters relating to his
father.
The next day he began his return to Unyoro, which he reached in two
weeks. He told Mugema and his foster-mother of his success, and they
sent a messenger to apprise Wanyana that Kimyera had returned home.
Wanyana, impatient to learn the news, arrived that night at Mugema's
house, and implored Kimyera to tell her all that he had heard and seen.
"In brief, it is this," replied Kimyera. "I now know to a certainty
where Kalimera lives. I have gone round the village, I know how many
natives are in it, how many herds of cattle, and how many herdsmen and
slaves he has. Kalimera is well. All these I learned from one of his
chief herdsmen with whom I rested a night. I came here straight to let
thee and my foster-parents know it."
"It is very well, my son. Now, Mugema, it is time to move," she said to
the potter. "Uni daily becomes more intolerable to me. I never have
yet mated with him as his wife, and I have been true to the one man who
seemed to me to be the comeliest of his kind. Now that I know Kalimera
lives, my heart has gone to him, though my body is here. Mugema, speak,
my friend."
"Wanyana, my wit is slow and my tongue is heavy. Thou knowest my
circumstances. I have one wife, but many cattle. The two cows, Namala
and Nakaombeh, thou gavest me first, I possess still. Their milk has
always been abundant and sweet. Namala has sufficed to nourish Kimyera
into perfect lustiness and strength; Nakaombeh gives more than will feed
my wife and I. Let Kimyera take his flute, his dogs, Darkness and
Wood-burr, his spears and shield; Sebarija, my cowherd, who taught
Kimyera the flute, will also take his flute and staff, and drive Namala
and Nakaombeh. My wife will carry a few furs, some of the spoils won by
Kimyera's prowess; and, lo! I and my family will follow Wanyana."
"A true friend thou hast been to me and mine, Mugema! We will hence
before dawn. In Willimera thou shalt receive tenfold what thou leavest
here. The foundling of the clay-pit has grown tall and strong, and at
last he has found the way to his father and his father's kindred."
And as Wanyana advised, the journey was undertaken that night, and
before the sun arose Wanyana, Mugema and his wife, the slave Sebarija
driving the two cows, Namala and Nakaombeh, were far on their way
eastward, Kimyera and his two dogs, Darkness and Wood-burr, preceding
the emigrants and guiding the way.
The food they took with them sustained them for two days; but on the
third day they saw a lonely buffalo, and Kimyera, followed by Mugema and
Sebarija, chased him. The buffalo was uncommonly wild, and led them a
long chase, far out of sight of the two women. Then Mugema reflected
that they had done wrong in thus leaving the two women alone, and called
out to Sebarija to hurry back, and to look after the women and two cows.
Not long after, Darkness fastened his fangs in the buffalo, until
Wood-burr came up and assisted him to bring it to the ground, and there
they held him until Kimyera gave him his death-stroke. The two men
loaded themselves with the meat, and returned to the place where they
had left, but alas! they found no traces of the two women, nor of
Sebarija and the two cows.
Day after day Kimyera and Mugema hunted all around the country for news
of the missing party, until, finally, to their great sorrow, they were
obliged to abandon the search, and came to the conclusion that it was
best for them to continue their journey and trust to chance for the
knowledge they desired.
Near Ganda another buffalo was sighted by Kimyera, and, bidding Mugema
remain at the first house he came to, he went after it with his dogs.
The buffalo galloped far, and near noon he stood still under the shelter
of a rock. Kimyera bounded to the top, and, exerting all his strength,
he shot his spear clean through the back of the animal. That rock is
still shown to strangers as the place where Kimyera killed the first
game in Uganda, and even the place where he stood may be seen by the
marks of his feet which were, impressed on it. While resting on the
rock he saw a woman pass near by with a gourd of water. He called out
to her, and begged for a drop to allay his thirst. She smilingly
complied, as the stranger was comely and his manner pleasant. They
entered into conversation, during which he learned that she belonged to
Ganda, and served as maid to Queen Naku, wife of Sebwana, and that Naku
was kind to strangers, and was famed for her hospitality to them.
"Dost thou think she will be kind to me?" asked Kimyera. "I am a native
of Unyoro, and I am seeking a house where I may rest."
To which the maid replied: "It is the custom of Naku, and, indeed, of
all the princes of Ganda, to entertain the stranger since, in the far
olden times, the first prince settled in this land in which he was a
stranger. But what may that be which is secured in thy girdle?"
"That is a reed flute on which I imitate when alone the songs of such
birds as sound sweetest to me."
"And art thou clever at it?" asked the maid.
"Be thou judge," he said; and forthwith blew on his flute until the maid
marvelled greatly.
When he had ended, she clapped her hands gaily and said:
"Thou wilt be more than welcome to Naku and her people. Haste and
follow me that I may show thee to her, for thy fortune is made."
"Nay. I have a companion not far from here, and I must not lose him.
But thou mayest say thou hast met a stranger who, when he has found his
friend, will present himself before Queen Naku and Sebwana before
sunset."
The maid withdrew and Kimyera rose, and cutting a large portion of the
meat he retraced his steps, and sought and found Mugema, to whom he told
all his adventures.
After washing the stains of travel and refreshing themselves, they
proceeded into the village to the residence of the queen and her consort
Sebwana. Naku was prepared by the favourable reports of the maid to
receive Kimyera kindly, but when she saw his noble proportions and
handsome figure she became violently in love with him, and turning to
Sebwana she said:
"See now, we have guests of worth and breeding. They must have
travelled from a far land, for I have heard of no tribe which could
boast of such a youth as this. Let us receive him and his old friend
nobly. Let a house close by our own be made ready for his lodging, and
let it be furnished with abundance of food, with wine [banana wine] and
milk, bananas and yams, water and fuel, and let nothing be lacking to
show our esteem for them." Sebwana gave orders accordingly and
proceeded to select a fit house as a lodging for the guests.
Then Naku said: "I hear that thou art skilled in music. If that is the
instrument in thy girdle with which thou hast delighted my maid, I
should be pleased to hear thee."
"Yes, Queen Naku, it is my flute; and if my music will delight thee, my
best efforts are at thy service."
Then Kimyera, kneeling on the leopard-skins placed for the convenience
of himself and Mugema, took out his flute, and after one or two
flourishes, poured forth such melodious sounds that Naku, unable to keep
her eyes open, closed them and lay down with panting breasts, while her
senses were filled as it were with dreams of happier lands, and faces of
brighter people than ever she knew in real life. As he varied the
notes, so varied the gladsome visions of her mind. When the music
gently vibrated on her ears, her body palpitated under the influence of
the emotions which swayed her; when they became more enlivened she
tossed her arms about, and laughed convulsively; and when the notes took
a solemn tone, she sighed and wept as though all her friends had left
her only their tender memory. Grieved that Naku should suffer, Kimyera
woke the queen from her sorrowful condition with tones that soon started
her to her feet, and lo, all at once, those who were present joined in
the lively dance, and nothing but gay laughter was heard from them. Oh,
it was wonderful what quick changes came over people as they heard the
flute of Kimyera. When he ceased people began to look at one another in
a foolish and confused way, as though something very strange had
happened to them.
But Naku quickly recovered, and went to Kimyera, smiling and saying:
"It is for thee to command, O Kimyera. To resist thy flute would be
impossible. Again welcome to Ganda, and we shall see if we cannot keep
thee and thy flute amongst us."
She conducted Kimyera and his foster-father Mugema to their house. She
examined carefully the arrangements made by the slaves, and when she
found anything amiss she corrected it with her own hands. Before she
parted from them she called Mugema aside, and questioned him further
respecting the youth, by which means she obtained many interesting
particulars concerning him.
On arriving at her own house she called all the pages of the court to
her, and gave orders that if Sebwana told them to convey such and such
things to the strangers next day, that none of them should do so, but
carry them to the rear court where only women were admitted.
In consequence of this command Mugema and Kimyera found themselves
deserted next day, and not one person went near them. Mugema therefore
sought an interview the day after with Queen Naku and said:
"The custom of this country seems strange to us, O Queen. On the first
day we came thy favours showered abundance on us, but on the next not a
single person showed his face to us. Had we been in a wilderness we
could not have been more alone. It is possible that we may have
offended thee unknown to ourselves. Pray acquaint us with our offence,
or permit us to depart at once from Ganda."
"Nay, Mugema, I must ask thee to be patient. Food ye shall have in
abundance, through my women, and much more is in store for ye. But
come, I will visit the young stranger, and thou shalt lead me to him."
Kimyera had been deep in thought ever since he had parted from Naku, and
he had not observed what Mugema had complained of; but on seeing Naku
enter his house, he hasted and laid matting on the floor, and, covering
it with leopard-skins, begged Naku to be seated on them. He brought
fresh banana-leaves in his arms, and spread them near her, on which he
arranged meat and salt, and bananas and clotted milk, and kneeled before
her like a ready servitor.
Naku observed all his movements, her admiration for his person and
graces of body becoming stronger every minute. She peeled a mellow
banana and handed it to him, saying, "Let Kimyera taste and eat with me,
and I will then know that I am in the house of a friend."
Kimyera accepted the gift with thanks, and ate the banana as though he
had never eaten anything so delicious in his life. Then he also peeled
a beautiful and ripe banana, and, presenting it to her on a fragment of
green leaf with both hands, said to her:
"Queen Naku, it is the custom of my country for the master of the house
to wait upon his guests. Wherefore accept, O Queen, this banana as a
token of friendship from the hands of Kimyera."
The queen smiled, bent forward with her eyes fixed on his own, and took
the yellow fruit, and ate it as though such sweetness was not known in
the banana land of Ganda.
When she had eaten she said:
"List, Kimyera, and thou, Mugema, hearken well, for I am about to utter
weighty words. In Ganda, since the death of my father, there has been
no king. Sebwana is my consort by choice of the elders of the land, but
in name only. He is really only my _kate-kiro_ (Premier). But I am now
old enough to choose a king for myself, and according to custom, I may
do so. Wherefore I make known to thee, Mugema, that I have already
chosen my lord and husband, and he by due right must occupy the chair of
my father, the old king who is dead. I have said to myself since the
day before yesterday that my lord and husband shall be Kimyera."
Both Kimyera and Mugema prostrated themselves three times before Naku,
and, after the youth had recovered from his confusion and surprise, he
replied:
"But, Queen Naku, hast thou thought what the people will say to this?
May it not be that they will ask, `who is this stranger that he should
reign over us?' and they will be wroth with me and try to slay me?"
"Nay. For thou art my father's brother's son, as Mugema told me, and my
father having left no male heirs of his body, his daughter may, if she
choose, ally herself with a son of his brother. Kalimera is a younger
brother of my father. Thou seest, therefore, that thou, Kimyera, hast a
right to the king's chair, if I, Naku, will it to be so."
"And how, Naku, dost thou propose to act? In thy cause my arm is ready
to strike. Thou hast but to speak."
"In this way. I will now leave thee, for I have some business for
Sebwana. When he has gone I will then send for thee, and thou, when
thou comest to me, must say, `Naku, I have come. What can Kimyera do
for Queen Naku?' And I will rise and say, `Kimyera, come and seat
thyself in thy father's brother's chair.' And thou wilt step forward,
bow three times before me, then six times before the king's chair, and,
with thy best spear in hand and shield on arm, thou wilt, proceed to the
king's chair, and turning to the people who will be present, say in a
loud voice thus: `Lo, people of Ganda, I am Kimyera, son of Kalimera, by
Wanyana of Unyoro. I hereby declare that with her own free will I this
day do take Naku, my father's brother's daughter, to wife, and seat
myself in the king's chair. Let all obey, on pain of death, the king's
word.'"
"It is well, Naku; be it according to thy wish," replied Kimyera.
Naku departed and proceeded in search of Sebwana; and, when she found
him, she affected great distress and indignation.
"How is this, Sebwana? I gave orders that our guests should be tenderly
cared for and supplied with every needful thing. But I find, on
inquiring this morning, that all through yesterday they were left alone
to wonder at our sudden disregard for their wants. Haste, my friend,
and make amends for thy neglect. Go to my fields and plantations,
collect all that is choicest for our guests, lest, when they leave us,
they will proclaim our unkindness."
Sebwana was amazed at this charge of neglect, and in anger hastened to
find out the pages. But the pages, through Naku's good care, absented
themselves, and could not be found; so that old Sebwana was obliged to
depend upon a few unarmed slaves to drive the cattle and carry the
choicest treasures of the queen's fields and plantations for the use of
the strangers.
Sebwana having at last left the town, Naku returned to Kimyera, whom she
found with a sad and disconsolate aspect.
"Why, what ails thee, Kimyera?" she asked. "The chair is now vacant.
Arm thyself and follow me to the audience court."
"Ah, Naku! I but now remembered that as yet I know not whether my
mother and good nurse are alive or dead. They may be waiting for me
anxiously somewhere near the Myanja, or their bones may be bleaching on
one of the great plains we traversed in coming hither."
"Nay, Kimyera, my lord, this is not a time for mourning. Bethink thee
of the present needs first. The chair of the king awaits thee. Rise,
and occupy it, and to-morrow all Ganda is at thy service to find thy
lost mother and nurse. Come, delay not, lest Sebwana return and take
vengeance on us all."
"Fear not, Naku, it was but a passing fit of grief which filled my mind.
Sebwana must needs be strong and brave to dispossess me when Naku is on
my side," saying which Kimyera dressed himself in war-costume, with a
crown of cock's tail feathers on his head, a great leopard skin
depending from his neck down his back, a girdle of white monkey-skin
round his waist, his body and face brilliantly painted with vermilion
and saffron. He then armed himself with two bright shining spears of
great length, and bearing a shield of dried elephant hide, which no
ordinary spear could penetrate, he strode after Queen Naku towards the
audience court in the royal palace. Mugema, somewhat similarly armed,
followed his foster-son.
As Kimyera strode proudly on, the great drum of Ganda sounded, and its
deep tones were heard far and wide. Immediately the populace, who knew
well that the summons of the great drum announced an important event,
hastily armed themselves, and filled the great court. Naku, the queen,
they found seated in a chair alongside of the king's chair, which was
now unfilled, and in front of her was a tall young stranger, who
prostrated himself three times before the queen. He was then seen
bowing six times before the empty king's chair. Rising to his feet, he
stepped towards it, and afterwards faced the multitude, who were looking
on wonderingly.
The young stranger, lifting his long spears and raising his shield in an
attitude of defence, cried out aloud, so that all heard his voice:
"Lo, people of Ganda! I am Kimyera, son of Kalimera, by Wanyana of
Unyoro. I hereby declare that with her own free will I this day do take
Naku, my father's brother's daughter, to wife, and seat myself in the
king's chair. Let all obey, on pain of death, the king's word."
On concluding this address, he stepped back a pace, and gravely sat in
the king's chair. A loud murmur rose from the multitude, and the shafts
of spears were seen rising up, when Naku rose to her feet, and said:
"People of Ganda, open your ears. I, Naku, the legitimate queen of
Ganda, hereby declare that I have found my father's brother's son, and
I, this day, of my own free will and great love for him, do take him for
my lord and husband. By full right Kimyera fills the king's chair. I
charge you all henceforth to be loyal to him, and him only."
As she ended her speech the people gave a great shout of welcome to the
new king, and they waved their spears, and clashed them against their
shields, thus signifying their willing allegiance to King Kimyera.
The next day great bodies of strong men were despatched in different
directions for the king's mother and his nurse, and for Sebarija and the
two cows, Namala and Nakaombeh. If alive they were instructed to convey
them with honour and care to Ganda, and if any fatal misadventure had
happened to them, their remains were to be borne with all due respect to
the king.
Sebwana, meanwhile, had started for the plantations, and hearing the
thunder of the great drum, divined that Naku had deposed him in favour
of the young stranger. To assure himself of the fact, he sent a
confidential slave to discover the truth of the matter, while he sought
a place where he could await, unobserved, the return of his messenger.
When his slave came back to him he learned what great event had occurred
during his short absence, and that his power had been given to another.
Knowing the fate attending those thus deposed, he secretly retired to
the district that had given him birth, where he lived obscure and safe
until he died at a good old age.
After some days Sebarija and Mugema's wife, and the two cows Namala and
Nakaombeh, were found by the banks of Myanja, near a rocky hill which
contained a cave, whither they had retired to seek a dwelling-place
until news could be found of Mugema and Kimyera. But Wanyana, the
king's mother, while gathering fuel near the cave during the absence of
Sebarija and the potter's wife, had been fatally wounded by a leopard,
before her cries brought Sebarija to her rescue. A short time after she
had been taken into the cave she had died of her wounds, and her body
had been folded in such furs and covering as her friends possessed, that
Kimyera, on his return, might be satisfied of the manner of her death.
Kimyera, accompanied by his wife Naku and old Mugema, set out from Ganda
with a great escort to receive the long-lost couple and the remains of
Wanyana. Mugema rejoiced to see his old wife once more, though he
deeply regretted the loss of his friend the princess. As for the king,
his grief was excessive, but Naku, with her loving ways, assisted him to
bear his great misfortune. A period of mourning, for an entire moon,
was enjoined on all the people, after which a great mound was built at
Kagoma over the remains of the unfortunate princess, and Sebarija was
duly installed as keeper of the monument. Ever since that day it has
become the custom to bury the queen-mothers near the grave of Wanyana,
and to appoint keepers of the royal cemetery in memory of Sebarija, who
first occupied that post.
While he lived Sebarija was honoured with a visit, on the first day of
every alternate moon, from Kimyera, who always brought with him a young
buffalo as a gift to the faithful cowherd. During these days the king
and Sebarija were accustomed to play their flutes together as they did
in the old time, and their seats were on mats placed on top of the
mound, while the escort and servants of the king and queen sat all round
the foot of it, and this was the manner in which Wanyana's memory was
honoured during her son's life.
Kimyera finally settled with Queen Naku at Birra, where he built a large
town. Mugema and his wife, with their two cows Namala and Nakaombeh,
lived near the palace for many years, until they died.
Darkness and Wood-burr accompanied the king on many a hunt in the plains
bordering the Myanja, in the woods of Ruwambo, and along the lakelands
which look towards Bussi; and they in their turn died and were
honourably interred with many folds of bark-cloth. Queen Naku, after
giving birth to three sons, died during the birth of her fourth child,
and was buried with great honour near Birra, and finally, after living
to a great old age, the hunter king, Kimyera, died, mourned by all his
people.