LEGENDS
Legend of Kilui Lake (Kamba of Kibwezi).—A few miles below Kibwezi
Station there is a small lake called Kilui which is believed to be
haunted by numerous spirits. The author recently had occasion to visit
the place and, seeing a crocodile, shot it; the crocodile was badly
hit, but, as usual, managed to struggle back into the water. The Kamba
porters were afterwards heard to say that it was a good thing that it
was not killed as the master would have been taken sick and probably
died. The local elders, however, were questioned on the subject later
on, but denied that any evil effects were likely to supervene. They
stated that the place was undoubtedly full of spirits, as a long time
ago there was a large village on the site of the lake, and, one day, a
terrible rain storm occurred during which a frog entered one of the
huts; the housewife on seeing it told one of her children to throw it
out, and this having been done, the frog then went to another hut where
the same thing occurred, and so on at the third, but at the fourth hut
the wife, however, said, “Oh, it is doing no harm, let it stay.”
Thereupon the frog said to her, “You have given me shelter and so
listen to my words—take your children and flee from this village
without delay for it will disappear.” She had the sense to obey this
wonderful warning and had only gone a short distance when the whole
village sank below the water.
The place was also supposed to possess a large sacred snake, and it is
said that the manager of a neighbouring rubber plantation shot this
reptile and cut down a sacred tree near by. This man having died of
dysentery a few months later, the natives were convinced that his death
was directly due to the ancestral spirits avenging such sacrilegious
actions.
The Kibwezi River flows along an old valley carved through the
metamorphic rocks, but in recent geological times a sheet of lava came
down the valley from the Chyulu Mountains and choked its flow. It
appears from under a lava-bed near the railway station and runs for
about three-quarters of a mile, and then disappears entirely and
reappears in three sources, joining up at Kilui Lake. The eruptions
which caused this are of so recent a date that quite possibly the
legend above narrated may be founded on fact and may contain some
vestige of the record of an actual occurrence during the last phases of
volcanic activity in this region.
In the author’s book on the A-Kamba, p. 167, mention was made of a
haunted hill in the Kibwezi region; it is of volcanic origin, and is
regarded with great awe by the people. It is called Chumbi and is
situated near the south end of the Chyulu Range on the eastern side.
There are two small hills, one being bush-covered, and the other so
recent that no bush has yet taken root on it. It is said by some that
the latter was only formed some fifty years ago. The people will only
discuss it with those whom they know very intimately, but it is said
that a rhythmic beat, attributed to the female spirits crushing corn in
mortars and keeping time with each other, can be heard, as one
approaches the place. If, however, a native could be persuaded to guide
one there, it would be probably found that this rhythmic beat is due to
the sound of a pulsating steam vent. It is also said that when an
intruder approaches the hill a rushing wind comes and sweeps him up
into the hill and he is never seen again. The first native who told a
European about this awesome place is said to have sickened and died
shortly afterwards.
Legend Regarding Origin of Fire.—The Kikuyu have a curious folk tale
concerning the origin of fire. This has now become merely a fairy-tale
told to children.
A long time ago a man borrowed a spear, katimu, from a neighbour to
kill a porcupine which was destroying his crops. He lay in wait in the
field and eventually speared one, but it was only wounded and ran off
with the spear in its body and disappeared down a burrow. He went to
the owner and told him that the spear was lost, but the owner insisted
on having it back. Whereupon, the man bought a new spear and offered it
to the owner in place of the lost weapon, but the owner refused it and
again insisted on the return of the original spear. The man then
proceeded to crawl down the porcupine burrow, and having crawled a long
way found himself eventually, to his surprise, in a place where many
people were sitting about cooking food by a fire. They asked him what
he wanted and he told them of his errand. They then invited him to stay
and eat with them; he was afraid and said he could not stay as he must
go back with the spear which he saw lying there. They made no effort to
keep him, but told him to climb up the roots of a mugumu tree, which
penetrated down into the cavern, and said that he would soon come out
into the upper world. They gave him some fire to take back with him. So
he took the spear and the fire and climbed out as he was told.
This is said to be the way fire came to man; before that people ate
their food raw.
When the man reached his friends he returned the spear and said to the
owner, “You have caused me a great deal of trouble to recover your
spear, and if you want some of this fire which you see going away into
smoke, you will have to climb up the smoke and get it back for me.” The
owner of the spear tried and tried to climb the smoke but could not do
it, and the elders then came and intervened and said, “We will make the
following arrangement: fire shall be for the use of all, and because
you have brought it you shall be our chief.”
The underworld referred to in this tale is called Miri ya mikeongoi.