There was a man whose wife had no children, so that he was much
dissatisfied. At last he went to a wise woman (Igqirakazi) and asked
her to help him in this matter. She said: “You must bring me a fat calf
that I may get its tallow to use with my medicine” (or charms—the
Kaffir word is Imifizi). The man went home and selected a calf without
horns or tail, which he took to the wise woman. She said: “Your wife
will have a son who will have no arms and no legs, as this calf has no
horns and no tail.” She told him, further, that he was not to inform
any one of this.
The man returned to his home and told his friends what was to happen.
Not long after this his wife bore a child, but it was a daughter and
had arms and legs. The man would not own that child, he said it was not
his. He beat his wife, and commanded her to take the child away and
leave it to perish. Then he went to the wise woman, and told her what
had taken place. The wise woman said: “It was because you did not obey
my command about keeping this matter to yourself, but your wife will
yet have a son without arms and without legs.”
It was so. His wife bore another child, which was a boy without arms
and without legs, therefore he was called Simbukumbukwana. He began to
speak on the day of his birth. During this time the girl that was first
born was growing up in the valley where her mother left her; she lived
in a hole in an ant-heap, and ate honey, and “nongwes,” and gum.
One day the mother of Simbukumbukwana went to work in her garden, and
left the boy at home with the door fastened. While she was away the
girl came; she stood at a distance and said: “Where are the people?”
There came a voice from inside which said: “Here am I.”
She said: “Who are you?”
The voice replied: “I am Simbukumbukwana.”
She said: “Open for me.”
He answered: “How can I open? I have no legs and no arms.”
She said: “My mother’s Simbukumbukwana, have legs and arms”
(Simbukumbukwana sikama, yiba nemilenze nemikono).
Then legs and arms came on the boy, and he arose and opened for his
sister. She went in and swept the floor; then she took millet and
ground it and made bread. She told her brother when his parents asked
him who did these things to say that he did them himself, and if they
should ask him to do them again to reply, “I have done it already.”
Then she said: “My mother’s Simbukumbukwana, sink legs and sink arms”
(Simbukumbukwana sikama, tshona milenze tshona mikono). Then his legs
and arms shrunk up, and his sister went away.
After a time his father and his mother came home; they went in and saw
the clean floor and bread ready for eating. They were surprised, and
said to Simbukumbukwana, “Who did this?”
He replied: “I did.”
They said: “Do so again that we may see you.”
He answered: “I have done it already.”
The next day the woman went again to work in her garden, but the man
hid himself to watch what would happen. After a time came the sister of
Simbukumbukwana and said: “Where are the people?” (Exactly the same
conversation as before.) She went in and began to smear the floor;
water was wanting, so she sent Simbukumbukwana to the river for some.
His joy in walking was great, so that he did not stop at the river, but
put the pot down there and continued to go forward. The girl thought he
ought not to be so long absent, for the river was close by, so she went
to look for him. She saw him walking up a hill far away, and she called
to him to return. He would not. Then she sang, Simbukumbukwana sikama,
tshona milenze, tshona mikono, and immediately his legs shrank up. Then
she was going away, but her father came out and caught her; he kissed
her, and said she must remain with him.
Her mother was coming home, when she saw something moving on the
hillside. She went to see what it was, and found her son. She said:
“How did you come here?”
He replied: “I came by myself.”
She said: “Let me see you go further.”
He answered: “I have done it already.”
Then she put him on her back and went home. She found her daughter
there, and her husband much pleased. The girl said: Simbukumbukwana
sikama, yiba nemilenze nemikono, and legs and arms came on him.
One day his sister and some other girls went to get red clay, and he
followed them. When they looked behind they saw him, and his sister got
angry. She said to him: “What do you want here?”
He replied: “I am going for red clay for my mother.”
His sister compelled him to sit down; but as soon as they went on, he
followed; then his sister beat him, and left him in the path. After
that there was a heavy storm of rain, but none fell where the little
boy was. When the rain was over, the other girls said to the one who
had beaten her brother: “Let us go and look after the little boy.” They
went and saw he was quite dry. He called to his sister: “You have
beaten me,” but she asked him to forgive her.
Then he said: “I want my father’s house to be here,” and immediately it
came.
He said: “I want the fire of my father to be here,” and there was a
fire.
He said to them: “Now go in; although you have beaten me, there is a
house and fire for you.”
He said afterwards: “I want the cattle of my father to be here,” and at
once they were all there.
That was a nice place, so they remained there ever after.