There was once in a certain village an old man who was very poor. He
had no children, and only a few cattle. One day, when the sky was clear
and the sun was bright, he sat down by the cattle-fold. While he was
sitting there, he noticed some birds close by which were singing very
joyfully. He listened for a while, and then he stood up to observe them
better. They were very beautiful to look upon, and they sang
differently from other birds. They had all long tails and topknots on
their heads. Then the old man went to the chief and told him what he
had seen.
The chief said: “How many were they?”
The old man replied: “There were seven.”
The chief said: “You have acted wisely in coming to tell me; you shall
have seven of the fattest of my cows. I have lost seven sons in battle,
and these beautiful birds shall be in the place of my seven sons. You
must not sleep to-night; you must watch them, and to-morrow I will
choose seven boys to catch them. Do not let them out of your sight by
any means.”
In the morning the chief ordered all the boys of the village to be
assembled at the cattle-fold, when he spoke to them of the birds. He
said: “I will choose six of you, and set my son who is dumb, over you,
that will make seven in all. You must catch those birds. Wherever they
go, you must follow, and you must not see my face again without them.”
He gave them weapons, and instructed them that if any one opposed them
they were to fight till the last of them died.
The boys set off to follow those beautiful birds. They chased them for
several days, till at last the birds were exhausted, when each of the
boys caught one. At the place where they caught the birds they remained
that night.
On the morning of the next day they set out on their return home. That
evening they came to a hut in which they saw a fire burning, but no one
was there. They went in, and lay down to sleep. In the middle of the
night one of those boys was awake. He heard some one saying: “There is
nice meat here. I will begin with this one, and take this one next, and
that one after, and the one with small feet the last.” The one with the
small feet was the son of the chief. His name was Sikulume, for he had
never been able to speak till he caught the bird. Then he began to talk
at once.
After saying those words the voice was still. Then the boy awakened his
companions, and told them what he had heard.
They said: “You have been dreaming; there is no one here; how can such
a thing be?”
He replied: “I did not dream; I spoke the truth.”
Then they made a plan that one should remain awake, and if anything
happened, he should pinch the one next him, and that one should pinch
the next, till all were awake.
After a while the boy who was listening heard some one come in quietly.
That was a cannibal. He said the same words again, and then went out
for the purpose of calling his friends to come to the feast. The boy
awakened his companions according to the plan agreed upon, so that they
all heard what was said. Therefore, as soon as the cannibal went out,
they arose and fled from that place. The cannibal came back with his
friends, and when the others saw there was no one in the hut, they
killed and ate him.
As they were going on, Sikulume saw that he had left his bird behind.
He stood, and said: “I must return for my bird, my beautiful bird with
the long tail and topknot on its head. My father commanded that I must
not see his face again unless I bring the bird.”
The boys said: “Take one of ours. Why should you go where cannibals
are?”
He replied: “I must have the one that is my own.”
He stuck his assagai in the ground, and told them to look at it. He
said: “If it stands still, you will know I am safe; if it shakes, you
will know I am running; if it falls down, you will know I am dead.”
Then he left them to return to the hut of the cannibals.
On the way he saw an old woman sitting by a big stone. She said: “Where
are you going to?” He told her he was going for his bird. The old woman
gave him some fat, and said: “If the cannibals pursue you, put some of
this on a stone.”
He came to the hut and got his bird. The cannibals were sitting
outside, a little way back. They had just finished eating the owner of
the hut. When Sikulume came out with his bird they saw him and ran
after him. They were close to him, when he took some of the fat and
threw it on a stone. The cannibals came to the stone, and began to
fight with each other.
One said: “The stone is mine.”
Another said: “It is mine.”
One of them swallowed the stone. When the others saw that, they killed
him and ate him. Then they pursued again after Sikulume. They came
close to him again, when he threw the remainder of the fat on another
stone. The cannibals fought for this also. One swallowed it, and was
killed by the others.
They followed still, and Sikulume was almost in their hands, when he
threw off his mantle. The mantle commenced to run another way, and the
cannibals ran after it. It was so long before they caught it that the
young chief had time to reach his companions.
They all went on their way, but very soon they saw the cannibals coming
after them. Then they observed a little man sitting by a big stone.
He said to them: “I can turn this stone into a hut.”
They replied: “Do so.”
He turned the stone into a hut, and they all went inside, the little
man with them. They played the “iceya” there. The cannibals came to the
place and smelt. They thought the hut was still a stone, for it looked
like a stone to them. They began to bite it, and bit till all their
teeth were broken, when they returned to their own village.
After this, the boys and the little man came out.
The boys went on. When they reached their own home they saw no people,
till at length an old woman crept out of a heap of ashes. She was very
much frightened, and said to them: “I thought there were no people
left.”
Sikulume said: “Where is my father?”
She replied: “All the people have been swallowed by the inabulele” (a
fabulous monster).
He said: “Where did it go to?”
The old woman replied: “It went to the river.”
So those boys went to the river, and Sikulume said to them: “I will go
into the water, and take an assagai with me. If the water moves much,
you will know I am in the stomach of the inabulele; if the water is
red, you will know I have killed it.” Then he threw himself into the
water and went down.
The inabulele swallowed him without tearing him or hurting him. He saw
his father and his mother and many people and cattle. Then he took his
assagai and pierced the inabulele from inside. The water moved till the
inabulele was dead, then it became red. When the young men saw that,
they cut a big hole in the side of the inabulele, and all the people
and the cattle were delivered.
One day Sikulume said to another boy: “I am going to the doctor’s; tell
my sister to cook food for me, nice food that I may eat.” This was
done.
He said to his sister: “Bring me of the skin of the inabulele which I
killed, to make a mantle.” She called her companions, and they went to
the side of the river. She sang this song:—
“Inabulele,
Inabulele,
I am sent for you
By Sikulume,
Inabulele.”
The body of the inabulele then came out. She cut two little pieces of
the skin for sandals, and a large piece to make a mantle for her
brother.
When he was a young man, Sikulume said to his friends: “I am going to
marry the daughter of Mangangezulu.”
They replied: “You must not go there, for at Mangangezulu’s you will be
killed.”
He said: “I will go.”
Then he called those young men who were his chosen friends to accompany
him. On the way they came to a place where the grass was long. A mouse
came out of the grass, and asked Sikulume where he was going to.
He replied: “I am going to the place of Mangangezulu.”