Martin. Basutoland

Title: Basutoland: Its Legends and Customs

Author(s): Minnie Martin
Year: 1903 [public domain]
Internet Archive: Always available.
Stories (10): The Story of Takane / How Khosi Chose a Wife / The Village Maidens and the Cannibal / Morongoe, The Snake / The Sun Chief / How Ra-Molo Became a Snake / Lelimo and the Magic Cap / The Chief and the Tigers / The Maid and the Snake Lover / The Famine. I have included two stories below: The Maid and the Snake Lover and Morongoe, The Snake.
Style: The stories are in an ornate, old-fashioned English.
Frame: none
Storytellers: The storytellers are not identified.
Additional Information: Basutoland was a British colony, now the country of Lesotho. Roughly the first half of the book is taken up with Basuto history and culture, with the other half containing myths and legends. As Minnie Martin explains in the preface, she arrived in South Africa in 1891 with her husband, a colonial official, and she set herself to learning the Sotho language. She later published two other books with legends she collected while living in southern Africa.

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Story Title: The Maid and Her Snake-Lover
Tradition: a Sotho story from Lesotho
Notes: While Martin has chosen to tell the story in a highly ornate style, the plot is that of a traditional folktale, and she retains the names of the characters.
Parallels: This type of "beauty-and-the-beast" is found in many different traditions, of course; what is distinctive here is the role of the fathers in the story. For a similar snake-transformation story, but with an emphasis on a son's heroism, see the story below: Morongoe, The Snake. For a flipside, where a woman marries an animal transformed into a man, see Ngoza, a Mwanga story from Zambia in southern Africa.

Python by Diego Delso at Wikimedia

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Laura Gibbs · The Maid and the Snake Lover

THE MAID AND HER SNAKE-LOVER

When our fathers’ fathers were children, there lived in the valley of the rivers two chiefs, who governed their people wisely and with great kindness. The name of the one was Mopeli, and of the other Khosi.

Now Mopeli had a son whom he loved as his own heart, a youth, tall and brave, and fearless as the young lion. To him was given the name of Tsiu. 

When Tsiu was able to stand alone and to play on the mat in front of his father’s dwelling, a daughter was born unto the chief Khosi, to whom was given the name of Tebogo. 

The years passed, and Tsiu and Tebogo grew and thrived. Often the youth drove his father’s cattle down towards the lands where Tebogo and her father’s maidens worked, and many happy days were spent, while the love each bore the other grew and strengthened, even as they themselves grew older.

When the time came for Tsiu to take a wife, he went to his father and asked that Tebogo might be given him, for none other could he wed. Gladly the parents consented, and preparations were made for the wedding.

Now Tebogo had another lover, upon whom she looked with scorn, but who had vowed that never, never should she be the bride of Tsiu, so he consulted a witch-doctor, who promised to aid him. Imagine then his joy when, before the wedding feast had begun, he heard that Tsiu had disappeared. “Now,” thought he, “Tebogo shall be mine.” But the maiden turned from him in anger, nor would her parents listen to his suit.

Meanwhile, desolation hung over the home of the chief Mopeli. “My son, my son,” cried the unhappy father, but no voice replied; no son came back to rejoice his father’s heart.

When the moon had once more grown great in the heavens, an old man came to the village of Mopeli and called the chief to him. Long they talked, and greatly the people wondered. At length they arose, and, saluting each other, parted at the door of the chief’s dwelling. Mopeli then departed for the village of Chief Khosi, where he remained all night. The next day he returned to his own village, and bade his people prepare a great feast.

In the village of the Chief Khosi, also, much wonder filled the people’s minds, for they, likewise, were commanded to make ready a marriage feast, for the chief’s daughter, the lovely Tebogo, was about to be married, but none knew to whom.

Calling his daughter to him, Khosi said, “My child, your lover Tsiu has been taken from you, so it is my wish that you should marry one who has found favour in my eyes.”

“Tell me, my father,” replied Tebogo, “who is the man you have chosen for me? Let me at least know his name.”

“No, my child, that I cannot do,” answered Khosi, and with this the maiden was obliged to be content. 

Behold then her horror when she was brought forth to meet her bridegroom, to find not a man, but a snake. All the people cried “shame” upon the parents who could be so cruel as to wed their daughter to a reptile.

With cries and tears Tebogo implored her parents to spare her; in vain were her entreaties. She was told to take her reptile husband home to the new hut which had been built for them, near the large pool where the cattle drank. Trembling, she obeyed, followed by her maidens, the snake crawling by her side. When she entered the hut, she tried to shut out the snake, but it darted half its body through the door and so terrified her that she ran to the other end of the hut.

The snake followed and began lashing her with its tail till she ran out of the hut down to the clump of willows which grew by the side of the pool. Here she found an old witch-doctor sitting, and to him she told her trouble. 

“My daughter,” he said, “return to your hut. Do not let the snake see you, but close the door very softly from the outside and set fire to the hut. When it is all burnt down, you will find the ashes of the snake lying in a little heap in the centre of the hut. Bring them here and cast them into the water.”

Tebogo did as the old witch-doctor directed her, and while the hut was burning, many people ran from both the villages to see what had happened, but Tebogo called to them to keep away, as she was burning the snake. 

When all was destroyed, she went up, took the ashes of the snake, which she found in the middle of the ruins and, putting them into a pitcher, ran with them down to the pool and threw them in. No sooner had she done so than from the water arose, not a snake, but her lover Tsiu. With a joyful cry, she flung herself into his arms, and a great shout went up from all the people gathered there.

As the lightning darts across the heaven, so the news of Tsiu’s return spread from hut to hut, and great was the people’s wonderment. The story of how he had been turned into a snake and banished to the pool until he could find a maiden whose parents would bestow her upon him in marriage, and of how the good old witch-doctor Into had revealed the secret to Mopeli, was soon told. For many days there was feasting and merry-making in the homes of Mopeli the chief and of Khosi, while in the hearts of Tsiu and his bride Tebogo there dwelt a great contentment, but the wicked lover fled to the mountains, where he cherished a bitter hatred in his heart against Tebogo and her husband, and longed for the time when he could be revenged.

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Story Title: Morongoe, The Snake
Tradition: a Sotho story from Lesotho
Notes: Again, Martin tells the story in a highly literary style, while continuing to use the Sotho names of the characters. She also uses the word "kaross" in the story, but I have changed that simply to cloak.
Parallels: By comparing this story with the story above about the transformed snake, you can see how folktale traditions can weave very different stories out of similar motifs. For another story of cattle-under-the-water, see this Lozi story from southern Africa: Mange (from Stirke's Barotseland).

Snake by Patrick Case at Pixabay

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Laura Gibbs · Morongoe, The Snake

MORONGOE, THE SNAKE

Mokete was a chief’s daughter, but she was also beautiful beyond all the daughters of her father’s house, and Morongoe-the-Brave and Tau-the-Lion both desired to possess her, but Tau did not find favour in the eyes of her parents, and Mokete did not desire to be his wife, whereas Morongoe was rich and the son of a great chief, and upon him was Mokete bestowed in marriage.

But Tau swore by all the evil spirits that their happiness should not long continue, and he called to his aid an old witch-doctor, whose power was greater than the tongue of man could tell, and one day Morongoe walked down to the water and was seen no more. Mokete wept and mourned for her brave young husband, to whom she had been wedded but ten short moons, but Tau rejoiced greatly.

When two more moons had waned, a son was born to Mokete, to whom she gave the name of Tsietse, which means Sadness. The child grew and throve, and the years passed by, but brought no news of Morongoe.

One day, when Tsietse was nearly seven years old, he cried unto his mother, saying, “Mother, how is it that I have never seen my father? My companions see and know their fathers and love them, but I alone do not know the face of my father; I alone do not have a father’s protecting love.”

“My son,” replied his mother, “a father you have never known for the evil spirits carried him from amongst us before you were ever born.” She then related to him all that had happened.

From that day Tsietse played no more with the other boys but wandered about from one pool of water to another, asking the frogs to tell him of his father.

Now the custom was that when anyone falls into the water and is not found, is to drive cattle into the place where the person is supposed to have fallen, as the cattle will bring him out. Many cattle had been driven into the different pools of water near Morongoe’s village, but as they had failed to bring his father, Tsietse knew it was not much use looking near home. Accordingly, one day he went to a large pond a long distance off, and there he asked the frogs to help him in his search. One old frog hopped close to the child, and said, “You will find your father, my son, when you have walked to the edge of the world and taken a leap into the waters beneath, but he is no longer as you are, nor does he know of your existence.”

This, at last, was the information Tsietse had longed for; now he could begin his search in real earnest. For many days he walked on, and ever on. At length, one day, just as the sun was setting, he saw before him a large sea of water of many beautiful colours. Stepping into it, he began to ask the same question, but at every word he uttered, the sea rose up, until at length it covered his head, and he began falling, falling through the deep sea. 

Suddenly he found himself upon dry ground, and upon looking round he saw flocks and herds, flowers and fruit, on every side. At first he was too much astonished to speak, but after a little while he went up to one of the herd boys and asked the boy, "Have you ever seen my father?" The herd boy told him many strangers visited that place, and he had better see the chief, who would be able to answer his question.

When Tsietse had told his story to the chief, the old man knew at once that the great snake which dwelt in their midst must be the child’s father; so, bidding the boy remain and rest, he went off to consult with the snake as to how they should tell Tsietse the truth without frightening him. But as the chief and the snake talked, Tsietse ran up to them, and, seeing the snake, at once embraced it, for he knew it was his father.

Then there was great joy in the heart of Morongoe, for he knew that by his son’s aid he should be able to overcome his enemy and return at length to his wife and home. So he told Tsietse how Tau had persuaded the old witch-doctor to turn him into a snake and banish him to this world below the earth. 

Soon afterwards Tsietse returned to his home, and he was no longer a child but a noble youth, with a brave, straight look that made the wicked afraid. Very gently he told his mother all that had happened to him and how eager his father was to return to his home. 

Mokete then consulted an old witch-doctor who lived in the mountain alone and who told her she must get Tsietse to bring his father to the village in the brightness of the daytime, but that he must be so surrounded by his followers from the land beyond that none of his own people would be able to see him.

Quickly the news spread through the village that Morongoe had been found by his son and was returning to his people.

At length Tsietse was seen approaching with a great crowd of followers, while behind them came all the cattle which had been driven into the pools to seek Morongoe. As they approached Mokete’s house the door opened and the old witch-doctor stood upon the threshold.

Making a sign to command silence, he said, "My children, many years ago your chief received a grievous wrong at the hand of his enemy and was turned into a snake, but by the love and faithfulness of his son he is restored to you this day, and the wiles of his enemy are made of no account. Cover, then, your eyes, my children, lest some evil afflict you.”

He then bade the snake, which was in the centre of the crowd, enter the hut. Then he shut the door and set fire to the hut. 

The people, when they saw the flames, cried out in horror, but the old witch-doctor bade them be still, for no harm would come to their chief but rather a great good. 

When everything was completely burnt, the witch-doctor took from the middle of the ruins a large burnt ball; this he threw into the pool near by, and lo: from the water, up rose Morongoe clad in a cloak, the beauty of which was beyond all words, and carrying in his hand a shining black stick, like nothing seen on this earth before in beauty, or colour, or shape. 

Thus was the spell broken through the devotion of a true son, and peace and happiness restored not only to Mokete’s heart but to the whole village.