Bibliography : BIBLIOGRAPHY ABDALLAH BIN HEMED BIN ALI LIAJJEMI: "Hahari ya Wahilindi (History of the Wahilindi)" (U.M.C.A. Press, Magila, 1895 and 1904). ARNOUX, P.: In "Anthropos" (St Gabriel-Mdling, Vienna, 1912, 1913). BARNES, REV. H. B., and BULLET, M. W. - "Nyanja-Evglish Vocabulary" (Sheldon Press, 1929)...
Chapter Xvii. Brer Rabbit In Africa : CHAPTER XVII: BRER RABBIT IN AFRICA THE Uncle Remus stories, which suddenly became so popular about fifty years ago, not only delighted both young and old, but attracted the serious attention of folklore students. It is now generally recognized-though the point was hotly debated at first-that they...
Chapter Viii. Heroes And Demi Gods : CHAPTER VIII: HEROES AND DEMI-GODS GREAT chiefs, or men otherwise distinguished, whose memory lives on after many generations, are not only honoured beyond the worship paid to ordinary ghosts, but become the subjects of many a legend. Some of these heroes are plainly mythical, others are known...
Chapter Xx. Some Stories Which Have Travelled : CHAPTER XX.- SOME STORIES WHICH HAVE TRAVELLED I HAVE, more than once, in previous chapters expressed my inability to accept in its entirety what is known as the Diffusionist hypothesis. I see no reason to suppose that the stories about the hare, for instance, were imported from India, even though...
Chapter Iii. Legends Of The High Gods : CHAPTER III: LEGENDS OF THE HIGH GODS THE Leza and Nyambe of the Upper and Middle Zambezi tribes exhibit the same confusion between the High God and the first man which we noticed in the case of the Zulu Unkulunkulu; and, further, they appear to be more or less identified with the sky and the r...
Chapter Xiv. The Swallowing Monster : CHAPTER XIV: THE SWALLOWING MONSTER THE legend of a monster which swallows the population of a village-or, indeed, of the whole country and is subsequently slain by a boy hero seems to be current all over Africa. We have found part of it fitted into one of the ogre tales already dealt with, and we...
Chapter Ix. The Wakilindi Saga : CHAPTER IX: THE WAKILINDI SAGA A SAGA is defined by one authority as "a series of legends which follows in detail the lives and adventures of characters who are probably historical." We are therefore quite right in applying this name to the stories related about the high chiefs of Usambara, who are...
Chapter Xi. The Tricksters Hlakanyana And Huveane : CHAPTER XI: THE TRICKSTERS HLAKANYANA AND HUVEANE WE find two curious figures in the mythology of the South-eastern Bantu. Huveane belongs to the Bapedi and Bavenda, in the Eastern Transvaal. We have met with him before, as the First Man (though, incongruously enough, we also hear about his father)...
Chapter Xviii. Legends Of The Tortoise : CHAPTER XVIII: LEGENDS OF THE TORTOISE NEXT to the hare the tortoise is the most conspicuous figure in Bantu folklore. In some parts, indeed, he is more so: of the sixty-one stories collected by Dr Nassau in the Corisco Bay district twenty have the tortoise as the principal character. There seem...
Chapter Xiii. Of Were Wolves, Halfmen, Gnomes : CHAPTER XIII: OF WERE-WOLVES, HALFMEN, GNOMES, GOBLINS, AND OTHER MONSTERS WERE-WOLVES is a term used for convenience, as being most familiar, but there are no wolves in Africa, at any rate south of the Sahara. It is the hyena (called 'wolf ' by South Africans), the lion, and the leopard who have...
Chapter Vii. The Avenger Of Blood : CHAPTER VII: THE AVENGER OF BLOOD THE usual unwritten law of primitive peoples is, in theory at least, "a life for a life," the clan of the murdered man being entitled to kill the murderer, if they can get hold of him; if not, one of his family, or, at any rate, a member of the same clan. No...
Chapter V. Mortals Who Have Ascended To Heaven : CHAPTER V: MORTALS WHO HAVE ASCENDED TO HEAVEN IN the instances hitherto mentioned, where a rope has been spoken of as the means of reaching the Heaven country, no explanation is offered as to the origin of the rope, or the means by which it became available. There are some stories and legends...
Preface : PREFACE THERE is at the present day a widespread and growing interest in the customs, institutions, and folklore of more or less 'primitive' peoples, even among persons who are still a little shy of the word 'anthropology.' This interest is of comparatively recent growth; but when one looks back...
Chapter Vi. The Ghosts And The Ghost Country : CHAPTER VI: THE GHOSTS AND THE GHOST COUNTRY THE core of Bantu religion, we may say, is the cult of the dead. The belief in a High God is more or less vaguely some tribes it is almost forgotten, or, at any rate, not much regarded-but everywhere among Bantu-speaking peoples the spirits...
Title Page : MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE BANTU ALICE WERNER [1933] {Scanned 2/2000} In Memoriam HARRIETTE EMILY COLENSO June 2, 1932 AGNES MARY COLENSO JUIY 26, 1932 Closed the kind eyes; nevermore the clasp of the faithful hand. But the clamour and wrath of men are still, where they sweetly rest, And the loved...
Chapter X. The Story Of Liongo Fumo : CHAPTER X: THE STORY OF LIONGO FUMO BISHOP STEERE wrote, in 1869, that "the story of Liongo is the nearest approach to a bit of real history I was able to meet with. It is said that a sister or Liongo came to Zanzibar, and that her descendants are still living there." Since reading these words I...
Chapter Xii. The Amazimu : CHAPTER XII: THE AMAZIMU THE word "izimu", in the Zulu tales, is usually, as by Callaway and Theal, translated 'cannibal.' But this word, with us, is ordinarily applied to people who, for one reason or another, are accustomed to eat human flesh. As Callaway pointed out long ago, however, "it is...
Chapter I. Introductory : CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTORY Who are the Bantu? BANTU is now the generally accepted name for those natives of South Africa (the great majority) who are neither Hottentots nor Bushmen-that is to say, mainly, the Zulus, Xosas (Kafirs), Basuto, and Bechuana -to whom may be added the Thongas (Shangaans)...
Chapter Xvi. Doctors, Prophets, And Witches : CHAPTER XVI: DOCTORS, PROPHETS, AND WITCHES THE term 'witch-doctor' is often loosely used, as if it were synonymous with 'witch' or 'sorcerer.' This is something like putting the policeman and the detective in the same category as the criminal. There may be witchdoctors who are-scoundrels, as there...
Chapter Ii. Where Man Came From, And How : CHAPTER II: WHERE MAN CAME FROM, AND HOW DEATH CAME No one seems to know when the South African Bantu first came into the country now occupied by them. It is certain that the Bushmen, and in some places the Hottentots, were there before them. One proof of this is found in the names of places...
Chapter Xix. Stories Of Some Other Animals : CHAPTER XIX: STORIES OF SOME OTHER ANIMALS THE stories about the more important animals, the lion, the elephant, the antelopes, and the hyena, usually introduce the hare as the principal character; the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus, the python, and the zebra are less often found in conjunction with...
Chapter Xv. Lightning, Thunder, R : CHAPTER XV: LIGHTNING, THUNDER, RAIN, AND THE RAINBOW IT is only natural that lightning and thunder should powerfully affect the human imagination all the world over. Even when their causes are more or less understood there are few or none but must feel a peculiar thrill at sight of the flash...
Chapter Iv. The Heaven Country And The Heaven : CHAPTER IV: THE HEAVEN COUNTRY AND THE HEAVEN PEOPLE THE Zulus appear to have recognized a sky-god distinct from Unkulunkulu. This seems to strengthen the probability that the name Unkulunkulu is not, as Bleek thought, identical with Mulungu, since the latter name for the High God in some languages...
