From the Senna (Oral Tradition)
Once upon a time, at the town of Senna on the banks of the
Zambesi, was born a child. He was not like other children, for he
was very tall and strong; over his shoulder he carried a big sack,
and in his hand an iron hammer. He could also speak like a grown
man, but usually he was very silent.
One day his mother said to him: 'My child, by what name shall we
know you?'
And he answered: 'Call all the head men of Senna here to the
river's bank.' And his mother called the head men of the town, and
when they had come he led them down to a deep black pool in the
river where all the fierce crocodiles lived.
'O great men!' he said, while they all listened, 'which of you
will leap into the pool and overcome the crocodiles?' But no one
would come forward. So he turned and sprang into the water and
disappeared.
The people held their breath, for they thought: 'Surely the boy
is bewitched and throws away his life, for the crocodiles will eat
him!' Then suddenly the ground trembled, and the pool, heaving and
swirling, became red with blood, and presently the boy rising to
the surface swam on shore.
But he was no longer just a boy! He was stronger than any man
and very tall and handsome, so that the people shouted with
gladness when they saw him.
'Now, O my people!' he cried, waving his hand, 'you know my
name—I am Makoma, "the Greater"; for have I not slain the
crocodiles into the pool where none would venture?'
Then he said to his mother: 'Rest gently, my mother, for I go to
make a home for myself and become a hero.' Then, entering his hut
he took Nu-endo, his iron hammer, and throwing the sack over his
shoulder, he went away.
Makoma crossed the Zambesi, and for many moons he wandered
towards the north and west until he came to a very hilly country
where, one day, he met a huge giant making mountains.
'Greeting,' shouted Makoma, 'you are you?'
'I am Chi-eswa-mapiri, who makes the mountains,' answered the
giant; 'and who are you?'
'I am Makoma, which signifies "greater,"' answered he.
'Greater than who?' asked the giant.
'Greater than you!' answered Makoma.
The giant gave a roar and rushed upon him. Makoma said nothing,
but swinging his great hammer, Nu-endo, he struck the giant upon
the head.
He struck him so hard a blow that the giant shrank into quite a
little man, who fell upon his knees saying: 'You are indeed greater
than I, O Makoma; take me with you to be your slave!' So Makoma
picked him up and dropped him into the sack that he carried upon
his back.
He was greater than ever now, for all the giant's strength had
gone into him; and he resumed his journey, carrying his burden with
as little difficulty as an eagle might carry a hare.
Before long he came to a country broken up with huge stones and
immense clods of earth. Looking over one of the heaps he saw a
giant wrapped in dust dragging out the very earth and hurling it in
handfuls on either side of him.
'Who are you,' cried Makoma, 'that pulls up the earth in this
way?'
'I am Chi-dubula-taka,' said he, 'and I am making the
river-beds.'
'Do you know who I am?' said Makoma. 'I am he that is called
"greater"!'
'Greater than who?' thundered the giant.
'Greater than you!' answered Makoma.
With a shout, Chi-dubula-taka seized a great clod of earth and
launched it at Makoma. But the hero had his sack held over his left
arm and the stones and earth fell harmlessly upon it, and, tightly
gripping his iron hammer, he rushed in and struck the giant to the
ground. Chi-dubula-taka grovelled before him, all the while growing
smaller and smaller; and when he had become a convenient size
Makoma picked him up and put him into the sack beside
Chi-eswa-mapiri.
He went on his way even greater than before, as all the
river-maker's power had become his; and at last he came to a forest
of bao-babs and thorn trees. He was astonished at their size, for
every one was full grown and larger than any trees he had ever
seen, and close by he saw Chi-gwisa-miti, the giant who was
planting the forest.
Chi-gwisa-miti was taller than either of his brothers, but
Makoma was not afraid, and called out to him: 'Who are you, O Big
One?'
'I,' said the giant, 'am Chi-gwisa-miti, and I am planting these
bao-babs and thorns as food for my children the elephants.'
'Leave off!' shouted the hero, 'for I am Makoma, and would like
to exchange a blow with thee!'
The giant, plucking up a monster bao-bab by the roots, struck
heavily at Makoma; but the hero sprang aside, and as the weapon
sank deep into the soft earth, whirled Nu-endo the hammer round his
head and felled the giant with one blow.
So terrible was the stroke that Chi-gwisa-miti shrivelled up as
the other giants had done; and when he had got back his breath he
begged Makoma to take him as his servant. 'For,' said he, 'it is
honourable to serve a man so great as thou.'
Makoma, after placing him in his sack, proceeded upon his
journey, and travelling for many days he at last reached a country
so barren and rocky that not a single living thing grew upon
it—everywhere reigned grim desolation. And in the midst of this
dead region he found a man eating fire.
'What are you doing?' demanded Makoma.
'I am eating fire,' answered the man, laughing; 'and my name is
Chi-idea-moto, for I am the flame-spirit, and can waste and destroy
what I like.'
'You are wrong,' said Makoma; 'for I am Makoma, who is "greater"
than you—and you cannot destroy me!'
The fire-eater laughed again, and blew a flame at Makoma. But
the hero sprang behind a rock—just in time, for the ground upon
which he had been standing was turned to molten glass, like an
overbaked pot, by the heat of the flame-spirit's breath.
Then the hero flung his iron hammer at Chi-idea-moto, and,
striking him, it knocked him helpless; so Makoma placed him in the
sack, Woro-nowu, with the other great men that he had overcome.
And now, truly, Makoma was a very great hero; for he had the
strength to make hills, the industry to lead rivers over dry
wastes, foresight and wisdom in planting trees, and the power of
producing fire when he wished.
Wandering on he arrived one day at a great plain, well watered
and full of game; and in the very middle of it, close to a large
river, was a grassy spot, very pleasant to make a home upon.
Makoma was so delighted with the little meadow that he sat down
under a large tree and removing the sack from his shoulder, took
out all the giants and set them before him. 'My friends,' said he,
'I have travelled far and am weary. Is not this such a place as
would suit a hero for his home? Let us then go, to-morrow, to bring
in timber to make a kraal.'
So the next day Makoma and the giants set out to get poles to
build the kraal, leaving only Chi-eswa-mapiri to look after the
place and cook some venison which they had killed. In the evening,
when they returned, they found the giant helpless and tied to a
tree by one enormous hair!
'How is it,' said Makoma, astonished, 'that we find you thus
bound and helpless?'
'O Chief,' answered Chi-eswa-mapiri, 'at mid-day a man came out
of the river; he was of immense statue, and his grey moustaches
were of such length that I could not see where they ended! He
demanded of me "Who is thy master?" And I answered: "Makoma, the
greatest of heroes." Then the man seized me, and pulling a hair
from his moustache, tied me to this tree—even as you see me.'
Makoma was very wroth, but he said nothing, and drawing his
finger-nail across the hair (which was as thick and strong as palm
rope) cut it, and set free the mountain-maker.
The three following days exactly the same thing happened, only
each time with a different one of the party; and on the fourth day
Makoma stayed in camp when the others went to cut poles, saying
that he would see for himself what sort of man this was that lived
in the river and whose moustaches were so long that they extended
beyond men's sight.
So when the giants had gone he swept and tidied the camp and put
some venison on the fire to roast. At midday, when the sun was
right overhead, he heard a rumbling noise from the river, and
looking up he saw the head and shoulders of an enormous man
emerging from it. And behold! right down the river-bed and up the
river-bed, till they faded into the blue distance, stretched the
giant's grey moustaches!
'Who are you?' bellowed the giant, as soon as he was out of the
water.
'I am he that is called Makoma,' answered the hero; 'and, before
I slay thee, tell me also what is thy name and what thou doest in
the river?'
'My name is Chin-debou Mau-giri,' said the giant. 'My home is in
the river, for my moustache is the grey fever-mist that hangs above
the water, and with which I bind all those that come unto me so
that they die.'
'You cannot bind me!' shouted Makoma, rushing upon him and
striking with his hammer. But the river giant was so slimy that the
blow slid harmlessly off his green chest, and as Makoma stumbled
and tried to regain his balance, the giant swung one of his long
hairs around him and tripped him up.
For a moment Makoma was helpless, but remembering the power of
the flame-spirit which had entered into him, he breathed a fiery
breath upon the giant's hair and cut himself free.
As Chin-debou Mau-giri leaned forward to seize him the hero
flung his sack Woronowu over the giant's slippery head, and
gripping his iron hammer, struck him again; this time the blow
alighted upon the dry sack and Chin-debou Mau-giri fell dead.
When the four giants returned at sunset with the poles, they
rejoiced to find that Makoma had overcome the fever-spirit, and
they feasted on the roast venison till far into the night; but in
the morning, when they awoke, Makoma was already warming his hands
to the fire, and his face was gloomy.
'In the darkness of the night, O my friends,' he said presently,
'the white spirits of my fathers came upon me and spoke, saying:
"Get thee hence, Makoma, for thou shalt have no rest until thou
hast found and fought with Sakatirina, who had five heads, and is
very great and strong; so take leave of thy friends, for thou must
go alone."'
Then the giants were very sad, and bewailed the loss of their
hero; but Makoma comforted them, and gave back to each the gifts he
had taken from them. Then bidding them 'Farewell,' he went on his
way.
Makoma travelled far towards the west; over rough mountains and
water-logged morasses, fording deep rivers, and tramping for days
across dry deserts where most men would have died, until at length
he arrived at a hut standing near some large peaks, and inside the
hut were two beautiful women.
'Greeting!' said the hero. 'Is this the country of Sakatirina of
five heads, whom I am seeking?'
'We greet you, O Great One!' answered the women. 'We are the
wives of Sakatirina; your search is at an end, for there stands he
whom you seek!' And they pointed to what Makoma had thought were
two tall mountain peaks. 'Those are his legs,' they said; 'his body
you cannot see, for it is hidden in the clouds.'
Makoma was astonished when he beheld how tall was the giant;
but, nothing daunted, he went forward until he reached one of
Sakatirina's legs, which he struck heavily with Nu-endo. Nothing
happened, so he hit again and then again until, presently, he heard
a tired, far-away voice saying: 'Who is it that scratches my
feet?'
And Makoma shouted as loud as he could, answering: 'It is I,
Makoma, who is called "Greater"!' And he listened, but there was no
answer.
Then Makoma collected all the dead brushwood and trees that he
could find, and making an enormous pile round the giant's legs, set
a light to it.
This time the giant spoke; his voice was very terrible, for it
was the rumble of thunder in the clouds. 'Who is it,' he said,
'making that fire smoulder around my feet?'
'It is I, Makoma!' shouted the hero. 'And I have come from far
away to see thee, O Sakatirina, for the spirits of my fathers bade
me go seek and fight with thee, lest I should grow fat, and weary
of myself.'
There was silence for a while, and then the giant spoke softly:
'It is good, O Makoma!' he said. 'For I too have grown weary. There
is no man so great as I, therefore I am all alone. Guard thyself!'
and bending suddenly he seized the hero in his hands and dashed him
upon the ground. And lo! instead of death, Makoma had found life,
for he sprang to his feet mightier in strength and stature than
before, and rushing in he gripped the giant by the waist and
wrestled with him.
Hour by hour they fought, and mountains rolled beneath their
feet like pebbles in a flood; now Makoma would break away, and
summoning up his strength, strike the giant with Nu-endo his iron
hammer, and Sakatirina would pluck up the mountains and hurl them
upon the hero, but neither one could slay the other. At last, upon
the second day, they grappled so strongly that they could not break
away; but their strength was failing, and, just as the sun was
sinking, they fell together to the ground, insensible.
In the morning when they awoke, Mulimo the Great Spirit was
standing by them; and he said: 'O Makoma and Sakatirina! Ye are
heroes so great that no man may come against you. Therefore ye will
leave the world and take up your home with me in the clouds.' And
as he spake the heroes became invisible to the people of the Earth,
and were no more seen among them.