Indaba My Children : African Folktales

A definitive compendium of African myth and folktale, retold in rich, vibrant prose.

As a young man, Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, a Zulu from the South African province of Natal, was determined to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and become a tribal historian in order to keep the rich oral tradition of his culture alive.

In this book, begun in response to the injustices against Africans and their culture, he sets these legends down in writing. He begins with the creation myth, when Ninavanhu-Ma, the Great Mother, created the human race. From there, an epic unfolds, an intricate and vivid cultural tapestry populated by gods and mortals, cattle herders and supreme kings, witch doctors, lovers, grave diggers, warriors, and handmaidens.

The story continues all the way up to the colonial era, when a Portuguese Kapitanoh and his crew arrive on the African shore. Indaba, My Children is a classic and indispensable resource for anyone interested in the cultural life of Africa and the human experience as it is filtered into myth.

Excerpt:

Page 176

Behold The Deceiver

In the Great City of the Strange ones there had been chaos and bloodshed. Piles of dead bodies choked the narrow streets. Blood had flowed like water as two opposing forces had clashed like wild cats through the shocked city. But now there was peace and jubilation in the land, because the cruel one, the Emperor Karesu had been overthrown and captured in one short bloody revolt by the followers of the Empress Makira-Kadesi.

As night fell the city blazed with lights. The singing and noise rose higher and higher into the jeweled heavens even as the night deepened. Wild celebrations were in progress in the Great Palace and people crowded the gardens and the steps of the palace like flies on a pot of honey. Whenever the victorious witch-queen, Kadesi made an appearance in the doorway of the Great House with her harp in her hand and her voice raised, singing their 'song of victory', loud cheers split the moonless night from thousands of throats: 'Long live the Lioness, Makira! Long may she reign!"

End Excerpt.