Foreword Thi S Is Us: Africa Speaking to Africa and to the World. This

F O R E W O R D

s u s o T H I is : Africa speaking tAfric a and to the world . This anthology is not just about a grumpy, grousing South Africa, but ﬂa m b o a n t about the whole of Africa y West Africa , where men ’ thrust elbows into each other s ribs and laugh broadly over their

in ﬂu e n ce jokes ; East Africa, with its strong Arab traditional of Africa , with the funny wisdom that lurks in the antics animals

of u - u and the ways J J men and witchdoctors . Here are the dreams about the great things that we yet will do ; the long dictionary words and the colourful regalia with which we swathe

u s our dark bodies that is . You can fin d u s in the mealie field s and in the mines ; y ou can ‘ ’ fin d u s in the shebeens qu a ffin g Macbeth brews to the jazz and

or of jive of the cities , outside the grass huts our fathers , telling

s old You u s a fﬁn or tale with the women . can see g g each other

- ﬁ h t breaking suddenly into song and dance ; into swear words, g of ing and tears . We are here in the robes our grandfathers and

- is u s the tight trousered dress of the big towns . All this .

ou t Here , Africans are creating of English a language of their ow n : a language that thinks in actions , using words that dart

- on r . back and forth quick moving feet, virile, earthy, gar ulous Peggy Ru th erfoord has delved deep into the literary store of our

u s black Africa to compile this anthology , which shows in the

or on many moods that are ours . Somewhere another the con tin en tthere is a new civilization beginning to appear a new — , African culture their are traces of it here .

CAN THE MBA

Drum Publications , 1 5 Troye Street,

Johannesburg,

South Africa . PR E F A C E

I T is becoming increasingly obvious to all thoughtful people that the African continent and the African nations within it are going to play a most decisive part in the immediate future of world

history . Indeed , already the importance of Africa is becoming evident . Yet only those wh o have had the privilege of living and work

v ing in some part of that vast and lo ely, yet tumultuous, land of know its magic . To the great majority Europeans, it is still a o dark and brooding and mysteri us continent . One of the reasons for this is that although there have been in recent years a great

of a bou t number books Africa , there has been practically nothing from African writers available in English . This anthology , so

e th e carefully and comprehensiv ly prepared , will serve to Open

: of door to give a glimpse some of the treasure which is there,

so within . It will also triumphantly give the lie to that idea , prevalent in some quarters , that Africa is incapable of producing any creative art . From the Christian standpoint nothing is more valuable to day than the realization that all Christian missionary endeavours must begin in a humble approach to ways of thought and action

' rin w n t d iﬂ e g from our o . Our greatest error in the pas has been ‘ ’ too a far easy assumption that Western manners , methods and

i s o fa c to moods were always , p , superior because based upon the

u r e Christian ethic . Much of o missionary work has b en rendered

ff - i ine ective by this kind of vicious conceit . Anyhow, to day, w th the vital forces of nationalism stirring from one end of the f to . continent the other, we cannot af ord such complacency is Christianity in Africa about to meet its sternest challenge . Everything will depend upon the way in which its exponents learn to shed their ideas of racial superiority and gird themselves

0 o - with the towel of fellowship . I h pe that this bo k speaking with the authentic voice of Africa- will help u s all to a swifter and more complete realization of the richness of culture and the beauty of character which is there .

TRE V OR HUD D LE STON C . R. , C O N T E N T S

For eword by CAN THEMBA P b V UD DL re a ce O S O c . R f y TRE R H E T N , .

I n trod u ction

S O U T H E R N A F R I C A ‘ ’ B e ris h es Th e ody P . A Zulu lyric Th e Prin ce of th e Com bin ed Hea d qu a rters by MASU PHA BERENG Th e D ea th of Nol iw e by THOMAS MOF OLO B LE OD I S t o h ood A s . G o h o y by . ’ M e rewe l D RAD I TLAD I ots w as el s F a l by L . . U n d e r the Bl u e Gu m Trees by D YKE S E NTSO ‘ ’ A Vis itor is n otto b e rega rd ed Song of Pra is e to th e Crea tor Keep itD a rk ! A Rhodesian drinking song Mob Pass ion D c THE M BA by . . Um a m in a B w V I LI KAZI by . . Ra m m on e etu rn s to th e Ka l a h a ri M 0 SE BONI R . by . ‘ ’ Th e Com m ittee is a tth e Sc h ool Th e D ign ity of Begging by W I LLI AM M OD I SANE ‘ ’ Ta ke o u a t ﬁ y o r h . A Zulu lyric Th e Ben c h by RICHARD RI V E

E T H I O P I A Trous ers of Win d Th e Qu een of Sh e ba Th e g u es tis ﬁrs tg old

a s tice An ? . Ethiopian tale Hy m n of Pra is e How th e E thiopia n Wom a n Ta m ed Hu s ba n d

E A S T A F R I C A The Stor o Lion o K I W A KAY y f g . Told by AMIS I Th e Mon ke w h o l efth is Hea r in a T ee y t r . Told by HAMI SI W A KAYI Th e Story of a Be m ba Sl a v e Boy Tw o Bird Son gs of th e Pokom o Wom en Th e Cu n n ing of Su u d by MBARAK ALI HI NAW Y Th e Gen tl e m e n o th e u n e OMO f j gl . Told by J KENYATTA ‘ ’ M u e h s il en ce

C E N T R A L A F R I C A Sta n l e Meets Ma tes o D RUBAD IRI y by JAMES . ‘ ’ Th e An g ol a by OSCAR RIBAS E s ca pa d e in Ru a n d a by SAV ERIO NAI GI ZI KI M A D A G A S C A R Th e Fl u te Pl ay ers by JEAN -JOSEPH RABEARI V E LO Th e Wa ter-Seeker by T LAV I E N RANAI V O ’ Th e Ly re with Sev en Strin gs by JACQUES RABPIMANANJARA W E S T A F R I C A ’ La m b i v e e m S ltAn 0 g m y a . Ibo poem Th e Stol en ja c ketby CAMARA LAYE A i hton th e I s la n d s F . N g by . ABODERIN Tru th a n d F a ls eh ood by BI RAGO DI OP Th e Ta l kin Sk u ll g . A Nupe folk tale

Ritu a l M u rd er 0 KW E N SI C . . D E by . Ma rria e Cord ia lit c E NI TAN W g y by . BRO N Sh a d ow of D a rk n ess by GLADYS CAS E LY - HAYF ORD Ta l k An . Ashanti tale My Firs tWe d d in g D a y in th e Bu s h of Gh os ts by AMOS TUTUOLA Th e Lon el Sou l R E ARMATTOE G . y by . . ’ Th e re s Al wa y s a Wa y Ou tby GBE MI Wh a ta D a y ! A Yoruba poem Th e Ser ea n tw h o Re oiced in his You th M W . g j by . SINAH

O Bl u e - Sk D u c h ess ! COD OE y by THOMAS A . J ’ An a n s i s Fis hin E x ed ition g p . A Ghana tale He w h o h a s l os ta l l by DAV ID D I OP Th e Retu rn of th e Sol d ie r by F RANCIS OBIKA Th e Pa ra bl e of th e E a gl e by JAMES AGGRE Y Con g o by LEOPOLD SEDAR SENGHOR Br d e BI O S E D Th e D e v il a tYol a h u n i g by A H . NICOL Gh a n a by KW AME NKRU MAH E P I L O G U E Tell F reed om by PETER ABRAHAMS

About the Authors Acknowledgments I N T R O D U C T I O N

’ I T of is in peace, with the gold dust time in one s pocket, that one must seek the African on Mount Parnassus . And coming to those 510 on e of r evergreen pes must tread softly . For the world Af ican f writing is , in some measure , a dif erent world ; a world where, out w a rd l see y at least, many writers appear to have small desire to their work in print and literary laurels are of little moment . And so it is that one does n otgo boldly as a prospective publisher of their works , but gently, edging round the subject, discussing any thing but the real purpose of your visit ; talking of th e events of the journey how y ou have come by dhow from beyond the great coral of reef of East Africa , by bicycle up the narrow lanes Zanzibar, by o o lake steamer from Ruanda , along the muddy rivers of the C ng ; by bus , by train , by Basuto pony . ‘ And then , when the time seems right, the question is put, Would y ou like to suggest something of your writing for the anthology ‘ ’ His brow is troubled . There are others who write better, he replies .

You persist . ‘ m ’ You a . Then must ask another about my work . I no judge At last a writer or a translator will promise to send a manuscript .

The weeks pass, the months disappear, the postman neglects you .

‘ ‘ : for Then word comes I must apologize the delay, but I have discovered rats in my roof and during repairs all my papers have ’ been moved into positions whence it is impossible to redeem them . ’ o There are tales in Basut land . A letter goes forth like Noah s , dove , to seek out the land . Th e r word returns . A sto y is on its way . Again one waits , a thread of hope in the hand . Then ‘I greatly regret to state that I will not be able to accept f a m u the of er to contribute to your anthology , because I occ pied with the feudal te nure law suits ; secondly because the temporary ou r is peripatetic court , of which area forms the borough , very far where bridle paths are slippery on rainy days and streams are not ’ bridged . so on e And must compete with the rains of Basutoland , the rats f o n . of Cape Town , to secure the attention the Africa writer 9 r of Gradually, as the path c osses the foothills Parnassus and

- - divides into a network of side tracks and cul de sacs, it becomes plain that much African writing is hidden away along forgotten or u n u b valleys , in numerous languages , in remote libraries, still p lish e d in handwritten manuscripts . o Long j urneys followed across Africa to meet writers , to visit mission printing presses , to confer with professors and teachers , both black and white . There were months of reading manuscripts , some of them on short loan , which had to be read against time ; some times throughout snowy London nights, sometimes on the warm to i s deck of a liner homeward bound Afr ca once more , sometime

’ e s in an aeroplan ﬂying north to the Congo . There were week of unearthing from forgotten corners of libraries books printed in limited editions and long out of print days of nosing through the o e or neat mission bo kshops from Mombasa to Cap Town , along the h - h dusty shelves of te se cond hand shops around te British Museum . ’ s Hour spent, surrounded by type and printer s ink, perusing the

- vitriolic articles of the one man newspapers in Zanzibar . And like ’ on e the Elephant s Child asked endless questions, at language ofﬁces schools in London , in Johannesburg, in Cairo at journal in in the Congo, at broadcast g stations in Tanganyika . so e r Even , aft r many of those long jou neys , after many long t i see . hours , I began to how frequently hey ended n blind alleys

~ e a w a s But there wer compensations . Such time in Mombasa a t o old where , wandering dusk thr ugh the streets of the town

se th e s r . eking house of a promi ing w iter, I lost my way A small r e a l a bi a A ab boy dressed in a long whit g y , like a nightshirt, came h o to to help me in te search . T amuse me from time time he threw a l a bi a h is e his g y over head, danced a littl and then winked at me so through a large hole in the front of it. And he skipped and I e u s w e came after with a bunch of childr n who had joined , and o h e th e foll wed him as if were Pied Piper, down narrow streets th e o striped by shadows of tall houses, d wn streets that had seen th e r e of a passing g and ur Sult ns, the strange faces of Vasco da Gama and h is men ; and where n ow chickens squawked as they escaped er h from und foot, w ere groups of little Indian girls played roulette ff s e of for to ees on the step of dark ned doorways, past rows slippers e s outsid a cool mo que , beneath brightly painted balconies, past

- huge brass studded Arab doors, and on through courtyards where time seemed to have stopped and the last heat of the day w a s r caught into a ﬁe y trap . n We were lost agai . m s m e Then , all at once, fro o ewhere b hind those sightless walls, h u e came te plea of a guitar . My g ide b ckoned and disappeared

I O h . t rough a low doorway . I followed . It was cold and dark inside o to I took out my notebo k, ready meet the author . But we did not ou old meet him . Instead we f nd an blind African musician sitting E on the ﬂoor of a narrow room , all shuttered and dark , an gyptian a of e guit r slung across his knees . The words his song had b en many on s Th e years the lip of the tall Swahili people . blind singer had

sung it in the splendour of palaces when , in his younger days , he to of had been Court Musician the Sultan Zanzibar . I leaned against the door , away on a romantic dream , away across the cen tu ries of of to the silken halls of the mansions Pate , to lands s a minstrels , and maiden at latticed windows . Then a p use a t, of . chuckle , a raucous clearing the throat The dream was sha tered . ‘ ’ - ﬁll ed th e A good English sea shanty, Blow the Man Down , air in

. th e broken English The mansions and minstrels had gone . I was n o left with promising author, no new manuscript in my hand , but left only with a glimpse of buxom wenches and maypoles and good red beef t e e But her wer times when , unsought, the reward came , as it did o of —a w a s once in the m st unlikely places London hospital . It there , when lying in bed , my thoughts far from Africa , that a nurse brought me a pile of manuscripts from a West African writer who was a fellow patient . Soon the search was on once more and I found myself with this huge, bearded West African , who seemed to be ‘ ’ for ﬁrst of t a s o rehearsing a night O hello, he str de up and down , of of r of talking Africa , w iting, acting . It was a strange meeting, of surrounded by the unimaginative smells a hospital , with a vision o beyond the snow and pale sunlight utside, of his home far away in Sierra Leone . n th e f su n Then there is the struggle agai st A rican , which must f o . su n surely be the greatest ally procrastination In lands of the , u b e so one feels that clocks co ld dispensed with , for often the inclination is to rest when the heat of the sun h a s slipped into the

. s u n head and fuddled the brain , and work another day And the of on f wh o o . o Africa is assuredly the side him sleeps It is, theref re, ff on e with a di erent conception of time that must work . So it is that in this leisure of African time the habit of story r su n telling still su vives . When the has gone a n d the ﬁre is lit at or ou t d r evening, when the oxen rest the nets are put to y ; far away on the high mountains of Ethiopia ; over a glass of palm wine by the great sea that washes the Ivory Coast ; on the street corners of old slums and shanty towns , in the of _Malay quarter Cape Town , tales are told ; tales handed down from grandmother to grand son On daughter, from father to . the peaceful coast of Mozambique , of to kra a s beyond the fringe the village, across a valley the hilltop l

I I th e of Swaziland , one may hear until late into night the sounds of of on e laughter, chatter, of song, of storytelling, and coming closer see o fires h may the dark groups encl sing the ; the children , t eir eyes fireli h t s bright with the g , listening to the tale of old . of And when the last light has left the mountains Basutoland , k ra a l ed h is l es iba when the cattle are and the young herd boy plays , the old men sitting at their doorways remember their ancestors and tell of their deeds . Was not their chief, Moshoeshoe, wiser than all ? chiefs Did he not bring peace to their country ? Then were they great . “ The praises of the chiefs and of the ancestors are sung all over c trou b a Africa , often by spe ial court singers , often by wandering r dours . There were the songs and epic sto ies that Herodotus found th e o of among troubad urs North Africa . There are the praise f singers, who hire themselves out to gain avours for their clients by of of kora s the songs flattery they sing to the music their . of ? These stories , these songs praise , where have they come from Against what great canvas and from what stirring of the emotions have they been written ? On d the hows they have come for more than two thousand years ,

- borne on the back of the north east monsoon , with the spices and r On bright ca pets from Persia , from India and far Arabia . the lips of the sailors, half Arab, half African , have they come . When the wind is quiet in the sails they have been told ; when there is peace

on the deck with a space of time to rest, have they been heard .

Thus have they come to Mogadishu , to Lamu , to Mombasa to t , b . o e Zanzi ar From Sofala, said be ancient Ophir, they have gon inland from the shores of Mozambique along the gold routes of Mon om ota a old ; across the great kingdom of p to Zimbabwe , per t of a . haps, that strange grey city of the past, history only guessed By caravan across the sands of the Sahar a they have travelled to U the ol d walled town of Kano . p and down the dark rivers of on of th e ﬁsh erm en West Africa have they passed the lips , to be told in the ports of the coast . There a tale is told and echoed right ! across the African continent . Slaves The word cuts deep into the ! memory . Freetown , Kilwa, Bagamoyo , Zanzibar ? And what of the Zulu , exiled from the green hills of Zululand When he lines up at the Pass Ofﬁces of Johannesburg to be given

permission to share the streets of that city, does he remember the strength of his ancestors ? The song the Zulus sing about th e pass ‘ ’ We r laws , which ends with the cry, mourn for our count y, tells of their sadness . It is little more than a hu ndred years since Chaka and the other great warrior kings of Sou thern Africa looked at their fair country

1 2 and dreamed of the great empire they were to build . And what now do they see ? Everywhere the seal of their future confronts th em on benches , over doorways to stations and cinemas and public ‘ ’ - so buildings, are seen the well known words , Europeans Only ;

- so well known , common a sight , that they are already absorbed into ‘ e the very life of the country and few stop to wonder, what do s this legend mean to the African The answer is here in this writing . ’ Th e Ben c h We have only to read Richard Rives s story, , to know h ow these words wound .

The tales of Africa have travelled far . Some have been adopted on e of so completely that forgets , for instance , that the stories of Uncle Remus are not American origin , but in fact had their i reﬂec t beg nnings in Africa . And though speculative , it is strange to of ! E e of that the fables sop ’ told b side the cradles Europe for so long, may have come from Africa ; for it is thought that Lokman , the fabulist spoken of in the Koran , was the originator of these ‘ ’ : —a — fables he was described as an Ethiopian Negro slave , and when his stories eventually travelled to Greece he was known as Aith iO s th is b ein n a m e it p , and , g mistaken for his , may have changed fE so in time to p . s For long the storie of Africa were unwritten , handed down by f f of storytellers . But then , at dif erent times and to dif erent parts a Afric came the missionaries . From Portugal , from France , from

England , from Italy, from many lands they came , and gradually on e the indigenous languages of Africa were written down . One by h u . T e mission printing presses were set p Bible was translated , dictionaries were compiled , hymns were written , and side by side on with the missionaries , Africans worked the translations . There ﬁ u res E were great g like Bishop dward Steere , who not only trans t ow n lated Swahili li erature into English , but often in his printing setu press p the type himself and printed the works he translated . An d what a great in ﬂu en c e these mission printing presses have had of r in the development Af ican writing . And what of the writers themselves ? It is only a few of them

of . who write as a means livelihood Like writers in all countries, they live and work variously : many of them are teachers in schools and universities , many work at mission stations , some are preachers , ofﬁc es some work in government , a few are doctors and lawyers a d n a few a re newspapermen . There is the writer from Sierra Leone who has the solitude of so his rooms in Cambridge in which to write , in circumstances ff di erent from those of the writer I visited in a Johannesburg slum . He shared a small room and had to wait until late at night for the peace in which he could write and study the pile of books—the I 3 — Milton , the Blake, the Maupassant that were squeezed onto his So ff washstand . di erent again was the background of the old pastor I found living in a dusty township in the middle of the Orange

Free State , whose house was a permanent thoroughfare of those h who sought his advice and care . And I wondered ow he had been able to fin d the Opportunity to write the books he had already had published . There is again the young writer of Lagos , and another, w h o now dead , who lived in the mountains of Basutoland , were both dependant on the success of their cattle or their crops to fin a n ce their education without which , perhaps, neither of them would have become successful writers . Many have travell ed far from their own country to study and to so for work abroad . Even , Africa is the most part still deep in their veins . Whether they be in Africa or away in a strange land ; whether b e e they shuttled by the r stless tide of American life , wrapped round or by the hothouse sophistication of a Paris salon , dreaming away th e - the gentle summer days on the banks of the Isis , palm fringed th e o o coast, the wide veld, thr ngs of Lag s, of Sophiatown , are never too remote . The journey to Parnassus has been a long on e ; through great forests of poetry and prose, through the dark glowing jungle , among ru n the spirits of the ancestors, past c mbli g trees, fretted by the of fin d persistent woodpecker race discord , to the more mature On wood . the way much has been discarded that would be of little e interest to the gen ral reader, though of value, perhaps , to the T e o scholar . here were stories and po ms and s ngs of praise that seemed to lose their rhythm and their power of feeling when taken

u a nd so too e . out of their natural lang age, they, , were left b hind en d e e th e Many times when the se m d to be in sight, promise of something new, of something even better, perhaps , appeared tan liz n l e e ta i g y ove r the next rise . But th re comes a tim when a halt e must be made and , for a while at l ast, one must pitch camp and o g exploring no more .

P . RUTHE RF OORD

I 954~ ~ 1r958

1 4

The body perishes , the heart stays young .

The platter wears away with serving food .

log retains its bark when old, lover

of a a Ch k .

1 6 Th e Pr i n c e of th e Co m b i n e d He a d q u a r te r s

M A S U P H A B E R E N G

I T was on e of the shining mornings when the Prince of the Com in d b e Headquarters left his country to seek a golden ﬂower . From his country of green pastures in the southern black continent alone h e and secretly went , in the direction of east . And while in the

- wilderness thus journeying, he met a grey headed man who asked

him where he was going . ‘I ’m The Prince softly replied and said , looking for a golden ’ n t n d it o ﬁ . ﬂower, but I do know where and when shall I ‘ ’ old of The man smiled and said , I ve heard about the beauty i on e such a g rl who lives in the forest of the west, but thing I know ou t t for and that is that you will never come from tha forest, her ’ r father is a c uel and wicked man . r l The Prince then thanked him and tu ned westwards . Mi es and an d s b miles he went weeks week went y , and whilst he was wan h e rm He dering there met a man a ed with a long fork . was tall and

- thin with his feet shoe less . ‘ The man said to him with a thunderlike voice , I know that you ’ - in - u son b t . desire to be my law, that depends upon your credentials He then directed him to his chasm and told him that he would ﬁn d h is there two ladies , but that he must wait till he came back from ideal business after the sunset . r to Thus the P ince went, and when he came the chasm , he saw He there many skeletons . approached and knocked gently on the ‘ ’ h ﬁn er t ? door wit his g ; and he heard the words , Ano her skeleton He in Then the door automatically opened . stepped , and saw the two on e ladies sitting facing each other . The elder stood on her feet b lin k ed for of and looked at him . The lady , the attraction the Prince of blinded her . She thought indeed that the Prince must be made gold slightly mixed with diamond . The Prince also stood amazed, for the beauty of the la dy was more wonderful than anything he

Th . had imagined . ey both stood silent I 7 ’ At ri last the lady approached and kissed the Prince s ght cheek, ‘ ’ ’ a m saying with a wonderful voice , I yours if you ll be mine . ‘

Then the Prince opened his mouth and said , This is a great day

! it - for me and you A day with a lilt in , a joyous , heart stirring, ’ - - the world stands still day . Then the wondrous lady took the Prince out to her father’s stable ‘ We saying, must leave at once before the arrival of my ﬂaming ’

. father, lest he turns you into a skeleton frame She led the snow ou t like horse , which always remained saddled , of the stable , and mysteriously they disappeared . e“ When the ﬂaming father returned he went to the stabl , as was A n d sa w his daily custom . when he that the stable was empty his anger was so ex ceedingly ﬂaming that it caused the stable to be - skel terl prostrated thunderously . Helter y he went to the chasm and when he found that only his younger daughter was there , he took u his telescope and a jack and went o t. Automatically the jack lifted him higher and higher till he w as taller than every tree in that to h is . He e forest b gan use telescope looking all round , and to the sa w He east he a violent cloud of dust . looked closer with his tele

- scope , and saw his snow like horse speeding away . His anger rooted ou tsome of the trees which were nearby and the jack jacked itself w do n at once . Then he saddled his second horse and rode away with h is front side facing back, lest the dust might blind him . ﬂa m in When she saw that her g father came nearer, the eloping

- daughter took a magical bottle from the saddle bag . She threw it behind the horse, and where it burst there arose at once great heaps of snow ! Thus the ﬂaming father was compelled to turn back . At When he came to his chasm he took two shovels . that time he remembered his yellow pig- headed horse which was indeed m ira c u

- e lous . Just as the snow lik horse, he was always ready, but with no h for on . saddle, the ﬂaming father stood his back wit one foot

- off . He Then , with a tempest like movement, he rode arrived at He the heap of snow within a few minutes . dismounted and took on e sh ov el w h ich , , due to his anger, was red hot , and the snow melted strangely within a short time . ’ The ﬂeein g lovers were now in the boundaries of the Prince s country of green pastures when they again sa w the rapid approach So of of the ﬂaming father . the eloping daughter took out the

- sh e saddle bag the other magical bottle and threw it behind them . Al l at once the widest and deepest river ever seen ﬂow ed out across on the land . Giant rocks rolled therein , and reptiles crawled the banks of that river . Forthwith the horse of the ﬂaming father stopped ; he d is

1 8 mounted and looked at the river ! He s aw that that ﬁn a l obstacle ﬁv e He - was beyond his senses . saw that even his pig headed horse itn or for could not jump over , could he make a bridge, the rolling He rocks were so large and fearful and the river excessively wide .

- even tried to shout at them , but his voice was triple covered with h ‘ te . He the sound of river then named that river, Beyond Human ’ h . e Comprehension River And thereafter collapsed and died , and there arose a great tempest . e flow er Now, beyond this widest river the Princ and his golden dismounted and reposed ; they were tire d but hilarious . The Prince ’ ‘ fin ers rom brushed the lady s hair with the tips of his g and said , F ou now onwards , y will be called Queen Ora and thus will it be ’ when we reach my home . ‘ ’ ‘ firs t o But , Queen Ora replied, you must leave me here and g for - ou o home alone, it is a law like custom that y should g and tell

b . on e your parents of this, and then come ack to fetch me Only thing must y ou remembe r : let no on e kiss you either on the right ’ on for ou ou cheek nor the left, if y do , y will surely forget me .

The Prince agreed and left on foot . His arrival in the village was glori ous ; the soldiers in the various guardrooms turned ou tand T e presented arms ; he marched past them to the Palace . her his grandmother was the ﬁrston e to place her hands on his shoulders n and she kissed him twice o his right cheek . And within a twinkling of a n w as ' eye , Queen Ora totally forgotten s ee Day and weeks passed and Queen Ora remained alone , f ding fo m a n f on wild fruits . Thus it continued r y years but the beauty o , t Queen Ora and the Prince remained amazing . And at las Queen Ora of realized that the winter that year would be the coldest one, and she decided to write a letter to the Prince to remind him of sh e the fact that was lonely . She wrote the letter and posted it

- during the night at the post box near the village . The Prince received and read the letter and he arose a s if from

w a s - - a sleep . And thus it that he remembered the world stand still n d day and happily he went out to ﬁ his Queen .

I 9 Th e D e a th of N ol i w e

T H O M A S M O F O L O

Translated from the Sotho by F H. Dutton

’ E ditor s n ote : ra a of a a th e rea tZu u w a rr or n te of This d m Ch k , g l i ki g, lls h ow a a w en h e ﬂee fro o e a fter ow n fa ter h a s ord ere Ch k , h s m his h m his h d n tn e etI s a n u i th e w t -d o tor a n d t te f a a a o s e r o a a . his ss ssi i , m s , i ch c mp Ch k I s a n u s i en d h im to Din isw a o a n e b ou r n e a n d u e or to s s g y , igh i g Chi f s cc ss ’ o e a n d tere h e e o e etroted to Nol iw e th e ef ter or t J b , h b c m s b h , Chi s sis . Sh ly a fterw a r Din isw a o ed F rom t t e a a a tten d ed Nd l eb e ds g y is kill . his im Ch k is by a n d M a u n a th e tw a ta n t f I s a n u si ra u a I s a n u si t t a a o o . e l g , ssis s G d lly, mp s Ch k fu rter a n d fu rter w t ro e of rea tn e u n th e off er to a e h h i h p mis s g ss, il s m k him th e rea te t ef of th e w o e of th e Afr a n w or Bu tto a ev e t a g s chi h l ic ld . chi his s a c riﬁc e u tb e a e t e it th e fe of e o e Nol iw e m s m d . This im is li his b l v d .

T H E reﬂec tion a om ted I sa n u si months for pp by came to an end , ’ o and Chaka s decisi n was not altered he stood where he did before . ’ on e As we have said already, there was great obstacle to Chaka s 1 ? For marriage , namely, to whom should he give the cattle it was Noliw e obvious that he could not take in marriage for nothing, as s a m e Ch a k a o to Noliw e if she were a wastrel . All the , c ntinued visit ’ n ow s h e and she became pregnant . And longed for Chaka s love , and always wept if she could not see him . And Chaka loved Noliw e in return ; she was the on e person one could imagine Chaka as loving, if he loved any woman with Al l is e sincerity . that is good , all that b autiful , all that a true wife i o Noliw e can g ve her husband , Chaka would have got fr m if from on e any . And although he was bartering her away in this fashion and was planning to kill her, yet his conscience troubled him , and h im t gave no rest, telling him always tha he had descended from of the level of a man . But because the chieftainship he smothered on r his conscience and pressed , bea ing death on his shoulders . e a h is The n xt day Chaka, fter he returned from watching regiments

1 I tis th e cu stom a mon g m an y Africa n people for th e brid egroom to giv e ’ en tof te ore th a r n l i to th e b ride s fa ther a p res ca tl bef e m ri a ge . Si ce No w e w a s th e a of h er a tere w a s n o on e to w o a a ou v e th e l st f mily, h h m Ch k c ld gi - bride price . 20

‘ sh e : l and said Chaka , my be oved, thou who art now my father, wh o Din i swa o Th e art Jobe , who art g y , who art brief candle Din isw a o of her life went out, and her pure spirit fled and went to g y to sa w the place of glory above . When Chaka her eyelids flutter he terrified f Nol iwe was , he began to tremble, and then he led . When was quite dead, Chaka felt within himself something like a heavy stone falling, falling, till it rested on his heart . He s h e saw fled outside, but his eye were dim and nothing, save Noliw e of only the face of on the point death , when her eyelids

f . had luttered His ears were stopped , and he heard nothing save ’ oliw s o only N e last cry . When he rec vered he found himself with ‘ I sa n u si in the b u tan d I sa n u si was saying words of praise : Now e ou r thy name hath b en enrolled among the number of chiefs, even ’ the gre at and the mighty . Th e poor girl who was with Noliw e when Chaka entered was sh e n ot Nol iw e so killed ; it was said that had spoken when was ill , li i An d d l eb that No we died and none knew of t. N e spread the sh oliw e I sa n u si report that it was e who had bewitched N . had now taken from Noliw e the thing he wanted to take (what it was we do o not kn w), and he prepared it as he alone knew how and the next morning he went with Chaka to the river and Malunga and Nd l eb e I sa n u si to o were there . And when they returned made haste g to his own home . So Noliwe of Din isw a o died , daughter Jobe , sister of g y , and wife of Chaka .

S o th o B oy h ood

L G D A S. E O I .

G H. Translated from the Northern Sotho by . Franz

1 S U P P o s E the boys of to- day who spend their days at school have no clear idea of what went on amongst the boys 1 n those days when the days were spent in the wilds with the domestic animals , with the wild animals and with the birds . When we were herding the ﬂocks we were like the animals of the veld ; the ﬂocks were 1 tu m m ied off entrusted to the folk, and we were hunting hares and

1 L tte o i l b ys . 2 2 te cc . , and organizing drives on birds When we passed close term el on ﬁeld w e ou r , hooked the runners with feet and dragg 1 melons along . If by chance we came upon goats that were rs Vi , we promptly milked them dry and curdled the milk . It lordlings that ate while the mass was left licking off what c l u t ﬁn ers We c u t heir g . stole the knives of the men and sticks .

ra tis the wizardry of boys .

’ 1 M ots w a s e l e s F a r e w e ll

L D R A D I T L A D I . .

n e n D Tra slat d from the Tswa a by Professor . T. Cole a n d adapted by Peggy Ru th erfoord

Is this my country or is it mere soil Which I must lick with my tong ue ? I s this the seat where I must Rest when banished from the stool Of ? chieftainship , in this my country

Must I live outlawed like a lone beast of prey, ? Far, far , from the homage of my people a rew ell ﬁeld s o F green of my h me ,

I bow my head to you , terrors of this place . 0 of r I bow my head to you , country despai . e 0 And you our great en my, you death ,

Receive me into that vast domain of yours . The fortunes of earth have shunned and escaped me

But life there perchance will free me from torment . 0 ! I beseech you approach me, death , I desire you 0 ' e ! Open grave , and rec ive me, I come o 0 a m ' Release me fr m this world , spear, I weary

Motsw asel e II w a s a chief of th e Kw en a tribe of w ha tis n ow tl hu a n al a n d Prote tora te o f l tr e o n . e o h s r e a a t a n d ere 1 c S m ib s g i s him , h hit shortly before th e b a ttle in w hich h e is kille d a n d his fore a tes

2 3 U n d e r th e B l u e Gu m T r e e s

D Y K E S E N T S O

A T ﬁrst - u , a deep rooted suspicion and mistrust and then a fear, ;

; and profound . Men went about their daily work with their e a - wh is cocked, their eyes wide Open . A rustle among the leaves , a ; ’ in the night and men s hearts s topped still with misgiving . s trc unguarded word here , a misplaced word there and men l Su s ici feverishly to interpret them into an intel igible whole . p t o . sprouted and grew . But n thing happened The people wai in with their breaths held . Two years , four years ten years . e o T Perhaps the fears were unfound d, the d ubts misplaced . fteen st . ﬁ people waited still Ten years, thirty all was ' . Ha

But suddenly the suspicions were redoubled and a fear, stark a naked throttled the hearts of men . They slept with their hearts th their throats , pistols under their pillows . During the day t practised shooting locusts at night locusts shot them . In the farms they hedged in their homes with barbed wire and tl meshed wire netting, and allowed huge dogs to saunter arrogan within their yards . Then men slept better, with pistols for cush and dogs for gu ardian angels . w a s ou r e Such the time when story b gins . The big white man stripped off his dull - white overall slowly a hung it on the wall , then he dropped himself easily on a couch a

to . composed himself sleep But the sleep refused to come . It ﬁn ish ed Saturday and with his work , his mind sought d ifﬁc u l t recreation , which , on the farm , he found to A 1 . t turned over on his side and began to think this moment, wife entered with a big cup of coffee and a few slices of h ea v buttered bread . ‘ ’ ‘ ’

Ma u s . , he said , let visit the Jansens ‘ How o th ere a ie ? can we g , ] p We were there only last week ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ' n He a a . O j , he said , I had forgotte considered the matter then 24 ‘ ’ a ie Let u s go to town then . J p had no doubt that his wife would

w a s . agree immediately . She loved town . But he wrong ‘ ‘ s sh e Is there anything pecial in town asked . Why not wait 1 ’ i c m a a l . a e until next Saturday . Sunday is g , you know J p was dumbfounded but then he remembe red the new frock in the bed e to room and he understood . His wife want d wear the new frock ff Bu t then it would be most e ective . what could he do to pass the day ? He l Suddenly h e stood up and went into the bedroom . pul ed a drawer, produced a bottle of brandy and poured himself a glass h ow d For e r ﬂ e . ful . T bu ning liquid pleasantly down his throat a few minutes he experienced a pleasant muddling of the brain . But soon his mind cleared and he found himself thinking all over again where to go and what to do . Again he stood up but this time he

od e . su n went outside and sto in the v randah Away to the east , the had left dawn by four hours . In the west, there was nothing unusual . a ie h e J p Genade went aimlessly from room to room , then went

- re . e outside only to enter the house When he went outsid again , he son b u tterflies watched his chasing in the garden , with unseeing eyes he sa w him trample on e flower after another and he was startled as much as the b oy when his wife suddenly called out ‘ ou t Gert, get of the garden Gert looked once at his mother and ’ of a ie s then vanished round a corner the house . A smile creased J p ‘ ’ ‘ ! face . Saturday, he thought . Saturday He paced the verandah slowly with his hands behind his back . d o ? a fla sh He Just what could he The ide came like a . walked th e briskly into house . ‘ ’ ‘ Ma a m Moil oa , he said, I going to tell to collect the sheep ’ - o to morrow for counting, and bef re his wife replied , he was already well on his way towards the stable . b A voice suddenly spoke close y , frightening him , and when he turned round Moil oa was standing below him with his hat in the ‘ 2 - ’ d a Moren a . air . Good y, he was saying . ‘ Oh ou Moil oa ? o — , is it y , Where do you c me from among the trees ‘ ’ M oren a No, from beyond them from the graves . ‘ ’ a ie ou o J p nodded understandingly . But y g to your son s grave Moil oa t often , . Is hat good ‘I t d B 3 oo a as . is g , When I have been to his grave I feel well . It is s You as if he tell me what to do . see, he was my eldest son . When

1 Holy Commu n ion service celeb ra ted mon thly by th e D u tch Reform ed u r Ch ch . 2 e Chi f . 3 M a te s r . 25 t s n . o w he died I was left alone My o her is only t elve years . If I should die what will happen to my children Ge nade did not

. itso answer this question Indeed , he did not know how to answer , He Moil oa he changed the subject . told about the sheep and then ‘ 0 a o to i , next Saturday I want you to get ready to g with me ’ ? ’ Baas Meyer s farm . There will be a great show there . Is that clear ‘ I t Ba a s is clear, ‘ ’ - Well , good bye . Genade trotted slowly homewards . Moil oa e When arrived at the village , the men wer drinking and a e r t lking in a room sp cially rese ved for the purpose . They did not see him come and when he approached, they were talking about white men . ‘ ’ ‘ Genade is a very good man , one of them was saying . I have never worked for any one farmer for more than four years and yet I have been here six ! I do not know what will cause me to leave ’ here . ‘ ’ ‘ Moil oa n ot Brother, said , you must speak like that . There are ’ to many things cause you to leave here . ‘ sa t - The men bolt upright and looked at each other slyly . Like ’ ? Moil oa ﬁll ed h is what they shouted in chorus . pipe deliberately, lit it and smoked in silence for a while . Then he asked abruptly, ‘ ’ ’ Have you ever been to Baas de Beer s farm ? Every one of them ‘

. see had been there Well , what did you there

They had seen many things . They had seen sheep and cattle and ll ed su n ﬂow ers a new house being built and lands ﬁ with . ‘ ? ’ Did y ou see the number of ruins there The men looked at each other and tried to recollect how many empty huts they had seen ‘ ’ ‘ Moil oa ! but they failed . told them . Six , he said . Six They did not

to . leave because they wanted . De Beer did not chase them away

Something else did a roaring two , three roaring monsters ’ which do in a day what thirty men d o in ten days . ‘ What are they they asked . ‘ G s e o and e them for yourselves . They roar continuously during on the day , and when night falls they put their lights and continue At so - to roar . night they look like many ghosts in the mealie lands and d o the white farmers love them You will see what will happen ’ when they come, he warned . ‘ Moil oa The men looked at each other again . is talking in ’ ‘ ’ s ? ﬁrst on e . a . parables , said What did you y asked another The ‘ il ’ one replied Mo oa is talking in parables .

‘ Th e mistiness of dawn dissipated slowly and the gates of The ’ ’ Orchards stood Open to welcome people to the farmer s show . In a big open space under a row of trees nestled ﬁfteen brand

2 6 n . new tractors , and all ki ds of farm implements There were planters and windmills ; ploughs and trailers ; milk - separators and diesel w a terborin engines , every thing from shellers and g machines to h r rs r w in d c a e . M g . Hoarding stood at the entrance and welcomed ‘ ’ the ﬁrs tvisitors to his show . The Orchards hummed with life . Moil oa s on e led a few friend from exhibit to another , and when they had seen everything he led them aside and swept his hands

from side to side . ‘

. These, my friends , are wonderful inventions he said ‘

Ha . on they said , with their hands their mouths as they ex pressed amazement . ‘But these things are the things I was telling my friends athome ’

. see 5 l n about You them yourselves . They do a hundred men work ! of u s one day They are very good , my friends , but some will be the r for Moiloa so rier their presence Genade came beaming to , then ‘ ’

a m . I going to buy two tractors, he said ‘ ” Moren a i How many, ‘ Moiloa Two , il said Mo oa . ‘ e to Moil oa You do not s em be pleased , ‘ Moil oa h is a m rubbed face with his hands uneasily . I pleased , ’ Moren a , he said .

b o Back at the house , the little white y looked east and then looked

. He u west looked down , scratched his head and then looked p . The s u n He Saturday shone brightly down at him . turned his head from

side to side and wished he had gone with his father to the show . n ot for Anyway, it did matter much , soon his father would be back o ? and then they would g to town . Meantime what to do His eyes rested on th e towering leaves of the blue gu m trees and an idea

. shone through his eyes Yes, he had found a solution to his regular of s Saturday problem what to do with twelve hour of no school , He u no arithmetic and no real work to do . r shed into the yard and w m hen he ca e out he was holding a catapult . He ran into the plantation whistling . b o s a w The little black y was already in the plantation . When he b o the little white y , his face spread in a happy smile of welcome . ‘ ’ ou ? Why are y running, Gert he asked in broken Afrikaans . The little white boy placed two fin gers on his mouth and jerked his fin er index g towards the house . ‘M ’ ‘ ’ y mother , he said , she always says I spoil her garden , and ‘ then without further thought on the matter he asked , Where are the birds ? ’ e The birds screamed wildly among the branch s , their eyes wild 2 7 ea . with f r They flew from branch to branch , from tree to tree, but

' of a n still the pebbles missed them by fractions inch . Some hid in w o their nests, others flew into the air, but not kno ing where to g , th e - y landed again on the trees to scamper away pani‘c stricken again h when the pebbles hit against the branches wit a thud . ‘ ’ ‘ e G rt, said the little black boy, these catapults are no good ; ’ too they miss much . ‘ ’ th ‘ ’ a e . He 7 , said white boy , they are no good stopped a little and thought a while . Suddenly he began running . Over his ‘ sh ou ted I a m shoulder he , coming

' in In a little while he was back, but the little black boy gaped surprise . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ I t u n ou it? is a g , he said , where did y get ‘ ’ ‘ ’ i b o itis ?Th e Still , sa d the white y , my father s black boy came to nearer examine the gun and then suddenly he retreated . The ‘ b o You white y laughed . are afraid he said . The black boy con ‘ tin u ed bo Ma n to retreat . The white y called to him, , it cannot shoot ithas no bullets look Th ere was a shattering report and both boys fell down like broken h . T e o trees white boy r se and looked at his mate . Blood was ou t gushing through a small hole above the left eye . Gert turned b then , and ﬂed with ulging eyes out of the plantation towards his home . Ja p ie Genade sa w his son running out of the plantation from He sa w w ife too the van which was then coming towards home . his , of bo He rush out the house and run towards the y . pressed the He saw accelerator hard and the van shot forward . his son point

h . to h sa w . te the plantation . T en his wife him She ran towards van ‘ ’ He v a n Wh a t it? shouted from the , is ‘ ’ ‘h ’ e . Gert , she said , has shot a boy ‘Where ‘ ’ n I the plantation . f Moil oa heard the words from the rear o the van . When the van stopped he was running towards the plantation followed hard by Genade . In the plantation , they stopped suddenly and looked Th e the little black b oy was lying as he had fallen . two men looked at each other no words passed between them then the white man stepped forward and touched the boy . A tear rolled il quickly down his cheek Mo oa nodded . ‘ ’ T is n o d here more life in him , he said , and he stoo there and h is son looked at master, then he looked at his and then he just stoo d there stunned .

There was no voice under the blue gum trees , no breeze when they

‘ ’ ‘ a m old spoke and he understood . Excuse me, he said, but I an ’ man now and I love the quiet and the peace . His face twitched , ‘

. He t oo . there was sorrow in his eyes Spoke softly, I hoped much t ’ I hoped hat someone else would move instead of me . His children looked at him . There was fear and doubt in their eyes . ‘ ’ ’ Don t look at me like that my children , don t look at me like ’ is ? that . Where the horse I must go and look for work once again . ‘ Th e e a r ldest girl of eight years c me unning to her father, Let me ’ o for Moil oa g and look work, father . smiled and then he sobered , ‘ o I will g , my child ‘ ’ Ca n i Ba as ? you g ve me _work, my ‘ a m I cannot give you work, my man . I using tractors . Can you ? ou ol d itGo drive a tractor No , but y are and you cannot drive . to Baas Adams . Perhaps you will get work there ‘ B a s ” Ca n o a . you give me w rk , my ‘

ou b o . I cannot give y work, my y I have bought another Jeep a m ou Vil oen and I using Jeeps . Have y been to Baas j ‘ B ” Ca n a as . you give me work, my ‘ or Com e su rel F twenty nice, shiny round shillings . , y that is good pay . Times are hard and I want to buy tractors too ‘ ’ a i i But I got thirty shillings where I worked and it w s n su ﬁi c en t. ‘ u so for I cannot give y o much . It is too much for me and l ou ou . o d y too Look , you are and y cannot do what you used to 3” do . Will you work The s u n was sinking fast in the west but the su n had sunk in ’ il a s r Mo o hea t . Twenty shillings ‘ d ﬁrs tBa as I must tell my wife and my chil ren , , but twenty ’ shillings is little money . ‘ I is is e t . not little, my friend It a lot of money and ther are many people who want work

il a su n The sun had s etwhen Mo o reached home . The would never ’ Moil oa s ﬁre rise in heart . A was burning low in the house, and when he sa tand cupped his chin in his hands the ﬁre burned lower

l Th . stil . ere could never be another day It would always be dark

. ness and night, the one followed by the other The children sensed Moil oa the sadness and shifted closer to each other . bent his head fire e and brooded . Wood was put into the th re was smoke and i . Mo l oa silence , the one worse than the other Suddenly raised his n fid n t 0 v 0 1c e c o e . head . His was , there was h pe in his eyes ‘ I a m going to apply for a stand in the location to -morrow fire Th e Th e flames leaped up in the . wood crackled and ’ Moil oa s cracked . The little children giggled and tittered and wife in r looked at her husband with a song her hea t . Yes the loca 30 sh e tion . That was what wanted . That was what every farm labourer strove for that was her ambition ! She repeated the little word to herself location location this was living ! ‘ ” Ca n Ba a s . you give me a stand in the location , ‘ A stand in the location ? Who are y ou ? Where do you come from ‘ ’ I come from Baas Genade Baas Jap ie Genade . ‘ ou ? Oh , yes, I know him why did y leave him But no , I ’ He cannot give y ou a stand in the location . repeated the words ‘ ’ I cannot give you a stand in the location . Another white man had il a f r He o Mo o . o entered and had heard . lo ked at His heart wept him . ‘ ’ 1 ’ Why can t y ou give him a stand in the location ‘ ’ Why can t I give him a stand the firstman repeated in cred u ‘ ? l ou sly Why Because w h o is going to work on the farms f c ? th e i all these poor people ome to the locations Besides, fille d old locations are full already with idle hands, and they are supposed to be labour reserves for the towns The other white n s a tis fi d h u m a e . . was not T ey arg ed , they almost wrangled Then ‘ ’ ‘ on in it is e . suddenly the gave You know, he said , is unfair it ’ ‘ c ? unsympatheti but, he said , what can I do It is against the law 0 Moil oa had heard and had understood . There was no h pe for r m No fo . He o him here . haven his there must g back to the far s

. He and seek a new home looked forlornly about . The question hit him hard where ? He felt very tired and there was something He wrong with his knees . could scarcely get on the horse . ‘ Vil oen Baas j , will you take me on ‘ ? ou see . Oh , is it y Let me Yes but I have since found out

that I cannot pay you twenty shillings . I will give you eighteen ? ’ shillings . Will you work film of There was a queer in the eyes , a queer trembling the ‘ B s ” . a a . voice , as if it was hard to speak I will work , The branches and twigs of the mimosa trees brushed and crackled loudly as a dry branch was broken here and a twig was picked up firew ood there . Then suddenly the woman , with a bundle of on h ea d st0 ed her , p p short in her tracks , and listened . Before her, a a man , with hands held aloft and looking ste dfastly above him , was praying ‘ of Please Lord , take me to your land promise and rest where there is neither want nor care where there is neither sorrow ’ n or night . n ot for fin ish h is Sh The woman did wait the man to prayers . e retraced her steps ca refully and when sh e reached h er home sh e 3 1 fire a s e u made a if nothing had happened . Wh n her h sband came in , he found breakfast ready for him, and as he began to eat in h is r silence, wife ab uptly spoke ‘ Moiloa , I want to die He n ot was shocked and for a moment he could speak . Then ‘ ’ What did y ou s ay ? ‘ ’ to I said I want die . ‘Why do you want to die ? ’ ‘ Because I think it is wrong for me to live a life of despair and ’ for have no hope the future it were best that I should die . ‘But how can you die ? What about the children and what about ? ’ me Do y ou lack anything are you not sa tisfied with your lot ? m sh e She did not answer him im ediately . Instead put more fuel fire into the . ‘ You do not want me to die ‘ ’ d o I not want y ou to die . ‘ She turned then and looked steadily at her husband . What is it? ’ he asked . ‘ a m ou e I sorry, but this morning y wer praying to die . Is that r ight He was ashamed and embarrassed . It was only natural and it human that he should attempt to deny , but when he looked at r on his wife, t ue light dawned him . ‘ a m I sorry, my dear . I did not realize how my prayer would ff ou w a ect y . Please pardon me . I shall ork and hope

i Mr . a e I t J p Genade was very happy doubly happy . was the e u happiness of success . H had j st parted with his last guest who o on h is had c ngratulated him recent election to the Town Council . Mr rs s a t h M . te . and Genade on verandah of their new home in s town and enjoyed their happines in silence . f . o r Mrs Genade thought her previous home on the fa m . She had sh e lived well there . But many times had been very lonely . When w a s ff e her husband away, she had su ered from a terribl fear the fear of being alone with many black people around her . Her for it husband had often reprimanded her , but the fear had remained real to her . Her husband had told her that it was i imag nary black people were faithful , and when treated well , c sh e e ould always be relied upon . But read n wspapers and in the newspapers were many stories like the ones she had read in her old history book a few years ago at school . They must be true h Oh s e . the farm there were jackals too , but did not fear these PeO l e too told e r p , , strange e rie ghost sto ies but these did not a of h w a s frighten her her fe r was the fear black people . T at ’ why sh e had kept her husband s gun th e one her son h a d used 3 2 in the accident in the corner of the kitchen , behind the dresser .

There it was within easy reach in case of an emergency, but the emergency never came, what came instead was tragedy and of remorse . She thought the incident the shiny buttons of the police uniforms the stricken faces of the white and black people their questions ‘ Where w a s your husband ‘Why was the gun kept within such easy access ? ’ ‘ ’ o n ? Were the b ys frie ds, did they often play together She shook herself free from these thoughts all that was over now s h e had a lovely house in town and many friends . A police man passed her house every day on his regular beat this was living ! ‘ ’ ‘ Ma ? , said Genade, that was a neat little deal I made, eh h u sa n d Ha l Tw en ty to pounds with surface rights to the farm . t th e I always though there was gold on farm . It brought me in a tidy little sum and I n ow can think of that little business I ’ always dreamed to build for myself . It will be pleasant to live here . h to . His wife did not answer him . She was much o happy for t at She remembered the nice words thatpeople had spoken to her during the day how people looked at her when s h e walked in ‘

is . the street . She could almost hear them . That Mrs Genade , you e Mr wh o r know, the wif of . Genade sold his fa m for twenty thousand pounds She had always desired a mink perhaps l o d . A dark man passed in the street . Genade stared at him ‘ ’ ‘ Moil oa Moil oa Th e , he called man stopped and looked at ‘ ? ’ . ou He . saw them Did y call he asked . came nearer Genade his n otMoil oa mistake then . The man was but he looked very much ‘ ’ ‘ a m like him . I sorry , he said , but I thought you were a certain ’ w h o f r n e o o . s rvant once worked me . The black man went his way

But this incident had spoiled the day for Genade . He wondered Moil oa w a s r son how fa ing . His , he remembered , had killed ’ r a of of Moil oa s he corrected hu riedly, had been the c use the death s on He too . remembered that it had been found to be accidental shooting at the inquest and that Moil oa had felt the same and had o He Moil oa to shown no anim sity . remembered vividly coming him after the inquest ‘ ’ ‘ I t e a m on e is all ov r now, he had said I very glad does to not always want to talk about a sad thing, but remember that ’ e they were such friends . Genade rememb red these words and he decided . Moil oa The following day he found hard at work, with the sun e on b ating down him . The oxen looked at him with anticipation ; e o they thought he had come to releas them . N sweat ran down 33 ’ Moiloa s Moil oa face . Perhaps he had no more sweat left in him . ? a t . looked Genade Could it be him Yes, it was . Genade h te . Ge had not changed, but clothes and the car nade Spoke . ‘ ' to . n ow I have come fetch you You know I live in town , I have ’ Moil oa sold the farm . was radiant with happiness but he did not lose his balance . ‘ Ba a s Where will I live, . I cannot live in a little room at the back, ou you know . I have a family and some animals . Can y get me a stand in the location ‘ Genade raised himself up to the height of a rich man . I will ’ see h e about that , said ‘ ’ I t be d iﬁic u l tMoil oa will , warned . Genade raised himself to his full height th e height of a rich town councillor . ‘ ’ h ‘ e . With me, said, many things are possible You know that, don ’ t you 7 ” Moil oa h e knew and knew, too, that with white people, many s n ot things were po sible were made possible . But that did matter at the moment . What mattered was that he would get a ’ stand his life s ambition . ‘ ’ ‘T Thank you very much, he said and then , hank you very ’ much .

e A visitor is not to be regarded as to his fac , but to his

n o e a I l a prov erb from Norther Rh d si . 34 S o n g of Pr a is e to th e C r e a to r

G S K om ed i Lek oth oa n e H. Collected by . Franz and . g g

G H. Translated from the Sotho by . Franz

INVOCATION

' Perfection ever rising to perfection , The' man w h o fashioned mountains and rocks !

Purity Immaculate,

Wood white and unblemished .

of Guardian nation upon nation , Lone creator of ﬁrm a m en tand horizon ! Origin of nation upon nation !

Even before birth the King .

The one of there ! The on e of here ! The one of here ! The on e of there ! of e w ! The one very here, above and below Th e knower of all ! r ! The beautiful , knower of the inne most ' Lord of wisdom , above and below for The depth too deep the measure stick .

’ Lord of heaven s vault ! Lord of that which endeth n ot! Lord of the everlasting ! The rock which has withstood the ﬁre ! n ot Lord of that which endeth , both the going out and

the coming back .

That which endeth not is never understood . of ' King kings , an unfathomable thought I , the mother, even though scandal is spoken ,

Yet ever and again we clap hands ,

And all slides off my shoulders . 35 The rock has been fashioned a shining beacon

mountain top . ﬂee Thither we from raging storms . n K ife carving portions for others , rv Yet, the while, ca ing for the master himself .

Where the front hoof has trod , e Ther also shall the back hoof tread .

THE PRAISE

I r , the reve ed of all nations, I for , ever the same, I , the leader to pastures and guide back to a m of I the origin all sustenance, a m of I the mother all nurture, ’ Tis I that reign , father of all bounty, I of , the bellow the bull . Ye e sa tisﬁed are fed , y are . I a m , the great elephant, your mother, h ow a ! Your mother, see gre t my breasts

I embrace unlimited spaces , a m n ota s ou I small as y , e You littl urchins dancing round the cooking pot, x u Eyes ﬁ ed on the dishing p .

a m - I your foster mother . Ye and I are head and cheek,

Never can they be parted . a m on I the royal bead the brow of kings, the beautiful

raiment . Master- tutor above and be low t , Rock that has withs ood all tests .

M o b Pa ssi o n

D C T H E M B A . .

’ ‘ ’ E ditor s n ote : Mob Pa ssion is a story told a ga in sta b a ckgrou n d of th e — ti n Ne a e t n e f o 1 1 2 r o w r a ow t e w e to a n ne u r . 95 5 i s cl , ship igh mil s s J h sb g F tn ro e ou tetw een a an o o e a r e of Ba u to w or n igh i g b k b g g , c mp s d l g ly s s ki g ‘ ’ on th e Ra n n e wh o a e te e v e Ru a n a n d th e v u a r . d mi s, c ll d h ms l s ssi s , Ci il G ds Th e Ru a n h a d e en terror n th e eo e of tat tr ta n d th e vi ssi s b izi g p p l h dis ic , Ci l u a r w ere for ed of e er of ote r tr e in or er to rote tte G ds m m mb s h ib s , d p c h m d n I tw a fter th e v u a r h a d selv es a n th e people of th e tow ship . as Ci il G ds a e n th e l aw n to te r own a n d a n d a e re r a on te r en e tat t k i h i h s m d p is ls h i my, h r e tu rn e n to an w a r a re th e stif d i g g f .

‘ 2 u T H E R E was a thick crowd on Platform , r shing for the All ’ Stations Randfontein train . Men , women and children were push t o . ing madly board the train They were heaving and pressing, elbows in faces , bundles bursting, weak ones kneaded . Even at the Opposite side people were balancing precariously to escape being ﬁn ers shoved off the platform . Here and there deft g were exploring unwary poc kets . Somewhere an outraged dignity was shrieking ’ stridently, vilely cursing someone s parentage . Fuller and fuller the ou t carriages beca me . With a jerk the electric train moved of the station . ‘ Sa kw e He Whew panted Linga . gathered his few parcels upon He his lap , pressing his elbows to his side pockets . did not really have any valuables in these pockets ; only long habit was working instinc tively now .

. He Linga was a tall , slender fellow , more man than boy was not particularly handsome but he had those tense eyes of the young student who was ever inwardly protesting against some wrong or He other . In fact , at the moment he was not a student at all . was e working for a ﬁrm of lawyers in Market Street . H hoped to save enough money in a year or two to return to university to complete an arts degree which he had been forced by circumstances to abandon . People were still heavi ng about in the train ; but Linga was not He annoyed . knew that by Langlaagte , or perhaps Westbury, most 38 of these folk would be gone and he would be able to breathe again . AtBraamfontein many people alighted ; but he was not thinking

f m He of . o his disco fort any more . was thinking Mapula now She had promised that sh e would be in time for this train . That of on e ff depended, course , whether she succeeded to persuad the sta nurse in charge of the ward in which sh e worked to let her off a few minutes before time .

. . ,The train slowed down Industria Linga anxiously looked out ! He - h e side . Sure enough , there she was gave a wolf whistle , as if n ot was admiring some girl he did know . She hurried to his carriage, stepped in and sat beside him . They did not seem to know each An other from Adam . old man nearby was giving a lively narra tion in the grimmest terms of the murders committed at Newclare .

AtWestbury the atmosphere was tense . Everybody crowded at s ee c the windows to . Every where there were white poli emen , ‘ ’ on e heavily armed . The situation was under control , but every knew that in the soul of almost every being in this area raved a seething madness , wild and passionate, with the causes lying deep . No cursory measures can remedy ; no su p erﬁcial explanation can illuminate . These jovial faces that can change into masks of blood ! lust and destruction with no warning, on smallest provocation

There is a vicious technique faithfully applied in these riots . Each b morning these people quietly rise , and with a usinesslike manner ’ hurry to their work . Each evening they return to a Devil s Party, o uncontrollably drawn into hideous orgies . S metimes the viol or ﬂa re would subside for weeks months, and then suddenly would up at some unexpected Spot, on some unexpected pretext . At Newclare , too, from the train all seemed quiet . But Linga and

Mapula knew the deceptive quiet meant the same even here . The

on . e train skimmed , emptier Only when they had pass d Marais t w a s burg did these two venture to speak to each o her . Linga 1 ! Leteb el e hosa and Mapula Sotho . A and a Russian ! They had

e - to be very car ful . Love in its mysterious, often ill starred ways had fl ung them together . firs t Linga spoke . ‘ ’ sa w ? Sure you no one who might know you he asked softly . ‘ ’ E h—e h sh e , replied . fid eted She g uneasily with the strap of her handbag . His hand o fin ers T went out and cl sed over her g . hey turned simultaneously to look at each other .

1 A con temptu ou s w ord a pplied by a l l Sotho grou ps to th e Ngu n i grou ps Zu u ! o a w a O r n a th e ter referre to th e fo ow er of ( l , h s , S zi , igi lly m d ll s M a wh o ro e aw a fro a a a n d w h o a te r a a th zilik zi b k y m Ch k l h r ssed e Sothos . Th e u ra f Lete el M a ta e pl l o b e is b le . 39 ’

u He . A sympathetic nderstanding came into Linga s eyes . smiled ‘ ’ Rather tense, isn t it he said .

She looked past him through the window . ‘ ‘ ’ ’ Wit rte sh oo e s o. p j exclaimed . Come, let g

They rose and went to the door . The train stopped and they

. to went out Together they walked a bridge, went over the line and out by a little gate . For some two hundred yards they walked over

- ﬂat stubbly ground . Then they went down a mountain cleft at the a t bottom of which ran a streamlet . They found a shady spot and s ’ down on the green grass . Then suddenly they ﬂed into each other s

rm - a s like frightened children . The time old ritual, ancient almost

- as the hills , always novel as the ever changing skies ; long they clung to each other, long and silent . Only the little stream gurgled its nonsense ; these two daring hearts were lost in each other . The too— or in d ifi eren t— world, good , bad was forgotten in the glorious of flux their souls meeting and mingling . Atlast Mapula spoke—half cried ‘ ’m ’ Oh Linga ! I afraid . ‘ ’ ? in fin ite Here where the world is quiet he quoted , with soft ‘ ’ u s ness . No , dear, nothing can reach and harm here . Then with a ‘ sigh Still, the cruellest thing they do is to drive two young people o se like guilty things to sneak ff only to e each other . What is wrong ? ’ with our people , Mapula He She did not answer . lay musing for a long time . She could s e sh e e that he was slowly getting angry . Sometimes she wished could understand the strange indignations of his spirit and the great e arguments by which he explained life . Most times she only y arned for his love . ‘ s d se e They do not ee ! They o not e he continued v hemently . ‘ it on e . They butcher another, and they seem to like Where there

. e should be brotherhood and love , there are bitter animosities Wh re

c o- there should be Operation in common adversity, there are ’ ’ barriers of hostility, steeling a brother s heart against a brother s ’ it s o misery . Sometimes , Pule, I understand . We have had many dishonest leaders , and we have so often had our true leaders left in the lurch by weak - kneed colleagues and lukewarm followers that u no one wishes to stick his neck o ttoo far . Where is the courage to ? Th e weld these suicidal factions into a nation trouble is , very few of u s have a vision comprehensive e nough of ou r destiny ! I believe God has a few of u s to whom He whispers in the ear ! Our tru e to r u s for . histo y is before , we yet have build , to create , to achieve ’ for Our very oppression is the ﬂower of Opportunity . If not History s God u s ? ! Grand Finale , why, then , does hold back Hell and here ’ - we are , feuding in God s dressing room even before the curtain He e e n u rises . Oh cover d his fac and fell i to her lap , nable to say any more . ‘ ’ ’ d I n - a ﬁn ere . Instinctively, Mapul g his hair God s dressing room , ‘ ? ’ sh e thought . What does it mean But his anguish stabbed at her heart . Trying to forget herself, she only sought within her a tender h 1 n ness to quell the bitter wretchedness s e had heard his voice . ‘ ! — Linga, no Let me show you something else something that I

so ou . understand . It is no more long before y and I can marry I dream about the home that we are going to have . I I want that ’ b home , Linga . You taught me that woman s greatest contri ution to civilization so far has bee n to furn ish homes where great men and ’ ou r u s great ideas have developed . Moreover, there s problem . Let of rather think ways of handling my father . No , no ; not now . Let ’ u s think now of now .

u n o e Thabo was r nning faster w that he was nearing hom . His mind 10 was in a whirl ; but he knew that he had to tell his father . The p r sided gate was in the far co ner, so he smartly leaped over the He w a s e . fence where it slack . H stopped abruptly at the door n ow e always did when there were people . But , he soon realized , thes — He people were his two uncles Uncle Alpheus and Uncle Frans . ’ knew how great news always brings a glory of prestige on the head of the bringer . Thabo felt himself almost a hero now ; for these two

- men were die hard stalwarts in the Russian cause . Uncle Alpheus r ra n was a romantic ﬁ eb d . Uncle Frans was a scheming character of - - - e the powe r be hind the throne variety . Th y were complementary

: . to each other together, a formidable team ‘ h ? ’ e . Th e Father, where is hissed Thabo , breathing hard excite ment in his voice aroused every one . ‘ ’ h ? ’ ! te b o e . Holy Shepherd What s matter, y cried Uncle Alph us ‘ ’ Leteb el . e . Mapula, Mapula She loves with a ‘ ’ x sh e ? What e ploded Uncle Alpheus . Where is Then more ‘ ’ u s calmly Come n , boy . Tell everything more quietly ; your father is out there ? ’ ‘ — J -J -Jonas t- t- tells me J -Jonas is a b oy who works with me Leteb el e Jonas tells me that Mapula loves with a . They always

- He meet at the hospital ; but never in the sitting room . hopes to ’ marry her . ‘ Never barked Alpheus . Just then the door burst Open . A party ’ of Th ab o s He u m men carried in the limp form of father . was h is . conscious , and blood streamed all over face Beyond them , just outside the door, a crowd had gathered . Everyone was at once s rea d u l asking what had happened . As the news p , g y moods swept

a - the crowd . R Thabo was carried into the bedroom and tended by - the women . Alpheus and Frans returned to the fore room and conferred . ‘ ’ n ow ? What Alpheus asked Frans . ‘ — Of . course , we must revenge You will talk to the people the ﬁre women . Talk into them . Connect it with the Mapula business ; ’ — Le teb el . a e that ll warm them Suggest drugs must use drugs , ’ ’ h e ? mustn t I ll be in the house . Just when they begin to get ’ e r Ra - ou t— ou excit d I ll arrange to car y Thabo to the hospital , y ’ know . See if we can —t get them bad —he smiled cheerlessly . . Outside, the crowd mostly women was thickening Even ‘ in the b streets they could e seen coming along in groups, blanketed men and women . From the house Thabo and his little sister, Martha, o joined the crowd . It was obvious that their uncles were g ing to do something about it. s He Alpheu stepped on to the little mud wall . raised his left hand t and the blanket over it rose with i . That movement was most o dramatic . In a few moments the crowd m ved closer to him and He - of became silent . Then he began to speak . began in a matter Ra - fact voice , giving the bare fact that Thabo, their leader, had

of . been hurt . Warming gradually, he discussed the virtues this man to Then he went on tell of how this man had actually been hurt . Notconfused ﬁgh tin g nor cowardly brutalities rose in the mind as t of on his man spoke , but a glorious picture crusaders charging in a

- holy cause behind their lion hearted leader . Oh , what a clash was ! e there The Matab le were pushed beyond Westbury station . There the heroes met a rested , reinforced enemy . For a moment all that

- could b e seen was the head of Ra Thabo going down among them . The clang of battle could be heard the furious charge could be seen , in the words of this man who was not there . The Basutos fought desperately and won so much ground that their all but lost e ﬁn d s leader could be r scued and carried back home . And what he ’ ? Al h eu s s h there p voice went down , softer and heavier, touc ing s of W string pathos , rousing tragic emotions hich the hearts present e had never befor experienced . There was an automatic movement in the crowd as everybody strained forward to hear . In awful , ’ horror - ﬁll e d whispers he told of Ra - Th ab o s daughter giving herself ‘ ‘ eteb l e I t L e . to a . The thing is not possible he hissed would not n ot u have happened if the maid had been bewitched with dr gs . ‘ o Are you g ing to brook it he cracked . No all the throats roared . ‘ ‘ Now m ob Are you ready for vengeance thundered the . Some ‘ 1 one in th e crowd shouted M u l e Then the women took up their

- famous war cry , chilling to a stranger, but driving the last doubting r spirit there to frenzy and fu y . 1 ‘ ’ ‘ t ’ Sotho for h itor s rike . 42 ’ ! ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ . E u . E u . E u . l e l e . l e . l e E e ! l e . l e !

Now they were prancing and swaying in uninterpretable rhythms . A possessed bard in the ir midst was chattering the praises of the

dead , the living, and the unborn ; his words clattering like the of ﬁen d dru msticks a . ‘ ‘ ’ Let u s go past Maraisburg and attack them from the rear !

yelled Alpheus over the din .

Atthat moment the door of the house went Open . The mob f u t which had been on the point o dashing o recoiled . The sight tw o they saw stunned them . Frans and other men were carrying

- sa w Ra . out Thabo , besmeared with blood Thabo Uncle Alpheus ‘ leaping with trailing blanket and yelling, To Maraisburg Again

he leaped over the fence into the street . The mob followed hard on his heels .

As the last blanket swept round the corner , Frans turned back o to the injured man . His two helpers had als been drawn in by the

m ob - to irresistible suction of feeling . With a smile , he said the ‘ ’ unhearing Ra - Th abo : I ll have to get a taxi to take you to hos ’

r . pital , brother . Then he ca ried him back into the house Late in the afternoon the train from Randfontein suddenly

stopped at Maraisburg . Everybody was surprised . Something must ! be wrong . This train never stops at Maraisburg . Then suddenly ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ! ! : All Change All Change And more brusquely Come n , ” 1 p u m a ! Pu m a . u ri Linga and Mapula hurried o t. News had ar ved that trouble had started again at Newclare ; more seriously than usual . All trains from Randfontein were being stopped here and sent back .

Shrugging his shoulders , Linga drew Mapula away , and arm in - th e o arm they strolled along platform , out by the little gate , int on some suburban area . For a time they walked in silence . Then

Mapula spoke . ‘ ’ ’ 0 I h pe I ll get back in time , she said . ‘ ’ ’

b . Let s walk faster, then . We might get a lift outside the subur

They walked into the open country . Linga knew that if he could ﬁn d — w only a certain golf course some here around here , he would know where the road was . Meanwhile, they had to stumble on over ’ Ma u l a s - rough country , and p cork heel shoes were tormenting her toes . She limped on as stoically as she could . Linga did not notice f her su fering as he was looking out for familiar landmarks . Those

- trees looked suspiciously like the golf course to him . ‘ : u s When they reached the trees Mapula said Linga , let rest f ’ here ; my toes are suf ering . ‘ ’ he replied . But I must look for the road . Let s look

‘ ’ 1 Zu u f r e l o g tou t. 43 for a cool place where you may rest, while I search for the golf ’ course . ‘ ’ Mm . sa t He led her amongst the trees . She down and pulled off her sa w of shoes . When he thought he a shadow distress ﬂit across her it brow, he bent down , took her hand, pressed , and then muttered ‘ ’

o . He in Back in a m ment, sweet rose slowly, looked at her off decisively, then turned away slowly and walked . He did not search far before he noticed a torn and faded ﬂag .

The hole was nearby . Suddenly he emerged from the cluster of trees , and came across the road . But his attention was caught by a horde of Russians pursuing a wom an w h o came flying towards it? He Linga . Should he chance he wondered . spoke fluent Sesotho a s He and believed he could pass as a Mosotho , possibly a Russian . quickly drew a white handkerchief from his trouser-pocket and su tied it round his head . This made him , he knew, an active p f fl in o . porter the Russian cause Skirts y g, the woman sped past

. him Facing the mob , he shouted ‘ 1 Hel el e

e of . All its wrath sp nt, the mob crowded round out sheer curiosity Some were even in a jocular mood n ow one playing lustily on a concertina . But here and there Linga could see deadly weapons , h ew c l a re He snatc ed up in their hasty exodus from N . spoke to them - te a n en He in ﬂuent Sesotho , taking his idiom from Teya y g . asked if that was the road to Newclare ; he said that he worked in Roode poort, but was going to Newclare because his uncle there wanted ’ - more man power in the house . Won t they please tell him where this road is p ‘ ’ ’ tb l of Ch e . 1 8 Le e e e It no this ; this is a child at home, remarked

Alpheus . ‘ ’ l e ! it n You speak , man , said a burly fellow . Then everyone directed Linga how to get to Newclare . it ru s l n As Fate would have , just then Mapula came nning, shoe hand and stockings twisted round her neck . ‘ ! ! sh e Linga Linga, darling mine What are they doing to you

ff . screamed , as she forced her way through the crowd . Linga sti ened When she came to him she flung her arm around him and clung to saw him with all her strength , crying all the time . Then she her tu efi d f s e o . uncle p like the rest them , standing there She fled to him He and begged him to save her lover . pushed her aside and walked He up to Linga . stood before him, arms akimbo . ‘ ’ So Leteb el e You so E h e . you are a , after all . lie sleekly that I ’ s ou can u nderstand why my niece thinks she love y . Then he swung

1 ‘ ’ Sotho for hail . 44

Um a m zn a

B . W . V I L I K A Z I

R M Mfeka Translated from the Zulu by . .

adapted by Peggy Ru th erfoord

Come Mamina, Come let u s stretch our legs and thither There where it is wilderness There where water fountains spring

Dampening the deep green rocks,

Slippery with slimy moss .

a N y Mamina , ou t Come as though to draw water, r Car y a calabash and descend to the river . There you will ﬁn d me under the water - myrtle

Heavy in full bloom ,

Black and oozing with thick juice .

i Come Mam na, crl m son Alone , you are bright with hue,

Your path adorned with gaudy colours, ﬂow ers Blossoming with , Which s t0 0 p be fore you on Bowing their heads the earth .

Come Mamina ,

When you did gaze on me , ebony maiden , o I knew not whither I would g ,

My knees quivered , my weapons dropped , I w as ﬁll ed with the bitterness that lurks in heart

Like a wild beast , and is called love . 46 Alas, I seek you, Mamina , You ﬁeld s have hidden in the of dry grass . “ Th e dry grass is my soul, ou e Yet y are loitering ther ,

Gathering blackberries, herbs and creepers .

It is not the national song of shields and knob r ke ries I sing . In truth I chant in harmony with the mu sic of

- your reed pipe ,

Whose tunes I hear in the land of Chaka .

I heard and listened and knew . I beheld your dark complexion ed lips

- Close over the singing reed pipe, Which recalls the golden - rumped canary of the

forest . I would that it were blown by the heart

Which harbours thought and feeling .

You have made me grow thus with love , That I no more appear as a Zulu f Within the courtyard o the black people .

0 Your love and mine , Mamina, of th e Excel the mind , beyond the power diviners, i n on Whose mag c bones are strew the ground . s o They grind herb and pois nous bushes . ‘ I n truth, are you not deceiving me, Mamina a s I ask you , I gaze into The centre of your eyes without blinking ‘ Are you not on e of the ancestral spirits ou Perchance y have lost your way, On to your journey the gates of Heaven, And have branched off to Earth n And chanced o the roots of love .

Come Mamina, You are the star of my soul You alone are in the depth of my veins

Which make my heart tremble . You are like the track of the ﬁeld rat Which winds through old grass and heads 47 Come Mamina,

I feel loneliness steal over me . h f T is earth af ords no refuge for me .

Come and lead me to your land , Mamina . u s There let solve the mystery of this love, it That I may know , Mamina ; of Know it wholly with the spirit the ancestors .

R a m m o n e R e tu r n s to th e Ka l a h a r i

M O M S E B . . . O N I

D T. Translated from the Tswana by Professor . Cole and adapted by Peggy Ru th erfoord

’ E ditor s n ote : Ram m on e wh o rew u in th e w of th e Ka a a r e ert , g p ilds l h i d s , eft o e to o a n d w or i n th e o n e of o a n ne u r h a tw a s l his h m g k g ld mi s J h sb g . T firs tou rn e tra n a n d n eed th e firstt e h e h a d een a tra n a n d his j y by i , i d , im s i h h a d een e v era n d ified Now h e retu rn n to w n e b q u ito w ed a terr . is i g his o cou n try

’ w E N sa w Ra m m on e s H he the multitude of people awaiting trains, heart leaped to his mouth . But he grasped it and put marrow into so one his bones, that he might appear as of the seasoned workers

He . of Johannesburg . continued with all his preparations Before r ve y long, after the electric trains had repeatedly snatched up and off gone to disgorge their human freight, it arrived , the great black 1 ox of the government of Paul, and it came treading slowly like a

- on pack ox reluctant to take to the road . It spewed smoke both sides like a conceited man blowing tobacco—smoke through his nostrils . ev em n OH In the late g it made , and traversed the great city amid of the glitter and twinkle a myriad lights, until eventually it carried the darkness on its head ; and the dust rose thickly and silence fell of on the passengers . Then could be heard only the metals the white man in dispute , the wheels railing at the rails, with a rhythmic clatter thatha thatha thatha thatha thatha

1 h an v a a e u e n tf te r . Pa u Kru er a Pr e o R l g , l st sid T s l p blic 48 so n it spent the night in dispute with the darkness . Whe d c . its nose , it entered Mafeking th e big clocks boomed out ninth hour, the train stood zs n to le gth , thronged by those who had come bid fare 1 § going to the Protectorate . Then was heard the voice ‘ :llied fellow who attended the passengers , calling All ’ —s itl ekke as s ebl ie ox p f. It jerked , did the black , 1 ou t n . e like a millipede , and left Mafeking behi d Quit ed th e at Lobatse, after winding itself in and out of ad n ow now would appear on this side , on that, as if h to to touc the tail , or ascertain whether the train

- e pot bellied fellows, were perhaps not asleep .

h e is T Committee at the school . 1 We are plagued by Christians .

' a n e on w e - n ow n in th e N we w e tr tf Na y d c s g is ll k d d dis ic o ta l . Th e D ig n i ty of B e ggi n g

W I L L I A M M O D I S A N E

T H E magistrate raises his eyes above the documents and plunges them like daggers into my heart . His blue eyes are keen my heart

- pounds like the bass of a boogie woogie . ‘ ’ ’ I m of e sick to death you heartily sick . There s not a nativ ’ ’ o beggar on the streets wh se full story I don t know, the magistrate ‘ ’ ’ ’ of ou u says . I ve watched some y grow p . There isn t one I haven t tried to rehabilitate many times . Some I was forced to send to to gaol , but they always come back they come back the goose that lays the golden egg} ’ ﬁ h tin Th e These are g g words . magistrate sounds as though he s u s f r going to put away o a few weeks . My only regret is that Seru ru b el e Richard has to share my fate . If only the magistrate ’ e th e of u s knew that he is not a parasit like rest , that he s what is e called an exploited beggar . H was crippled by an automobile

ou t it. accident, and since then his parents have made capital of to They use him beg so they can balance the family budget . They

of . never show him the comfort love Relentlessly they drive him, He is like an animal that has to work for its keep and feed . twenty on e one . Dragging foot along, he is an abject sight who has all the e sadness of the world in his face . H looks many times older than

- - my mother in law . ‘ e d ifﬁc u l t to You b ggars make it for me do my duty, and in spite of my failure to rehabilitate you , I always believe in giving you ’ s ta rtou it I m another chance . A fresh , y might call . But almost ’ ’ a certain that you ll be back here in few days .

The magistrate is getting soft, I can see my freedom at a distance ’ to of an arm s stretch . Here is my chance put on my act . A look of deep compunction and a few well - chosen words can do the a trick . I clear my throat and squeeze out tear or two . ‘ ’ of u s Your honour, most beg because we ve been ostracized by ’ ou r i u s sa fam lies ; they treat as though we were lepers, I y , wiping ‘ h u s off a tear . T ey want to look up to them for all the things we u s u T e o r . o need . hey never encourage to arn own keep Nob dy 5 0 o u s e f e u s wants to empl y , people are mor willing to o f r alms rather ’

u s u s . than give jobs . All they do is show pity We don t want ’ to e to ce to o e be pitied, w want be given a chan pr ve that we r as good as anybody

I can see from the silence in the court that everybody is deceived .

l - h Everybody is fil ed with a sense of self reproach . T e magi strate ’ is as mute as the undertaker s parlour . I can read pity on the faces of all the people in the court ; perhaps the most pathetic is my own . ’ i n t film am m a n fice . I g . an answer to every director s dream I t u s ou . know I have said enough enough to let , that is ‘ ‘ e is I understand you have matriculated , your nam Nathaniel, ’ ’ isn t it? He turn s a page of the report prepared by a worker in the ‘ - o . Non Eur pean Affairs Department Yes , here we are . Nathaniel Mok om are g , the department recommends that you be sent to a u ou place where y o will be ta ught some useful trade . I want y to ’ report to Room 1 4 at the department s building to - morrow ’ morning . This is n otwhat I had bargained for ; my brilliant idea has boomeranged . Why must I take a job when I can earn twice a ? s e normal wage begging After all , what will horse do if I tak a ? u s job I m tuphold the dignity of begging . Professional ethics for k bid all beggars from wor ing . ‘ ’ ou Seru rub el e o s t As for y , Richard , I ll let you g thi ime , but ’ : ou r m e mark my words the next time y appea before , I ll have ’ ou ou tf ou o . y sent to the Bantu Refuge . Now get here, both of y If the magistrate had seen the big grin on my face a s we leave h e the court, would have thrown my deformed carcass in gaol and th e He e n otsee deliberately lost key . do s it though . With the exception of a few loose ends everything has gone c Seru ru b el e is according to s hedule, but my friend just about the n i most miserable man o earth . The trouble with him s he lacks n t a a m o o e s b . imaginati n , but then of course, verybody is right as I He to of always seems be looking at the dull side life , a vice coupled with an appalling brand of honesty most bishops would swear didn ’ t ex 1 s t .

‘ ’ ’ I m S ru ru b l e e e . One of these days going to kill myself, says ‘ ’ ’ o on I m of off I can t g like this , tired living other people . Why ? T N ? ’ did this have to happen to me ell me, athan . Why How this man expects me to answer a question like this is beyond on e is me . For unguarded moment I almost tell him to send h a sk Him it e Maker a telegram and all about , but my gentler natur

sees the harm such an answer might do . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ s a I don t know, I y , abruptly . Things like this just happen ; ’

u s e . N it s not in to qu stion why ature has a way of doing things, 5 1 b u t sh e t even then gives some hing in return . at least I think ’ so ? . But how should I know, anyway This is the on e time I cannot ﬁn d something concrete to sa y ; I want to show him that there is compensation for his disability, but it e I just cannot lay my hands on . This, I remember, is what mad me leave home . n ot I left because my parents did understand . They almost made ’ a neurotic ou tof me ; but to day I wonder if it wasn t my own sensitivity which gave their actions then their seemingly absurd proportions . They seemed afraid to walk about freely ; everybody

’ th h u s sat down as if e o e was full of cripples . I was treated like a babe in arms . All the things I wanted were brought to me, I was not even allowed to get myself water to drink . This excessive kind ness gradually began to irritate me . It became a constant ’ a reminder that I didn t belong, that I was an invalid . It then bec me apparent that they would soon put the food into my mouth which for they had already chewed me, and push it down my throat . of These thoughts inadequacy drove me from home .

A new life opened for me . I got myself a wife , two bouncing boys o Pa m oen fon tein and a pr perty at p , also a room at Sophiatown o tw o e complete with pian . Within years I had b gged well over a on e few hundred pounds . The money has been used wisely . Only o for pr blem confronts me now, I want enough money to provide tw o my old age . The boys are also to be considered . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’ or r Seru ru b el e F Ch ist s sake, Nathaniel , says, what s wrong ou ou with y . Why are y always so wrapped up in your thoughts . ? ’ this is where I stay, remember

sa - I y good bye to him and go to my room . After having some thing to eat I settle down to some hard thinking . There are all t sor s of insurances and societies , unions and what have you , which ’ ? protect workers . Why not a beggars union I could rally all the beggars of the city into on e union with some professional name ‘ ’ ’ e like The United Beggars Union , into whos funds every beggar would contribute ten shillings a week . In the city of Johannesburg b e alone, there are over a hundred beggars and if they could all a of - - - u talked over, a c pital about two thousand four hundred po nds could be realized in one year . of What a brilliant idea an inspiration genius . Sometimes I feel depressed that the world has not had the vision to realize the pote ntialities of my genius possibly it cannot accommodate so Einstein and myself in the same generation . Anyway, much for that . to ff I could promise o er each a bonus of ten pounds a year . That f . M would be smart . No beggar could resist such an of er aybe 5 2

r h it on the best seller list fo several months . T is reverie almost causes me to lose my way . n d o in I fi the place and g . My heart just misses a beat when I see e of the larg number people inside . Some , if not most, are o ? deformed monstr sities like myself . What could be sweeter I can see my plan taking shape . Th e man in charge starts explaining the elementary principles of r an d the typ ewriter . I pretend to be inte ested ask many unnecessary ’ ’ B fiv e I m questions , but intelligent enough to impress him . y o clock e running over the k yboard like a brilliant amateur . ’ On m o Seru ru b el e s He my way ho e I g via corner . is still there a s t o and looking miserable as ever . I suggest tha we g home . I lure him to my room and when w e get there I begin playing a certain n d rm 1 s a re e fl t. tarantella like Rubinstein , only my g m a major

Either my piano recital is good or my friend just loves bad sounds . ‘ You can have a house like this and everything that goes with it; ’ f r be for it s yours o the taking . Why g other people when you can ” do it for yourself ? ‘ ’ ’ ‘ o h e I ve got to help with the rent and the f od , says . How do ’ ’ you think I m going to get a house like this ? I can t just wish it’ for . ‘ ’ You don t have to , you must plan and work for it like I did . I ’

to ou . have a plan that will give it y in less than a year . Listen I then start explaining to him about the society with particular o d o see emphasis on the go d it will to all beggars . I his teeth spark e for ling b hind thick lips . I put him in charge of organizing them rs t e our ﬁ me ting .

Last night I dreamt I was at the race - course and I saw the

W inning doub le as plain as I see my twisted leg . I raid my savings ' o u rﬂ n tein in the room and make my way tT o . When I get there I o for start sc uting around policemen . None are about and a soothing satisfaction comes with the realization that I shall n otbother myself

; with police badges I put a pound win on two and seven , a double ’m ﬁrs t . I in the leg As making my bet, a man with eyes as big and lethargic as an owl ’s is standing next to me and beaming like a blushing groom . , ’ I m o to too nerv us to watch the race, so I decide walk about and

appreciate the scenery . Suddenly I feel as though someone is staring

at me . I turn round and look straight at Miss Gallovidian , a wel

fare worker , who has the uncanny habit of showing up at the most ’ ’ - to I m unexpected places . I don t need a fortune teller tell me in of trouble . She has a notorious record having safely deposited more e than twelve beggars in the Refuge . My only chance is to g tout of 54 ’ sh e ﬁnd I m here before can a beefy policeman . walking to the gate o when I hear people talking ab ut two and seven . I even forget the trouble Miss Gallovidian is going to bring me . I run as fast as a man with a twisted leg can to the Bookie . Only six tickets were ’

I m n ot . sold , the loud speaker was saying, only interested As the Bookie is handing me the money Blushing Groom seems e a m o ven happier than I . His cro ked teeth, which are dulled by

r . tobacco , click eve y time the Bookie counts a hundred His greasy lips are watering while a pair of bloo dshot eyes are blinking with a

r to o . dull b illiance . It hurts my eyes lo k at him I have hardly put th e s m e money in my pocket, when gruesome pat on the back and ‘ We says, nice and loud made it I must have been a fool not to have been wise as to why Blushing

Groom was acting the perfect chaperon . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’ ﬁn e sa e we ? That s , I y . What hav made ‘ ’ ’ ‘ i u be w e r . Don t bashful , he says, caught the chest do ble Come, ’ th e . He e this calls for a celebration extends a hand , and all tim ’ a s he s smiling if his wife has given birth to quadruplets . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ’

sa . . Look, pal , I y It s a good try I couldn t have done better ’ ’ is set-u it? myself . This the perfect p , isn t Well , I ve got news for ’ ’ : e o you I caught that doubl alone, I don t know you and I d n t G ’m e o . I car to . get yourself another piece of cheese not that ’ easy . This a p e suddenly stops smiling and looks at me like I had th e u is u ffin r . H e plag e broad , flat nose starts p g out steam lik an ang y ’ Spanish bull (only I m n otin the mood to make fancy passes like fierce e th e in a toreador). All in all , he looks positively , lik animal th e simile . ‘ ’ - is f o . Six hundred and seventy pounds a lot money, he shouts ‘ ’ m e You Nobody s going to cheat out of my share . being a cripple . ‘ ‘ ’ N a ! Shut up I yell . ever c ll me that again , you You I He k swing a right cross to his face , but this ape is smart . bloc s it on and lands a hard one on my chin . I rock back and land flat my

s - a m . sitter , while jungle tom toms be t out a solid conga in y head u After a while my head clears and I get p , burning with rage . If

I only had the strength , I would tear this ape apart . Blushing Groom has put on quite a show we have a good audience . Some white folks are threatening to beat his brains out .

I sincerely hope they do . see Suddenly I a police badge jostling its way through . This is no ! z place for me I dash and start zig agging through the people . A s ta rts w ith junior confusion , every body trying to give way . I run a on few minutes , stumble and fall my face . The policeman bends 55 ‘ firm l i o down and grabs me y by the arm and wh spers Lo k, John , ’ u u let s not have tro ble . Come along q ietly and everything will be ’ n e just fi . th e b u Under circumstances I have no choice tto submit . My m e n mother always told ever to resist arrest, let alone striking a r offic er unifo med of the law . Me and my money part company su n es after Blushing Groom had preferred charges . My bmissio caus -so - o e - me to spend a not glori us we k end at the Bantu Refuge . My transfer there being arranged by the thoughtful sergeant in the office wh o e charge , out of pure love could not hav me thrown in m ll with hardened cri inals . what with the place fi ed with house

- breakers , extortioners , professional pick pockets and a generous en r h e assortm t of other unsavou y characters . Frankly, I hoped would mind his own business . I might even have started a crap game and made me some money . ‘ ’ a m e in b e few I almost c rta that you will back here in a days, e the magistrate had said . Somebody ought to t ll him he has a great He future reading palms . looks at me and a grin spreads over

- i his pancake like face . This place must be short of mag strates ; why has it got to be the same one all the time ? ‘ e s T e B ggars who play the hor es are a dangerous nuisance . h y ’ misuse the kindness that is shown to them . : Th e Just my luck now I have to listen to a lecture on morals . ’ it s . magistrate looks pleased with himself, and I don t like Mis

Gallovidian looks at me and smiles like a proud victress . She prob I ’m ably expects a promotion for this . called on to the stand . Some man with a thin face asks me to raise my right hand and t r o . swear tell the t uth After saying my piece, the prosecutor starts questioning me as if he’s promised thirty per cent of Blushing i Groom s e o cut . After his s ssi n with me, he calls Blushing Groom to h te stand . ‘ ” i th e s s Do you know this man prosecutor ay . ‘ ’

o sir . N , ‘ How was it then you p u tup ten shillings to bet th e horses with him 3” ‘I was losing all morning when I decided to try somebod y’s ’

u . g esses . I met him , and we started talking ‘ Did anybody s ee you talking to him ‘ ’ ’ I don t know, but somebody must have . ‘Then what happened ? ’ ‘ He on e I asked him if he had a tip . said he had straight from ’ h h e . te . horse s mouth A sure thing, said I then asked him if I

He . could put up ten shillings . agreed I was afraid to make the bet, ’ so I gave him the money and walked over to the Bookie s stand 56 ’ with him where he placed a pound win on two and seven . ‘ ’ Why were you afraid to make the be t? ‘ w a s o w a s . e I th ught he luckier than I b sides, I had been ’ losing all morning . ‘ Wh y did y ou strike h im ‘ He e m e was trying to cheat me out of my shar , and tried to hit ’ ’ when he couldn t . Th e magistrate looks at me with something like contempt in his ’ for on . eyes . I won t have to put a show him this time I might just ’ - is as well kiss half my money good bye . Blushing Groom s story

- water tight . ‘I ’m ’ ‘ thoroughly disappointed with you , the magistrate says . I ’ ’ e didn t know you were a thief too . I don t believe you could hav ’ bet otso made that alone ; beggars haven t g much money . I believe

r in s . r his sto y, th gs like thi do happen The money will be sha ed ’ u equally betw een the two of y o . ‘ ’ ’ a I don t believe you could have made that bet alone . What ’ cheek ! I ll have that hobo know I make more money in on e week ’ ou God ! than he does in a month . I don t believe y . Good I feel like committing mass murder as the court hands Blushing o e - ﬁv e of hi s Gro m thre hundred and thirty pounds my money . T o s prehistoric beast has a swell racket . A few more j b like this and on he can retire and buy himself a villa the Riviera . m a n i n is ﬁce t . He Blushing Groom is g , inspiring awe completely u ncompromising, thoroughly unscrupulous , without qualms or a He of conscience . has wholly realized the separateness good and of He evil and attained a purity in evil worthy honest appraisal . would n otal low himself to be swayed from cheating me by my

being a cripple . If I were allowed to choose a brother, he would be my only choice . I take my share of the money and clear out before the magistrate n and Miss Gallovidian cook up another charge against me . O my way home I ﬁn d it d ifﬁc u ltto resist the temptation of stopping at ff e some busy corner and doing my stu . I might make up for som of b e an d the money, but I just happen to wearing my best have been a beggar long enough to know that people don ’t give money

away to beggars who are dressed better than they . People who give to so alms beggars do to establish their superiority over the receiver, ’ I m n ot and like I said an apprentice beggar . n d When I get home I ﬁ a letter from my wife . ‘ Ou r s on To m is s ic k Pl eas e c om e h om e m . . , y ,

I become afraid and anxious for my Tommy, and even the kind of words my outsize landlady fail to move me . I had to wait for something like this to show me the folly of my 5 7 ’ ways . A man s place is next to his wife and family . I had hoped that some day I would be able to provide my boys with a dece nt a n ot educ tion , to grow them like normal boys, just sons of a help ﬁn d h s u n less cripple . to a place for t em in the . I might be a big shot beggar but as a husband and father, I stink . ‘ I f see r e Seru ru b el e l I should not my f i nd , wi l you . ‘ ’ ’ Yes for ou , I ll explain to him . I ll always have your room y if ’ ou y should ever want it again .

Deep down I know that I will want it again . I have three hundred - ﬁv e and thirty reasons why I should . Blushing Groom and the u a e g llible public of Joh nnesburg will live in my mind for ver .

I have to come back . I owe it to the profession .

e off Tak your hat . What is your home name ? Who is your father ? Who is your chief ? Where do you pay your tax ? What river do you drink ? 1 We mourn for our country .

Th e B e n c h

R I C H A R D R I V E

‘ W E of form an integral part a complex society, a society complex in that a vast proportion of th e population are denied the very r of basic p ivileges existence , a society that condemns a man to an os inferior p ition because he has the misfortune to be born black, a society that ca n only retain its precarious social and economic position at the expense of an enormous Oppressed proletariat ’ Karlie s eyes shone as he watched the speaker . Those were great

o r . words , he th ught, g eat words and true The speaker paused for

1 Th e en e a n a offic e w ere al l a e A r an u to to et sc is y p ss , h m l f ic s m s g g R tn Certific a e ere te m a w a ti n u eu e for ou r a n d their e gistra io ts . Th h y y i q s h s n e t I t a re a ton w some times for d ays before the y a re a tte d d o . is gul i hich it ra n kle s in the ir mi n ds a n d so they sin g a bou t . 58 a moment and sipped some water from a glass . Karlie sweated . The hot October su n be at down mercilessly on the gathering . The trees on the Grand Parade afforded very little shelter and his h a n d ker chief was already soaked where he had placed it between his neck of r and shirt collar . Karlie stared round him at the sea faces . Eve y of w a s to shade colour represented, from shiny ebony the one or He two whites in the crowd . stared at the two detectives who were of busily making shorthand notes the speeches, and then turned to stare back at the speaker . ‘ I tis up to u s to challenge the rights of any groups who wilfully and deliberately condemn a fellow group to a servile position . We must challenge the rights of any people who see fitto segregate on of human beings solely grounds pigmentation . Your children are c T denied the rights whi h are theirs by birth . hey are segregated socially, economically t 1 s Ah , hought Karlie , that man knows what he speaking about . He a m says I as good as any other man , even a white man . That o needs much thinking . I wonder if he thinks I have the right to g or or into any bioscope eat in any restaurant, that my children can go to any school ? These are dangerous ideas and need much a thinking ; I wonder what Ou Klaas would s y to this . Ou Klaas said God made the white man and the black man separately and the ‘ ’ 1 ‘ ’ 2 n e ba a s n o must always be and the other jo g . But this man says different things and somehow they seem true . ’ n e Karlie s brow was knitted as he thought . O the platform wer many speakers , both white and black , and they were behaving as of if there were no difference colour between them . There was a ff x l i white woman in a blue dress o ering a cigarette to N e . That Bietiesv l ei La te a n e could never happen at j . Old g at the stor would An n a tie ff have fainted if his j had o ered Witbooi a cigarette . And An n a tie n o h e j had such pretty dress . These were new things , and ,

Karlie , had to be careful before he accepted them . But why ’ ? He h e shouldn t he accept them was not coloured any more, was

so . He a human being . The speaker had said remembered seeing pictures in the newspaper of people who d eﬁed laws which relegated o them to a particular class , and those pe ple were smiling as they went to prison . This was a strange world .

The Speaker continued and Karlie listened intently . His speech was obviously carefully prepared and he spoke slowly, choosing his words . This is a great man , Karlie thought .

The last speaker was the white lady in the blue dress, who asked them to challenge any discriminatory laws or measures in every

59 sh e ? possible manner . Why should speak like that thought Karlie . o She could g to the best bioscopes, and swim at the best beaches . t An na tie a te a n T Why, she was even more beautiful han j L g . hey r Bietiesv l ei He had wa ned him in j about coming to the city . had 1 s Sk l ies een the o l in District Six and knew what to expect there . S f r Hanover treet held no terrors o him . But no one had told him ’ t s . et about his This was new, this one s mind thinking, yet he felt

ru . s He He it was t e She aid one should challenge . would challenge . , La ta n e r . Karlie, would astound old g and Balie at the dairy fa m t He i e They could do what they liked to him after hat . would sm l n like those people in__the ewspaper . Th e meetin g was almost over when Karlie threaded h is w ay through the crowd . The words of the speakers were still milling Bi ties l i . o e v e through his head It c uld never happen in j , he thought, or could it? The sudden screech of a car pulling to a hurried stop ru whirled him back to his senses . A white head was angrily th st ‘ ’ through the window . Look where you re going, you black bastard

Karlie stared dazedly at him . Surely this white man had never e He heard what the sp akers had said . could never have seen the x l white woman offering N e i a cigarette . Karlie could never imagine th e th white lady shouting ose words at him . It would be best to catch a train and think these things over . He s a w the station in a new light . Here was a mass of human beings, some black, some white, and some brown like himself . Here on e they mixed with another, yet each mistrusted the other with E th e an unnatural fear . ach treated other with suspicion , each moved in a narrow, haunted pattern of its own manufacture . One ’ must challenge these things the speaker had said in one s own ’ ? to ? way . Yet how in one s own way How was one challenge th e b en c h . Slowly it dawned upon him . Here was his chance, The railway bench with the legend ‘Europeans Only’ neatly painted on it in white . For one moment it symbolized all the misery of the r plu al South African society . Here was a challenge to his rights as a r a man . There it stood, perfectly ordina y wooden railway bench ,

s of A . like hundred of thousands others in South frica . His challenge of That bench , now, had concentrated in it all the evils a system he n could otunderstand . It was the obstacle between himself and on humanity . If he sat it he was a man . If he was afraid he denied e s himself membership as a human in a human society . H almo t had vis ions of righting the pernicious system if only he sa ton that

He . bench . Here was his chance . , Karlie , would challenge He sa t on seemed perfectly calm when he down the bench, but con ﬂic tin inside his heart was thumping wildly . Two g ideas now

1 h u T gs . 60

k w a s Karlie suddenly whipped bac to reality . For a moment he o u h g ing to jump p , t en he remembered who he was and why he h e r He was sitting there . Suddenly felt ve y tired . looked up slowly into a very red face that stared down at him . ‘ u ! for ou Get p I said, there are benches down there y He o e Karlie stared up and said nothing . stared up int v ry sharp , cold grey eyes . ‘ ’ ou ou sw 1 n e Can t y hear me speaking to y , you black ff So Slowly and deliberately Karlie pu ed at his cigarette . this h w . o was his test T ey b th stared at each other, challenged ith the rs eyes, like two boxe , each knowing that they must eventually trade to ﬁrst blows yet each afraid strike . ‘ ’ MustI dirty my hands on scum like you ? To Karlie said nothing . speak would be to break the spell , the An supremacy he felt he was slowly gaining . uneasy silence . Then , ‘ 1 I will call a policeman rather than kick a Hotn otlike you ! ’ You can t even open your black jaw when a white man speaks to you w a s Karlie saw the weakness . The white youth afraid to take w n s t . He o ﬁr action himself , Karlie, had the round of the bench dispute ! ‘ A o n e o . A crowd now collected . frika sh uted joker Karlie

i . gnored the remark People were now milling around, staring at the ’ n unusual sight of a black man sitting o a white man s bench . Karlie ff on merely pu ed . ‘ ’ Look at the black ape ! That s the worst of giving these Ka tﬁrs too much rop e ‘ ’ it ow n e s I can t understand , they have their b nche ‘ ’ u ou sit Don t get p , y have every right to there ‘He’ll get hell when a policeman comes ‘ ’ ’ ou I see Mind y , can t why they shouldn t sit where they please ‘ ’ ’ I ve said before, I ve had a native servant, and a more imper tin en t

Karlie sat and heard nothing . Irresolution had now turned to determination . Under no condition was he going to rise . They could do what they liked . ‘ ’ So ! Th e this is the fellow, hey, get up there Can t you read e s policeman w a s towering over him . Karli could ee the crest on his o butt ns and the thin wrinkles on his neck . ‘What is your name and address h is Karlie still maintained obstinate silence . It took the police h e man rather unawares . T crowd was growing every minute .

1 Hotten tot

62 ‘ You have no right to speak to this man in such a manner It was the white lady in the blue dress . ‘ ’ i Mind your ow n business ! I ll ask your help when I need t. It ’ is people like you wh o make Ka ffirs think they re as good as white ’ people -l ‘ e u ou Then addressing Karli , Get p , y ‘I insist that you treat him with proper respect ‘ He The policeman turned red . This this was at a loss for words . ‘ ’ tn t Kick up the Ho o if he won t get up shouted a spectator. ‘ b Rudely a white man laid hands on Karlie . Get up you loody bastard h . Karlie turned to resist, to cling to the bench , his bench T ere on He ou were more than e man now pulling at him . hit twildly d fist and then felt a dull pain as somebo y rammed a into his face . - He fi h tf t h He or i . T e was now bleeding and wild eyed . would g ' ’ constable clapped a pair of h a n d c u fl s round Karlie s wrists and

th e . tried to clear a way through crowds Karlie was still str u ggling .

A blow or two landed on him . Suddenly he relaxed and slowly w a s ﬁ h tin struggled to his feet . It useless g g any longer . Now it was to w n He o . his turn smile . had challenged and Who cared at the result ? ‘ on ou c Come , y swine said the poli eman , forcing Karlie

through the crowd . ‘ ’ ﬁrs t Certainly, said Karlie for the time, and stared at the ‘ policeman with the arrogance of on e wh o dared to 81 1: on a Euro ’ pean bench .

A household song about a worthless

f r n s on e Useless o anythi g, u eful to no ; Why a m I in love with such a man as h e ? Th e Q u e e n of S h e b a

A ’ Translated by Sir E . . Wallis Budge from I sh a k s ancient Ethiopic ‘ ’ version of the Keb ra Na ga s t(The Glory of Kings) and adapted by Sylvia Pankhu rst

I n trod uetory n ote : Th e Ethiopia n s cla im tha t their Q u een Ma keda w as th e Q u een of Sheba w h o jou rn eyed to J eru s a lem to seek th e w isdom of o on H h t o . ere s e e f h h n e S l m lls o te w isdom s e fou d ther .

1 w E N T in through the doors of the treasury of wisdom , and I drew for myself the waters of u nderstanding . I went into the blaze of su n o r of the ﬂame the , and it lighted me with the splend u thereof ; and I made of it a shield for myself, and I saved myself c on ﬁd en ce by therein ; and not myself only, but all those who r th e travel in the footp ints of wisdom ; and not myself only, but all of n ott men my country, the Kingdom of Ethiopia ; and hose only, n a but the natio s that re round about . e Through wisdom I have dived down into the great sea, and hav a m seized in the place of her depths a pearl whereby I rich . I went th e down like the great iron anchor, whereby men anchor ships for night on the high seas , and I received a lamp which lighteth me, u r0 es th e and I came p by the p of boat of understanding .

‘ rst n a ﬁ e ﬁ ll r . The guest is gold , then silv r and y i on

1 A r Pro e or Mu ra Ka Tra n sla ted from th e mha ic by f ss d mel . 66 j u s ti c e

An Ethiopian Tale

Told to Wolf Lesl a u ~ by a stu dent of the ’ Teachers Train ing School in Addis Ababa

A W O M A N on e day went out to look for her goats that had Sh e wandered away from the herd . walked back and forth over the field s fin d in to for a long time without g them . She came at last a place by the side of the road where a deaf man s a tbefore a fire f brewing himself a cup of cof ee . Not realizing he was deaf, the woman asked ‘ Have you seen my herd of goats come this way for so The deaf man thought she was asking the water hole, he pointed vag uely toward the river . Th e t t woman thanked him and wen to the river . And here, by

sh e . coincidence , found the goats But a young kid had fallen among its the rocks and broken foot . to sh e e She picked it up carry it home . As passed the plac where sa t f sh e the deaf man drinking his cof ee, stopped to thank him for r sh e f his help . And in g atitude of ered him the kid . ’ o sh e But the deaf man didn t understand a w rd was saying . When sh e held the kid toward him h e thought sh e w a s accu sin g h im of ’ h e e er . the animal s misfortune, and becam v y angry ‘ i h e u I had nothing to do w th it sho ted . ‘ ’ th e But you pointed the way, woman said . ‘ I t e u happens all the tim with goats the man sho ted . ‘ ’ e u b e th e n I found them right wher you said they wo ld , woma replied . ‘ Go e m e n saw h im e e in away and leav alone, I ever b for my life the man shou ted . e e h e th e u n People who cam along the road stopp d to ar arg me t . Th e woman exp lained to them " h e e th e i I was looking for the goats and point d toward r ver . ’ Now I wish to give him this kid . 67 ‘ ’ ‘ Do n ot ! a m insult me in this way the man shouted loudly . I not a leg breaker And in h is anger h e struck the woman with his hand . ‘ see ? He Ah, did you struck me with his hand the woman said ‘ to the people . I will take him before the judge So th e r woman with the kid in her a ms, the deaf man , and the u ou t spectators went to the ho se of the judge . The judge came before his house to listen to their complaint . First, the woman Th e talked , then the man talked , then people in the crowd talked . sa t or judge nodding his head . But that meant very little , f the h . e judge, like the man before him , was very deaf Moreover, was also very nearsighted . At . He last, he put up his hand and the talking stopped gave them his judgment . ‘Such family rows are a disgrace to the Emperor and an affront ’ t to o He . the Church , he said solemnly . turned the man ‘ ’ r 0 From this time fo ward , st p mistreating your wife, he said . He turned to the woman with the young goat in her arms . ‘ f or be so . As you , do not lazy Hereafter do not be late with your ’ ’ husband s meals .

He looked at the baby goat tenderly . ‘ sh e And as for the beautiful infant, may have a long life and grow to be a joy to you both 1 ’ Th e crowd broke up and the people went their various ways . ‘ d ‘ Ah , how goo it is they said to each other . How did we ever ’ get along before justice w a s given to u s ?

Hy m n of Pr a is e

A d E . Translated from the Ethiopic by Sir . Wallis Bu ge and adapted by Sylvia Pankhurst

1 I T ff n or is not gold and silver I o er unto thee , the brilliant pearl , but beautiful praise and the pure gl oriﬁc a tion which can be oHered f to 0 . o thee and thy Majesty, Queen Not purple robes honour I of offer thee , nor cloths silk brocade adorned with divers colours

‘ ’ 1 Th e Ar a n on a Wad d a se fro w t a n e x tra t on e of th e g , m hich his is c , is . t a n n of ra e to th e V i r n M ar mostpopu lar E hiopi hym s p is gi y . 68

h th sh e T e woman thanked e witchdoctor and went away . When sh e sa t n came near to her home dow on a rock and began to think, ‘ How shall I do this thing ? There is a lion who comes often near ’ is r ﬁerc T t . e . to my village, it ue But he is and roars fearfully hen sh e thought again and at last she knew what she would do . so sh e And , rising early next morning took a young lamb and went to the place where the lion was accustomed to stroll about . At sh e saw Now She waited anxiously . last the lion approaching .

w a s . the time Quickly she rose and , leaving the lamb in the path h a s e . so of the lion , went home And it was that every day e rly in the morning the woman would arise and take a young lamb to th e h a . n s e w s lion Soo the lion came to know the woman , for always in th e same place at the same time every day with a young and e sh e for t nder lamb, which brought his pleasure . She was indeed a en e kind and att tiv woman . It was not long before the lion began to wag h is ta il each time h e sa w her and coming close to her he would let her stroke his h is head and soothe back . And each day the woman would stay quietly stroking the lion , gently and lovingly . Then one day when sh e knew that the lion trusted her she carefully pulled three hairs ’ set w o from his mane and happily out for the itchd ctor s dwelling. ‘ ’ ‘ sh e l sh e See, said triumphant y as entered, here they are And h h im th ’ s e gave the three hairs from e lion s mane . ‘ ’ How is it you have been so clever ? asked the witchdoctor in amazement . And so the woman told him the story of how s h e had patiently th e s th e won hair from lion .

A smile spread over the face of the witchdoctor and , leaning ‘ f I n th e orward , he said , same way that you have tamed the lion , ’ so u may you tame yo r husband .

Th e S tor y of Li o n g o

Told by

H A M I S I W A K A Y I O F Z A N Z I B A R

Translated from th e Swahili by Edward Ste ere

’ ‘ ’ E ditor s n ote : A ou tTh e tor of L on o Ed w a r teere ta t rea t b S y i g , d S , h g ‘ B o of en tra A r a wr te in 1 86 : No on e h as a n ea r n oton h ow ish p C l f ic , i s 9 y cl i on a o it n e L on o e b u t e or w a r er e a n d l g g is si c i g di d, his m m y is mly ch ish d , itis w on d erfu l h ow th e mere men tion of his n am e rou ses th e in terestof ’ a lmosta n y tru e Sw ahili .

1 1 N th e n ﬂou rish in t w a s times whe Shanga was a g city, here a man whose name was Liongo , and he had great strength , and was a in very great man the city . And he oppressed the people exceed in l to o to g y , till one day they made a plan g him to his house and e of bind him . And a great numb r people went and came upon him e suddenly into his house, and s ized him and bound him , and went t to a n d o i . with him the prison , put him int h e And he stayed many days, and made a plot to get loose . And went outside the town and harassed the people in the same way for o many days . People could not g into the country, neither to cut o d raw wood nor t water . And they were in much trouble . . ‘ And the people said , What stratagem can we resort to , to get ‘ h im u s o and kill him And one said , Let g against him while he ’ ‘ ou tof I f is sleeping, and kill him the way . Others said , you get ’

. t him , bind him and bring him And they wen and made a strata so gem as to take him , and they bound him with chains and fetters and a post between his legs .

And they left him many days , and his mother used to send him food every day . And before the door where he was bound soldiers were set , who watched him ; they never went away except by turns .

1 Sha n ga is sa id to hav e been de stroye d by Su lta n Oma r b in Mu h amma d of Pa te r n h e — A e n u te ou rteen t n tu r . D r W r er d i g f h c y . . . 7 3 n Many days and many months had passed . Every day, ight by night , he used to sing beautiful songs ; every one who heard them h r sa used to be delighted with t ose songs . Eve y one used to y to his ‘ ’ u s o Lion o s friend , Let g and listen to g songs, which he sings in ’ ‘ to o sa We his room . And they used g and y to him, have come to ’ s u u s And ing yo r songs, let hear them . he used to sing, he could

e . not refuse, and the peopl in the town were delighted with them ff And every day he composed di erent ones , through his grief at e e o b ing bound . Till the peopl knew th se songs little by little, but a he and his mother nd her slave knew them well . And his mother

n of td . k ew the meaning those songs, and the people of the did

not.

At one last day their slave girl had brought some food , and the o it o soldiers took it fr m her and ate , and s me scraps were left, and ‘ those they gave her . The slave girl told her master, I brought food , and these soldiers have taken it from me and eaten it; there remain ’ ‘ ’

. e . these scraps And he said to her, Giv me them And he received h e them and ate , and thanked God for what had got . And h e said to the slave girl (and he was inside and the slave ‘ - You girl outside the door) , slave girl , shall be sent to tell my a m of mother I a simpleton . I have not yet learnt the ways the ﬁl es world . Let her make a cake , in the middle let be put , that I may cut my fetters , and the chains may be opened , that I may th e enter the road , that I may glide like a snake, that I may mount ’ roofs and walls, that I may look this way and that . ‘

And he said , Greet my mother well , tell her what I have told ’ ‘ h s . s e on you And went and told his mother, and said , Your greets ’ m e to sh e you well, he has told a message come and tell you . And ‘ ’ ? sh h e s e . said, What message And told her what had been told h is u it to 0 And mother nderstood , and went away a sh p and ra in a n d c l ea n An d sh e . e xchanged for g , gave it to her slave to went fil es sh e and bought many , and brought them . And took the flour, fine sh e and made many cakes . And took the bran and made a fil es m it to large cake , and took the and put the into , and gave it her slave to take to him . r And she went with them, and a rived at the door, and the soldiers ou t fin e m . robbed her, and chose the cakes, and ate the themselves f An d a s or to . the bran one, they told her to take that her master sh e it it ou t fil es And took , and he broke , and took the , and laid them away, and ate that cake and drank water, and was comforted .

And the people of the town wished that he should be killed . And ‘ ’ You he heard himself that it was said , shall be killed . And he said ‘ to k l the soldiers , When shall I be il ed And they told him , ‘ ’ ‘ - To morrow . And he said, Call me my mother, and the chief man 74 h in the town , and all the townspeople, t at I may take leave of ’ them . n And they went and called them, and ma y people came together, a n d his mother and her slave . ‘ ou And he asked them , Are y all assembled And they answered , ‘ ’ h ‘I We . e are assembled And said, want a horn , and cymbals , and t’ 1 ‘ a n u a o . p And they went and took them . And he said , I have an ’ - e of . ntertainment to day, I want to take leave you And they said ‘ ’ ‘

r o on . one to him , Ve y well, g , play And he said , Let take the t’ u a o. horn , and one take the cymbals , and one take the p And they ‘ ’ s How ? aid , shall we play them And he taught them to play , and t hey played . h e e th e And he himself there, where was insid , sang, till when ﬁl n e . music was in full swing, he took a and cut his fetters Whe c too off e the musi dropped , he left and sang, and wh n they played h e cut his fetters . And the people knew nothing of what was going on inside till e the fetters were divided , and he cut the chains till they wer v d i ided . And the people knew nothing of it through their delight

. u in the music When they looked p , he had broken the door and ou t come to them outside . And they threw their instruments away to run , without being quick enough ; and he caught them and knocked their heads together and killed them . And he went outside ‘ ’ f s n o ee o e . the town , and took leave his mother, to another again

And he went away into the forest , and stayed many days e harassing p ople as before, and killing people . ‘ Go And they sent crafty men and told them , and make him your friend , so as to kill him . And they went fearingly . And when ' th e m a d e on they arrived y a friendship with him . Till e day they ‘ ’ u s said to him, Sultan , let entertain one another . And Liongo ‘ I f of i answered them , I eat an entertainment, what shall I g ve in ‘ a m u s return , I who excessively poor And they said to him , Let ’ ‘ entertain one another with koma fruit . And he asked them , How 3” ‘ shall we eat them And they said , One shall climb into the koma u s tree , and throw them down for to eat . When we have done , let h ’ u ﬁn is ed . another climb p , till we have And he said to them , ‘ ’ Very well .

ﬁrst u . And the climbed p , and they ate And the second climbed u p , and they ate . And the third climbed up and they ate . And they ‘ u u s had plotted that when Liongo should climb p , Let shoot him ’ with arrows there , up above . So But Liongo saw through it by his intelligence . when all had ‘ ’ ﬁn ish ed to they said him , Come , it is your turn . And he said ,

1 A a te f et e te pl o m a l b a n w ith a stick . 75 ‘ ’ An h is r s . d o Very well he to k bow in his hand, and his a row , and ‘ ’

ea t . said , I will strike the ripe above, that we may in the midst w a s off And he shot, and a bough broken and he shot again , and off b e a second was broken and stripped a whole koma tree, and h te ru . ground was covered with f it . And they ate And when they ‘ th e He h a s had done, men said among themselves , seen through ‘ ’ itn w u s An d o o . ; what are we to do And they said, Let g away ‘ they took leave of him and said , Liongo the chief, you have not in ou of been taken ; you are not a man , y have got out it like a ’ devil . — And they went aw ay and gave their answer to their head man ‘ ’ h o We d o t ere in the t wn , and said , could nothing . ‘ be And they advised together, Who will able to kill him And ‘ ’ “

An d a n d d . they said, Perhaps his nephew will . they went calle him ‘ h im Go And he came . And they said to , and ask your father what

. ou us it is that will kill him When y know, come and tell , and when ’ is he dead we will give you the kingdom . And he answered them, ‘ ’ Very well . ‘W And he went . When he arrived he welcomed him and said , hat ’ ‘ ’ ? An d ou s ee . have y come to do And he said . I have come to you ‘ o t he said, I kn w hat you have come to kill me, and they have ’ deceived you . ‘

And he asked him , Father, what is it that can kill you And he ‘ 1 ’ said , A copper needle . If any one stabs me in the navel , I die . o And he went away int the town , and answered them and said , ‘ t ’ I is a copper needle that will kill him . And they gave him a h is needle , and he went back to father . And when he saw him , his ‘ I a m a m father sang, and said , , who bad , he that is good to you ; ’ a m a m do me no evil . I that bad , he that is good to you . And he ‘ i ’ o He s e . welc med him , and he knew, com to kill me i And he stayed two days , till one day he was asleep in the even ng, and he stabbed him with the nee dle in the navel . And he awoke to through the pain , and took his bow and arrows and went a place near the wells . And he knelt down , and put himself ready with his bow . And there he died . So o wh o saw in the m rning the people came to draw water him, and they thought him alive , and went back running . And they gave ‘ ’ u t - n o the news in the town No water is to be had to day . Every o e o set that went came back running . And many pe ple out and went, s aw and as they arrived , when they him they came back, without being able to get near . For three days the people were in distress

for . water, not getting any ‘ Go And they called his mother, and said to her, and speak to

1 A e n e a a u e for h e n l ar ge copp r e dle is lw ys s d te s wi g toge ther of ma ts . 76

‘ ’ He said , Tell me . ‘ He ou r r said , There, at home, where we are going, Sultan is ve y ’ s ill , and we have been told that the medicine for him is a monkey ’ heart . ‘ n ot The monkey replied to him , You did do well not to tell me ’ on there the spot . ‘ ’ How so P The shark said , ‘ M n ow The monkey considered , and felt, y life is gone already ’ I will tell him a lie , perhaps that may serve me . ‘ ’ The shark asked him , You have become silent don t you speak ? ’ ‘ He to s a e said , I have nothing y , becaus of your not telling me ’ on there the spot, and I might have brought my heart . ‘ Th e shark asked, Have you your heart here ‘ ’ Don t you know about u s ? When we go ou twe leave our hearts ’ o ou r ou in the trees, and we g about with only bodies ; but y won t e ou m e a m u s o to o b lieve me, y will tell I afraid ; let g on now y ur ’ ﬁn d home there , and kill me if you my heart . ‘ it to u s o The shark believed , and said the monkey, Let g back ’ ou now, and y get your heart . ‘ ’ to u s o The monkey said, I don t agree that, but let g to your ’ place . ‘ u s o ﬁrs t we And he said , Let g back and take your heart, that ’ n may go o . The monkey considered—I had better consent to him as far as to the tree ; I know what to do when I have got there . They went th e and returned to the tree, and monkey climbed up and said, ‘ for a m Wait me here , shark, I going to get my heart, that we may ’ be off . “ He e e sa t u h e climb d into the tre and down q ite still . T shark

He u . called him . held his tong e ‘ ’ He u s be n called him again and said, Let goi g . ‘ Letu s o e The monkey answered him , g wher ‘ ’

He u s o ou r . said, Let g to home ‘ So u off the monkey said to the shark, Take yo r way and be m e ou r home, you are not going to get again , and friendship is ’ - b e . ended . Good y Th e S tor y of a B e m b a S l a v e Boy

A C . Translated from the Swahili by . Madan

ru tor of av er w a s wr tten b a ou n Be a b o I t on e of This te s y sl y i y y g mb y . is ’ sev era l w ritten in th e 1 880 3 by Africa n boys a tth e schools of th e U n iv ersitie s M on to en tra Afr a i n Zan a r w ere te w ere ta en a ter te issi C l ic zib , h h y k f h y a d een re u e fro a er A o a l l of te w ere a tu re ro h b sc d m sl v y . lm st h m c p d f m e n h f r a slav e ship s by British cru is r s o te e a stcoa st o Af ic .

1 s I N C E I left my own land , and , indeed , since I was born , I never ’

on e of . saw or knew my mother . I lived with my mother s relations He u old brought me p , till I was about eight years , and after a time ‘ ’

Now w e ou r . they said , are going to travel and join other people

So . e r u s we started It was becaus there was a war ve y near , but we sir a n ot to escaped , , d g safe a country, where was a chief, and this ’ Mw een e T e as chief s name was g . here we lived , in the same plac ou r others of tribe . e w a s u s o One day, wh n it time for to g home again , we started and travelled for three days , and then slept in a very large hut . n a r th e Here the Ma gw a gw a came upon the hut . I had gone into “ ﬁeld s to play and look for something to eat with a man whose name Ki ofu of th e was p , and the older women the family were left in Ma wa n w a ra e hut . Well , in the evening, the g g came , and we wer ﬁel d s of in the , and we heard the cries the people , and the houses

ﬁre . burning with We ran away to get to the village , and found ’ nothing but men s heads . Then we cried till we were tired , and then

o . u climbed up int a tree and slept In the morning we woke p , and ‘ o n ow ? considered , and said , Well , where are we to g We have not f ’ o . T got a morsel food All I had with me was a little basket . hen we went back, and found a garden which had been planted with b u t u ground nuts , they had been dug p . However , we went and picked up a few nuts, about ten apiece . The house to which the sa w u s garden belonged was on a little hill , and the people , and s came down to catch u . My companion heard then coming running w e do n , and he ran away as fast as ev r he could , and the people

1 Th e Be a eo e ve to th e w e wa r of La e N a a mb p pl li st d k y ss . 79 ‘ came and caught me . And I thought, This man will make me his ’ - slave . I stayed there thirty two days , and then he sold me for just

seven hoes . off My new master carried me , and they took me to their town ot called Malani , and there I stayed a month , and my master g into e of of trouble, b cause a man who accused him witchcraft . They b u t took the omens about him , the omens did not convict him . Bisa l a n d Next they carried me away to , and there I met Mpunga . Na m l i a . I remained there with my mistress, whose name was Isani th e Then some Arabs came there, bringing their cloth , and people

sold me and Mpunga too .

The Arab was a very cruel man , and he had a great many slaves .

- l n d . Ya o a There were thirty one Then we came to , to the country

. of of a chief called Makanjila There we settled , and grew crops of millet and maize , and ground nuts , and food many kinds, remain o n ish ed ing there a great many m nths . When we had ﬁ eating all 0 our cr ps , the Arabs made up a very large caravan , and we came Aka su n a to a town called g . But we did not stay there we started w off e . and came to Kilwa, and there stayed My master sold me to another Arab, me and Mpunga and another, and we were sent by the Arab to carry rice to the encampment . We carried the rice and of went off, and when we got there we found a great number Arabs Ta isiri w e and others , among them . And all the people were with had a very heavy chain . e on e b ut There wer two dhows there, smaller than the other ,

on e ot . sailing faster than the we g into When we got into the dhow, it un o was quite night time, perhaps the t e we g to evening service m — to ou r p . . and when we went into the water it came up o e necks . Then we got int the dhow and wer arranged in order, and w e to the Arabs weighed the anchor, and put out sea , and lay down of for three or four days . It was a very large number people who n d on o a . went b ard , with goats , and fowls , a large stock of food r e But the Arabs were very c uel during the voyage , and becaus we were in a dhow we were told that the Europeans were bad people , ‘ ’

w e ou . but thought , Never mind , they can t be worse than y You ’ torment u s for nothing . One night a child in the dhow cried very a n d it on e much , the Arabs were just going to kill , but Arab said, ‘ ’ a re - So Never mind ; let it alone . We nearly there . they let it alone , ’ but when it Wa s four o clock in the morning we heard a cannon ‘ ! ! shot over the sail , and the Arabs cried Oh ah the English ‘ on e am When the English boarded the dhow, every said , I a slave , ’ 1 sir . . For when we were caught by the English , we were glad But

1 a ru e on e of th e ef d ifﬁc u l tie Th is ca se w a s u n u su al . As l chi s of a n E n glish ofﬁc er on boa rd in g a dhow su spected of ca rryin g sl av e s w a s th e 80 when I thought about my home , I cried . But still , because slavery n ot up the country is a very hard life , and because we do know — k e about God there yet we now Him , but b cause we cannot worship — n ot Him well and perhaps because the Europeans do sell people, for these reasons we were glad .

Tw o B i r d S o n gs of th e Po k om o W o m e n

Translated from the Swahili by Dr . Alice Werner, who took them I s a a a o Nd a ra m a th e of I sa a down from y Zakariya of Ng . , sister y , ‘ ’ composed Th e Osprey on an occasion when sh e was going down to the river to draw w ater when sh e saw a ﬁsh - eagle sitting a tree .

T H E O S P R E Y

Hear him calling there on the tree , Flapping his wings and shaking his head A brave an d comely bird is he so s e With his shining plumes bright to e . As I went down to the river -bed Bea ring my water - jar on my head saw on k u ru b o t I him the ree .

T H E PL O V E R

Plover, my lover, how lightly you hover The water over ! e Gracefully darting and skimming, what time the riv rs

are brimming . ! — ! Oh lovely , lovely bird bright eyes and crested head

All night I lie awake till the dawn comes up red , of O ! Thinking your white wings, beloved , Plover

n ne of th e av e to on e ta tte w ere s o w a u n willi g ss sl s c f ss h h y . This s p a rtly fro a v a u e fea r of eo e te n ew n otn a ou tb u t a n e au e m g p pl h y k hi g b , m i ly b c s ' th e Ara u ed to te te ta ta ll E u ro e a n w ere a n n a a n d on bs s ll h m h p s c ib ls , ly i n r er t a tten a n d e a tte cau ghtsl ave s o d o f h m . 8 1 Th e Cu n n i n g of S u u d

M B A R A K A L I H I N A W Y

’ E d itor s n ote : Th e Ma zru i C efta n e Mb a ru k b in Ra d b i n a hi i , Sh ikh shi S lim el -Ma zru i h a s r e e e a a n tth e u ta n of Za n a r e Ba r a , b ll d g i s S l zib , S yyid gh sh , a n d h a s a d e s o a n d a r n ra a on th e oa tof th e a n a n ta t m m y i g ids l g c s m i l d , h ’ Mu a a d b in A a a n ow n a s Al -Akid a th e u ta n a tn Wa i n h mm bd ll h , k , S l s c i g li Mo a a d ete r n e to a e a e re t u n tv ex ed ton He h a a rd e . s u mb s , mi s m k s c p i i p i i g s p osted a ta l l th e ferrie s lin kin g Momb a sa w ith th e ma i n la n d to p rev en t n ew of a n fro ea n u tr ord n ed u k s his p l s m l ki g o o w bei g ca rri to Sheikh Mb a r . ’ e Mb a ru k s m a t e r in Mo a a ow ev er ev e a ev er a n Sh ikh sy p his s mb s , h , d is cl pl to w a rn of a n er him his d g .

tw o - T H E R E were at that time dancing parties in Mombasa, who ra n i called themselves the Mbura and the M . They staged their to of performances every night, and , the accompaniment drums , songs were sung, some of them composed especially for the occasion c om but others extemporized by the performers . The impromptu position of such songs has always been regarded as a skilled a ccom 1 lish m n s r e t wa h a i i . a p of Swahili , as indeed it is To gain accept nce, s off much more popularity, such song must hit some topical theme ; 2 of n om a u se they must follow the type the g , and be marked by the of graceful and melodious phraseology ; and they must, of course, conform to the acknowledged r ules of composition and b e perfect in rhyme and measure .

On e Al -Akid a night, while was immersed in his secret plans for of Mb a ru k s the capture Sheikh , and while his guard maintained ’ o - on e careful watch up n Mombasa s water ways , there appeared at of the dances in the town a man whose skill in v ersiﬁc a tion was an r a z i M ru C . equalled only by his xiety for his f iend, the hieftain

He w a s a l - Ma a m ir th e none other than Sheikh Suud bin Said y , t ’ Mb a ru k s renowned and accomplished Swahili poe , one of Sheikh of Al - Akid a He staunchest friends , and an inveterate enemy . was determined to let Sheikh Mb a ru k know of the secret preparations ’ to Al - Akid a s for for his capture, and circumvent schemes pre venting the transmission of the news across the ferries .

1 2 t a n e . poe s . d c 8 2 m l He p e as it was ingenious . would warn his f m o . edium songs As Suud well knew, verses ! ular fancy travelled quickly to the neighbour )s of those whose work took them a ﬁeld on th e rd in l on e g y , Suud took his place night at a om osed some verses which coming from a p , t them , were taken up by the hrong and sung th e excitement of the dance and the thrill of i particular attention to the words, which 1musing skits on the wa teje or initiates of the a ta r l n ia the popular d nce known as the i a d . ’ i Su u d s y similar Swahili compositions, verses n g , which had nothing at all to do with the r ’ So z i l a n dia . it came about that within a day

the dhows putting in at Gasi , and men and ferries to the mainland from the bazaars of ’ ng th e words of Mombasa s latest song- hit ’ vizard s followers have donned their beaded the coming of these strange - garbed demon ared for those who leap high on the swards !

and dagger the Wa kilin d in i dance t , ranger had best stand aside and glance . a- e dancers, lest y meet with swift mischance .

’ nk n ottis ol d some outworn dance of , o men who, dancing, dance it verbold . ’ b e Open ; let your own brave worth told . le refrain of the verses as Sheikh Mb a ru k and h em at Gasi a few hours later, as a catchy za l - skits upon the Mbura dancers . But Sheikh ’ e l and clever leader . H quickly divined Sun d s

left Gasi for his stronghold at Mwele Hill , rk in all haste to barricade himself in and

as .

e g had been clear enough . The wizard was h is - a t- a a ro of were men arms ; the p g , pieces and worn across the shoulders by the witch ’ te of Al -Akid a s u rth e bandoliers soldiery . F r i in i of t , the folk Mombasa , were armed wi h

Al - Akid a gers, it was not for the stranger ( ) to r so n ot b b a ru k inte vene ; let M ura (Sheikh M ) be taken unawares . Mb a ru k n ot Finally, let think that this attack was to be any half ’ or Al -Akid a s hearted attempt like the previous ones , that soldiery r for Wa n a ro were a fainthea ted following ; they were the g , literally, or dancers wearing their loincloths tucked high above their knees , ’ Al - Akid a s in other words, the Hadhramaut Arabs of army, whose custom it was to wear their loincloths above their knees . Thus th e song had a very different meaning for Sheikh Mb a ru k from that of the simple verses which amused the Mbura - dancers ’ s a enjoying their evening ple sure at Mombasa . d Mb a ru k m As we have sai , left Gasi and entrenched hi self at : w a s Mwele but the warning, welcome as it , had given him ’ in su fﬁcien t Al - Akid a s time to resist attack successfully . ’ Al -Akid a s Finding that he had gone from Gasi , troops followed so him to Mwele, and there engaged his forces hotly that he was compelled to make a hasty retreat .

Mwele Hill was captured .

Th e Ge n tl e m e n of th e j u n gl e

A Gikuyu 1 Tale

Told by

J O M O K E N Y A T T‘ A

‘ I n tro u n th e ta e o o Ken a tta a Th e re a ton etw een th e u u d ci g l , J m y s ys l i b Gik y ’ a n d th e Eu rope a n s c an w ell b e illu stra te d by this Giku yu story .

O N C E upon a time an elephant made a friendship with a man . rm One day a heavy thundersto broke out , the elephant went to his b u t of friend , who had a little at the edge the forest , and said to ‘ M ou him : y dear good man , will y please let me put my trunk t ou tof Th e inside your b u to keep it this torrential rain man , ‘ w a s in : M seeing what situation his friend , replied y dear good elephant , my hut is very small , but there is room for your trunk

1 K u u More u su a lly ik y . 84 n r th e othing to fear, for the membe s of Commission were all men of al t repute for their imparti ity in justice , and as hey were gentle men chosen by God to look after the interests of races less a d e u a tel q y endowed with teeth and claws, he might rest assured that they would investigate th e matter with the greatest care and report impartially . t on M R . H r . The Commission sat to take the evidence . The . w a s firs t He Elephant called . came along with a superior air, u br shing his tusks with a sapling which Mrs . Elephant had pro ‘ v id ed : \ th e , and in an authoritative voice said Gentlemen of for in Jungle , there is no need me to waste your valuable time e a m ou r lating a story which I sure y all know . I have always regarded it as my duty to protect the interests of my friends , and this appears to have caused the m isunderstanding between myself He and my friend here . invited me to save his hut from being blown away by a hurricane . As the hurricane had gained access r owing to the unoccupied space in the hut, I considered it necessa y, ’ e own s to in my fri nd s intere ts, to turn the undeveloped space a more economic u se by sitting in it myself a duty which any of you would undoubtedly have performed with equal readiness in similar ’ circumstances . h ’ r te Rt. . Mr After hea ing Hon . Elephant s conclusive evidence, Mr of the Commission called . Hyena and other elders the jungle, Mr Th who all supported what . Elephant had said . ey then called m a n w h o e to h is the , b gan give own account of the dispute . But the ‘ h im : M confin e Commission cut short, saying y good man , please i yourself to relevant issues . We have already heard the c rcum stances from various unbiased sources ; all we wish you to tell u s is whether the undeveloped space in your hut was occ iip ied by m a n any one else be fore Mr . Elephant assumed his position Th e ‘ : began to say No , but But at this point the Commission declared that they had heard su ffic ien tevidence from both sides and retired to consider their decision . After enjoying a delicious meal h r Rt . M te . at expense of the Hon . Elephant , they reached their ‘ e : I n verdict, call d the man , and declared as follows our opinion this dispute has arisen through a regrettable misunderstanding due to of Mr the backwardness your ideas . We consider that . Elephant fu lfill ed of has his sacred duty protecting your interests . As it is clearly for your good that the space should be put to its most eco nomic use, and as you yourself have not yet reached the stage of fill itw e n eces expansion which would enable you to , consider it

Mr . sary to arrange a compromise to suit both parties . Elephant o f ou shall continue his occupation your hut , but we give y per mission to look for a site where you can build another hut more 86 ’ nd w e will see that y ou are well protected . 0 alternative, and fearing that his refusal e s teeth and claws of members of the Com

; gested . But no sooner had he built another ros charged in with his horn lowered and t . A Royal Commission was again appointed fin d in and the same g was given . This pro til r ff o Mr Mr n M . . Bu al , . Leopard , Hyena : t com m od a ed with new huts . Then the man i o t f of o P an ef ective method protecti n , since ry did n otseem to be of any use to him . ‘ ’ ’ ( 1 : N en d a thi n d a a a m ote i g g g g , which nothing that treads on the earth that cannot r ou o words, y can fo l people for a time, but wh en the huts already occupied by the jungle ou t g to decay and fall to pieces , he went No better hut a little distance away . sooner en it than he came rushing in only to fin d Mr already inside , sound asleep . . Leopard ‘ Mr Bu fi a l o Mr Mr . ox . ndow, . Lion , F and r M . Hyena howled for a place in the shade t d on the roof . Presen ly they all began dis ! S of penetration , and from disputing they while they were all em broiled together the n th e and bur t it to ground, jungle lords and ‘ ’ : b u tits th e saying Peace is costly, worth r pily ever afte .

il en c h a s a i e mighty no se.

S ta n l e y M e ets M a te s a

B A J A M E S D . R U D I R I

Such a time of it they had ; The heat of the day The chill of the night

And the mosquitoes that followed . Such was the time and

They bound for a kingdom .

Th e thin weary line of carriers With tattered dirty rags to cover their backs ; Th e battered bulky chests off That kept on falling their shaven heads . Their tempers high and h ot The su n ﬁerc e and scorching With it rose their spirits With its fall their hopes As each day sweated their bodies d ry and

- Flies clung in clumps on their. sweat scented b a Such was the march th e And hot season just breaking .

Each day a weary pony dropped, Left for the vultures on th e plains ;

Each afternoon a human skeleton collapsed , Le ft for the Masai on th e plain s ; But the march tru dged on Its Khaki leader in front

He the spirit that inspired .

He the light of h0 pe .

Then came the afternoon of a hungry march A h otand hungry march it was ; The Nile and th e Nyanza Lay like tw o twins 90 Azure across the green countryside . Th e march leapt on chaunting L ike young gazelles to a water hole . Hearts beat faster Loads felt lighter r s As the cool wate lapt their sore oft feet . No more the dread of hungry hyenas But only tales of valour when ’ A u a s res tM tes court ﬁ are lit . No more the burning heat of the day Bu t song, laughter and dance .

on The village looks behind banana groves,

Children peer behind reed fences . Such was the welcome No singing women to chaunt a welcome Or dru ms to greet the white ambassador ; Only a few silent nods from aged faces And one ru mbling dru m roll ’ To summon Mu tesa s court to parley n For the country was otsu re .

ﬂ The gate of reeds is ung Open , There is silence But only a moment’s silence of A silence assessment . s The tall black king step forward , He towers over the thin bearded white man Then grabbing his lean white hand Manages to whisper ‘ ’ Mtu m w eu p e karibu

White man you are welcome . The gate of polished reed closes be hind them th e is in And west let .

9 1 ‘ ’ Th e An g o l a

O S C A R R I B A S

r u Translated from the Po tug ese by Dr . Mora de Vasconcelos and adapted by Peggy Ru th erfoord

k I T s . was a halcyon day in March . The afternoon y was hazy The s u n was dying in a soft agony of colour . A light breeze was blowing . w a s of a It a scene nostalgic nu nces . e Lisbon crackled on the quay . There, peopl were dressed , some elegantly, some roughly, but all were consumed by the same flame ; ﬁre th e and like sparks leaping from the , the emotions burst from heart ; there were mouths that demanded ; mouths that kissed ; eyes

' that promised ; eyes that wept hands that qu 1v ered and clung to each other without restraint breasts that throbbe d in tender o embraces souls t rn asunder in an anguish of weeping, and already on e on of ﬁrstff each was laying the pedestal their love, the o erings of their longing . ‘ ’ h The Angola moved out ponderously . Sirens sounded . T en , as o u of if shocked int activity by her departure, h ndreds waving hand ‘ a rew ell ! kerchiefs seconded the great voice of the heart, F Fare well Like glow-worms in the fastness of night doubt stabbed the fog of Al wh o ? sadness . as , knows whether they will come back How h ow many mothers will be bereft of their sons, many wives without ? o w their husbands How much j y , how much sorrow, ill the separa tion bring ? Will they be happy in those lands of fever ? Will they ﬁn d ? work there, riches and dignity God would surely help them in their desires ?

Another siren is heard . The air weeps ; love weeps within the ‘ s heart . Handkerchiefs ﬂutter more anxiou ly still , waving Fare ! a rew ell well F Now, those who remain hold council with them l ‘ s v s Gri f . e e . e is swallowed into the deep distance

In this last farewell, the boat shivers mournfully . The melancholy

. deepens and grows cold That sadness , alas , suggests the last throes of death . 9 2

’

I t . s is Tuesday, about ten o clock There is not much busines in th e few the market on weekdays . I neglect customers who only ask h . s A for worthless articles My assistant manage as best e can . tlast o h they g away without buying anything . T ey always come in like is h ot or this when the sun , begging stealing something in the shops . Ka m b e a oil - w h o is to j , my seller, used teasing me , notices my uneasiness . This time she comes wheedling like a little spoilt puppy to s that wants be stroked, puts her little lip against my cheek , and sh e in a childish prattle, which emphasizes with an adorable smile, sh e invites me to her house this evening . ‘ h av e ﬂ a ll for You shall that you are hungry , all that you are on e for thirsty for, the thousand and things that you wish That woman has ways all her ow n of bending my will ! Without of a word I gaze at her with a look assent . Certain of her success, sh e off sa tisﬁed leaves me , going with a air, smoothing her little of waist, throwing back her head and showing the shining ivory her teeth . ’ am I should like to go home for a drink . But I afraid of Suzanne s a r se rching eye . My memory, which will let me forget nothing, b ings ’ see —m n ot back yesterday s scene . I Suzanne y wife before men , if God— s e before lashed by furiou jealousy , spitting in my fac , tear

- ing her hair, cursing the oil seller . a m What is the good of facing this fury now, before whom I always in the wrong as before my conscience ? e ! But, heavens abov there she is coming through the door towards n ow me . Her stirring beauty, usually magnetic and fascinating, but a s of of as imposing the facade a court justice, rigid as a fate that

ff terrifies u m e . must be su ered , and cr shes Where can I flee ? Where can I not flee ? Her bitter gaze seeks

e . and attacks min violently I feel it and bear it weakly . e a s e t Do s she come, severe yesterday, to humiliate me befor his ’ - - wh o rabble of spiteful ne er do wells, drag their eternal sloth about ? sh 0 p entrances And these street -loafers who pop in and out to see ? and hear And this smart group of u p - to - date women w h o sell u their flesh to male caprices, and who hawk corr ption in the cities ow and bankruptcy in business . H ashamed I shall b e ! She comes up towards me ‘ ’ ‘ I t t - sh e ou is almos mid day, says, between her teeth ; y can close ’ h o o . the shop . T en g out by the inside do r I want to talk to you - u sts I should like to resist her . But her grand lady manner fl er me . e e In the room, where Suzann has pr ceded me , the table is already r - s laid . A savou y smelling chicken , already carved, swim in a golden it sauce on the enamel of a deep plate . Beside , a dish containing a 94 f om be white tapioca loaf a bottle o p and two clean glasses . , ‘ ’ ‘ i ’ You t. Sit down , she says , eat and drink . need sh e firs t h While I empty the glass, continues , conciliating, t en ironical : ‘ For the past week y ou have been changing from hour to hour .

n . You are o longer yourself . I scarcely recognize you You eat without appetite in spite of the variety of the food you neglect a me . Forget yesterday evening as I h ve forgotten it myself . It is

of sh e - the fault that devil of a salesgirl . If I was strong enough to supplant in your heart your legitimate wife , no other woman , n o m except your wife, you understand , other thieving wo an has the right to take away that place from me . Only your wife has ’

o . the right to occupy y ur heart , and I alone after her I ll settle the n ot salesgirl , as I have a right to , and her alone, but Athanasia, ’ z f of Jo e a and all the feminine rabble Nyanza . ‘ You Calm yourself, Suzanne . know perfectly well that I love

ou . . y I have told you so a hundred times . Do not scold your man u I d o love y o . Do you want me to tell you all the time ‘ I t o sa so it: is not en ugh to y , you must prove prove it by acts

- - of love . Are your games of hide and seek with the salesgirl proofs of love towards me ? Rather agree that they are quite unequivocal s mark of treachery, which make me doubt your love and despair of ’ You your heart . I don t want your love shared with all women . must a m to is give it all to me . And if nowadays I nasty you , it my way, ’

of w . dearest, sho ing you my love ‘

r . i e Then be less c uel , Suzanne Just g v me till this evening . Then u ll w e . o a shall be more at ease I will tell y my troubles , my mis

r . o ou t fo tunes I will p ur my whole love to you . Suzanne , I give you ’ e for or the choice lov me always , leave me for ever . ‘ You e ou s ee ou men , p rhaps y can further than women , but y s o w see a e . cannot deeply . You reas n , feel You promise, we give .

At ou sa . any rate, let it be as y y I will wait for you at the time you ’ sa be to y , as one waits for one s man , and I will prepared welcome too to of u . o you I love you much , Justin , think ever hating y . And r n my greatest wor y here , ever since I have bee yours , would be to

. ou r lose you But be sure that y give yourself without rese ve, that you tell everything unrestrictedly . If you have troubles , I shall understand them . But, heavens above , eat the food prepared for

ou . a m se u y . You are growing terribly thin And I ashamed to e y o together with your pals . Sit yourself down , here , beside me , and ’ of Spare me the trouble having cooked all this for your boys . - sit Under her light hearted glance, which gaily meets mine , I down at her left, on the fragrant bed , amidst the lingering perfume of nights of love . And I attack the meal with the best will in the world . But I have ’ d iffic u l ty in fin ish in g the chicken and in polishing ofl three quarters

of my bread . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ n ow a m That s right, says Suzanne . I thank you , and I satis d A ’ ’ ﬁe . t this rate , it won t be long before we make peace . ‘

Yes , I shall keep my word , and in future I shall be kind and ’ - ou ﬁrs t light hearted , since y are the to lay down arms . o And as I get up to g , she stops me ‘ ’

o off so . You b o Don t g quickly know your y is back from Astrida .

Your chief has gone to Urundi for the stock taking . He will no

doubt be back on Monday or Tuesday, next week . It seems that So your agents in Astrida have done a miserable job . the stock of taking will soon be here . Think in advance what you are ’ going to do . ‘ ’ o D n t worry . I have calculated everything, and foreseen every ’ t o . thing . I don t want see my boy immediately For the moment I iw ’ Mr M a s . have an appointment with . clerk I must hurry off there ’ ’ be ou for to and I ll back at two o clock . Thank y deciding make n peace and for givi g me back my appetite . Above all, forget our ’ - ou t t fall of yesterday , and remember that in my eyes here s no ’ ou woman can equal y .

Standing before the enormous mass of the shop , I gaze at the

- . b emptying market Odd job men , eggars for the most part, are u o th e for sweeping p , and g to throw away scraps , a penny, for a of ! bone , for a bit meat . Poor folk ’ t a h rs n A te . I the F the bell gravely, fervently strikes twelve the r - Judicial Territo y, three proud bugle notes announce the closing of ’ ofﬁc es . , and hunger and thirst in people s bellies th e Yonder, in the street at the other end of market some t , prisoners stagger, like a human herd s ampeding, in faded jerseys h like old sacks , urged on by a soldier in a hurry to eat . T ese poor s o prisoners , dead to them elves, g joylessly to taste of a meagre

. repast and slender repose And yet, although recognized as guilty, they are surely not the worst of men w of o . No I feel a need to g up to the church Jesus , the dispenser He full pardon , is alone . will be pleased with my visit at this soli

tary hour . ﬁrm s Ma ra n os r I walk past the of Costa, Antonio, Petron , g , tu n Rah em a ta li V a kiris my back on and , and make my way to the

Mission , leaving behind me the Law Courts and the Judicial

Territory . of th e - Before the colossal statue Christ King, beneath His hand a m dispensing blessings , I seized with a vague hope . With this salu r e ta y impression in my heart, I hurry into the Holy Plac , deserted 96 of at this hour when every man is thinking himself . I feel the eyes

of . Jesus covering me And my supplications arise , arise ever higher,

- . arise in serried ranks , urgent , tear laden ‘ How oh calm and cool it is in your prison , , my God Remember me , Lord , and the little good that I have done . Do not abandon me to the mercy of my fate . ‘ You know that I did not steal that vile money . ‘ I was very wrong to u se and perhaps to lose for ever what did to not belong to me . But it was save good folk who were threatened ov erﬂow in with prison and disgrace . The till was full to g with n money and my heart with goodness . I opened both, sponta eously , ’ u co s ow n ! irresistibly . N till and my heart ‘ of I thought I had to do it. And this complete consciousness the good I did , perhaps erroneously , excuses my conduct .

‘ ’ ‘ Perhaps in ten days tim e I shall be going to increase the crowd of saw convicts , of whom I a sample just now . It is probable , more

. than possible even , unless a miracle happens ‘ n ot oh ! Do let it happen , Lord Rather perform the miracle which alone can save me ! ts You You know my ﬁ of anger and my obstinacy . know that all in me is madness . All my actions , dictated by passion , are always carried to the extreme , to rashness . Spare the Government , the of Public Power, the trouble having to do violence to my dull wits ,

to . my crazed heart , my clear conscience For my tempestuous nature too encloses , like the universe , every contrast . You will spare me , , the pain of suffering in prison the miniature death of every day ; the calculated diminution of my personality ; the progressive dis r refin ed in flic ted on membe ment, cruelly and consciously the weak of ness of mankind by the strength mankind . ‘ su fi er And to all these atrocities with the gibes , the Spitting, the - of lash , all the hate inspired blackguardry the soldiers . ‘ a fflic tion s Oh Lord , keep these far from me , however well b e deserved they may . ‘ d iv 1 n e Treat me , Lord , according to your and paternal justice , you who can read into the heart, and know the causes of our actions d o in fin ite better than we ourselves , you alone , in whom justice does n ot not exclude extreme goodness . Let it enter into your plans to to m deliver me over to men nor their tortuous judg ents . ‘ I came into this church , urged on by you , summoned by you . ‘ h O e Be Faith told me that I must still p , in spite of everything . w to al ays there at my side , to dictate to me your will , pardon my faults , to spare my poor security, to accompany my inevitable

flight . ‘ ee ? ? For indeed I shall fl . But when But how Whatever the 97 manner, I prefer the hardships of flight to the horrors of prison ‘ ru n , Africa is vast . I shall with unfettered limbs, I shall die of exhaustion . And thus I shall be able to break free from Suzanne a n d to live , an exile , but a free exile , according your laws . ‘ ev erth el ess N , oh Lord , I shall await your blessing and the hour ’ of your miracles . e Down in the choir, the Fath rs have arrived, reciting the Psalm of the Penitents in a monotone, and have left again , casting a curious glance in my direction . One alone among them knows the h as r secret of my sorrows . And he no doubt p ayed

God give ear to h i s prayers and to mine .

e . e n Soon after I left, my heart light r And with my pip betwee h m n u u u . my lips, I had co rage a t e

s n watching his shadow, to eek consolatio , n h e u n n e o t r ni g wat r .

Your ﬂute and h is

in th e songs of your sorrows .

Th e W a te r -S e e k e r

F L A V I E N R A N A I V O

Translated from the French by

A Dove is sh e

th e rocky path sliding like a capricious pebble on the steep slope towards the spring

Th e - water seeker .

with clumsy care , catching time and again with on e hand on the aloe leaves

smooth and pointed , with the other s—h e holds the earthen pitcher of the country earth Scarcely sure those naked feet i f of the g rl o Imerina . What can sh e be dreaming

1 0 2 —‘What can you be dreaming Amber- ski-n n ed - o-n e

What can sh e b e thinkin g

nor love nor hate Alluring yet those lying

? so smooth and pointed

the breath of a breeze has so soon ru ffled her black hair What can sh e be dreami n g this soul -less body

the soul of the poet ? Sweet

deceit .

Ly r e w i th S e v e n S tr i n gs

J A C Q U E S R A B E M A N A N J A R A

Transl ated from the French by Dorothy Blair

You will follow me , pale Sister Chosen before the dawn of the world ! Bride when the earth w a s still without form and void Sole reason of the Creation ! Power of my destiny !

b the of Will e the cries of your blood , grumbling pride

your race . 1 0 3 You will follow me . March of love ! Flight of the dove ! O Fresh nes s of the ﬁrs tmorning !

Your brothers w Have gro n deaf, insensible even to the smell of powder to the fury of

the thunder .

Harder

‘ e a n d d ea th than granit their hearts drunk with carnage .

Th e sweetness of your message, my sister, has only moved the myriad ranks

of the stars , o only moved my primitive s ul, reﬂec tion l ot mirror and sole of your .

They have understood nothing th e in the tumult of massacre, in the glowing of the

ﬁres . FOlly has galloped wh in n ey in g from the entrails of the abyss to the rent summit of

space and sky .

Yet from the four points of the horizon arise the sounds of a trumpet and the curves of your

melodies , 0 Peace ! Daughter of the dolorous Ea rth !

- of Image of the Loved one, honey Spring on the of Assou ssiel banks .

c om e a l e to You will , p Sister, the country of dreams , to the banks

th e of th e of Al a s sou r ' White , white orchid at the peak Hill The paths are aglow with peonies under the ﬁre s of immemorial

colours . And the breeze from the South troubles the virginal pool with the whispered secrets of love

1 0 4

T w se e Ibo his poem, ritten veral centuri s ago in , a

1 0 6 Th e S to l e n j a c k e t

C A M A R A L A Y E

Tran slated from th e Fre nch by Dorothy Blair

’ Tra n s l a tor s n ote : a ren e a w te m a n e ttu te in a a i n o Cl c , hi , d s i bl ck k gd m, h a s giv en his ja cketto th e keep er of a sordid hoste lry i n ex cha n ge for h is oar a n d o n a n d n ow eav e a o a n e a e ar an d two b d l dgi g, l s, cc mp i d by b gg ou t y hs .

A 5 - e they left the lodging house , Clarence was more than a littl n e e surprised to ﬁ d the city in a sta te of feverish activity . A littl whil n th e before, as they came dow from parade ground , it had been o sleeping and deserted, sleeping logically en ugh, since night had

. He un already fallen , but unaccountably deserted fo d it now over flow in w e u th e g ith life and noise , a pr y to t mult, the tumult of of street, but what a street the most restless, the most swarming of streets : the African street ' ru e Everywhere the d ms wer rumbling, rolling, imparting their o - quivering to the reeds , to the bambo fences , to the mud walls , even to to sk to the earth and the y , and above all the crowd , which to to moved its rhythm and which , even at a standstill , continued sway and shouted , and clapped and uttered cries on every note r from grave to shrill , but particularly, most violently, the sh ill n of of es ec i otes hoarse cries the men , piercing cries the women , p ally the women ; women who thrust themselves forward , boldly r fo ward , their breasts uncovered , and rushed and hurled themselves into the dance , surrendering themselves nakedly to a trepidattion and a fury which should by rights have soon left them pan ing, but which , on the other hand , threw them into an ever greater, fin a ll ever more consuming passion , and y cast them into such a frenzy as transformed th e crossroads with their blazing fires into ’ the rendezvous of a witches sabbath . As they prepared to break through the crowd they u nexpectedly found themselves surrounded by a detachment of the royal guards . a The gu rds were staring at them , without a word , without moving ; of they were all the same build as the beggar, but unlike him were 1 0 7 youthful and strong they stood erect, pressed close shoulder to s shoulder they were like a wall ; and above thi wall , only a little of of the night could be seen , a little patch night seen through a skylight . ‘ ? ’ ‘ What do these people want asked Clarence . Why are they shutting u s in as in a prison ‘ ? ’ How do I know retorted the beggar . ‘ ’ ’ Then why don t you drive them away, said Clarence . But scarcely had he uttered these Words than he saw the Negro - o r lodging h use keeper slip through into the p ison . ‘ ’ At ot c last I ve g you shouted the landlord , grabbing Claren e of by the scruff his neck . ‘ off Hands said the beggar severely . ‘ ‘ ’ Oh , no screamed the landlord . This time I ve the law on my ’

be . de ; and beggar you may , but you don t impress me any more ’ o I want my jacket . I won t take my hands ff till the white man has ’ given me back my jacket . ‘ ’ ‘ But I ve given it to you already said Clarence . I gave it you ’ against my will , but I did give it you . ‘ And you took it back again shouted the landlord . ‘ ” ‘ ou 2 Are y mad said Clarence . I have never seen you again since ’ I gave it to you . No sooner had he ﬁn ish ed the sentence than the guards who o surrounded them began to laugh , bending d uble as if they had ‘ ’ ot of heard the funniest thing on earth . What s g hold them

Clarence wondered . But they were doubtless a bit drunk . People of their sort must have had repeated conversations with the gourds

T . hung on the trees . hey were obviously drunk ‘ ’ a m ﬁrm l I not joking, Clarence said y .

But they began to laugh and sway again , worse than ever . ‘ ’ on on e of u Come , give him back his jacket, said the g ards who ‘ ’ sa wore a rope girdle over his tunic . Return it and we won t y any i ’ thing more about t. ‘ ” ‘ r 3 How can I retu n it to him said Clarence . I have already given it to him ‘ ’ Well iv e , g it to him again , if you like it better that way, said the ‘ ’ ’ I m n o for a nd gu ard with the rope . ta stickler language I don t ’ want to get you into trouble . ‘ ? ’ ‘ ’ What is this joke shouted Clarence . I don t think it at all ’ He e sa w funny . turned towards the b ggar and him drinking peace fully, as if what was happening was no concern of his . ‘ ’ ’ u sa ? Why don t y o y something said Clarence . ‘ ? ’ ‘ h What do you want me to say said the beggar . T ere is it? ’ obviously a mistake . But how are you going to prove

1 0 8

‘ ‘ o r What can I do Claren—ce th ught . Eve ything—turns against me . Perhaps I a m unwise I a m certainly unwise but other people ’

so . are too , others are more than me Atthis point his thoughts were interrupted by h is being suddenly pushed into a corridor . o o a s of The c rrid r was narrow, and winding as the alleyways the on town , but it was completely silent and each side innumerable on to it doors Opened . The doors, naturally enough , all remained one of obstinately shut , except the last , right at the end the corri s a s dor . Thi last door Opened if of its ow n accord in front of the r s aw little group ; and Cla ence himself to be in a huge room, the At of biggest he had seen since he landed . the end the room was a s h man quatting on a table and telling his beads . T is man stared at f r Clarence o some minutes . ‘ ’ So th e u h e this is g ilty party, said at last . ‘ m I a not g uilty cried Clarence . Th e man raised his hand . ‘ r o ou h o Eve ybody who c mes here says that . Y have no idea w a m it! n a re tired I of hearing The main thi g is that you here, ’ and that they wasted no time in catching you . And who s this e man he asked , pointing to the b ggar . ‘ ’ His accomplice, said the landlord . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ n ota sk I did you , said the man . You will speak when you re — ou — spoken to . And nothing nothing, y understand proves yet u \ s that y o will be spoken to . I shall speak t0 you only in o far as I w h see . n o e any necessity Come , who is he asked again . h is He seemed impatient ; ﬁn ger remained pointing at the beggar . ‘ ’ ’ e It s the b ggar who was with the white man , said the guard ‘ ’d ’ I . with the rope . I thought better bring him along ‘ ’ ‘H b . e e You did well , said the man will a witness for the ’ prosecution . ‘ I say said Clarence . ‘ ’ Address me as Your Honour, the Chief Magistrate, said the judge . ‘ ’ ‘ th e e Your Honour, Chief Magistrate, said Clarenc , this man , He ou who is a beggar, has not left me all evening . will tell y that I e gave my jacket to the landlord , in paym nt for the time I Spent in e o his inn , and that I hav never for one m ment taken the jacket ’ back . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ d n o u s ! . e . Oh, no said the judge Your metho is This man , ‘ ’ th e pointing to beggar, is the witness for the prosecution . You can t turn him into a witness for the defence : it would be contrary to ’ the law . Find another argument . ‘ n d But what can I ﬁ said Clarence .

I I O ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ll Th e ! e . a jacket, my friend , the jacket said the judg That s ’ you are asked for . ‘ it’ The landlord has got , said Clarence . ‘ ‘ l T ou . u Look here said the judge . hink before y speak Why wo d ’ the landlord have ru n after you if y ou hadn t taken the jacket ’ ? o back A child c uld understand that . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’t I don t know ! replied Clarence . Who says that this man isn accusin g me out of pure malice ‘ ’

We o . must g into that, said the judge He for l seemed to think a moment, his beads slipping rapid y h is through fingers . ‘ ’ ‘ ou in th e I have thought it over, he said a minute later . Are y habit of telling lies ? ’ ‘ I never lie said Clarence . ‘ ’ i t th e u rd Excuse me , Your Honour, the Chief Mag stra e , said g a ‘ t with the rope . When I charged him , the white man claimed tha h h n te . e he had not see landlord since he had left the inn Now, made that statement at the very moment when the landlord was ’

so . standing in front of him . And we all began to laugh ‘ ’ ’ n ot o ru h u ss That s very go d evidence in favour of your t t f lne , said the judge to Clarence . ‘ h ’ ‘ T ey misunderstood , said Clarence . I said ‘ ’ h ’ t te u e . Don t forget hat guards are nder oath , said the judg ‘ to e if off They are not permitted lie in my presenc , even , when th sa e . duty, they were most arrant liars on earth Did you y any thing different from what th e chief gu ard has justrepeated ‘ h e u ta The chief guard reproduced my words exactly, only p ’ wrong interpretation upon them . ‘ ‘ ’ o u u s ue ter Go d , good said the j dge . Don t let arg for a quar of an hour about interpretations : everything in good time ; thi s su c i n tl is So a t business is fﬁ e y complicated as it . you admit th ’ i u r o an the ch ef g ard has faithfully rep oduced your w rds . That s u in u r h u ness arg ment in your favour, at least favour of yo r t ut f l , ’ th f is e . but as regards of ence, it quite the opposite He h e reﬂec tor paused again , whether felt the necessity to , w h is whether he simply desired to hurry on ith telling beads . ‘ ’ When did the white man go and get his jacket back ? h e asked the beggar . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’ Th e m a n n m . e e e . I don t know, said the beggar whit ver left ‘ e H never left you asked the judge . ‘ ’ He th e . never left me for a moment , said beggar ‘Good ! I conclude from that that you were with him when he - u ou returned to the lodging house . Must I nderstand that y were his accomplice

I I I ‘ ’ a m I not his accomplice , said the beggar . ‘ ‘ Exactly said the judge . You are simply the witness for the sa prosecution . What have you to y on the indictment of the white man ‘ ’ o I was never more than a fo t away from him , said the beggar . ‘ ‘ Be to Again said the judge . careful : you are going get your self into trouble ‘ ’ to sa Then , I have nothing at all y , said the beggar . ‘ ‘ ’ ou What exclaimed Clarence . Won t y maintain that we never left each other ‘ ‘ D o n ot in ﬂu en c e Silence cried the judge . try to the witness . He n ot of has chosen to say nothing ; if it is very brave him , it is at least within his rights . Certainly his silence overwhelms you ; but B a tisﬁ d o . e s e think, his words might be even m re disastrous for you ’

. ! ou then with the lesser evil Now , let s see What reasons can y give for having taken the jacket back ? ’ ‘ ’ He gave it to me against his will , said the landlord . ‘ That is in fact what the white man declared in my presence said the chief guard . ‘ ’ so ? Is that the judge asked Clarence . ‘ ’ ‘ so ? I t Why should it not be cried Clarence . is quite true that u ’ I gave him my jacket nwillingly . ‘ ’ But he took it back willingly enough , said the landlord . ‘ ’ ‘ I ts If not your turn to speak said the judge . you interrupt me ’ ’ ou ou of o again I ll have y turned t court . And don t you g making ’ of jokes here ; that s the privilege the bench and of the bench alone . ’ ’ ou And don t let me have to tell y again . ‘ ’ e May I ask you , Your Honour, the Chi f Magistrate , asked ‘ ? ’ Clarence, whether you would have given up your jacket willingly ‘ ’ ‘ I m e An t . is not your business to ask questions, said the —judge accused , even when he might be presumed innocent but that would be so' p a ra d ox ic a l that I refuse to entertain the possibility / a n a c c u sed m u stnever ask questions : it is quite contrary to cus tm ou too o At o . . Besides , y must admit it would be far c nvenient the w a s most I might tolerate an interrogative turn of phrase , if this

n ot . duly accompanied by the reply , but this is the case here How for ever, to do you a favour , and this once only, I consent to depart from the cu“stom, and consequently to answer your question . The : answer is No , I for my part would never have parted with my or jacket either willingly unwillingly , for the excellent reason that I never wear one Are you sa tisﬁed ? And n ow that I can see d eﬁn itel you are y determined not to give back the jacket, will you be good enough to tell me how y ou intend to indemnify the land lord

I I 2

‘ These intimate details are no concern of a Chief Magistrate Guards ‘ ’ At o your orders , Your H nour, the Chief Magistrate, answered

the guard with the rope . ‘ ’ Order the court to rise to hear the sentence . The guard with the cord turned with his acolytes towards the m en — empty room . While he was lining up his and under the r — circumstances, the ranks had to be in pe fect order the beggar surreptitiously approached Clarence and whispered in his ear ‘ ’ ’ Ru n ! Don t wait ! Run ! Meet me at th e gate of the cityt ‘ But . ‘ Ru n ou or 11 r ! I tell y they have your unde pants as well . ’ Can t y ou see the Chief Magistrate is in league with the landlord ? ’ re You forgetting that there will be the legal costs . o of It was the thought of the legal c sts , and naturally, his under

. pants in which they would be materialized, which decided Clarence Th e trousers , the shirt even , Clarence was resigned to their loss . But his underpants ? Could he reasonably be separated from his r ? He unde pants bolted like a hare , and found himself in the corridor before the others had realized what w—as happening . When they had recovered their presence of mind and the landlord ﬁrs tto s wa s seemed to be the recover, unles it the judge but his Chief Magistrate’s dignity prevented h im leaving his table o when they had rec vered their presence of mind , they all collided so madly in the doorway that each one seemed temporarily to abandon all h0 pe of catching the fugitive . They would obviously catch him sooner or later the crowd outside was so thick that their search would be immediately rewarded . ‘ ’ Take your men and search the town , said the judge to the chief ‘ a m guard . I not leaving my table till you bring me back the ’ i u fug tive . And this time, tie him p .

Clarence , in the meantime, had opened at random one of the on o n ow hundred doors which gave to the c rridor . And he was fleein s g through a maze of deserted rooms and empty passage . And on of as he ran , spurred as he was by the fear losing his under m pants , he never ceased to arvel at the accumulation of rooms and o passages in a building, which seen from the utside , or at least, of glimpsed in the doubtful gleam the night , had seemed hardly F or much bigger than the other houses of the town . a moment he even suspected that he was continually crossing the same rooms and th e same passages but he did not stop long at this hypothesis . For the moment he had something else to do ! w a s Among other things , he busy avoiding an incredible quantity ’ u of rubbish and builders r bble, which appeared to be either torn 1 1 4 down from the thatch by the storm or cr umbled directly away from the decaying walls . And there was not only the rubbish and rubble in all these in terl ea d in g rooms and endless passages : there of were actually heaps of earth , improbable heaps earth , as if the owner of the property, despairing of the state of his roof and walls, had suddenly given up all idea of repairing them and had started it to rebuild . Apparently that was . Otherwise how could you account for so much refuse of all kinds accumulated in these rooms ? So ou and passages much refuse , indeed , that y could well believe that all the housewives of the neighbourhood had sent round the to u n c om lim en word empty their dustbins h—ere ; which was most p— r to or o ta y the justice , injustice Clarence v ted for injustice that the judges were presumed to render in these precincts . ? ot But where , in fact, was Clarence Where had Clarence g to after traversing so many rooms and passages and surmounting s o many obstacles just in time ? Was he still in the court building ? Or was he not already at the other end of the town ? One door that so he Opened , after having Opened many others , made him nearly c ry out in despair ; the door Opened on to that same court room from which he had fled so many hours or so many seconds earlier . He stopped short, gasping for breath and bent double as if one r of the guards had given him a kick o a punch full in the stomach . Then he s aw that the room was deserted except for the judge squatting on his table squatting in the same position exactly in n ot which Clarence had left him , but in the same frame of mind , w ld s n o o . He e for the rascal appeared harmles enough was asle p , ! ‘ and snoring, and with what sonorous majesty What a sleep ‘ of thought Clarence . The sleep the just Softly he tiptoed away he went ou tinto the corridor which he followed to the end without of a glance at the innumerable doors . And with a sigh relief he th e of fires found himself once more in street, in the red glow the , th f in e uproar o the street .

’ Tr a n s l a tor s n ote : Cl a ren ce ma ke s his w a y slow ly th rou gh th e thron gs till on e of th e d a n ci n g w ome n recogn izes him a n d lea ds him to a hou se w h ere h e ﬁn d s th e e a r aw a tn h im w tth e tw o ou n a Th e a tter a re b gg i i g i h y g l ds . l een to b e w ea r n u n er te r tu n a f e a of th e n a et s i g, d h i ics , h l ch missi g j ck , w te in a th a d to en a ro th e n n ee er i n ord er to a re hich h y, f c , s l b ck f m i k p sh e e en b tw them .

1 1 5 A N ig h to n th e I s l a n d

S F . . A B O D E R I N

1 'r ﬁsh in of r was the g season . Along the southern coast the Olo unda th e Island there were people laughing and talking on sandy beaches . Th e women were telling each other stories of mermaids and other s e s ea Now ﬁsh er animal which had liv d in the . you can hear the ’ ff o . men s songs , coming out from di erent b ats on the sea

Th e set. e e sun had quickly The waves b gan to quick n , and then ’ c the hollow, sadly majesti tide of evening swallowed up the girls

voices and their giggling laughter, and now they began to think of e o returning home . Meanwhil they stared vaguely acr ss the sea h n towards the ﬁs erm e . In their hearts they mildly accused them of u o - being late, but the boats were ret rning while the w rn out evening

glowed on their sails . i sh in Before long the whole coast was lined up w th fi g boats . With a sudden roar all the women and children swarmed towards the c th e boats . They were like maddened bees in their desire to rea h sh o fish e fi . T hey j ked as they lifted the in their hands . Ther were e som with sharp tails, and others were with mouths wide Open and

gazing in wonder . At wh o that moment Abudu , was naked to the waist, forced his ’ Law a n i s way through the crowd and leapt on to boat . Without a fish word he proceeded to gather up the . t ‘ Lawani went up o him and held him by the arm . Pay your ’ ‘ ’ h sh fi . firs t . money , he said T en you can gather the ‘ ’ ’ ou I ll pay y next time, Abudu said without giving him a glance . ‘ ’ ’ That won t do . ‘ o No he retorted . Abudu had sto d up straight and glared at

Lawani angrily . ‘ ’ ’ ’ ’ d o I . t When say it won t do , it won t It s broad dayligh now, ‘ ? ’ Lawani said , staring back at him . Are you going to steal ‘ ’ — off u All right just step the boat, Ab du shouted, jumping e ﬁ h t ashore and throwing down a challeng for g . ‘ ’ o All right, I have no objecti n . See what you can do, Lawani h im u c s . an wered, and followed ashore Abudu quickly str k his

1 1 6

’ n ten of his neighbours for the revenge . They feasted o the pig s o head and drank wine . Suddenly, there arose a sound of dis rdered ﬁsh in - footsteps . Eleven strong men with g forks , knives , sticks and ’ o M d u s clubs in their hands pr ceeded to o p e house . There was a e of Th e wav shouts and knockings which awoke the neighbours . o noise grew louder and more insistent . After a long while M dupe questioned them . ‘ ’ Open the gate quickly . We are looking for Abudu , they shouted . ‘ ? Oh ! so you are looking for him He stopped coming - here a ’ ’ a sh w a s o . e long time g . I haven t seen his shadow lately While th e speaking a tall man jumped over back wall and disappeared . ‘ — ’ Open it quickly quickly . ‘ ’ 0 St p your mouth . ‘ ’ ’ Quickly, quickly, or we ll kick your gate down . The voices from w e outside gre mor urgent . ‘ ’ it ’ it o . o I won t pen , I won t Open If you break down the do r ’ it’ you ll have to pay for . ‘ ’ ’ o th e s Let s jump ver wall , omeone shouted . ‘ sh e o e in ou With a violent creak Opened the do r . Com , if y want ’ ’ in n s a s ? i . to come , come , I dare y What all the fuss about h w a s T . T ey crowded inside . here tumult They searched the

o . bedding, behind the do r, under the table, inside the chest There was nothing . As they rushed ou tto look for him elsewhere one of them that ‘ ’

. He had lingered after them shouted , Come back, come back had picked up a red cap at the foot of the be d and on close examina ’ w a s Ab u d u s tion they recognized it cap . A sense of righteousness ‘ o of and revenge came over them . What followed was a sh ut Tie ’ ‘

u . her p . Demand the man from her Beat her, torture her, demand ’ the man from her . ‘ ’ They seized her and sh e told them Don t display your bravery it? m e . before me, I hid him . What about Let tell you the truth I th ’ sent him away while y ou were making all e row here . on e They looked at another . Their faces exp ressed a mixture of : e th e emotions surprise, ang r, contempt , sense of having been a t on mocked , revenge . All these emotions found their target the r n woman , and the venom they had intended for Abudu was th ow n d So h e ﬁ . at her . T wine in their stomachs had to some outlet they decided to d o to Modupe what they had previously decided to do u to Abud .

As she was dragged towards the sea, she cursed and called them e sh e n ow names . Whil was cursing, they drew near to the shore and At she stopped cursing and only sobbed . the shore, they tied her

1 1 8 e of h a n d k er four limbs b hind her back , like tying the four ends a h a d chief into a knot . They brought out the sackcloth bag they W in n prepared beforehand, and they ere about to put her , whe h e there suddenly appeared from behind them a tall man , and ‘ ’ 0 sh e o ? shouted St p , what crime has c mmitted n They turned in amazement, and in the light of the slanting moo o r n they rec gnized Abudu . Their su prise was complete, but whe they noticed that he had n o weapons with him their courage r returned , and they began to turn towards him, armed with thei h in - fis . g forks , knives, sticks and clubs, ready to attack ‘ fi h tin is d Abudu said coldly No g g needed . Set her free and bin ’ h sh h e d u fis e . o me p . I stole the , not As so n as he said this , turne to s d his back them, cro sed his arms behind his back and allowe u Atfirst them to bind him p . they were dumbfounded , but imme i u d a tely afterwards they closed on him and tied up his arms . Abud made no movement and said nothing . They put h im into the sackcloth bag and then fastened a rock it r f o r u t ou o to . e o to to . F them carried it a waiting b at They stee d sea - , yelling a battle cry, and then they threw the bag overboard . Th e d sackcloth bag described large circular waves , which expande t ’ and multiplied until at las the thin circles disappeared . o The men went away . The moon was going d wn now and shining sat th e ou t on Modupe, who on shore like a rock, gazing steadily s a to the e .

T r u th a n d F a ls e h o o d

B I R A G O D I O P

Translated from the French by Dorothy Blair

F F A E N E L s E H o o D had grown big and had learnt many things . n ot But there were many things that he still did know, notably that man—and woman even less—bears no resemblance to the good

Lord . And so he took umbrage and considered himself hard done by ‘ every time he heard any one s a y : The good Lord loves Truth o and he heard it very often . Some certainly said that nothing lo ks 1 1 9 e d mor like the truth than a falsehoo , but the majority stated that o Truth and Falseho d were like night and day . That is why, when on e on - - day he set out a journey with Deug Truth , Fene Falsehood said to his travelling companion ‘ a re on e th e ou You the whom Lord loves , y are the one whom so ou w h o people no doubt prefer, it is y must do the talking every o For d where we g . if I were recognized we should be very ba ly ’ received . set They out early in the morning and walked for a long time . Atmidday they entered the ﬁrs thouse of the village which they a d b f reached . After they h exchanged greetings they had to ask e ore being given anything to drink . The mistress of the house gave them, of in a calabash doubtful cleanliness , some lukewarm water which of would have made an ostrich vomit . There was no question giving of them anything to eat, although a pot full rice was boiling at the of entrance to the hut . The travellers la y down in the shade a th e w baobab in middle of the courtyard and a aited the good Lord , t o sa . that is y , luck and the return of the master of the house The latter came back at twilight and asked for food for himself and the strangers . ‘ ’ ’ I haven t got anything ready yet , said the woman , who could n ot o have swallowed by herself the whole c ntents of the pot . on The husband flew into a great rage , not only his own account, although he was famished after having spent the whole day work ﬁeld s s u n ing in the in the blazing , but because of his unknown w a s guests , whom he unable to honour (as every master of the house worthy of the name should do) and who had be en left with He empty bellies . asked ‘ I s that the action of a good wife ? Is that the action of a ’ generous woman ? Is that a good housewife ?

- Fene Falsehood , as agreed, prudently said nothing, but Deug

Truth could not keep silent . She answered sincerely that a woman worthy of the name of mistress of the house might have been more to hospitable strangers , and ought always to have something pre ’ pared for her husband s return .

Then the woman ﬂew into a mad rage and , threatening to arouse o ou t the wh le village, ordered her husband to throw these imper tin en t th e sh e strangers , who interfered in way ran her house and sh e took it upon themselves to give her advice, otherwise would n So r o . retu n home to her parents the spot the poor husband , who could not see himself managing without a wife (even a bad house keeper) and without any cooking because of two strangers, two passers -by whom he had never seen and whom he would probably

o , on never see again in his life, was f rced to tell the travellers to be

1 20

old ﬁn e h u t an man who led the travellers into a , where they found of c ous cou s a whole sheep roasted and two calabashes . ‘ ’ ‘ M ou y master brings you here , said the old man , and bids y rest e u after your long journey . H bids y o wait and he will send for you ’ ere long . The next day an even more copious repast w a s brought to the

strangers , and the day after the same thing happened . But Fene pretended to be angry and impatient ; he said to the messenger ‘ Go e to tell your king that I hav no time waste here, and that I ’ Wa of shall continue on my y if he has no need me . Th e old retu r ed tellin man n , g him ‘ ’

. o The king is asking for you And Fene f llowed him , leaving

- Deug Truth in the hut . ‘ irst for ou F , what do you desire as a reward what y are about to ? ’ do asked the king, when he came before him . ‘ ou ff - What can y o er me replied Fene Falsehood . ‘ I will give y ou on e hundred things from all that I possess in ’ th is land . ‘ ’ That will not satisfy me, calculated Fene . ‘ ’ Say then yourself what you desire, suggested the king . ‘ ’ of I desire the half all that you possess . ‘ ’ is That agreed, the king accepted .

Fene had a hut built above the grave of the favourite, and went r He u ffin in alone, a med with a hoe . could be heard p g and panting ; e firs t then , after a very long time , he b gan to talk, softly at , then in a very loud voice as if he were arguing with several persons at length he came out of the b u tand stood with his back firm l y pressed against the door . ‘ ’ ‘ Things are getting very complicated , he said to the king . I have dug up the grave, I have woken your wife, but scarcely had she returned to life and was about to emerge from beneath the ground than your father woke up too and seized her by the feet saying to “ , t ? me Leave this woman alone . What can she give o you Whereas ”

e ou son . He if I return to earth , I will giv y all the fortune of my had barely ﬁn ish ed making me this proposition than his father emerged in his turn and offered me all his goods and half the p ro h is s on perty of . Your grandfather was elbowed out of the way by the grandfather of your father, who offered me your property, your ’ ’ of father s property, his son s property and the half his own for ﬁn ish ed r r so tune . Scarcely had he speaking than his fathe a rived , that your ancestors and the forbears of their ancestors are all at f ’ ’ the exit o your wife s grave .

The King Bour looked at his advisers , and the notables looked at to sa the king . The stranger was quite right y that things were in a

1 2 2 - ol d mess . Bour gazed at Fene Falsehood , and the men gazed at ? him . What was to be done

‘ ‘ ou ou tof o d ifﬁc u l t To help y y ur dilemma , and to avoid too a ’ ‘ - choice , said Fene Falsehood, just give me an idea which I should ’ e ? bring back, your wif or your father ‘M y wife said the king, who loved the favourite more than ever and who had always been afraid of the late king, whose death he had precipitated , with the assistance of the notables . ‘ ’ ‘ - ! . s ee Naturally, naturally replied Fene Falsehood Only, you o n w your father did offer me d uble what you promised me just o .

Bour turned towards his advisers , and the advisers gazed at him and gazed at the stranger . The price was high , and what good see t e would it do the king to his mos beloved wif again , if he were deprived of all his goods ? Would he still be king ? Fene g uessed the thoughts of the king and of his notables ‘ ’ ‘ s Unless , he said, unles you give me, for leaving your wife where h ’ s e ou to . is at present, what y promised me bring her back ‘ That is certainly the best and the most reasonable thing to do replied in chorus the old notables w h o had contributed to the d is f ol appearance o the d king . ‘ ’ ou sa ? - What do y y , Bour asked Fene Falsehood ‘ Oh a nd , well , let my father , the father of my father the fathers ’ of l ik ew 1 se their fathers remain where they are, and my wife , said the king .

so w a s - for on e And it that Fene Falsehood , bringing no back e of from the other world , received half the prop rty the king, who , h is moreover, soon forgot favourite and another wife .

1 2 3 Th e T a l k i n g Sk u l l

A N U P E F O L K T A L E

U o n d l He ﬁ s o d . A H N T E R goes int the bush . an human skull The hunter says ‘What brought you here ? ’ The skull answers ‘T‘alking ’

. e . He brought me here The hunter runs off . H runs to the king ‘ d r ou tells the king : I found a y human skull in the bush . It asks y ’ how its father and mother are . ‘ The king says : Never since my mother bore me have I heard ’ that a dead skull can speak . The king summons the Alkali , the

Saba , and the Degi and asks them if they have ever heard the like .

' None of the wise men has heard the lik e a n d they decide to send a guard out with the hunter into the bush to ﬁn d out if his story is i so t. true and , if , to learn the reason for The guard accompany the hunter into the bush with the order to kill him on the spot should t . o he have lied The guard and the hunter come the skull . The ‘ ’

: . . hunter addresses the skull Skull , speak The skull is silent The ‘ ? ’ hunter asks as before : What brought you here The skull does not answer . The whole day long the hunter begs the skull to speak, but it does not answer . In the evening the guard tell the hunter to make the skull speak, and when he cannot they kill him in accord ’ ance with the king s command . When the guard are gone the skull ’ ‘ opens i ts jaws and asks the dead hunter s head What brought you here ? ’ The dead hunter’s head replies ‘Talking brought here

1 24

of The room where, away from the eyes the law, gruesome rites r were perfo med ; wherein stood the golden stool waiting, always 1 Om a n h en e so on e waiting for a new to die , that a new might wash ’

b . it with blood . In the dark days, a slave s blood was easy to come y on of But not now . The white men frowned the use human blood . F or of years the blood a dove, a sheep , had provided a legal

substitute . ‘ ’ n The guide said : Knock o the door . I leave you . K o oﬁ lo ked at the massive door . He looked behind him at the

- . ﬁ n o . He u He dark c rridor was alone There was no t rning back . u g

his shoulders back and breathed deeply . His knees were trembling .

He knocked . No one answered ; but the door gave when he pushed in and he went . i At th e s x . a table in the centre of room, men were playing cards Koﬁ The air smelled strongly of spirits . They turned and looked at o grimly, their hard bare tors s etched out by the smoky hurricane lamp . ‘ ’

s it Koh . Shut the door and down , They indicated an empty seat

w a s . at the table . A whole bottle of raw gin pushed across to him ‘Drink some ! it isn ’t poisoned He He ff was uncomfortable . held his breath in the stu y atmo He Sphere . The mystery, the suspense , the secrecy irritated him . did to not wish to be a party anything furtive . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ a m ? I here now, he said . What did you want me for — ’ A ied u Kofi s e . p , the eldest of the half brothers, waved aside f ars ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ’ Have patience, my boy, he soothed . You ll soon know . ‘ ’ ’ ot old Om a n h en e I haven t g all day there s work to do . The f your father, is dead . His af airs are in disorder . It is my duty ‘ We know you were his secretary . And that is why we sent for of you . With your intimate knowledge his private affairs, you are r going to be ve y useful . You will be well paid , of course, if you ’ - c o 0 perate . of They passed the raw gin round, and each them sucked from Kofi the bottle and handed it to the next man . glanced about him of s ee uneasily . In a corner the room , he could barely the golden n w n i n t. . so o o O stool It was not golden , with the dark stains top of the stool was a wickedly sharp knife the s a w -pa w of the w a s ritual murders . It the same knife that had buried itself in the hearts of many a slave some half a century ago . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ i u Kofi A ed We . , said p . want to ask you a little favour ‘ ’ Go ahead . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ i d u Ko A e . fi ! It s about that money, p said Come, You know a b ou titP

1 A e or ea of a tate i n A a n t chi f h d s sh i . 1 26 ‘ Koﬁ swallowed . I I ‘ ou tof Ten thousa“nd pounds . My father took it the treasury and founded Kofo and Co . Everybody in the smallest village in itOf West Africa knows about . course the business is doing very Om a n h en e it n ot well . But the new may not like ; just as he may ’ ’ ’

e . l like to tak over our father s wives He ll make changes . He ll tel ? ’ the Government what happened . Where will we be then A i d u e . Kofi said nothing . p glanced round the table His brothers on were dealing out cards with half an ear the discussion . ‘ Ten thousand pounds is a lot of money for the auditors to over ’ n ow Kofi ou to d o it? look . And , , what are y going about ‘ ’ Me ? I I don t u nders tand ‘ ’ It s easy ! You are the only man in Africa who has access to the You e Om a n h e n e fatal papers . alon can dig up the evidence the new ? ’ might want if he decides to make trouble . Got that Well , we re o asking a very simple favour . We want you to g back and destroy ’ of every scrap of evidence pointing to the theft that ten thousand . ‘ ’ ’ e I I can t . It isn t my business to audit accounts . I hav ’ nothing to do with the money of the state . ‘ ’ ! d o it ou That s right You have nothing to with , but y know G ’ fin d u s o . where to the rope that will hang . and burn that rope ‘ I f ou too The brothers had stopped playing their game . y talk Co to o . much , Kofo and . will be given the state . We will g to jail ’ to He There ll be hard work do glanced at his soft hands . ‘ We t have never worked in our lives, and it is too late to star now . Why do y ou look so worried ? This is but a little favour we have asked of you . And your reward is two thousand pounds

Kofi looked at them helplessly . It was true he knew about that : it e deal every single man involved in . And he knew many mor He for things besides . could make life completely intolerable the ’

. He u on late chief s sons looked p . The light threw dark shadows h . . He saw their faces T eir eyes were hard, unforgiving them through of th e to ﬁ h t the smoky haze lamp , and somehow tried g against the mad idea that this was unreal a mere dream . ‘ ’

n o t . . t o Give me time , he begged I have yet come that business ’ ’ to it h ow x ﬁ . When I come , I ll know to things

The brothers exchanged glances . No one spoke . ‘ ’ ’

Koﬁ . I I don t think there is anything more , said , rising ‘ ’ ’ o n o D o . ! I must g w n t worry Everything will be all right . Did they believe him ? The room was so still that he wanted to shout at them . Slowly he backed towards the door . ‘ Koﬁ Where are you going,

They were all standing now . 1 2 7 ‘ ’ ? ’ ’ Don t you trust me I ve told y ou there s nothing to worry ’ o about . Let me g home to my wife and children . ‘ ’ ’ A ied u Ha ! h a ! p laughed . He s going home . And we ll be here waiting Koﬁ He Panic seized . had sensed something sinister beneath it for all . In a sudden burst of recklessness he sprang the door . But he was too late . They were between him and the massive structure .

And he knew then that they meant to murder him . ‘ ’ ‘ to ? A i d u o ou t What did you want do p e said softly . To g and ’ be tray u s ? ‘ ’ Go sit and down , said Lampey . ‘ ’ ‘ Koﬁ f stood his ground . You cannot frighten me, he blu fed . I ow n came to the palace gate with two men . Your guide brought me a m ou to this door . My wife knows where I . If y do anything to ’ r Go to me , eve ybody will know . back your drink and don t touch ’ it ’ i . : me You ll only regret . I ve given you my word everyth ng will ’ be all right . ‘ on s n s i N e e said Ap ed u . Ko ﬁ did a very foolish thing . Perhaps he thought he was being

He . brave . pushed Lampey aside and seized the door handle Almost on at once, something hard struck him the back of the head, and he fell against the door and slid downwards . ‘ ’ A ied u Bring him over to this corner , said p . ‘ ’ ’ But he s not dead . ‘ ’ ’ Th at s just it his blood will be still warm for the stool . ‘ ’ ’ m h ‘ ! Kw a e te . We ll all hang said , youngest brother God knows ’ a m I innocent . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’ You itA ied u can t prove , p said . We ve done this thing to help

u s . you . Nobody will ever suspect Why would we want to kill any ? n o Om a n h en e ha s one We have motive . But the new , he he - ld Ko o ﬁ. wants to wash the stool an age ritual . And he kills He n o on e cannot tell the white men , because will believe him . His : hands are tied . And remember this he has been boasting that he ’ ’ ’ w n ot or ill use pigeon s blood , sheep s blood so we re all right ‘ ’ ’

He s . dead , said Lampey, who had been holding him

Silence fell in the room . ‘ ’ ‘ A ied u e o . Two of you g for a cart , p said . Hid it somewhere As ’ ’ o so n as it is dark we ll take the body away .

Kwame paced up and down the little room . ‘ ’ ’

. You re frightened , Kwame ‘I ’ve never seen a man killed before i d ‘ ’ ! we A e u . ! E p smiled Yes But there s a reason , Kwame ither ’

Om a n h en e or u s . put this new into trouble , he puts There s no other way . We must live

1 28

e a nd th e they crowded together around the lant rn , kept vigil whole night through . A ied u Long before dawn , p went out into the grassland . It was

. o chilly A mist hung in the air . In this lonely part f the veld no one T was about . heir only contact was the next village where Lampey sometimes went to buy food . It seemed that the hard life, the fear of t o of e the police , the con emplati n the futur which held nothing w a s for them, troubling his brothers . Something had to be done, and soon too . e f h m H o . o o i paused and looked ab ut him S mewhere ahead a ,

e ﬁ u re . . leaning against a tre ? was a dark g It was a man Who could b e e so ? A ied u it , at this arly hour and in lonely a place p walked on th e ﬁ u re , and g detached itself from the tree and moved quickly h im t o . towards him, f rcing to step out of the narrow foo path

The black man in the . dark cloth passed him like a ﬂa sh a nd disappeared behind the bend . The mist hung thick . The air seemed to become more chilly . It could have been a dream, if he had not noted that bare bald head , those bulging eyes . h e e Back in the little hut, asked Lampey wh ther they had a visitor . ‘ ’ No , said Lampey . Ap ied u described the encounter as lightly a s he could and d is t i . missed But Lampey returned to the subject . ‘ A ied u e u s o to p , you may be a very brav man ; but let g th e fetish m a n c an u i Koforidua to . We consult him abo t this ev l ’ 1 1 Sp r t . ‘ ’ ‘ Yes e sa b u t , said Kwam . I was about to y the same, I was afraid ’ you would laugh at me . ‘ ’

I t e . is the b st thing, agreed the others fetish m a n The thre e brothers entered the hut of the stealthily . ‘ ‘ You wish to make a confession said the priest . Sit down ‘ ’

We u A ied u . are ha nted , p said ‘ ’ ‘At We . cannot sleep , Lampey added night, the man we killed ’ u s He comes . Sometimes he sleeps beside one of . shivered . ‘ And you want something to drive off this evil spirit ‘ ’ Yes . ‘ I shall give y ou a powder to burn . But the preparation of this powder requires one very Special ingredient . It may be too late to ’

it . get . Then I can do nothing Something from the dead man s body? ‘ e u Ap ied u looked uneasily round . W b ried him ‘

Yes I . , know Long ago ‘ ? ’ Three weeks . What do you want Tell me, I ll get it for you 1 30 ‘

h e h . T old man smiled . T at would destroy everything I have to get it myself . You will come with me, and you will bring with you ’

W on e s ee u s . digging implements . It ill have to be at night . No will ‘ i u ﬁrs t Ap ed said I I must consult my brothers . I ‘

I f . you are afraid, let things lie In my business privacy comes ’ fl a irs firs tYou a . . can be sure I shall not discuss your with anyone f tish m a n e . When they had gone, the looked up his manuscripts f It was a long time since he had handled a case o haunting . ? The door darkened . New clients But these two , the white man in plain clothes and the black man in a black robe, were not clients . ‘ ’ h ‘ a m officer te . I a police , said white man May I come in ‘ is Om a n he n e This the new . We have reason to believe that the ’ of Om a n h en e ou a o sons the late visited y not long g . ‘ ’ ‘ Om a n h en e Yes, said the . What did they tell you ‘ ’

T . Long may you reign , chief hey were having stomach trouble h tish m n T e fe a smiled . ‘ s ix h e The white man smiled . Those boys are murderers . T ey hav ou framed your chief here . We have no evidence against them . If y do not say what you know I will take it that y ou are a pa rty to the a u u . o th e crime And in th t case , I m st ask y to come with me to h ’ station . T e car is outside . ‘ ’ What do you want to kn ow ? ‘ ’ Just what you know . ‘ ’ I t b u t o a r is against my practice those b ys e haunted . ‘ Om a n h en e on th e The white man tapped the shoulder . And this th e th For h a s is ghost who did all e haunting . three weeks he been ’ watching the brothers . ’ ‘ fetish m a n s t e So The mou h wid ned . Then he grinned . I see . he ? Now o is the ghost , these boys want my help , and I want s mething — th e . e to from body If they agre , they will take me the spot

- to night . If not ‘ ’ ’ ’ ‘ ’ I m th e sure they ll come , white man said . And we ll be there, ’ ’ too ! They won t know, of course . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ew it Om a n h en e I kn they couldn t stand , the said . Kwame was ’ rs tto th w s i the ﬁ break ; e last a Ap ed u . ‘ ’ The reward for their capture is three hundred pounds , the ofﬁcer police said . ‘ ’ I do not want your money . th e In night the brothers slipped into the hut . They were wear ‘ ’ l ow I t e . ing long dark caps pulled over their ey s is chilly outside , ‘ A ied u We u s o said p . are here , now . Let g quickly ‘ ’ fetish m a n The put on a cape woven from elephant grass . You ll ’ ‘ ’m ’ r I . have to car y me, he said . lame 1 3 1 over the sands . Kwame was shivering . ‘ ’ ‘ A ied u a . The body is there , p said , under the stre m We stemmed the water , then dug a hole and buried him . After that, we let the water flow over him ‘ ’ ‘ ’ n w ld o o . ot You can do the same , said the man You ve g your tools ‘ ’ ou r Yes , we have tools . ‘ ’ u You will have to excuse me while y o work .

\ h ish m n . e h it The fet a turned away H limped up the valley . T e w e i so w a s man was in police un form now . And every man in the party

e to . behind him . H did not speak them Fm m a bag under his arm he drew ou ta little packet and poured w a powder do n his throat . ‘ ’ ‘ e Eighty years , he mutt red, and I have never betrayed

sank on his knees,

1 3 2

S h a d o w of D a r k n e ss

G L A D Y S C A S E L Y - H A Y F O R D

‘ H E is called Shadow of Darkness, for he is as powerful as the darkness : his temple is evil as a spirit of darkness : his pelt is the He . e u colour of darkness has on his forehead a whit triang lar spot, ’ a n e is on his back agle, and a beetle hump under his tongue . Th a l on a F u ll a h us spoke J , the lad , the youngest herdsman of the h is group , thin , handsome face quivering in the light of the camp ﬁre His e c0 er c . pal pp olour was a strange contrast to the almost

h is . s black skin of confederates His che t, which gave promise of in o d . His e great breadth manho , rose and fell with pride lids dr w s h is down over his proud eye , revealing the long lashes which swept ’ e cheeks lik a woman s, as he traced an idle scrawl in the sand . Th e al on a silence was broken only by the crackling of the twigs . J h is stirred uneasily ; he knew that each time he mentioned his bull , companions seethed with jealousy ; yet, because the tongue speaks involuntarily the thoughts most constant in the brain , the love most b r h e dominant in the reast of a rogant youth , could never refrain m fro mentioning his bull when he spoke . th e - h is Sori , sullen , evil eyed Mandingo , clenched right hand slowly till the muscles stood out like corded whips ; h is eyes ﬁll ed ’ with blood h e could almost feel Ja lon a s throat under the pressure h is of hand . - e set Musa , woolly h aded and thick , grinned broadly, showing

o e . his str ng whit teeth , and his black eyes gleamed with merriment His high cheekbones and prominent lips indicated his pure Negro blood . ‘

of . Truly , he has a right to be proud his Shadow of Darkness ’

on . Were it mine, the earth itself would be too small for me to sit He poked the embers vigorously and did not see the gleam of gratitude Ja l on a gave him . ‘ Yes ! But Shadow of Darkness is not the only bull in the world . My Brown Laddie is as good a bull any day ; broader at chest and ’ larger in the hams . ‘ ’ ’ ’ its - th e But a camel cow, it s got a hump, cut in Boma, 1 34 He t Wangara . had turned cattle thief hrough sheer mischief, not n ecessity . ‘

u ou . e Every cow has a h mp , y fool Bring your little m asly cow ’ ’

see . out . Let me if it hasn t, he challenged ‘ ’ ’ Now e , children , childr n , don t squabble , quavered the oldest ‘ th to u s s o of . ou e hustler the gang Do y want patrol get , that we n ou r ﬁll crawl to prison with broke heads, whilst cows and sheep their bellies of o The words were scarcely out his m uth when Musa , who had

h e of . stretched his cramped limbs , started wit a littl cry fear With Al l e . outstretched arm , he pointed straight in front of him of th m ol d ex tin scrambled to their feet, except the man who carefully u ish ed ﬁre to e g the , and taking out a knife began cover up all trac s it of . ‘ ’ 1 t1 5 a l on a Perhaps only bush meat moving, whispered J , con tem tu ou sl p y . ‘ a w u ! 0 s . N , I distinctly the gleam of brass b ttons They are coming The patrol has spotted u s They quickly cast lots as to who should o g on with the cattle . ‘ ’ ‘

a m a n old Pa . E ch one bundle, warned the And one drink of ’ water . They snatched up the bundles and then there was silence .

Like one man , they sank ﬂat on their stomachs and began crawling its ow n n along towards their different animals , each with call upo to his lips . The main thing was collect them silently, and drive them i for t. on ahead with one man , then run ’ a l n a s He J o heart thumped against his ribs as he crawled along . of s He had refused to tether Shadow Darkne s . had always given He him more freedom than the others accorded to theirs . went back h e to their last drinking place . If he could reach his bull before t patrol startled him they would all be safe ; but if once he gave vent e a ll to his terribl roar, the rest of the cattle would stampede with him . ‘ ’ ‘ e a l on a a m Shadow of Darkn ss, called J clearly . Come, I calling Th e beautiful bull raised his head quickly, his whole frame quivering in ecstasy, whilst gracefully and quickly he trotted up the river bank, his coat dripping with water ; two heifers who had followed him ambled in his wake . a l on a s aw a ce m ov in th e J him start at a quick p , g through mango

. He trees gasped with relief . But a moment later cold fear crept up h is e h is spine , as the bull , sc nting the wind , hesitated , threw back head and stood still in perplexed uncertainty . ’ He for was too far away to catch his master s scent , the wind of was blowing towards the patrol , and he had lost the direction ’ his master s voice . ’ Th e a l on a s sweat broke out in little beads on J forehead . The

rs l re- air was so still that even his ﬁ tca l had echoed and echoed .

Now that the pursuing party were nearer he dare not call again .

They would head straight for the camp . They would catch Shadow of Darkness or startle him into a full gallop towards the camp . Th e They would be shot down like squirrels . minutes crawled by h e s s like hours as wriggled stealthily onward , with nothing but gras so around him , that he dare not break cover until the mangoes

e . were reached . H became frantic u h is m Suddenly he lost his head and jumped p , cupping outh with both hands . ‘ ’ in This way, men , motioned the capta of the patrol about half ‘ ’ t ’ off o . a mile . We ve g them trapped ‘ a l on a fin ish ed Shadow J never the sentence , for a hand was clapped over his mouth . ‘You fool ’ His nostrils reeked with the smell of Sori s stale garments as they we nt down together . ‘ ’ We ou All want to live, if you don t, damn y . the others have — on gone Musa is ahead with the cattle . You must leave Shadow f ’ o Darkness behind . ’ l t l n - Only the last phrase fi ered into Ja o a s half stunned mind . ‘ ’ Never , he resolved . He lay quite still under his enemy, concentrating mind and ’ He strength , for now he realized that Sori s grip meant murder . had of a l on a to h ow no intention J regaining his —bull , or living tell he had been maliciously cheated of him especially now that chance of th e had given him an opportunity feeling long, slim throat fin ers — — beneath his g . A little more pressure slowly slowly, and then There was a sudden convulsion beneath him and the limp brow n d e bo y b came quite suddenly a wriggling venomous mass , also striking to kill . The surprise threw Sori off his guard and the two were rolling firs ton e on over and over , top , then the other, each persistently ’ seeking the other s throat . a l on a h is w a s h J felt strength oozing though he a healt y lad , he f w a s o . no match for a seasoned wrestler thirty, out to kill

His breath came in agonizing gasps , jerked out of his body again a n d again by the huge pounding blows that fell mercilessly like a

Hail all over h is lacerated limbs . ‘ ’

of . Shadow Darkness , he shrieked in agony Gradually his grip of i s became loose . A ton lumbering brute force was pounding tway h trs towards the two ﬁg e . 1 36

Both pondered over that point ; and suddenly bu rst out laughing when they found that neither of them wished to . ‘ a m —w e l When I well wil recover Shadow of Darkness . Then , ’

a m e . Musa, I wondering wheth r I should give him to you ‘ ’ ’ a l on a h e s T Don t be a fool, J , worth a thousand . here are some things I would like to know, though . Where he came from and how you got him ‘ ’ l ic tion a on a . F and truth are equally mixed in his history, J began ‘ He m N a is of a sacred line fro Egypt, by the waters of the ile . Bat , h is w our father, gave ancestor to the Priest of Osiris and was re arded w i of . H s ith gifts gold calf, a beautiful black and white heifer, guarded and matured by my very great grandparents, was mated

- u w a s a s with an all black bull , and again the yo ng bull his grand t w a on fa her, ith a white star on his forehead, the e gle his back and e o the hump of a beetl under his t ngue . ‘ So the centuries waned and passed until the F u ll ah s wandered down that way and the Egyptian dynasty crumpled . A big chief took to h im the bull worship also ; so thus the sacred breed wa s r w a s preserved . My g andfather a rich cattle owner, and sold all

‘ o t of when he got int debt, excep the mother Shadow of Darkness , - a s an all black heifer . My father inherited her, and my mother died at my birth and I had no brothers or sisters , my father bequeathed

a r . He her to me . Shadow of D rkness was bo n shortly afterwards is o my only possessi n , and I named him Shadow of Darkness, for the e day after he was born my father was killed in a skirmish . H was w ith me in my darkest hours , and he shadowed and followed me

t . about like a child . I fed him wi h my own hand Now I intend to ’ take him to the West Coast because I can never part from him .

‘ we Seen the bull caught the other day, Frank queried a young ofﬁcer of the French patrol at mess . ‘ ’ No a t? , worth looking ‘ ! ’ it Perfect beauty Haven t seen anything like ; jet black pelt , ’ perfect head and horns ; such breadth across the shoulders ; I don t ’ know how he got here at all . ‘

! . Come outside, Massa Sentry want you a steward whispered

Together the two friends rose and went out towards the cattle .

A terrible lowing rent the air . There was a squealing of pigs and h te hens were cackling excitedly . The dogs barked and altogether there was a regular pandemonium . ‘ ? ’ What the hell is it about, Momodu ‘ ’ o That bull we caught last week g crazy, sir .

th e n a e e e . Above oise ros clear, sad , sw et t nor 1 38 ‘ a m Shadow of Darkness, listen I calling .

n u s e n . Night comes upo , h avy dew is falli g You are powerfu l as the night

terriﬁc e th e u e n er e for With a b llow, black b ll mad a oth charg eff u h is e ward in an ort to b rst halt r .

‘ h Your breath is sweet as the eart . ’ e e e Your ey mor gentl than a woman s . ’

rn e o o . Your ho , the curv d b ws of two mo ns

’ itl l n a s ee a n d inﬁn e sa d a o e . Wonderfully sw t clear, and y , rose J voic ‘ ’ e o eth im n I think we d b tter sho t him , or g i to a pen by him ’ s u e ofﬁcer . He e elf, s gg sted the French began to issu commands to th s ff e . thi e ect, but soldiers hung back afraid

‘ On is th e a r your forehead st r of mo ning, On your back the eagle ; r u e Unde your tong the hump of a beetle , ’ Beau tifu l bull from the line of Osiris .

Once again Shadow of Darkness charged ; this time his halter s e u e napped lik thread , and he began pacing ro nd the nclosure, the ru n other cattle shi g away from him .

‘ Your feet are beau tiful in strength

Your voice is deep as the thunder .

H e i igh and plaintive, pleading and tend r, v brant with emotion , a l on a rose and fell the wailing chant of J .

‘ a m Listen I calling, calling, calling . a m Oh I need you ; I lonely . — ’ Come to me quickly Shadow of Darkness .

th e ﬁv e - With an answering bellow, bull cleared the foot pen and galloped into the darkness . ‘ ofﬁcer Well I never gasped the . B a l ona y dawn , Musa , J and Shadow of Darkness were far away, hiding in safety . T a l k

A Tale told by an Ashanti of the Gold Coast to Harold Cou rl a n d er

of O N C E , not far from the city Accra on the Gulf of Guinea, a country man went out to his garden to dig up some yams to take i of to market . While he was digg ng, one the yams said to him ‘ ’

. Well , at last you re here You never weeded me, but now you Go come around with your digging stick . away and leave me alone w The farmer turned around and looked at his c o in amazement . ow The c was chewing her cud and looking at him . ‘ ’ Did ou ? y say something he asked . ’ c ow on th e The kept chewing and said nothing, but man s dog i u spoke p . ‘ ’ ’ ‘I t I t . wasn t the cow who spoke to you , the dog said was the ’

rn . ya . The yam says leave him alone

The man became angry because his dog had never talked before, ’ i s ton e b es de . So and he didn t like his , he took his knife and cut a branch from a palm tree to whip his dog . Just then the palm tree said ‘Put that branch down Th e man was getting very upset about the way things were b going, and he started to throw the palm ranch away, but the palm branch said ‘ Man , put me down softly He on put the branch down gently a stone , and the stone said ‘ ’ Hey, take that thing off me . w a s This enough , and the frightened farmer started to run for On fish erm a n his village . the way he met a going the other way fish with a trap on his head . ‘ ’ sh rm a n What s the hurry the fi e asked . ‘ “ M ! ” y yam said , Leave me alone Then the dog said , Listen to what the yarn says When I wen t to whip the dog with a palm h branch the t“ree said , Put that branch down T en the palm h branch said , Do it softly T en the stone said, Take that thing ' ofl 1 40

‘ ﬁsh e off th ﬁsh And my trap said , Well, did he tak it e erm a n said . ‘ ’ And my cloth said , You d run too the weaver said . ‘ ’ th e e And the river said the same, bather said hoarsely, his ey s bulging . ’ b u t u The chief listened to them patiently, he co ldn t refrain from scowling . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ow N , this is really a wild story, he said at last . You d better all o ’ g back to your work before I punish you for disturbing the peace . So m en the went away, and the chief shook his head and ‘ ’ h im self Non sen se u mumbled to f like that psets the community . ‘ ’ ‘ a n ta stic n S F , is t it his tool said . Imagine , a talking yam

My F i r s tW e d d i n g D a y i n th e B u s h of Gh os ts

A M O S T U T U O L A

’ E ditor s n ote : Th e te er of t tor a ou n bo h as w a n ere n o th e ll his s y, y g y , d d i t hea rtof th e deep fore sts of We stAfrica a n d fou n d himself in a w orld of o tHe ru e to ﬁn d w a a to orta a ta ton an d h a s an gh s s . st ggl s his y b ck m l h bi i m y n n h He o e a ta ttth 8th town of o t fea rfu l a dve tu res o te w ay . c m s l s o e gh s s a n d tere h e a rr e a ea u tu ou n o e h m i s b if l y g gh st ss .

B E F 0 R E th e wedding day w a s reached my friend had chosen one ‘ ’ of the most fearful ghosts for me as my best man who was always n th e ﬁre e speaking evil words , even he was pu ished in of hell mor ﬁft than y years for these evil talks and cruelties, but was still n growi g rapidly in bad habits, then he was exp elled from hell to ‘ ’ the Bush of Ghosts to remain there u ntil the judgm ent day as h e h is was unable to change evil habits at all . When the wedding day r h ostesses a rived all the ghosts and g of this town , together with the father of the lady whom I wanted to marry, my friend and his r e h mothe , my b st man and myself went to the c urch at about ten ’ ’ so w e o clock , but it was the ghosts clock said . When reached their church I sa w that the Reverend who preached or performed the ‘ ’ w a s wedding ceremony was the Devil . But as he preaching he reached the point that I should tell them my n ame which i s an 1 42 earthly person ’s name and when they heard the name the whole of ‘ them in that church exclaimed at the same time Ah ! y ou will ’ o be baptized in this church again before y u will marry this lady .

n ot . When I heard so from them I agreed , knowing that Revd Devil was going to baptize me with ﬁre and h otwater as they were

. on baptizing for themselves there When I was baptized that day, I was crying loudly so that a person who is at a distance of two n ot miles would listen before hearing my voice , and within a few minutes every part of my body was scratched by this hot water fin ish fire . e and , but before Revd Devil could the baptism I regr tted it o . Then I told him to let me g away from their church and I do not want to marry again because I could not bear to be baptized fi s o with re and hot water any longer, but when all of them heard , ‘ they shouted , Since you have entered this church you are to be baptized with fire and hot water before you will go ou tof the ’

or . church , willing not you ought to wait and complete the baptism e so But when I h ard from them again , I exclaimed with a terrible ‘ ’ t So of voice hat I will die in their church . all them exclaimed ‘ ’

ou . again that y may die if you like, nobody knows you here But as ghosts do notknow the place or time which is possible to a sk so questions , at this stage one of them got up from the seat and ‘ By h ow y ou a“sked me the way, did manage to enter into the ” of th e on of Bush Ghosts, bush which is the second side the world between the heaven and earth and which is strictly banned to every b e earthly person to entered , and again you have the privilege to ’ marry in this bush as well ? So as these ghosts have n o arrange for ments anything at the right time and right place , then I answered that I was too young to know which is ‘bad ’ and ‘good’ before I mistakenly entered this bush and since that time or year I a m trying my best to ﬁn d ou tthe right way back to my home tow n ‘ ’ until I reached the town of burglary - ghosts from where I came to o with my friend this town . After I explained as ab ve , then the questioner stood up again and asked me whether I could show f them my friend whom I followed to that town . O course as my sa h is friend was faithful , before I could y anything, he and mother whom we came to visit gotup at the same time and said that I a m

- w of - living with a burglar ghost in the to n the burglar ghosts . But when my friend and his mother c on ﬁrm ed all that I said and as all the rest of the ghosts are respecting all the burglar - ghosts most so because they were supplying them the earthly properties , they ff overlooked my o ence , then Revd . Devil continued the baptism ﬁr with hot water and e .

After the baptism , then the same Revd . Devil preached again for ‘ ’ of a few minutes, while Traitor read the lesson . All the members 1 43 ‘ ’ ’ - this church were evil doers . They sang the song of evils with evils ‘ ’ melodious tune , then Judas closed the service . ‘ ’ of Even Evil of evils , who was the ruler all the evils , and who

- - was always seeking evils about, evil joking, evil walking, evil

- - - s - playing, evil laughing, evil talking, evil dre sing, evil moving, wor shipping evils in the church of evils and living in the evil - house v with his evil family , every thing he does is evil , attended the ser ice too , but he was late before he arrived and when he shook hands ‘ with me on that day, I was shocked as if I touch a live electric ’ “ to t wire , but my friend was signalling me with his eyes not o shake “ to a v oid hands with him the shock but I did not understand . ’ fin ish ed r u s in - Having the marriage se vice , all of went to my laws house where everybody was served with a variety of food and all ’ kinds of ghosts drinks . After that all the ghost and ghostess dancers - re resen started to dance . Also all the terrible creatures sent their p ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ta tiv es - as Skulls, Long white creatures , Invincible and invisible ’ ‘ ’ Pawn or Give and take who fought and won the Red people in ‘ ’ ‘ ’ - - - the Red town for the Palm Wine drinker, Mountain creatures , ‘ ’ Spirit of prey whose eyes flood of light suffocated Palm - Wine ’ ‘ ’ Drinker s wife and also the hungry - creature who swallowed Palm Wine Drinker together with his wife when returning from Deads ’ ’ town came and saluted my wife s father and they were served ‘ ’ ‘ wh o immediately they arrived . But at last Skull came from Skull ’ ’ ‘ ’ ’ family s town reported Spirit of prey to my wife s father who was chief secretary to all the terrible and curious creatures in all of dangerous bushes , that the spirit prey stole his meat which the skull put at the edge of the plate in which both were eating as both on e were served together with plate , because plates were not ’ s u ffic ien t of to serve each them with a plate . But before my wife s father who was their chief secretary could have a chance to come a fi h tfierc el and settle the matter for them , both of them st rted to g y so that a ll the ghosts and all the other representatives came nearer on and surrounded them, clapping hands them in such a way that if one of these figh ters surrenders or gives up it would be very shameful to him .

o - old A e w h o S me of these scene lookers were clapping, and an p , ’ was a slave and inherited by my wife s father from h is ﬁrstgenera e tion since uncountable years , was b ating a big tree under which both these terrible creatures were ﬁgh tin g as a drum which had a a e w a s t very large sound . But as this old slave p beating the ree as a drum in such a way that all the scene - lookers who stood round them could n otbear the lofty sound of the tree which was beaten r or as a d um and wait stand still in one place , so all the ghosts , evils, terrible creatures, my friend , my wife and her father and 1 44

Th e L o n e ly S ou l

G . A R E . R M A T T O . E

I met a n old woman Talking by herself

Down a lonely road .

Talking to herself, i Laughing all the t me, Talking to herself o Down a c untry road .

Child , you cannot know

Why folks talk alone . If the road b e long

And travellers none ,

A man talks to himself . If showers of sorrows Fall down like arrows The lone wayfarer

May talk by himself . So an old woman On r lone count y roads,

Laughing all the time, May babble to herself

To keep the tears away . sa d ' Woman , you are ’ is th T e same with me .

1 46 ’ T h e r e s Al w a ys a Wa y O u t

G B E M I

h is F A S A S I . always knew all the answers Before retirement, he had been head messenger at an enormous multiple shop in town r and now that he was a settled fa mer at remote Ologede, his authority on practica lly all subjects was upheld without question r of by his fellow fa mers . Ologede was the centre a large farming area ; and in the evening when the men came home , dumped their t of a o or hoes and cu lasses , and gathered round for a game y a ’ friendly chat over their gourds of palm wine Fa sa si s mud b u twas always packed full : and he could be observed till well into the night ﬂinging his arms in all directions as he thundered his p ro n ou n cem en ton h is this subject or that, or regaled credulous ‘ ’ f e listeners with tales o when I was in town . It came th refore as something of a shock when it became known that Fasasi had been ff Ba l e it o ered a chieftaincy by the , but that he was declining , with

. n ot thanks . Everyone knew what that meant A chieftaincy did fall ’ o e a on into everyb dy s lap , and men have be n known to tr mple each ’ w other s necks ithout scruple in their bid to win the coveted title . It was also a well - known fact that a title was never w on without t a generous distribution of money in the righ quarters . — ’ The rumour spread and when Fa sa si s friends could no longer of it on pretend to be ignorant , they furtively tackled him the sub ‘ ’ h ec ton e . w o j night Tell me , Chief, asked a man had been drinking ‘ n ot ? hard all evening , you are really turning down a chieftaincy ’ in o . It is common talk the village , you kn w F a sa si nearly choked over his mug of palm wine , but he knew he ‘ e He - h e - h e must face this soon r or later . he chuckled , and the ‘ ow n 0 15 laughter rang false even in his ears . F 0 will prate about ’ d - what the great o . This ill quoted reply was received with silence ﬂeetin Fa sa si and a g exchange of looks , and for once knew he was ‘ ’ ‘ itis ff losing . Ah well , he continued true I have been o ered a — “, chieftaincy the As u npewa as b eﬁts an illustrious son who has ” ou r Ba l e been adding to glory abroad , to quote the , the supreme ’ of —I r head Ologede . It is such a great honour do feel ove whelmed . 1 47 Whether or not he was turning down the title he would not s ay and his friends who knew that he was n ota man to let go any of chances bolstering up his vanity, ignored the evasion to save —if him further embarrassment he had the money, they argued, he

would not hesitate to accept the title . After all , he had always been ‘ ’ w a s anything but displeased when he addressed as chief . What could be more ﬂa tterin g to him than to wake up and ﬁn d himself ow n —h e As u n ewa ? really a chief in his right , the p

One by one, they drained their bowls of palm wine and took. f Fa sa si a their leave o him . sank in great relief into his f vourite He d or armchair . sat eep in thought for a minute two and then ‘ ou tAb ik e ! Ab ik e bawled , , come here, will you

Presently a dark matronly woman sauntered into the room , o l a a ﬁn a ll smiled coyly as she fastidi usly tied and retied her p , and y ’ on F a sa si s knelt down one knee at feet . ‘ ’ Ab ik e a m ﬁx , my love, I in a great . I need your help . Ab ik — e heaved a sigh she knew what was coming . ‘ You know I a m being offered the title of As u np ew a ‘ ? You are My lord has not told me about this great honour . You ’ it f sh e it—sh certainly deserve . O course had heard of e had a 1 el u bo counter at the market, and these last few days the market had talked of nothing else . How thankful she now felt th—at she had had en ough foresight to gather all her savings into safety her hus b e n o b band would needing some money, dou t . ‘ Abike s t0 Pull up a chair and sit down , ; and p pretending . You

know as much as anyone else in this chatty little village of ours . The Ba l e wants to confer th e title of As u npewa on me ; but I have ’ n ot or . given him an answer one way the other You see , I haven t ’ f Abike a penn y to—maintain the proper dignities o the ofﬁce . sighed once more sh e could see them living on credit and on her market n ow on ﬁn ish ed - earnings from ; and when that was , her nest egg ‘ We e would have to come out . must act and act at onc . Some how the money must be found ! What do you suggest ? ’ Abike could not immediately think of a way out ; but since sh e n ow sa w that he knew nothing of her sav ings and they were not h s e . threatened yet, made up her mind to help her husband si e That night Fa sa slept well in spit of his worries . But his wife s s spent a sleeple night tossing about her bed of woven rushes , worrying her weary mind for a clue . ’ By daybreak Ab ike s efforts had been rewarded . Leaving her little ’ maid to get breakfast ready, she burst into her husband s room and ‘ threw open the windows . Ah , good morning, my master ; I have ’ been thinking all night : you hardly know how rich you are .

1 Yam ﬂou r . 1 48

t ed he for what was coming hat he simply smil when , in the secrecy ‘ first u of his bedroom , the man nburdened his mind . Oh yes , you ‘ may laugh protested the suitor, but you just put yourself in my to ow n position for a minute . Though I do not want sing my e — of praises , I cannot help reminding you of my achiev ments head o our local school, with very good prospects of being v ted into the — — — ’ local council . Salary good ; state single ; looks very good . Fa sa si looked at this man of forty- odd who still preened himself is . like a young lad of twenty Ah , well , he thought, there something in the old turkey anyway and with his pretensions and craving for c o h e i s n ot - oor publi appr val , likely to ill treat the p child . But his ‘M voice was full of agony as he replied y dear friend , if I had any — , idea of your intentions if I thought the prospe ct of a union with e my poor family would attract you . But the girls are all ngaged h ’ I wis I had known . ‘ Is there no remedy ? Not even if I gave you £30 for her dowry ? ’ I have the money on me . a sa s Still it F i : . This was too much for he could sing for joy , would not do to appear too eager and it was with great reluctance that he fin a lly accepted the money and agreed to break his ’ — daughter s previous engagement a n e ngagement that never existed ! in The second man came , then the third . a E ch time it was exactly the same story . They both had their -fiv e too . . money ready, One had forty pounds, the other twenty e Evidently, literate educated girls were in great d mand and already ’ f r F a sa si s An there was keen competition o children . aged man wanted a wife with just these qu a lifica tion s for his son w h o w a s ‘ training as a surveyor and he was gra tified to fin d her in such a ’ commendable home . Fasasi listened to him with an indifference he certainly did not

to ﬁn d - ih - feel . How it tickled his vanity himself father law to both o ! a headmaster and a survey r, all overnight , as it were And the princely su m of £ 7 0 w a s his already ! Shrewd business man that he w a s r i r1c es , he could not help su mis ng that p might soar higher later s o on and , when the last man approached him , he quite gently but ‘ ’ ‘ m l o a m r ou ﬁr . y put his fo t down I so ve y sorry, he said , I wish y had told me earlier . As it is , it is all settled . The girls are all given ’ away . on of Fa sa si When he had locked the door the last his friends , - w h o h ow ran back into his sitting room and shouted to his wife, , ev er w a s n ow , sitting there in his favourite armchair, a mischievous ‘ ? ’ smile on her lips . Guess what he said , looking mysterious . ‘ ’ ’ £ 0 a n d You ve got 7 in your pocket , she replied promptly then , 1 50 ‘ of unashamed , she added by way explanation , I was just outside

your window all the time . Congratulations i ‘ ‘ h i u n w e ts o d o e . Here, you take p , I it all to your genius r ally - ou o Well , to morrow y shall g down to town and bring back all four f B o . of those pretty girls mine y Jove , I never knew how rich I was , ? ’ He so so . did I now was obviously happy, pleased with himself Ab ike folded up her pound , mentally saving it up to augment el u b o her trade . ‘ ’ ? — I - Ah , isn t it just too good to be true ex head messenger and ’ : I As u n ew a ! farmer , the p And with that he heaved up the ample sleeves of his a gba d a and waved an imaginary horse - tail - for the b en eﬁtof an equally imaginary audience as he strutted up and down the whole length of his sitting- room all to the amusement V of his wife, who was herself already seeing isions .

W h a ta D a y !

A traditional West African poem translated from the Yoruba by

L. a s bika n E . L e

What a day, when the morning air does not resound with the pounding of yams ! What a day when I listened in vain to hear them sift the ﬂou r ! When the frying pots do not simmer with the fricassee of rabbits

and birds . What a day when the expert wakes up under the shadow of starvation

1 5 1 Th e S e r g e a n tw h o R e joi c e d i n h is You th

M W . S . I N A H

0 N C E there was a Sergeant who was very handsome and tall and ‘ 0 radiant because he had read in the Bible , Rejoice young man , ’ to in thy youth , and he made up his mind do that

Well , as every one knows who has been in large cities , it is quite easy to lead a merry, carefree life there, if you make up your mind to its o of do , this Sergeant got asked to a lot parties and dances of and moonlight picnics , and really the ladies made a great fuss him ; and during the hot weather he spent his leave at seaside hostels , and could have gone to other distant countries if only the Ofﬁc er Commanding would give him an extension . ‘ So for one day the Adjutant sent the Sergeant and said , Look here, Sergeant, the Colonel has been talking about you , and he says ’ ’ I so he doesn t like the way you are behaving, and neither do ; it s it to about time you chucked . You must begin take a little interest ou t . e in your profession Get and hav your hair cut, and stop using ’ ﬁl th on it that y coconut oil . The Sergeant w a s quite upset beca use he did not use coconut oil on his hair at all , but another much more expensive preparation of which he was proud ; but he was wise enough not to mention ‘ m a . that to the Adjutant and said, I sorry, sir Please put my name ’ down for the next promotion examination .

The Adjutant was very surprised , but he put his name down for the next examination , and then the Sergeant came back to the Battalion Ofﬁc e and asked the Adjutant what were the best books to read for the promotion , which was a very tactless thing to do , because, of course, the Adjutant did not know and had to tell him ou t to clear as he was busy . So the Sergeant was very subdued for a few days, and refused

_quite a lot of invitations in order to study for his examination , and on e evening he went to a lecture on tactics and afterwards he went ’ - to the hairdresser s , where he had a hair cut , a shampoo and then a little face massage, because the barber said his face needed that ; he then looked in at the club to s ee if there were any books on

1 5 2 in time about the disgrace he was in for failing in all the subjects ‘ of a m his examination and said , No , I very sorry I cannot dine a m with you , because I going to take a correspondence course in a ’ geogr phy . ‘ ’

. And Mrs Snowdrop said , Oh , that s quite easy . I know a lot of geography ; we can talk the subject over ﬁrs tand then y ou can ’ correspond with me about it afterwards . So the Sergeant went to dine with Mrs . Snowdrop , and after dinner she taught him that Aden was famous for ostrich feathers and coral necklaces, and that Port Said was renowned for p icture postcards and that law yers and judges came from Allahabad : and then the Sergeant went home and corresponded with her a l ot Mr about these and other things until . Snowdrop came home from hospital and read one of the letters and for some reason he kicked it e 0 up hell about , and said the correspondenc course must st p or he would see his solicitors and have the Sergeant tried by court martial . And the Sergeant had to sit for his examination again without

. any preparation , and he failed in all the subjects Oﬁicer Well , this time the Commanding sent for the Sergeant, and at ﬁrs the was inclined to be very angry and he saw that the

Sergeant, instead of being his usual gay and radiant self, was Ofﬁc er looking very sorrowful and depressed . The Commanding or so thought that perhaps he was sick something, he said in quite ‘ b o ? a kindly voice, What is the trouble , my y Is there anything on your mind 5” So the Sergeant looked at the Commanding Officer with a very "

Yes sir . grateful expression and said , , , there is Every time I try to pass my examinations I seem to get mixed up with women in some of sort way . In fact, in everything I do I seem to get mixed up d ifﬁc u lt e with women , which makes it very to concentrate , b cause s ir as you know, , they are very charming creatures and really a ’ - full time job in themselves . And the Commanding Ofﬁc er sighed heavily and looked very ‘

sa . thoughtful and then said , Yes , what you y is true They are w - always charming and al ays a full time job , and I found it so t w a s . re re I when I young Looking back on those days with g , now ’ s fin d I did not make the best u e of my Opportunities . too Well , the Sergeant sighed heavily, , to show how much he officer sympathized with his superior , and then he said that he would try to do better and would really work harder for the next examination ; but the Commanding Offic er jumped up from his ‘ ’ on chair and put a friendly hand his shoulder and said , No , don t of n do that . There is plenty time ; forget about examinatio s and ’ continue to enjoy yourself when you are still young . 1 54 So the Sergeant continued to rejoice in his youth and every body — Mrs a s i . w was very pleased part cularly Snowdrop , whose husband again in bed with the same sprained knee .

1 O B l u e - S k y D u c h e ss !

C D E T H O M A S A . O J O

0 L A D Y of Blue - Sky Fashion and Twenty plus Six Alphabetical e Spells of adorable beauty, you were here at a time wh n the Star Le nnox - Boyd had succeeded in destroying the plans of a Com m u n istW of u s El oii Eloi a h . orshipper evil spirits Let pray in , y - A re et Jesu gg y Alpha Omega , and leap we shall leap to a blessed ’ Paradise after the resignation of Nkrumah s woeful Government . 0 Duchess, Duchess of Kent , take my wings (the thirteenth soul in me) and plough the waves in the universe with me to a kingdom where the Sun is Adam acknowledgeable in the traditional sister of hood infallible angels as the children of God . for or tw o I have a message the British Throne, in a line , the constitutional white paper is good to ﬁtn o gamblers of democracy but it ﬁts an Empire of Royal Christian Citizenship and to Queen of Elizabeth II , the House of Commons and the Temple the Lords , s of I post boundless thankfulness per the Duches Kent, Duchess ,

O - e my lustre Duchess, we shall travel with the space tim of snails ’ in the angels arts and by thine convocational rape of the throat of six winds shall a Ghanaian graduate in the astral elevation of the ﬁsh of heavenly bodies , lit those who wisdom to my height the of twelfth hour (mensa , a table the Star Jesus) should fail except they are enemies to the soul of Judas I sca ru s and his communist n ow to fellowship . It is time to address a divinely inspired welcome the Matron of Kent with all the ﬂa p p in gs in the wings of the ’ of Queen s Day Star, styled in classical tales as the oldest all ’ in 1 Lawyers and Philosophers ; po t , are the Queen s preservation of law all correct in Ghana via Jibow u lex ? we sa y yes n otin N - Kwame krumah but in a Lennox Boyd , exception in the law is

1 1 d a etw r tten h D A . p mphl i to w elcome te u che ss of Ken tto th e Gha n a I n e en en e e e ra ton d p d c c l b i s . 1 55 cast with hopes of the Ea gle Codjoe whose dominant history the v in d ic tiv es dupe was about to excavate by neopaganism plans and , flee fit , he flees, this is my cap it does not a graduate with waxen ou r id en tifica tion of wings, read passport in the Commissioner Police Record Book that no man can take the name of the Lord in Ak etesh ie vain , Jesus made wine with p to tell history that the man who spoke of Saltpond as his holy city is fraudulent , lex Jupiter c irc u l a v itGhana etEngland Universitas Duchess Kent umbra -Cod oe c on v oc a t Jesu j Pater Africa Legon , Nkrumah Kwame nil

’ ‘ ‘ ﬁa t u s u ra n d u rrr Dii ambulans Buckingham Castra London , ago j j

Caeli me . of We are here to speak to the Duchess Kent by natural wireless , — h on a a er0 l a n s b c o n o viz p Duch Kent p iac Jesu g , take my warm and royal greetings in this writing to signify a wish I have in me to be present at the air port to swinton one sweet smile to Th ine Dear Spirit in which I shall for ever worship with dozens of cares ﬂow in g from a bond signed by the Prince of Divinities and sealed ’ t r ﬁa . O in the Gods of no Nk umah s chronology Thine , Thine , my

Brave Duchess , is the shield in Dii , forsake the doleful feelings in Thine Heart for the Duke is the Soul in Thine Profortu n a te Late H u sband in the professional wisdom in which I live as Heavenly

Duke and the Father of All Angels , it is written , if the ﬂesh is the A re ri man in an gg y of Af ca, there shall be no resurrection of dead C hristians , Thine Royal Companion ﬂies away to join the blessed Ma n kee Singing Stars , take my wedding ring from Miss Jessey May of Maidstone , Kent and live with me in Jesu .

I need to be planted in Ghana millions of palm trees , pines , cane

. sugar, oranges, melons , grapes, sweet apples, ginger etc I shall use Ak etesh ie - - for of the p trade spirit the manufacture gun powder, highly explosive rockets which I call in my parliamentary politics ’ c a lli ra h o bombs . Recounting the Prime Minister s speech under g p logy caped in the columns of the D a ily Gra phic of at

Saltpond , the Premier made the subjunctive reference that they 0 have no bombs but they have brains , History, History , tell the a ss that the Lord Jesus its Rider and Master - Builder of the New h is World (Heaven) Ghana , said that in ruling lexicon all those rockets which the Government ordered for the Holy Celebration of Independence in Africa are called representative bombs . Have 0 ou you brains really Kwame Nkrumah , how can y and your “people tell wise men in Europe and America to believe that you have brains in your heads since they were using reﬁn ed river muds with the shape and early resemblance of the mud in the Korle

Lagoon to manufacture coloured school chalk . Can men with thoughtful brains buy river muds and powder of burnt sea shells 1 56

’ Osa n sa e But knew Anansi s reputation v ry well, and so he said ‘ or a m No, I have as much food as I can eat sell . I rich enough . ’ Why don t you set your fish traps by yourself ‘ ’ Ha l ? h I d Fish alone T en have to do all the work Anansi said . ‘ ’ What I need is a fool for a partner . Osa n sa e went away, and after a whil another man named Anene came along . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ of u s o I have an idea , Anansi said . Why don t the two g and set fish traps together ? Th en we shall sell the fish and be quite ’ rich .

‘ n e A ene kn w Anansi very well too , but he seemed to listen thoughtfully . ‘ ’ ‘ fin e e That sounds like a idea , he said . Two peopl can catch h ’ ’ fis on e . it. more than Yes , I ll do The news went rapidly around the village that Anansi and Anene on fish in e Osa n sa were going a g expedition togeth r . met Anene in the market and said ‘ ’ We hear you are going to trap fish with Anansi . Don t you know he is trying to make a fool of you ? He h a s told every one that he o fish in He setth e needs a fool to g g with him . wants someone to fish traps and do all the work, while he gets all the money for the ’ sh fi .

‘ ’ ’ ’ ’ wor1 Osa n sa Don t 7 , friend a I won t be Anansi s fool Anene sa d1 Early the next morning Anansi and Anene went into the woods to sh cut palm branches to make their ﬁ traps . Anansi was busy thinking h ow he could make Anene do most of the work . But when they came to the place where the palm trees grew, Anene said to Anansi ‘ Give me the knife , Anansi . I shall cut the branches for the traps . of We are partners . We share everything . My part the work will be ’ to cut branches , your part of the work will be to get tired for me . ‘ ’ ‘ Just a minute , let me think, Anansi said . Why should I be the one to get tired ‘ ’ ’ e Well , when there s work to be don someone must get tired , ‘ ’ So h n T . te A ene said . hat s the way it is if I cut branches , the least ’ you can do is to get tired for me . ‘ ? ’ ‘ Hah , you take me for a fool Anansi said . Give me the knife . I shall cut the branches and you get tired for me So Anansi took the knife and began cutting the branches from u sa t the trees . Every time he chopped , Anene gr nted . Anene down in the shade and groaned from weariness, while Anansi chopped ﬁsh and hacked and sweated . Finally the wood for the traps was 1 58 ot cut . Anansi tied it up into a big bundle . Anene g up from the

rou n d h old in . g , g his back and moaning ‘ of n ow Anansi , let me carry the bundle wood , and you can get ’ tired for me, Anene said . ‘ ’ ‘ n o a m Oh, , my friend Anene, Anansi said , I not that simple ’ minded . I ll carry the wood myself, and you can take the weariness ’ for me . So he hoisted the bundle to the top of his head and the two of them started back to the village . Anene groaned all the way . ‘ h ‘ ' o . e Oh , he moaned Tak it easy, Anansi Oh , oh When they came to the village Anene said ‘ ﬁsh sit Let me make the traps , Anansi , and you just down and f ’ get tired or me . ‘ ’ ‘ ’

on . Oh , no , Anansi said . You just keep as you are And he made the ﬁsh traps while Anen e lay on his back in the shade with his eyes closed , moaning and groaning .

And while he was making the traps , working in the heat with u perspiration r nning down his face and chest, Anansi looked at e Anene lying ther taking all his weariness and sore muscles for him , h is and he shook his head and clucked tongue . ‘ ’ h ‘ is e . Anene thinks he intelligent , said to himself Yet look at r him moaning and g oaning there, practically dying from weari ness When the fish traps were done Anene climbed to his feet and ‘ fish said , Anansi , my friend , now let me carry the traps to the ’ for water, and you can get tired me . ‘ ’ ‘ You Oh , no, Anansi said . just come along and do your share . ’ th d ’ e o . I ll do carrying, you the getting tired So they went down to the water, Anansi carrying and Anene e moaning . When they arriv d , Anene said to Anansi ‘ ow N wait a minute , Anansi , we ought to think things over here . e S . o Ther are sharks in this water Someone is apt to get hurt . let o setth e m e ou me g in and traps, and should a shark bite , then y ’ can die for me . ‘ ‘ Wa h Anansi howled . Listen to that ! What do you take me ’ ? o e set a m for I ll g in the wat r and the traps myself, and if I bitten , then y ou ca n die for me So h e took the fish traps ou tinto the water and set them and then the two of them went back to the village . The next morning when they went down to inspect the traps h fis firs t. they found just four . Anene spoke ‘ h - fis You . Anansi , there are only four here . take them To morrow ’ ’

e e . there will probably be mor , and then I ll tak my turn ‘ ’ ‘ for ? Do Now, what do you take me Anansi said indignantly . 1 59 a m - ? ou you think I simple minded Oh , no , Anene , y take the four ’ ’ fish - and I ll take my turn to morrow . So Anene took the four fish and carried them to town and sold them . fish Next day when they came down to the traps , Anene said ‘ ’ ’ fish I m Look, there are only eight here . glad it s your turn , ’ - o because to m rrow there doubtless will be more . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ - sh Just a minute, Anansi said . You want me to take to day s fi ? so - e that to morrow you get a bigger catch Oh , no , th se are all ’ ’ - yours , partner; to morrow I ll take my share . So Anene took the eight fish and carried them to town and sold them . Next day when they came to look in the traps they found six fish teen . ‘ s ’ ‘ h ’ th e fis . Anan i , Anene said , take sixteen Little ones, too . I ll ’ - take my turn to morrow . ’ ’ ’ Of to - - course you ll take your turn morrow, it s my turn to day, ‘

. He to Anansi said stopped think . Well , now, you are trying to make a fool out of me again ! You want me to take these six teen

fish so - w miserable little that you can get the big catch to morro , ’ ’ ’ ou ? its I m ! don t y Well , a good thing alert You take the sixteen ’ to - day and I ll take the big catch to - morrow So sh to s Anene carried the sixteen fi the market and old them . c fish ou t Next day they ame to the traps and took the . But by this time the traps had rotted in the water . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’ - I m Well , it s certainly your turn to day, Anene said . And very ’ of fish a re ou t glad that . Look, the traps rotten and worn . We can t ’ u s — ou e them any more . I ll tell you what y take the fish to town ’ fish s and sell them , and I ll take the rotten trap and sell them . The fish traps will bring an excellent price . What a wonderful idea ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ’

Hm . , Anansi said Just a moment, don t be in such a hurry . I ll ’ fish take the traps and sell them myself . If there s such a good price ’ of ? to be had , why shouldn t I get it instead you Oh , no , you take ’ sh e fi . the , my fri nd Anansi hoisted the rotten fish traps up on his head and started ' h off fis . for town . Anene followed him , carrying the When they fish arrived in the town Anene sold his in the market, while Anansi walked bac k and forth singing loudly ‘ I a m selling rotten fish traps ! I a m selling wonderful rotten fish traps on e fish But no wanted rotten traps , and the townspeople were angry that Anansi thought they were so stupid they would buy them . All day long Anansi wandered through the town singing ‘ Get your rotten fish traps here ! I a m selling wonderful rotten fish traps 1 60

He w h o h a s l os ta l l

D A V I D D I O P

Translated from th e French by Dorothy Blair

The su n shone brightly in my hut And my women were fair and pliant

‘ As the palm in the evening breeze . My children glided through the great river’s waters With its deadly depths

And my canoes struggled with the crocodiles . The maternal moon accompanied ou r dances Th e frenzied heavy rhythm of the tom - tom

Tom - tom of of joy days , careless the morrow res In the midst of the ﬁ of liberty .

on e Then day, silence The rays of the su n seemed to die of In my hut now empty meaning . My women cru shed their painted mouths On the thin hard lips of the steel - eyed conquerors And my children quit their peaceful nakedness 1 Donning the uniform of ron and bloodshed . Your voice too had died The chains of slavery have rent my heart

m - of - To . toms night, tom toms of my fathers

1 62 Th e R e tu r n of th e S o l d i e r

F R A N C I S O B I K A

of to 0 N the heels War followed hardship . There were none work

in the farms any more . There were none to clear the roads again .

The walls fell and remained fallen . The houses leaked but remained on unrepaired . The thatches rotted the roofs but there was none to

renew them . There were no young men to lead the maidens to

dances any more . Decay set in in every aspect of life . for n e Wives were paid allotments their husbands o active s rvice . Th ey used the money to pay for the food and other services which they could no longer provide for themselves . Some soldiers sent for money to their relatives to keep them till they returned . When the money had grown big, evil thoughts entered the minds of those T d ie b a ttl efiel d s so relatives . hey wished the soldiers might on the r that they could u se the money fo themselves . Some even went to native doctors to make charms which could cause the death of a b a ttl efield soldier on a . b a ttl efield s Some soldiers did die on . That was not remarkable, for why else did they go to war but to feed the cannons ? Some n a ttl efi l d marched from o e b e to another with charmed lives . Some were taken prisoners in enemy countries . Some deserted their units and embraced new countries . Some even managed to return to O in d u w on on j after their desertion . Some distinctions one battle ld in d u e O . fie after another . Some wer maimed and carried back to j f T wh o Some suf ered shell shock and became insane . hose per severed to the end did not return until the tw o atom bombs had demolished Hiroshima and Nagasaki . h Then the great homeward march began . T ey came by giant

. s steamers over endless seas It took many month , many weeks and h T e . many days . great reunion was marked by happy celebrations The fatted calf was killed and its blood sprinkled on the shrine of

so to . the ancestors . There was much tell by those who returned Those who had imagination painted the pictures with art until h those w o had not exposed the crude truth . Then the wonder did not last nine days . 1 63 - Not all the home comings were happy . There were some

tragedies . Some ran amok when they came home to ﬁn d their trusts

betrayed . Some found their wives with children they did n othelp in d . O u to bear Other armies had stayed at j while they were away .

Mankind being the same all the world over, the flesh had over to fin d a ll come the spirit . Some returned kith and kin extinct . L There was sorrow and there was joy . ife had to be built afresh . th e They had received war gratuity promised by the Government . Atfirs t it seemed a good lump of money . But soon they found it could not do every thing . l The war veteran ooked on the soil . It had grown poor through He of th e years of ceaseless cultivation . thought life he had led in fi h tin w a s the army . Apart from the actual g g there plenty to eat . He of He thought the countries he had visited . thought of the new n life in foreign lands . Why should be spend his life toiling to o ? rofit . He of He p His soul rebelled had seen the happier side life . wanted to have a share of the good things of life . Hé turned from th e the soil , donned the khaki uniform again and went to cities .

ofﬁ c e ofﬁce - From to he presented himself . The ex serviceman of became the problem the day . The Government had promised them employment . Let the Government redeem its promise . The

of - Th e politicians caught the cry ex serviceman . press printed

f - n ot banner headlines in support o the ex serviceman . There was o An for enough employment to g round . Opportunity was created r e of rogues to get rich . Jobbe y b came the order the day . Whatever was left of the war gratuity was handed over to the men in the key to places in order get a job no matter what sort . In some cases money could not avail simply because there were no more jobs . In desperation the veteran turned his attention to other sources . But he was determined not to go back to the land . Atrs t T ﬁ one man went to the cities . hen followed another ; and e then there was a rush . The temporary rejuv nation of social life in Ojin d u created by the arrival of her youths from the wars was gone . This time it was worse because the youths married the of re - of maidens and all went away . The hopes establishment the ol d order were fast receding . There would never be any more folk dances . Maidens with quivering breasts ripe like mangoes would no to ﬂu tes more step the rhythm of the music played on , drums and b e e gongs . The folk tales would no more told b neath the stars at r th e night , nor the ca nivals be held under moon . What a civiliza tion ! What a vengeance !

1 64

‘ He a picked up the eagle and said to it E gle, thou art an eagle ; thou dost belong to the sky and not to this earth ; stretch forth thy wings and ﬂy Th e eagle looked around and trembled a s if new life were coming o it n otﬂ t ; but it did y . The naturalist then made it look straight ou t at the sun . Suddenly it stretched its wings and , with the screech of an eagle , it mounted higher and higher and never returned . It was an eagle, though it had been kept and tamed as a chicken of of My people Africa , we were created in the image God , but

‘ u s s till th in k men have made think that we are chickens , and we ’ t a re e e ﬂ we are ; b u we agles . Str tch forth your wings and y ! Don t be content with th e food of chickens

Co n g o

L E O PO L D S E D’ A R S E N G H O R

Translated from the French by Dorothy Blair

Oh o ! Congo oho ! To beat out the rhythm of thy name wide on the waters on the rivers on all that remembe rs 1 2 th e k oras Ko a té of Let me stir up the voice of , y . The ink the t scribe grows dim wi h oblivion .

! on e - e Oho Congo recumbent thy bed, for st bed, qu en of tamed Africa May phallic mountains bear aloft thy standard For for o thou art woman by my head by my tongue , th u art woman

by my entrails .

Mother of all nostrilled things , crocodile hippopotamus

ﬁsh es of - Lamentin iguana and birds , mother ﬂood waters wet nurse of the harvest Great woman ! water open wide to the oa r and the stem of the canoe Ma Sa 6 my woman with the thighs of violence with long arms decked in still water- lilies

1 A We tAfr a n tr n n tu en tw u n a s ic s i g i s r m hich so ds like a h rp . 2 Na e of a oe m p t . 1 66 1 y of ou ou ou Woman most lo ed z g , body of incorruptible oil , skin of

diamantine night .

ﬂa c c id Tranquil goddess with the smile, calm above the giddying turmoil of thy blood of e of Thou long lineag malarious, deliver me from the surging my

blood .

Tom - tom tom - of thou thou tom the bounding panther, of the ant strategist Of the slimy abomination rising on the third day from the p oto 2 p oto of the marshes Ha l o above all things, from the spongy s il and the smooth songs of the White - man ’ But deliver m e from the joyless night and watch o er the silent

forest . So let me be the slender standing tree - tru nk and the twenty- six cubit leap

- ﬂi h t In the trade winds , let me be the g of the canoe on the smooth

shield of thy belly . 3 of of e of on o Glades thy bosom islets lov , hills of amber and g g 4 Ta n ns ta n ns of D i16r of childhood of Joal , and y in September ' An d night of Asn iéres in Sep tem b erﬂ in the c a lm a n d mildness of h e t season . T ﬂow ers of ranquil of thy hair, petals so white thy mouth of Above all interchange soft words at the new moon , until the of midnight the blood . of for of Deliver me from the night my blood , the silence the

forests lies in wait . My beloved at my side whose eburnean oil bends to her will my hands my heart

My strength exalted in abandon , my honour in submission th e Th e - And my knowledge in instinct of thy rhythm . dance leader twists in abandon

orem ost - - F of his sex at the sight of the bull , like the Killer with the

- of-ﬂa m eyes e . Bells beat the rhythm tongues beat th e rhythm oars beat the rhythm

f - - - of the dance o the Master of the oars . See his canoe ! b eﬁttin g the exulting choruses of F a d y ou tt

ou t th e - And I cry for twice times two hands for tom tom, and

forty virgins to sing of his exploits .

1 A tree f r oo o a a w . h d , bl ck d 2 M d u .

3 Afr a n e f ic p r u me . 4 W d e a re tret of a n ro ere th e s h a i b s ch l d f m w h e a s receded . 1 67 - Beat the rhythm , glowing arrows, talons of the noon day sun

- - Beat the rhythm , cowrie rattles, of the gushing of the Great Water e And death on the crest of exultation , at the unchall ngeable call of the gulf .

But the canoe will arise again through the white foam water - lilies The pliant bamboo will ﬂoat aga1 n l n the transparent morning of

the world .

Th e D e v i l a tYol a h u n B r i d g e

A B I O S E H D N C O L . I

5 A N D E R 8 O N twirled his fountain -pen slowly round between the fin gers of on e hand and drummed with the other on the desk before f Kissil a n d him . His eyes wandered to the distant green hills o that e marked the boundary between his district and the next . H looked ’ again at the form in front of him , printed on Crown Agents paper, ‘ ’ c er s and read it to himself for the tenth time . District Offi Annual Report West African Colonial Service The blank Mc Ph rson . e space below looked wider than ever Since J his Senior Offic er District , had gone home on leave, he had kept postponing ’ itHe e writing . had receiv d a gentle reminder from Headquarters

Sec retariat a few d ays ago . He felt he really must get down to it this afternoon . ‘ ou t Momoh he shouted . The young West African clerk came th e of the adjoining o e . ‘ ’ n Bring me all the Annual Reports y ou can lay your hands o . ‘ ﬁft ’ There are about y , sir, Momoh said with some trepidation , ‘ ’ ou but I can bring them all if y want them , he added hastily . ‘ ’

. Bring the past ten years, then e When the Reports arrived he glanced through them . H could not believe that anyone bothered to read them . What would s a 1 6 happen , he wondered , if he sent , y , the 93 Report verbatim with the name of a sub - chief altered here and the name of a village ‘ or there ; , say, a blank form with some cryptic remark like Con ﬁd en tia lly (as requested) the Africans have not changed much over

1 68

Government lorry to be made ready in case that of the visiting engineer broke down on the way to Kissy or when returning from it . Sanderson looked through the list, initialled his approval , and asked Momoh the name of the engineer . ‘ ’ Mr ir . O E . s . Hughes , , Momoh replied , with a slight smile which puzzled Sanderson at the time, but which he remembered

. ou r afterwards One of Celtic brethren , Sanderson thought to him ‘ ’ ou self . Aloud he said, Right . Thank y very much , dismissing the clerk .

‘

. Now, about Hughes? he said , half aloud to himself He h im could not place ; the name did not sound familiar . Must be new, he thought , and decided to look him up in the most recent He n r Senior Staff List . ran his fi ge down the column of the Senior F W D . s . ff . H . Sta until he came to the Ah, there it was , Hughes , l u m i O e . it y Egbert Oh , that was 3 he was an African . That was why n f o He . he had ever heard him before . whistled softly to himself B o b e y J ve , there might complications . Usually, visiting members of the senior staff were taken to the European Club in the evenings they spent in Kissy . He began to go through the list of members in h is on e h mind one by , trying to picture w at their reactions would m e be to an African guest . Then he wondered for a mo ent, a littl w h o shamefacedly, whether it was not he had started making ex fin d in cuses and g reasons before anything happened . But no , he decided , it was his duty to make sure beforehand that there were no incidents , because if there were he would have to make a report u m oken He and probably bear the p blame from Headquarters . w Mr h ondered whether it would not be wiser to ask old . T omas , H At h e the Senior African clerk, to entertain ughes . last made a —h e He decision knew what he would do . would ask Hughes to s of dinner at his bungalow and he would ask Houn low , the agent firm E a large , to make up a third . Hounslow was nglish but born son of He in East Africa , a Kenya settler . would show by that that he had no prejudice . With the problem solved he turned to work with a lighter heart but with a mild sense of dissatisfaction . He Hughes arrived promptly after lunch . was a tall man , prob e ably in his early thirties, with a small military moustach , close cropped hair, very dark skin , and even , white teeth , but he was He . completely unsmiling, and very polite shook hands with San d erson ot ' to , accepted a seat , refused a cigarette, and g down busi

. He ness almost immediately listened to Sanderson carefully, made or o notes , and asked one two questi ns . Sanderson called to Momoh l s in fi e . to bring in the The clerk brought them , put them down , r and was going away when Sanderson stopped him suddenly, emem 1 7 0 ‘ of bering his smile pride, and introduced him to Hughes , who smiled pleasantly and briefly, shook hands and turned back to the fil es effic ien c . Sanderson found this politeness and y uncomfortable firs t to at , and tried soften the atmosphere with a joke here and n ot or there . But Hughes either did understand pretended he did a At of of not underst nd . the end of a couple hours most the work fin ish ed w was , and Sanderson asked Hughes what he ould be doing

. that night Then , feeling that the African engineer might regard it a s h is an unwarrantable intrusion into privacy , he added hastily, ‘ ’ ’ ou t because I d like y o come to dinner with me . ‘ ’ Yes , thank you , that will be nice , Hughes answered , putting u away his notes and getting p . Sanderson was a little disappointed that he had not shown more enthusiasm . Hang it all , he thought, ’ I don t suppose many Europeans would ask him as I have done , u f but perhaps he is political and is accepting o tof a sense o duty .

Besides, he probably guesses why I asked him to come to the ‘ ’ You it bungalow . are sure you can manage , by the way, he said aloud . ‘ ’

. Oh , yes , thank you , that will be very nice , Hughes repeated ‘ ’ o see ofﬁc ia l n ow w I ll g and the other buildings , and will be ith ’ - o for . you this evening . Go d bye , then , the present , he added Sanderson walked with him to the door and they shook hands again while Momoh looked on admiringly . Hounslow appeared at eight at Sanderson ’s bungalow and mixed He himself a drink . shouted through the door to Sanderson who was changing in his bedroom . ‘ ? ’ Is anyone else coming to - night ‘ ’ Hughes , the new assistant engineer , Sanderson shouted back . ‘ ’ ’ ? Sw a n sea l ook ou ? What s he like Does he come from , y man ‘ ’ —Mr l u m i O e . No , he is an African . y Egbert Hughes

There was a pause . ‘ ’ ou ? Are y there, Hounslow Sanderson asked anxiously after a while . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ a m h te . Yes , I , Hounslow replied through door Why didn t you tell me this be fore ‘ ’ ’ ’ Because, frankly, I wasn t sure whether you d come . ‘ ’ of ? Are you afraid , Sanderson , facing an educated black alone ‘ No , not at all , but I thought it would be good experience for ’ ou of - y , my lad . It will correct some your slave driving ideas . ‘ ’ ’ a m ﬁn d sa I afraid he and I won t much to y to each other, ‘ ’ - Hounslow replied . Pity the club s closed to night or I would have ’ escaped before he arrived . Sanderson opened the door and entered the lounge - cum - dining ‘ ’ ? ’ room . The club s closed 1 7 1 ‘ " ‘ ’ Yes, Hounslow said , a peculiar situation has arisen . We ve run ’ ou tof drinks through bad management , he added . ‘ ’ Mr ? Why, were you going to take your . Hughes there ‘ ’

The idea had occurred to me , Sanderson said , feeling relieved and somewhat guilty . ‘There ’s no end to what you wallahs in the Administration will ’ ia l - do to show your damned oﬂi c broad mindedness . ‘ He lit a cigarette and sank moodily into a chair . I wish I had ’ m 1 ssu s ‘ e . brought my black with me, he added , smiling reminisc ntly ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’ ﬁn e She s a girl , you know, he continued enthusiastically . Don t ’d ’ know what I do without her . ‘ ’ : Mr No , you certainly aren t bringing her . Hughes looks very ’ ’ respectable . And you re going to behave nicely to him , too . ‘ ? ’ Yes , teacher . Is he political ‘ ’ ’ ‘ I shouldn t wonder, Sanderson answered . They all are , these ’ ’ c h a s ou p , y know, although they ve got to conceal it when they re in ’ the Service . ‘Shouldn ’t be surprised if he supplies copy to nationalist news ’ papers . However, we must move with the times, Hounslow said ‘ ’ ’ resignedly . He ll probably get drunk and start smashing bottles , he added hopefully .

In fact , they were all a little unsober before the evening was out . Olu Hughes appeared looking very smart in a light tropical suit

b ow - and a black tie . ‘ ’ to Oh , I forgot tell you not to dress , said Sanderson . ‘ ’ ’

. Oh, that s all right, Hughes replied

Hounslow and Hughes were introduced to each other . The ‘ ’ a sa id How Afric n , do you do . d Hounslow nodded . Neither shook hands . Sanderson mixe them drinks and made conversation about his garden . They moved over to the other side of the room and s a tdown to chop . Sanderson waited for Hughes to begin before he himself started . Hughes waited for Sanderson because the latter was more of senior in the Service , and in any case the array knives and forks ’ h ors d oeu v res was a little confusing . Hounslow began as soon as the of h were placed in front him . T en Sanderson put his knife and fork on his plate and passed Hughes the salt . Hughes took it and began on to eat . Hounslow concentrated the food and ate gloomily and

s . lowly, now and again addressing a remark to Sanderson Hughes , perhaps noticing this , turned slightly to Sanderson and spoke to ’ him exclusively of his afternoon s work . Towards the end of the meal Hounslow, talking about rising prices , turned to Hughes and ‘

How o Mr . said , are y ur people managing, Hughes, with all these 1 7 2

‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’ ﬁrs t b u t Well, I didn t at , admitted Hughes, later on I wasn t ’ ’ sure . It s the uncertainty of one s reception in England that con of u s fuses a lot . Sometimes you are welcomed with Open arms by

. e ff Or nice people But on the other hand you get sudd n rebu s . is ou ou what worse, people simply avoid y as if y had some infectious ’ disease . They are just cold and distant . ll d ‘ ’ ﬁ e . Sanderson his glass slowly I know what you mean , he ‘ s w said , sipping his glas and then holding it up to the light . I orked too in London , , for a few months, and I found people very cold som eth m and distant . I often wondered whether there was g wrong a . . with me People beh ve very strangely in cities , you know, Hughes They tend to be secretive and sh y as a protection against the vast ness surrounding them . And anything stranger than usual, like a ’ so man with a dark complexion , makes it even more . ‘ B ou Hounslow chuckled . y Jove , y are quite the Oxford man , ’ ‘ ’ to ﬁn d Sanderson , he said . You ll theorize your way heaven and ’ h is n . He ow it hellish when you get there laughed at words, and ‘ ’ then his brow swiftly darkened with heavy anger . You ve got ’ ‘ ’ Nor nothing to complain about , he said to Hughes . you either, ‘ turning to Sanderson . I was the disappointed one in England . I grew up in Kenya and we thought of England as home all the time , and ou r old man told u s all sorts of stories of the English country side and ou r heritage . But when I went there to school nobody ’ e seemed to bother about the things we held dear . H stretched him ‘ ’ ’ on o self the chair . I d n t suppose it was a good school, he con ‘ ’ in u d n t e c . Co , but it was a publi school all right Headmasters ference and all that . It was well boosted in all the colonies , and there were special cheap rates for the holidays for boys whose

- parents were overseas . My father was a self made man and left o scho l early, and when he heard about this school he thought he ’ u would make up to s educationally for what he himself had missed . ‘ ? " Did y ou go back to East Africa when you left school Sanderson asked . ‘

on . e No , I stayed a little longer But things were nev r quite the ’ ﬁrm same . I worked for a time with a big exporting , but didn t like it particularly . Some of the chaps there thought I was a bit of a t t oo . o Blimp . They thought I was narrow People seemed have ’ so 3 s changed since my father generation , whose idea were what we ’

of h e . colonials had . I mean white colonials course , added hastily ‘ 2’ An d how did you ﬁn d it changed from what you had expected .

Hughes asked conversationally . ‘ ’

Oh , in all sorts of ways, Hounslow answered after a short pause during which he had debated whether to admit Hughes freely into the conversation and had decided that for free and easy social 1 74 purposes the African could be an honorary white man for an ‘ ’ I n of re flec tiv el evening . all sorts ways , he repeated y , nodding his ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ou head . Do y know, he said , tapping Sanderson s knee , that one evening a chap tried to elbow me ou tof the way at the end of a ? of show, during the National Anthem I was standing at the end a row, and the fellow gave me lip . Said I was to move on as he had Oi to . a bus catch , and not to block the gangway course I refused Th e to move and “stood at attention . chap leaned over and said into my ear, Company at ease in a terribly common accent . I stood u n flin ch in g and he and his gang climbed over the seats and of At clattere“d out . Must have been Communists, course . the end of the King I rushed down th e foyer looking for him to knock him down . But by then they had gone . Things like that made me ’ ‘ l sa d o d . , he said , leaning back . No , the country is not the same of Too much talk freedom , equality and democracy, and not enough ’ doing things . ‘ ’ ’ I don t think they are as bad as that , put in Sanderson , feeling ‘ ’ t fin d hings were rather up to him . You ll things have changed in the larger cities , but curiously enough , London itself and the

- ou country side remain always unchanged . What did y really think of to London he said , turning Hughes . ‘

s for . Ah , London was full of wonder me It was the organization of effic ien c You everything and the clockwork y which amazed me . effic ien t to o English are . I used g for walks at night and watch the tra ffic to lights changing yellow, to red , to green , to yellow again for all through the night . When I was studying hard exams I would go ou tat two to three in the morning to clear my brain before n sa w s t0 going to bed . O ce I a huge motor lorry at a crossroad p t it. T e on e n o early when the lights were against h re was no about , even a policeman in sight, and I was in the shadow . But he stopped ’ just because the lights were against him . That s what I call of organization and a—sense the right thing . I never shall forget that moment . Further that moment summarized London and the ’ English for me . There was a pause for a few moments , and the other two looked obviously impressed . Hughes shut his eyes slightly and thought again of the Cricklewood Broadway he had so often loved but hated sometimes with a weary homesickness in th e grey ‘ ’ s a id s u d d e n l winter . To London , he , y raising his glass . ‘ ’ ‘ th e To London , others murmured . God bless her ‘ ’ to But mind you , I was glad be back home , Hughes added after ‘ ’ a while, fearing they might think him a black Englishman , which ‘ d o he most dreaded . There are things a man can in this country ’ d o which he cannot in England . ‘F ? ’ or example Hounslow asked , with some interest . 1 75 ‘ ou - fin ish Well , y can start things single handed , and them before ’ ow n your eyes here, while you d have to be a genius to do that in ’ England . ‘ ’ ’ u fin ish in I don t know abo t beginning and g things here, San d erson began . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ t I ve built a bridge here , Hughes interrupted . I came by his district last year, about four miles from here, on the Yolahun road , and there was a dry stream - bed which people used as a short cut to th e t the big market in the dry season , but in rains the s ream was too swift for them to ford and it took them about tw o hours to to make a detour cross it farther up on a swinging rope bridge . In ’ ’ fact, that s why for generations you d have a small famine in this district during the rains , because most people simply did not bother or could nottravel properly to the large town to sell their cr0 ps ’ and buy food . I simply couldn t understand why nobody had thought of building a bridge there before . ‘

Perhaps they thought of it during the rains, but forgot about it

. Or in the dry season That often happens in this country . , again , it’ people may simply have accepted . ‘ ’ So ou ! it y built that bridge I wondered about , Sanderson said . ‘ ’ I thought it was the army, but it looked too permanent for them . ‘ ’ ’ ’ its n ow it? I expect improved things quite a lot , hasn t Hughes asked with some triumph . Sanderson wondered whether it was kinder to leave the truth unsaid , because in fact the bridge was seldom used by the villagers and then only by motor transport . Someone had been drowned years ago at that point, and the local legend had it there was a

- water spirit there during the rains . ‘ ’

. Yes , I think it has improved things , he said aloud ‘ ’ ’ ‘

o . That s much so ner than I expected , Hughes said Do you know some years ago someone was drowned there ? And people fa c tI think there is a devil round there during the rains . In , had to hire a more powerful medicine -man to sa criﬁc e a chicken on the site and pour some rum on the ground before the labourers would ’ begin . ‘ ’ ‘ As w e you know, said Hounslow with jovial politeness, prefer ff champagne . Break a bottle of the stu over the prow of a ship as to l sh e off o d . slides her slipway, just appease the gods Same as ld ’ o . you , man ; same as you ‘ Of for course, I had the chicken and the rest of the rum dinner ’ t that evening, Hughes said , trying to show that he had reated the whole thing as a piece of whimsy to humour his workmen and had At never for a moment taken it seriously . the same time he thought to Hounslow had been patronizingly polite, trying compare it with 1 76

‘ ’ Hounslow replied . But whatever you say, I don t think they can ’ o do it in a generation , old man ; they ll crack up when things g for bad . That chap Hughes , example, was frightened of the water ’ see c He fill ed juju : I could it in his fa e . his glass himself and ‘ it old u s emptied . All the same, man , they make feel useless ’ s ee ou damned useless . You Whitehall chaps can t that y are trying ’ u s ow n ou t su r to put , your kith and kin , into the cold . You d be n ow prised how hard I found it to get this job . And Headquarters ’ is talking about training African assistant managers . As if d idn t ! know what they meant Why are you always trying to be fair, ? ’ y ou Johnnies Always pushing u s ou tinto the cold ? He burst into firs t u tears . Sanderson tried not to notice ; then gave it p , went over ’ ‘ ’ on and stood by him , putting his hand Hounslow s shoulder . Don t ? you think the country is big enough for Hughes and y ou and me ’ ou e Hughes has to be here because its his country . Y are h re because n d r of o man can o eve ything in his own country . I think this idea ’ i a man s country belong ng to him is a phase we all pass through . We fift - e passed through it y years ago . Only his country sid and the rofitl ess p patches in his country belong to any man . The fat of the it land is to whoever can get , and whoever that is then tries to belong to the country even more than those whose heritage it was . It is by this eternal recruitment of the fittestalien that great nations ’ and privileged classes survive . And that is why you ll always be ’

e for n o . here if you are good nough , Hounslow , and other reason ‘ I ’d The other man had been listening with attention . I wish been educated your way, Sanderson . I wish I knew what words ’ of meant and could use them . But I gather it s a case the survival ’ ts ow i . ﬁte t. of the The w nd rose and fell , rattling the wind s ‘ So ou for of u s y think there will be room all he said , getting ‘

ou . up and stretching . I doubt it y only have to read the local rag

n ot . see But it is a bad country, all said and done A man can results ’ in it sometimes . ‘ ’

To . Africa , Sanderson toasted gravely ‘ ’ es Yes, y , to Africa white man s country and black ‘

. o Hounslow nodded , sipping A last one before I g , one for the ’ so road , to Speak, he added , nodding all the time as if comforted but only half convinced . Sanderson picked up the bottle . But it was empty . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ’ He Never mind , Hounslow said thickly, we ll have it in soda .

s a d . was feeling tired , , and then happy

Sanderson ﬁll ed the glasses . And the little pearly bubbles clung o to to the sides f the glasses to burst the surface . They tickled ’ Hounslow s nostrils , and he grimaced happily . ‘ Whom shall it be to this time Sanderson asked . 1 78 ‘ ’ ff ‘ ou . To y , to you , old man, Hounslow said a ectionately To

old . you , man , and he chuckled ‘ An d Olu Hughes too Sanderson added . ‘ ’ ‘ e I n fa c tto r too . Yes , him , Hounslow agr ed , all good chaps eve y “ ” o where . For we are jolly g od fellows , he hummed as he searched for his car key . Sanderson saw him off from the small courtyard in front of his ‘ ’ ou ? bungalow . Are y sure you will be able to drive yourself home he asked him . ‘ ld u s o . Positive , man , I can drive home blindfolded Give a shove , ’ ’ there s a good fellow . Sanderson heaved and pushed for a while before the car broke into life and careered off . It headed in the opposite direction from 0 the town , and Sanderson shouted to Hounslow to st p and turn o round . But the car was soon lost to sight , alth ugh the sound could be heard in the distance . Sanderson went indoors with misgiving for and wearily prepared bed . h Hounslow put the car into gear and roared up a hill . T e throb of fill ed t a s the engine him with an exul ant power, did an occa si n a l e o o gust of wind . H knew where he was g ing and he felt his fifteen head strangely clear . After about minutes he slowed down He r and stopped . bent over his wheel and listened to the sh ill call of the cicadas and the deep bass croaking of the frogs ; these would ll s t0 p suddenly sometimes and an eerie silence fi ed the heavy air . He left the head - lamps on and walked forward slowly in the broad beam of light to examine the bridge more closely . It was an ordinary im l h a r s e d . He one but strong, concrete and with a p , grace stood of a s 0 in the middle it and jumped up and down , if half h ping it He would break . leaned over one side and watched the growing He on e waters between the rocks . threw a twig in on side and s ee rushed over to the other side to it appear, laughing with pleasure

so T to . when it did . hen he walked slowly back his car And Olu

Hughes , standing by the shadows , where he had hidden when he ﬁrst n ot had heard the car, marvelled that Hounslow had detected s o o He his presence , his heart had been beating l udly . had walked far ou tof town to come and see the bridge he had fashioned with He of love and care . had come in the dark night, defying the dark

n ot - He to show himself that he was afraid of the water spirit . had been strangely pleased and a little puzzled at the look on the white ’ man s face as he strode past slowly . I t of leaped suddenly into the middle the road and stood there , - sa t poised , dazzled by the light from the head lamps . Hounslow ’ it s quickly upright in the driver s seat to watch . Hughe restrained a startled cry and gazed with fascination . It was a curious beast . It I 79 had the shape of an antelope but was reddish - brown on the back

- and white underneath , with a sharp boundary line between the two off colours as if it had been swimming and washed its colour . It had slender curved horns on a head held proudly and supported n o a delicate neck . It had black vertical stripes down each buttock on and one its back continuing to the tail . It stood there for a few long seconds . Hounslow then sounded his horn sharply and th e beast bounded high into the air and forward , to be lost as suddenly as it had appeared , like a secret memory . ‘ ’ ’ “ - Oh , it s only a red buck, Hounslow shouted aloud , as he \ He thought , to himself . started the car, reversed carefully into the a to side of the road , and turned round and drove back ste dily town .

- It was, after all , only a red buck , an impala , that they were of on He afraid , Hughes meditated as he climbed to the bridge . put th e small spirit - level he always ca rried about with him on one of on itHe d the railings and shone his torch . no ded with satisfaction as he watched the air- bubble oscillate and settle in the centre ; and

- He then , reluctantly, he started to walk back to the rest house . ou t or so stopped suddenly, held his hand a moment , and then o br ke into a steady run . For the ram had begun to fall in single of heavy drops like the slow, quiet weeping a woman proud, proud

son . to distraction for an only , yet vaguely afraid

1 Gh a n a

K W A M E N K R U M A H

A M 0 N G s the colonial people , there is a vast, untapped reservoir of o peace and goodwill towards Britain , w uld she but divest herself of - of tw o the outmoded , moth eaten trappings centuries ago, and present herself to her colonial peoples in a new and shining vest u s of u s ment and hand the olive branch peace and love , and give u t w n a guiding hand in working o our o destinies . r In the ve y early days of the Christian era, long before England had assumed any importance, long even before her people had

’ ‘ 1 N ee of u 1 n ow n a s Th e Moton E x tra tro D r . ru a c f m k m h s sp ch J ly 95 3 , k i ’ t of D e tn w en h e or a ro o e th e n e en en e of th e o oa . s i y, h f m lly p p s d i d p d c G ld C s 1 80

T e l l F r ee d o m

P E T E R A B R A H A M S

‘ An d u e en t tu rne a w a a w a r a n d u te ta n et a a r off j dg m is d y b ck d , j s ic s d h f ’ for tru t a e n in th e tre eta n d e u t a n n ote n e tr . I SAI AH h is f ll s , q i y c .

W n E D N E S D A Y was crackling day . O that day the children of the location made the long trek to Elsburg siding for the squares ’ of pig s rind that passed for our daily meat . We collected a double 1 r lot of cow dung the day before ; a double lot of m oe og a . ﬁn ish ed u w s I my breakfast and washed p . Aunt Liza a at her

- . su n wash tub in the yard A misty, sickly was just showing . And on the Open veld the frost lay thick and white on the grass . ‘ ? ’ Ready Aunt Liza called . ou t off I went to her . She shook the soapsuds her swollen hands and wiped them on her apron . She lifted the apron and put her f hand through the slits o the many thin cotton dresses she wore .

The dress nearest the skin was the one with the pocket . From this sh e of pulled a sixpenny piece . She tied it in a knot in the corner a bit of coloured cloth . ‘ of Take care of that . Take the smaller piece bread in the ’ b in ou but don t eat it till y start back . You can have a small piece f it o . crackling with Only a small piece , understand ‘ ’ Yes , Aunt Liza . ‘ ’ All right . I got the bread and tucked it into the little canvas bag in which th e I would carry crackling . ‘ ’ th e B e Au n t . off y , Liza I trotted , one hand in my pocket, feeling ’ d ri s An e s . cloth where the money was . I paused at home ‘ e w a s Andries I danced up and down whil I waited . The cold on e not so terrible bare feet if one did not ke p still . ’ Andries came trotting out of their yard . His mother s voice “ followed ; desperate and plaintive ‘ ’ I ll skin y ou if you lose the money ‘ Women Andries said bitterly .

1 W n a ild spi ch . 1 84

s u n n t . real , if cold, Whe it was right overhead, we s ruck the sandy N th e road which meant we were nearing the siding . one of others on were in sight . Andries and I were alone the sandy road on the su fﬁ i n tl . e c e Open veld We slowed down to a brisk walk . We wer y thawed to want to talk . ‘ ? ’ How far I said . ‘ ’ A few minutes , he said . ‘ ’ ’ ot o I ve g a piece f bread , I said . ‘ ’ h ‘ ’ ’ e . . Me too , said Let s eat it now ‘ ’ ‘ ’ On the way back, I said . With a bit of crackling . ‘ ’

a . Good idea . R ce to the fork ‘ ’ All right . ‘ Go he said . We off He shot together, legs working like pistons . soon pulled e ﬁft away from me . H reached the fork in the road some y yards ahead . ‘ h is I win he shouted gleefully, though teeth still chattered . n We pitched stones dow the road , each trying to pitch further o it s than the other . I won and wanted to g on doing . But Andrie w n o We . o . He so n grew weary with pitching . raced again Again he

o e . wanted an th r race but I refused I wanted pitching, but he So . refused . , sulking with each other, we reached the pig farm ' We followed a fenced - oﬁ pathway round sprawling white build h As r u s te . ings . Eve ywhere about was grunt of pigs we passed an n w d o Ope door ay, a huge g came bounding out , snarling and

u s . barking at In our terror, we forgot it was fenced in and streaked

of n . away . Surprised , I found myself a good distance ahead A dries We looked back and s aw a young white woman call the dog to heel . ‘ ’ d o Damn Boer g, Andries said . ‘ it? ’ Matter with I asked . ‘ n ld o u s . o e o Th ey teach them to g for Never get caught by . My ’ ’ man s got a hole in his bottom where a Boer dog got him .

I remembered I had outstripped him . ‘ I won I said . ‘ ’

n . O ly because you were frightened , he said ‘ ’ I still won . ‘ ’ Scare arse , he jeered . ‘ a Sc re arse , yourself ‘ ’ I ll knock y ou ‘I ’ll knock you back A couple of white men came down the path and ended our b ﬁ h t possi le g . We hurried past them to the distant shed where a

- ed e . queue had already form . There wer grown ups and children All

1 86 - of r the grown ups, and some the children , we e from places other ou r than location . u s The line moved slowly . The young white man who served did it in leisurely fashion , with long pauses for a smoke . Occasionally he tu rned his back .

At . last, after what seemed hours , my turn came Andries was behind me . I took the sixpenny piece from the square of cloth and offered it to the man . ‘ ? ’ Well he said . ‘ ' ’ Sixpence crackling, please . ’ Th e n Andries nudged me in the back . man s stare sudde ly

o . be came cold and hard . Andries whispered int my ear ‘ ? ’ Well the man repeated coldly .

I said . ‘ ’ What d yon want ‘ ’ Sixpence crackling, please . ‘What ? ’ m Andries dug e in the ribs . ‘ ’ l a s b s e e a a . Sixpence crackling, p , ‘What ? ’ ‘ ’ ba a s Sixpence crackling, please , . ‘ You new here ‘ ’ ba a s h is Yes , . I looked at feet while he stared at me . t A last he took the sixpenny piece from me . I held my bag Open while he ﬁll ed it with crackling from a huge pile on a large canvas n tin e o . ﬂee she t the ground Turning away, I stole a g glance at his w a s face . His eyes met mine, and there amused , challenging mockery

. ou tof in them I waited for Andries at the back of the queue , the ’ th e e reach of whit man s mocking eyes . The cold day was at its mildest as w e walked home along the ou t of sandy road . I took my piece bread and , with a small piece t on i . of greasy crackling, still warm , , I munched as we went along We had n otyet made our peace so Andries munched his bread and on crackling the other side of the road . ‘ Dumb fool he mocked at me for n otknowing h ow to address the white man . ‘ Scare arse I shouted back . T hus , hurling curses at each other, we reached the fork . Andries saw ﬁrs t them and moved over to my side of the road . ‘ ’ White boys , he said . h of of ou r on e T ere were three them . Two about own size and slightly bigger . They had school bags and were coming toward u s up the road from the siding .

1 M a tr s e . 1 87 ‘ it’ Better run for , Andries said . ‘Why ‘ ’ ’ ’ No, that ll draw them . Let s just walk along, but quickly . ‘ ? ’ Why I repeated . ‘ ’ u Shut p , he said . m i s . So e of his anx ety touched me . Our own crap was forgotten saw We marched side by side as fast as we could . The white boys u s and hurried up the road . We passed the fork . Perhaps they u s would take the turning away from . We dared not look back . ‘ Hear them Andries asked . ‘ ’ o N .

I looked over my shoulder . ‘ ’ ’ They re coming, I said . ‘ ’ ‘ ’

I f e ru n . Walk faster, Andries said . they come clos r, ‘ 1 Kli ko- Hey, p p ‘ ’ ’ Don t look back, Andries said . ‘Hottentot

We walked as fast as we could . ‘ Bloody k a fﬁr

Ahead was a bend in the road . Behind the bend were bushes . w e r u n w a s too Once there, could without them knowing it till it late . ‘ ’

F . aster, Andries said u They began pelting s with s tones . ‘ ’ Ru n r when we get to the bushes , And ies said .

s . The bend and the bushe were near We would soon be there . A clear young voice c a rr1 ed to u s ‘ Your fathers are dirty black bastards of baboons ‘ u n A R ndries called . o A violent, unreasoning anger suddenly possessed me . I st pped and turned . ‘ ’ a it You re liar I screamed . The foremost boy pointed at me ‘ An ugly black baboon s In a fog of rage I went toward him . ‘ ‘M Liar I shouted . y father was better than your father on e I neared them . The bigger boy stepped between me and the

I was after . ‘ ’ My father was better than your father ! Liar ! r o The big boy st uck me a mighty cl ut on the side of the face . I staggered , righted myself, and leapt at the boy who had insulted th . ru e my father I st ck him on the face, hard . A heavy blow on

1 tn e e a Li o . t. S h d 1 88

Uncle Sam murmured . ‘ ’ ’ That s him , the bigger boy said , pointing at me .

The white man stared till I lowered my eyes . ‘ ? ’ Well he said . ‘ ’ ’ ‘ ’ ba as e He s sorry, , Uncl Sam said quickly . I ve given him a ’ ’ s h w is boas . o He s hiding he won t forget oon You know it , . new ’ here, the child of a relative in Johannesburg and they don t all h ow You h ow know to behave there . know it is in the big towns, ’ ’ b s a a . The plea in Uncle Sam s voice had gr own more pronounced ‘ “ h e on He ba as ou n bas ies as went . turned to me . Tell the and y g ’

Le e . how sorry you are, I looked at Aunt Liza a n d something in her lifelessness made me stubborn in spite of my fear . ‘ ’ He insulted my father, I said .

The white man smiled . ‘ ’ ’ See, Sam, your hiding couldn t have been good . f ’ There was a ﬂicker o life in Aunt Liza s eyes . For a brief sh e s a w moment me , looked at me, warmly, lovingly, then her eyes went dead again . ‘ ’ ’ ba as e e . He s only a child , , Uncl Sam murmur d ‘ o too You stubb rn , Sam ‘ ’ ba as . No, ‘ Good . Then teach him , Sam . If you and he are to live here, ”

. 3 you must teach him . Well ‘ ’ ba as Yes, . Uncle Sam went into the other room and returned with a thick He leather thong . wound it once round his hand and advanced on me . The man and boys leaned against the door, watching . I looked ’ w a s n o n at Aunt Liza s face . Though there sign of life or feeling o h m it s e e c r . , I knew suddenly, instinctively, that wanted not to y

Bitterly, Uncle Sam said ‘ You e must never lift your hand to a whit person . No matter ou what happens , y must never lift your hand to a white person e H lifted the strap and brought it down on my back . I clenched ﬁrst my teeth and stared at Aunt Liza . I did not cry with the three

. strokes . Then , suddenly, Aunt Liza went limp Tears showed in her

Th e . eyes . thong came down on my back, again and again I ’ screamed and begged for mercy . I grovelled at Uncle Sam s feet, st0 h begging him to p , promising never to lift my and to any white person . At ’ last , the white man s voice said ‘ ’ All right, Sam .

Uncle Sam stopped . I lay whimpering on the ﬂoor . Aunt Liza sa tlike one in a trance . 90 ‘ Is he still stubborn , Sam ‘ ’ s es u Tell the ba a s and ba i y o are sorry . ‘ ’ ’

I m . sorry, I said ‘ ’ Bet his father is one of those who believe in equality . ‘ ’ His father is dead , Aunt Liza said . ‘ ’

. Good night, Sam ‘ t ’ ba a s . r . Good night, Sor y about his ‘ ’ Th e ou ﬁrs t He o . t All right, Sam . opened the do r boys went , ‘ ’ then he followed . Good night , Liza .

n ot . Aunt Liza did answer The door shut behind the white folk, and soon we heard their trap moving away . Uncle Sam ﬂung the on thong viciously against the door, slumped down the bench , on on folded his arms the table , and buried his head his arms .

Aunt Liza moved away from him , came on the ﬂoor beside me and

sa t . lifted me into her large lap . She rocking my body Uncle Sam

sob . began to softly After some time , he raised his head and looked u s at . ‘ ’

to . Explain the child, Liza, he said ‘ ’ ‘ You You explain , Aunt Liza said bitterly . You are the man . ’ You of did the beating . are the head the family . This is a man s ’ world . You do the explaining . ‘ Please , Liza ‘ is d sa tﬁe . o on You should be happy . The whites are We can g ’ now . u With me in her arms , Aunt Liza got p . She carried me into the

on . other room . The food the table remained half eaten She laid on on on me the bed my stomach , smeared fat my back , then o b ed c vered me with the blankets . She undressed and got into

ow n . beside me . She cuddled me close , warmed me with her body on ﬁrs t With her big hand my cheek , she rocked me, to silence , then to sleep .

For the only time of my stay there , I slept on a bed in Elsburg . r When I woke next mo ning Uncle Sam had gone . Aunt Liza only once referred to the beating he had given me . It was in the ’ late afternoon , when I returned with the day s cow dung . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ’ I t sh e n o e . hurt him , said . You ll understand day of That night , Uncle Sam brought me an orange , a bag boiled o He sweets, and a dirty old picture b ok . smiled as he gave them to me , rather anxiously . When I smiled back at him , he seemed to He n sa . o relax put his hand my head , started to y something, then r changed his mind and took his seat by the ﬁ e . Aunt Liza looked up from the ﬂoor where she dished ou tthe food . ‘ ’ ’ I ts all right, old man , she murmured . 1 9 1 ‘ n e O day Uncle Sam said . ‘ ’ ’ It s all right, Aunt Liza repeated insistently .

The long winter passed . Slowly, day by day, the world of Elsburg

became a warmer place . The cracks in my feet began to heal . The

. of spells of bearable , noonday cold gave way to warmth The noise Th e the veld at night became a din . freezing nights changed , e became bearable ; changed again , becam warm . Warm nights and hot days m Summer had co e , and with its coming the world became a Su n ﬂow ers softer, kindlier, more beautiful place . began blooming ’ e in peopl s yards . And people themselves began to relax and laugh .

When , one evening, as I came in with some washing from the line , ’

I heard Uncle Sam s voice raised in laughter, and saw him and m Aunt Liza playing, I knew the summer had really co e . Later that same evening he went into the other room and returned with a e guitar . Aunt Liza b amed . ‘ ’ Open the doo r ?

. He Uncle Sam nodded played . Soon people from the other

o o ou r e . h uses came , in ones and tw s, till littl room was crowded ’ on : Someone sang with his arms his wife s shoulders, a love song

’ I ll be ou r s wee th ea rt y , I f y ou will be m in e

Summer had come indeed .

’ In the long summer afternoons , after my day s work , I went of down to the river . Sometimes Andries and some the other children went with me . Often I went alone . or Often , with others , alone , I climbed the short willows with o of on their long dro ping branches . The touch willow leaf the s cheek give a feeling of cool wonder . Often I jumped from stone

- ﬂ w in o . to stone on the broad bed of the shallow, clear, fast g river off Sometimes I found little pools of idle water, walled by stones

- on from the ﬂow . I tickled long tailed tadpoles in these . The sun the water touched their bodies with myriad colours . Sometimes I — — watched the sp ring h a a s the wild rabbit of the veld go leaping across the land , almost faster than my eye could follow . And some on of times I lay on my back , on the green grass ; the bank the ﬂee c river, and looked up at the distant sky, watching thin y white clouds form and re - form and trying to associate the shapes with

o r . pe ple and things I knew . I loved being alone by the rive It e b came my special world . 1 92

‘Yes ‘ ’ What a m I ? ‘ What are y ou talking about ‘ ’ b o He I met a y at the river . said he was Zulu .

She laughed . ‘ You are Coloured . There are three kinds of people white people, Coloured people and black people . The white people come ’ ﬁrs t , then the Coloured people , then the black people . ‘Why ‘ ’ so Because it is .

Next day, when I met Joseph , I smacked my chest and said ‘Lee Coloured He clapped his hands and laughed . of Joseph and I spent most the long summer afternoons together . He learnt some Afrikaans from me ; I learnt some Zulu from him .

Our days were full .

There was the river to explore .

There were my swimming lessons, and others . I learnt to figh twith sticks ; to weave a green hat of young willow wands and leaves ; to catch frogs and tadpoles with my hands ; to set a trap for the s p rin gh a as ; to make the sounds of the river birds . There was the hot sun to comfort u s There was the green grass to dry our bodies There was the soft clay with which to build There was the fin e sand with which to figh t Th ere were ou r giant grasshoppers to race There were the locust swarms when the skies turned black and w e caught them by the hundreds of There was the rare taste crisp , brown baked , salted locusts There was the voice of the wind in the willows There was the voice of the heaven in the thunderstorms

T . here were the voices of two children in laughter , ours There were Joseph ’s tales of black kings who lived in days before the white man . Athome’ I said ‘ Aunt Liza . ‘ Yes ‘Did we have Coloured kings before the white man ‘ ’ No . ‘Then where did we come from ? Joseph and his mother come ’ from the black kings who were before the white man . i sh e And laughing, and ru ng my head , said ‘ ’ ’ u You talk too much . Go n wash p .

1 94 And to Joseph , next day, I said ‘ ’ ’ We didn t have Coloured kings before the white man . And he comforted me and said ‘ You t . I is of no moment are my brother . Now my kings will be your kings . Come I have promised the mother to bring you home . ’ to She awaits you . I will race you the hill . From the top of the hill I looked into a long valley where cattle on of grazed . To the right , the sloping land , nestled a cluster mud huts . Round each hut was a wall built of mud . ‘ ’ That is my home . Joseph pointed . i saw t. We veered right and went down to From a distance , we of a woman at the gate of one the huts . ‘ There is the mother He walked faster .

She was barefooted . She wore a slight skirt that came above her of knees . A child was strapped to her back . The upper part her body was naked except for the cloth across her chest that s u p f . o o ported the child R und her neck , arms , and legs were strings sa w sh e white beads . As we drew near, I that was young . And her broad , round face was beautiful . Her black eyes were liquid soft .

She called out a greeting and smiled . Joseph pushed me forward . ‘ ’ of u . This is my brother, Lee the Colo reds , little mother ‘ h ’ Greetings , Mot er, I said . ‘ ’ ou son sh e I greet y , my , said softly, a twinkle in her eyes . ‘ ’ As the man of my house has told you , food awaits . Come . ‘ ‘ ff ou t h is He See Joseph pu ed his chest . To mother he said , ’ n ot ou r would believe when I told him I was the man in house . ‘ ’ h He s e . is indeed , said sa t sh e Circling the hut was a raised platform . We on this while u s n on brought the food ; salted fried locusts and cor the cob . She u sa tnearby and watched s eating . ‘ ’ Show the mother, Joseph said , and took another bite at the ‘ ’ m ie ies l . . Show the mother you are not circumcised yet

I showed her . ‘ ’ ‘ ? ’ s . Thi is strange , she said Have you no initiation schools ‘ No Joseph said . ‘Then when do you enter manhood ‘ ’ He n ot does know . ‘ ” I s it true 3 She looked at me .

I nodded . ‘ ’ ‘ So He s still a child Joseph cried . big and a child

I Christmas came and it was a feast of eating and laughter . Spent h alf my time at home with Aunt Liza and Uncle Sam and the e e oth r half with Joseph and the littl mother . 1 95 x My si th birthday came . Joseph and the little mother and I celebrated it by the river . on e first Then , early morning, just as the cold touches crept into ou r the morning air, Joseph came to location . I was washing up when I heard young voices shouting ‘ ’ Look at the naked k a ffir ! Lee s k a ffir ou t I rushed . Joseph came gravely to me . ‘ I come to take leave, my brother . My father has died in the ’ s ou r mines o we go back to land . He m n ot i stood straight and ste , heeding the shouts of the ch ldren m a h f h is He . o about . was a This was the burden manhood . I had so learned much from him , I said equally coldly ‘ f ’ I must take leave o the little mother . ‘ ’ She is a woman . She weeps . We ran all the way there

When the little cart had taken them away, I climbed the hill ’

two . and went down to the river . I carried Joseph s sticks with me h is o These were parting gift this brother . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ Defend yourself, he had said . I will make others . ou r kin d m Now o . I walked along the river that had been g , it n ow was a desolate place . Joseph had been here with me ; Joseph ow h it ﬂ ed . had gone . Before I realized , my tears fast T ere had been much be tween u s .

Th e . So the summer passed . autumn came The leaves went ﬂu ttered brown on the willows by the river . They to the ground and turned to mould . The long days shortened suddenly . The cold

u s . came . Winter had come to torture again

1 96

s 1 1 1 A 2 2 . re Coa t and in 9 and 9 4 he went to South Africa . Dr gg y ﬁeld was a great orator and a keen worker in the of race relations . When he died in 1 9 2 7 he was in Am erica working at Columbia h is University, New York , for doctorate of Philosophy .

T G ARMATTOE RAPHAEL ERNES RAIL , poet anthropologist, historian , w a s 1 1 He and physician , born in 9 3 in Denu in the Gold Coast . w a s educated in Europe and during the war years he practised as th G l d . 1 0 e o a doctor in Northern Ireland In 95 he returned to _ \ e Coast and entered politics . H led a delegation to UNO in 195 3 He and on his way back he became suddenly ill . died shortly after Arm a ttoe of wards in Hamburg . Dr . published many books a wide

. variety, in German , French and English

B th MASU PHA ERENG is the grandson of e late Chief Bereng Letsie .

He was born at Rothe in Basutoland in 1 9 28 and brought up there . During the war he served in the army in the Middle East and in 1 95 0 he became a switchboard Operator at the Royal Naval

Armament Depot at Umbogintwini in Natal . c E NI TAN BROW N w h o w a s 1 0 . , born in Ebute Metta near Lagos in 9 9 , He is a railway technician as well as being a writer . has been head of the school of railway technology in Nigeria .

G CASE LY - F of - LADYS HAY ORD , who was the daughter a well known sh e ﬁfteen lawyer, was brought up in the Gold Coast . When was sh e was sent to Wales to complete her education . She returned to West Africa a s a teacher and died there at an early age of black of ri water fever . Some her poems and short sto es have been pub ish l ed and broadcast in London .

T O A S A COD OE of wh o s H M . J is an ancient Accra stop you after the style of the Ancient Mariner to sell you a political pamphlet ,

I d ow n - price . In his person he is an author , type setter, machine — — - minder the press is worked by foot wholesaler and news vendor . He does jobbing- printing as well as pamphleteering but is known in Accra as a philosopher who rises superior to the attractions of

Aton e b i - money . time he ran a weekly newspaper , entitled the ’ Cod oe s Voic e o Ku s h a m n ot . f , which contained only the best of Dr j r He p ose but also his poetry . took an Honours Degree at London of University and is a Doctor Science and Law .

R BI AGO DIOP was born at Dakar in Senegal in 1 90 6 . He studied at - é a id h erb e a s Saint Louis at the Lyc e F . Later he worked a veterinary 1 98 w a s surgeon . From an early age he interested in writing and he spent much of his leisure time in writing poetry and short stories .

DAV ID DIOP spent his childhood yea rs partly in France and partly

A He o 1 2 . in West frica . was b rn in Bordeaux in 9 7 His father came He from Senegal and his mother from the Cameroons . spent much of his early life in hospital and it was there that he acquired a taste

for . reading . Many of his poems have been published in magazines

CYPRIAN E KW E NSI is a Nigerian writer who has had several books w published, including a novel ritten against the background of He Lagos . lived for several years in England , where he studied r pha macy at London University .

GBEMI is the pen name of a young West African woman living in On r Ibadan . She was educated in Lagos and in England . her retu n h N s e . to igeria , worked as a schoolmistress for some years Her stories and articles have been both published and broadcast in her own country .

HON I HI NAW Y on THE . SHEIKH MBARAK AL is a great authority

' Swahili literature a n d history and has done m u c h to bring to light r e 1 8 6 old manuscripts existing in East Af ica . H was born in 9 in E He ast Africa and educated privately and at a school in Mombasa . ’ served with the King s African Riﬂes in the First World War and to r 1 1 8 h e again returned the army in the Second Wo ld War . In 9 entered the Civil Service and later he was appointed Liwali f f h o . He o te (Governor) Mombasa is now Liwali Coast, a position ’ e f he has held since 1 942 . H is a member o Kenya s Legislative Aff Council and is the personal adviser on Arab airs to the Governor .

‘ ’ I He SHAK the poor man lived in Ethiopia in the 1 3th century . wrote his Ethiopic version of the Ke bm Na g a s t(The Glory of of Kings), which tells the story of Solomon and the Queen Sheba ’ at a time when Solomon s line of successors to the Ethiopian n throne had bee restored .

JOMO KENYATTA was born about ﬁfty years ago in the Kikuyu

. He ﬁrs t Reserve was educated at a mission school . His job was as a He kitchen boy and he later worked at the water works in Nairobi . went to London in 1 9 2 9 to represent the Kikuyu Central Associa e tion and gav evidence before the Hilton Young Land Commission . In 1 93 1 he returned to England and stayed for thirteen years and of O n h is u studied at the London School Economics . ret rn to

Kenya he was active in land tenure problems . I 99 CAMARA LAYE w a s working in a factory in Paris when he wrote h is ’ ﬁrs t L E n a n tNa ir th e book , f , story of his childhood in French Le Re a rd d a oi e . R . H Guinea Later he wrote a novel , g was born in French Guinea in 1 9 24 and he spent the ﬁrs teighteen years of his n life there . O leaving school he was given a scholarship which took

him to France to complete his engineering studies .

A W h O 1 o w a s f s . LE GO D1 o . , died in 95 , a Lutheran minister the Berlin

Mission in the Transvaal .

W ILLIAM MOD I SANE was born in Johannesburg in the twenties and m 8 rs . ﬁ t Th e brought up in the slu s of ophiatown His short story, D i n it Be in 1 o 1 . g y f gg g , was published in 95 For several years he has worked in bookshops in Johannesburg and is n ow engaged in writing an historical novel .

THOMAS MO F OLO grew up amongst the mountains and pastures of Ba su tl a n h o d w ere 1 8 . , he was born in 7 7 Like most Basuto boys he spent much of his childhood in herding cattle and hunting the wild of He game that then inhabited the highlands his country . went to school in Basutoland and qu a liﬁed as a teacher at the Morija , t Training College . After some years of eaching, he returned to the o Morija Book Depot to work as a clerk and pr of reader . Later he to e 1 1 2 went work in Johann sburg, returning to Basutoland in 9 as labour agent to a group of gold mines . During the years that followed he Opened a mill in North Basutoland and later kept a w n store of his o . It was whilst he was working at Morija that Th omas Mofolo began to write and when he died in 1 948 he had of published three books, written in his native language Sotho .

V NAI I ZI KI J . SA ERIO G was awarded the literature prize of the

Brussels Colonial Fair in 1 949 for his book E s ca pa d e Ru a n d a is e . He 1 1 was born in Ruanda in 9 5 , and after leaving school he worked ' c h a u ﬂ eu r as a schoolmaster, a translator, a printer, an assistant ’ He n ow s and an import agent s clerk . live and works in Astrida in

Ruanda and has recently published a play .

ABI O S E H D C L . NI O is a West African born in Sierre Leone and 1 educated in that country and in Nigeria . In 943 he went to Europe and took a Degree in Natural Scienc es at Cambridge . His poems B and short stories have been broadcast by the B C . in London and published in a number of English magazines and newspapers .

KW AME NKRU MAH w a s born in the Western Province of the Gold

2 0 0

b of OSCAR RIBAS , the lind writer Angola , was born in Luanda in 1 0 He 9 9 . studied there in the College of Salvador Correia , where

w a s e - of he a brilliant scholar . When h was twenty one years age he became seriously troubled by the eye disease with which he had He been born . was only sixteen when he began to write and his ﬁrs t e 1 ﬁrstof story was publish d in 9 2 7 . The his books was pub l ish d 1 8 h e te . in 94 , followed by two others during next four years ‘ ’ ‘ ’ In 1 95 2 his story A Praga ( The Plague ) was given the Margaret r d Wrong Litera y Awar in London .

R V e e ICHARD RI E was r ading Shakespeare , Beecher Stow and Dickens by the age of twelve , and at that age he would recount stories to other small boys who gathered together on the street corners of

. He District Six, the notorious slum quarter of Cape Town was born in the Cape Peninsula in 1 93 1 and went to the University of

. He Cape Town has since taken up teaching .

AME S V RUBAD I RI N a sa l a n d wh ere j DA ID is a schoolmaster in y , he was

1 0 . born in 93 After graduating from Makerere College, Uganda, he left Africa to study teaching in England . His main ambition as a writer of prose and poetry is to interpret the thoughts and ex p eri n s f h is e c e o own people .

MICHAEL ONTE PE TSE MARTINU S SE BONI has had several of his books ’ r I published and has translated into Tswana Shakespeare s Hen y V. He was born in Bechuanaland in 1 9 1 2 and educated at mission He schools and later at Fort Hare University College . worked as secretary to Chief Kga ri Sech el e and as a Revenue Clerk in e of Johannesburg . H took up teaching and became Headmaster a ff ort Bantu High School . Later he was appointed to the sta of F

Hare .

iaOPOLD E S G O L S DAR EN H R, poet politician , linguist , was born in , e He 1 90 6 in the heart of Sen gal . studied at Dakar, and at the age of twenty - two he was awarded a scholarship which brought him to e é - l e - Paris . There he b came a student at the Lyc e Louis Grand and h after taking his degree in letters he went on to te Sorbonne . For 1 some years he was a teacher in Tours and in Paris . Then , in 945 he became th e Deputy for Senegal in the French National Assembly and Professor of African Languages and Literature at the Ecole ’ - He National de la France d outre mer . has published several books of verse and is Political Director of a Dakar newspaper .

DYKE SE NTSO was born at Kroonstad in the Orange Free State in

2 0 2 of 1 9 24. His father was at that time the pastor the Dutch Reformed A Sen tso Church for fricans . Dyke was educated and trained as a teacher at the London Missionary Institution of Tigerkl oof in the a Cape Province . Since leaving, he has t ught at a school in Vrede He of fort in the Free State . is the author of a book in Sotho and of many short stories , some which have been translated into other l angu ages and published abroad .

M . w A 1 2 . . SIN H was born in Sierra Leone in 9 3 There he attended th e e ﬁv e Roman Catholic mission schools until 1 935 . For n xt years he worked as a teacher and then he joined the army from which th e of He n ow he was discharged with rank sergeant . is working for etw n a n oil company in Fre o .

DANIEL CANAD oc E , TR EME A w a s born in 1 9 24 in South Africa and w He gre up there in a Coloured community . was educated in Pretoria and Pietersburg and was awarded the Mendi Scholarship o He for to the University C llege of Fort Hare . taught English s e 1 everal years in Western Nativ Township , Johannesburg . In 95 3 ’ ‘ he won D ru m s short story competition with his story Mob ’ Passion and later he joined the editorial staff of the magazine .

AMo s TUTUOLA was born in 1 9 20 in Abeokuta in West Africa where his father was a cocoa farmer . He was educated near his home and r in Lagos . Whilst he was there he used to g ind the pepper, wash for th e all the plates, sweep the ﬂoor and draw the water woman d u with whom he lodge before he set o tfor school in the mornings . After his father died in 1 938 Amos Tu tu ol a farmed unsuccessfully

. He RA F a s and later became a blacksmith joined the . a copper smith and after his discharge he carried on with his trade for a few

' ‘ t Aftrw a rd s h n e e a b ou r i . mon hs . joined the Department of L Lagos on e of Three of his books have been published in London and them , Th e Pa lm - Win e D rin ka rd r , has been t anslated into four European

Languages .

B ENED ICT W ALLET V I LI KAZI is well know n for the work he has done ow n to further Bantu literature in South Africa . His poetry and prose which he wrote in his native language , Zulu , have been pub l ish ed in South Africa . He was appointed to the staff of the Depart ment of Bantu Languages at the University of the Witw atersrand in Johannesburg and became the Senior Language Assistant in the of Department, a position which he held at the time his death in

1 94-7

2 0 3 A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

W H E N Jim Bailey suggested that I should compile an anthology of s writing by African from all over Africa, we thought it would probably take n o more than three months to complete the necessary r research . It took fou years . e Mostb f No anthology of this kind had so far b en compiled . the k n w n a b . e w s o writers were little Som of the writing in French , s me in Portuguese and much of it in the many vernacular languages of e Africa . Most of it had not yet b en translated into English and much of what had been written was still unpublished . Many pub l ish ed works were rare and only to be found in certain Africana libraries . s In order to di cover what had been written , I had to consult th ose who were familiar with the writings of Africans in other s languages , and in many cases translation were made into English n al o so that a fi selection might be made . Although s me of these n ot fin d translations did eventually a place in the anthology, they r were nevertheless important in the work of choosing mate ial . My thanks and apologies are due to those who gave me such valuable assistance by making these translations . o Since the anthol gy was not to be a purely academic work, but was intended for the general reader, many good pieces of u writing had to be left o tbecause their appeal would be limited . So it is that the student of African writing will inevitably fin d omissions . My thanks are due to the many people who made it possible for me to compile this anthology to those who gave me access to manuscripts and rare editions of Africana books ; to those who allowed me to use their libraries ; to those who gave so much time to discussing African writing with me and to those wh o made trans l a tion s into English, and not least to the many authors who sent me of of a m such an abundance manuscripts . But most all I indebted to Jim Bailey for the inception of this book and to my husband for of its his encouragement and suggestions at all stages progress . Abl a c k My personal thanks are due to Kenneth , Adisa Williams for of a n d . . Prudence Smith of the B B C . London , the loan scripts ;

Robin Denniston , Faith Press Ltd , London , for his untiring u encouragement and criticism Patrick D ncan , Maseru, for allow u se ow n - A ing me to his Africana library ; Jasmine Rose Innes, ccra, for help with the West African section ; M. de Mestral and Miss 20 4

A C . Ro . A y , Shuter Shooter, Ltd, Pietermaritzburg ; Royal frican Th e of n Society, London School Oriental and Africa Studies, r for London Ma y Senior, United Society Christian Literature, Lon

. . R H. W . l . o ob e don The Revd Dr Shepherd and the Revd . J . J . J , G - h Lovedale Missionary Institution , South Africa . Janson Smit P f W . . o and Morrison , Ministry Education , Sudan The Revd .

Albert Strong, Sudan Interior Mission , Addis Ababa Henry E D T r . . Swanzy, Accra ; Miss er y, London ; Hugh Tracey, c African Music Research, Johannesburg Via Afrika Bo kwinkel , b Mr zur Bloemfontein ; Stephen Wright, Addis Aba a, and . cher r of M . D . and Christella the Morija Sesuto Book epot, Basutoland I have to thank the following persons for their permission to u se the items gi ven below ‘ ’ f r S. F Aboderin o A Night on the Island ; Peter Abrahams for o Tell F reed om the extract from his bo k , published by Faber Faber ‘ ’ o L E Arm a ttoe h e . . T Ltd , Lond n ; Madame for Lonely Soul from ’ w n th e B c km a n s in G Arm t D ee D o l a M d R. E . a toe p by . . ‘ Masupha Bereng for The Prince of the Combined Head ’ m ‘ ’ C . A quarters ; E itan Brown for Marriage Cordiality ; Thomas . ‘ ’ ‘ - ' Codjoe for O Blue Sky Duchess . ‘ ’ A for E -sc a a d e m Georges . Deny, Brussels, p in Ruanda fro i iziki E s ca a d e u a n d a is e . o a p R by J Saveri N g . i ‘ ’ Ekwen s . C . O . D . and Drum Publications for Ritual Murder ‘ e Ltd M Faber Fab r , London , for y First Wedding Day in the ’ Bush of Ghosts from My Life in th e Bus h of Gh os ts by Amos ‘ ’ Tu tu ol a a s u ell e Ed iteu rs é é et o ; F q , Paris, for V rit Mens nge from ’ - G Les Con tes d Am a d ou Kou m ba Bira o H. by g Diop ; . Franz and ‘ ’ to K om ed i Lek oth oa n e for . S. g g Song of Praise the Creator ‘ ’ h e F re n Co . nc o I . T i Henry Holt , New York , for Justice from th e Mou n ta in a n d Oth e r E thiopia n Stories collected by Harold ‘ ’ ‘ ’ Cou rl a n d er and Wolf Leslau and for Talk and Anansi s Fish in g ’ Expedition from Th e Cow - Ta il Switc h a n d Oth e r Wes tAfrica n r es Cou rl a n d er Sto i collected by Harold and George Herzog . ‘ Th e The International African Institute, London , for Death of ’ Noliw e Ch a ka o , an extract from by Th mas Mofolo, published by ‘ s of the Oxford University Press , London , and for Two Bird Song ’ Africa the Pokomo Women which appeared in . ‘ L La sebik a n E . . for his translation What a Day ‘ ’ Co Th e of Macmillan . Ltd , London , for Cunning Suud from

Al -Akid a a n d F ort es us Mom ba s a b Hin aw 7 , y Mbarak Ali y ; ‘ William Mod isa n e and Drum Publications for The Dignity of ’ Begging . ‘ a sion a l e Be erk Ra m m on e N Pers p , Bloemfontein , for Returns to ’ d i n K a l a a i M . S b on Ra m m o e w a O . M e the Kalahari from g g by . ;

20 6 h Gh a n a T omas Nelson Sons Ltd , Edinburgh , for the extract from i s h of by Kwame Nkrumah Ab o e D . Nicol and the proprietors ’ ‘ Th e Blackwood s Magazine , Edinburgh , for Devil at Yolahun ’ ‘ ’ Co Bridge ; Nigerian Printing and Publishing . Ltd , for There s ’ Always a Way Out by Gbemi ; The Northern Sotho Book Depot , ‘ ’ o Edendale , Transvaal , South Africa , for Soth Boyhood from d i w a Moa ba A S. Le o . Ru th e by . g ‘ ’ ik D C O sa d eb a Francis Ob a for The Return of the Soldier ; . . y ‘ ’ for his translation 0 Lamb Give me my Salt . ‘ ’ ‘ ’ a for of Sylvi Pankhurst Trousers of Wind , Hymn Praise , and ‘ ’ her adaptation of The Queen of Sheba from Th e Qu ee n of Sh eb a S M e el ek E A of l n n . a n d h e r O n o . y , y by Sir Wallis Budge , both E thio ia A Cu ltu ra l His tor which appeared in her p , y published by ‘ for Sidgwick and Jackson , London ; Librairie Plon , Paris , The ’ Le Re a rd d u Roi Stolen Jacket , an extract from g by Camara Laye

Presses Universitaires de France , Paris, for the following poems from ' ‘ An th ol ogie d e l a Nou v ell e Poes ie Neg re etMa lg a c h e compiled ‘ ’ e e Fl ﬁtistes - Ra bé a riv el o by L opold S dar Senghor by Jean Joseph , ‘ ’ ’ ‘ of l a v ien Ra n a iv o of a part Chercheuse d eau by F , part Lyre sept ’ ‘ ’ cordes by Jacques Rab ém a n a n ja ra Congo by Leopold Séd a r ‘ Senghor and Celui qui a tout perdu by David Diop . ‘ ’ Oscar Ribas for The Angola from E eos d a Min h a Te rra ; ‘ ’ ‘ Th D Ru b a d iri Richard Rive for e Bench James . for Stanley ’ u sa meets M te . ‘ e Se ker Warburg Ltd , London , for The Gentlemen of the ’ Jungle from F a cin g Mou n tKeny a by Jomo Kenyatta Dyke Sen tso ‘ ’ and Drum Publications for Under the Blue Gum Trees ; ‘ ’ M . W . Sinah for The Sergeant who Rejoiced in his Youth ; The ‘ ’ for and the Sheldon Press, London , Much Silence from Africa n Ap h oris m s or Sa ws from Swa hilil a n d compiled by ‘ ’ W for h E . T e A r Sa id . e Taylor, and Parable of the Eagle from gg y C Sta c kb ol Co . e . compiled by Kingsley Williams ; , Harrisburg, ‘ ’ Africa n Gen es is Pennsylvania , for The Talking Skull from by

G x Leo Frobenius and Douglas . Fo . ‘ ’ D C Th em b a r f . or . and D um Publications Mob Passion ; ‘ Hugh Tracey for his translations from the Zulu of The Body Perishes ‘Take off your hat and ‘The Committee is at the School from La l el a zu l u and his translation from the ‘ ’ Zezuru of Keep it Dark from Son gs from th e Kra a ls of Sou th ern Rh od es ia both books were published by the African Music Society,

Johannesburg . The Universities’ Mission to Central Africa for ‘The Story of ’ ‘ ’ Liongo and The Monkey who left his Heart in a Tree (part of ‘ ’ ’ Swa h ili Ta l es The Story of the Washerman s Donkey ) from , pub 2 0 7 Lo ndon .

Gladys Ca sely - Hayford ; The ‘ ’ Motsw a sel e s Johannesburg, for Ra d itl a d i for L D . . and an extract from Am a l ezu l u

20 8