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mkandawire_mjura_and_andrea_matthews

Library Link Mostly stories about men and women who change into animals. The wife dies in both versions.

The Hunter's Magic

Story about a husband and wife. The husband can turn into a lion, unbeknownst to his wife. He goes out and hunts for game and always comes back with meat. One day his wife follows him, and scares of the game as a result. The lion does not know this, so he follows his wife one day and overhears that she followed him and puts 2 and 2 together. Fearing he will never be able to find prey again because of his wife, he reveals that he heard her singing and she knows he must have overheard her conversation. After she signs the song the man turns into a lion and eats her.

The Monkey/Woman

A woman can turn into a monkey. To turn back into a woman she must bite or cut her tail. One time it does not work and she runs around with an axe trying to cut her tail, to no avail. Eventually she is foraging as a monkey in a farmers maize field and he shoots her dead.

The Boy and the Monster

Funkhamakhwelu is a boy, son of one of the chieftains. A giant bird is hovering over the villages and the paramount chief orders all the hunters and archers to kill it. But they cannot, so the chief declares that anyone who can kill it will get his throne. Up steps Funkhamakhwelu and shoots the bird down. The chief basically says that is too easy and the boy must kill Lightning, which the boy turns around and does. This time the chief declares the boy must kill a monster named Jiwundembo. The boy is smart and takes his 5 dogs with him. The monster actually invites the boy in and is very hospitable. The boy knows the monster will eat him if he falls asleep. Every time Jiwundembo tries to eat him, the boy throws salt on the fire to scare him away. The next day the monster tries to trick the boy into retrieving some honey from a tree. He chops it down, but the boy prays and sings for the tree to stay upright. One by one he calls each of the dogs to rescue him. Then he shoots the monster and kills it. WHen he returns the chief tries to use a pit trap to kill the boy. After they bury him alive, the 5 dogs show up and kill everyone, then dig the boy out. That is how he became the chief.

mkandawire_mjura_and_andrea_matthews.txt · Last modified: 2023/01/01 17:28 by jl