Kaffir folk-lore

Of late years a great deal of interest has been taken in the folklore of uncivilized tribes by those who have made it their business to study mankind. It has been found that a k...

The care of cattle is considered the most honourable employment, and falls entirely to the men. They milk the cows, take charge of the dairy, and will not permit a woman even to...

Then he went and laid himself down by the head of the garden, under the same house which the bird used always to stand upon. While he was thinking, the bird came. It was a very...

There was once a chief’s daughter who had reached the age when it was necessary for her to observe the ntonjane. She was therefore placed in a hut, in which she was to remain du...

Then those men beat the women and children because they did not watch that the dogs did not take the meat. As for Hlakanyana, he only delighted in this trick of his. He was more...

They went to live in a cave that had two holes to let in air and light, the entrance to which was protected by a very strong door, with a fastening inside. Demane went out hunti...

When the woman came home and found out what had happened, she killed her son. Then she gave the girl a stick, and told her to go to her uncle’s house, saying that when she got t...

The boy took his horns from the thief, and went on his way. He came to a house, and asked to be entertained. The owner refused, and sent him away, because his clothes were in ta...

The isinama is a kind of grass that sticks to one’s clothing when it is touched, and can hardly be brushed off afterwards. This proverb is used as a warning to any one to avoid...

Among the Kaffirs a childless woman finds little or no favour. In many cases she would be treated by her husband in exactly the manner described in this tale, so that by becomin...

In this story the girls are represented as taking fermented milk to the man. This is not in accordance with ordinary Kaffir usage, which prohibits females from serving out milk....