African Myths of Origin (Penguin Classics)

by Stephen Belcher

  Anubis had a wife, but she began to turn her eyes on her husband’s brother. It was not only his kindness and gentleness with the animals, but also his strength: once, having come to fetch seed for planting he carried off five bags on his shoulders. She watched his back beneath the load as he returned to the field. One day, when she knew her husband would be absent she spoke to Bata and invited him to lie with her, promising that he would not suffer from it and she too would reward him as did her husband. But Bata was enraged by her infidelity and reproached her, and said he would speak no more of this. Then he went his way with the cattle, and avoided the house that evening.

  But the wife worried that he might mention her offer to his brother, her husband, and so she practised a ruse: she smeared her face so that it appeared she had been beaten, and she ate herbs to make her stomach ill, and she lay in the dark of the house, doing nothing to prepare the evening meal. When her husband returned and found her, he was at first worried for her health. He asked what had happened, and she said that Bata had approached her and asked her to lie with him. When she refused he had beaten her about the head and the body so that she was sick.

  Her story infuriated Anubis, and he determined to kill Bata. He took his spear and waited behind the door of the cow-shed to slay his brother when he returned. But as Bata approached the cow-shed, driving the cattle, the leading cow turned back and warned him that danger awaited behind the door. So he immediately turned and ran away. Anubis followed, brandishing the spear, but Bata prayed to the god of justice, and the god made a river flow between the brothers.

  The next morning, speaking across the river, Bata asked Anubis why he had tried to kill him, although they were brothers and Anubis stood to him as their father and mother who had died. Anubis asked why he had tried to sleep with his wife. Again, Bata called upon the god of justice to assure the truth of his words, and swore that he had made no such attempt. But Anubis did not believe his oath. Outraged that his brother trusted his unfaithful wife over his faithful brother, Bata cut off his penis and threw it in the water. Then he told his brother what he intended to do, and what course of action Anubis should take if he wished to make amends.

  He went away to the Valley of Cedars and made himself a fine house. He tended the land so that all the plants flourished and the valley was beautiful enough to draw the gods in admiration. The god of justice suggested to Khnum the potter, who makes the babies that are placed in women’s wombs, that he should fashion a wife for Bata who lived there alone. Khnum agreed, and made the loveliest woman in the land to be Bata’s companion. But the seven Hathors who preside at childbirth prophesied that she would come to a bad end.

  Bata was entranced with his new companion and devoted himself to pleasing her and making her comfortable, and he revealed all his secrets to her: how his heart was preserved at the top of a cedar tree and it was the secret that might control him. He also warned her not to go near the sea, for since he had lost his penis he had no power over the waters.

  But she disobeyed him and walked on the shore. The waves tried to seize her as she fled up the beach to the trees. She escaped them, but one lock of her hair fell into the waters. The waves carried it to the home of the Pharaoh of Egypt. There by the water’s edge, servants found it glistening. Because it was so fine and lovely, and because it gave off a sweet smell, the servants brought it to their supervisors, and in turn the supervisors brought the lock to the lords of the household, and they in turn brought it before Pharaoh. Pharaoh summoned his wise men, and they told him whose hair it was and where he should find her. So he sent men and chariots over the sands to fetch the woman. She came willingly, delighted at the thought of consorting with the Pharaoh of Egypt.

  When Pharaoh asked about the man with whom she had lived, she made light of Bata and told Pharaoh how he might be destroyed: by cutting down the great cedar tree in whose flower he kept his heart. Pharaoh sent men to perform this task, and Bata, lying in his home mourning his lost woman, died. And Pharaoh made the woman a princess.

  Anubis realized his brother had died when the tokens which Bata had foretold came about. So he travelled to the Valley of Cedars and found Bata’s body. Then he sought his brother’s heart among the cedars. One year he searched, and then a second, and a third, and finally in the fourth year, as he was beginning to despair and weary of this fruitless task, he came upon the fruit of the cedar and knew it was his brother’s heart. So he returned to Bata’s fine home, where the body still lay, and he placed the heart in a container of water and went to sleep. Overnight, the heart drank up the water and was restored to life, and the body of Bata regained its colour and his limbs moved. In the morning, Anubis found his brother’s body revived, and the heart lost in the water. He gave his brother the heart’s water to drink and so the heart was replaced where it should be.

  Then Bata told his brother that he would become a bull, which Anubis should deliver to the Pharaoh. So Anubis did so, and was richly rewarded for the fine animal which he brought to the ruler of the land. Bata seized an occasion when his former woman came by and told her he was still alive. The princess was disturbed and went to Pharaoh, and after pleading asked him for a favour, which he was happy to grant her. She asked to be allowed to eat the liver of the bull which he had just received. Reluctantly, Pharaoh agreed, and sent men to slaughter the bull.

  When they did so, two drops of the bull’s blood spurted from its neck and landed on the ground on either side of Pharaoh’s door, by the posts of the gate to the great house. Very quickly two great trees sprang up on either side of the door. The next morning the servants informed Pharaoh that two trees had grown up overnight by his gate. Pharaoh was very pleased and made an offering to them, since clearly this was the work of the gods.

  But when the princess next passed near the trees, they whispered to her that they were Bata, whom she had twice tried to kill, as a bull and as a man. The princess was disturbed and grew fearful, worrying what the trees might do against her. When an occasion came, she again asked Pharaoh for a favour, that he would make her furniture from the wood of the great trees by his gate. Pharaoh agreed and sent craftsmen to cut down the trees and saw them into planks and pieces suitable for furniture, and the princess went to watch. As she was watching, a chip of the wood flew into her mouth, and she swallowed it unawares, and immediately she became pregnant.

  A son was born to her, and after many years, when Pharaoh died, the son became Pharaoh in turn, and then he summoned his wise men and told them he had information to impart. He told them how he had been Bata, falsely accused by one woman, and three times betrayed by another, and how he had escaped her and become Pharaoh. The wise men pronounced a judgement against her and she was punished. Bata summoned Anubis, who still lived, and made him a prince to rule after him.

  THE TREASURE OF RHAMPSINITUS

  This story, first told by Herodotus (c. 450 BC), became widespread during the Middle Ages through Arabic popular literature. It is now part of world folklore. The thief offers certain affinities with trickster figures found south of the Sahara.

  King Rhampsinitus had a great treasure in silver, and determined to build a storehouse in which to keep it. He summoned a master-builder and ordered him to prepare the treasury, and allotted him the men and materials for the task. The master-builder set about his work, and soon the new treasure-house was built and the king moved all his store of wealth into the new edifice.

  The builder had planned for the future of his sons: at the back of the building, facing onto the street, there was a stone carefully contrived so that it could be removed and replaced with no sign of its disturbance. On his deathbed, he told his sons of his device, and left them to enjoy parts of the king’s treasure. The two sons made their way to the back of the treasure-house, found the movable stone and entered the treasury; there, they filled bags with silver coins, and then escaped, replacing the stone as they had found it.

  The ease with which they obtained this wealth made them profligate. Very s
oon, peering into their bags, they found that they needed more silver. They returned to Rhampsinitus’ treasure-house and replenished their store. Some time later they again felt the need for another trip. Eventually, King Rhampsinitus was informed that some of the containers of silver in his treasure-house were unexpectedly empty. He realized that a thief must have found his way into the treasure-house. But there was no trace of the thief’s passage; the seals on the door were unbroken and the guards were trusted, so he did not suspect them. He guessed there was a secret passage. He consulted his advisers, and they in turn contrived traps which they set in the treasure-house to catch the marauder.

  Soon after that, the builder’s two sons needed more silver and so they returned to the treasury. They entered and filled their bags, and then one of them was caught by the trap and found himself unable to break free. Desperate, he instructed his brother to kill him and cut off his head, so he would not be recognized. Seeing no other recourse to preserve their family, the other brother obeyed. The next day, the king found a thief in the treasure-house, but it was an unidentifiable corpse. Clearly his associate had escaped.

  The purpose in cutting off the head was evident: to avoid recognition, to protect the family. The king reasoned that the thief would be mourned, and so ordered the guard to march the corpse around the town, keeping alert for any undue signs of grief among the onlookers. Eventually, the grim procession passed by the builder’s house, where the two brothers lived with their mother and wives. Seeing the corpse, all felt the anguish of grief and began to weep. The soldiers, hearing the sound of wailing, became suspicious. The surviving brother perceived the danger, and immediately dropped his brother’s young son into the well in the courtyard, so that when the soldiers entered to investigate the wails, they found a scene of chaos as all ran back and forth to retrieve the infant. Satisfied with this explanation, the soldiers withdrew.

  Rhampsinitus then ordered that the body should be exposed by the city gate, to shame the family. The mother, widow of the builder, reproached the surviving brother and demanded that he retrieve his brother’s corpse. The young man loaded two donkeys with wineskins and led them out past the city gate; as he passed the guards, one donkey broke free of his lead, while wine began to pour from wineskins on each of the donkeys. The young man raced back and forth in confusion, apparently uncertain whether to try to catch the loose donkey or to stop up the pouring wine, and the soldiers, watching, laughed at his antics until he turned and began to curse them for lazy and useless good-for-nothings. Then one soldier caught a donkey, and he was able to stop the flow of wine, and the other soldiers summoned him to withdraw his curses. After some discussion, he offered them a bag of wine, which they willingly took and drank, and since that one went so fast he gave them another, and then another, until the entire party of guards lay drunk by the road. Then the thief brought down his brother’s corpse, loaded it on one of the donkeys, and led the animals home.

  Growing desperate to catch the thief, the king ordered his daughter to assist him with a new trap: she would go down to a public house and offer herself to whichever man told her of the cleverest and most wicked thing he had done; when the thief came (as the king was sure he would), she would seize him and summon the guards who would be waiting nearby. The news of this challenge was spread around the town, and of course the young thief heard of it and decided to take it up. But he made his preparations before he went to see the princess.

  He was admitted in due course, and sat for a while telling her how he had robbed the treasure and rescued his brother’s body, and the princess realized that he was the man her father sought. She seized his arm and cried out for the guards, but he pulled away: it was not his arm she held, but the arm of a corpse he had taken from the graveyard. So he escaped again.

  Rhampsinitus was so impressed by such ingenuity that he announced a pardon for the thief: these were talents he wished to have in his service, and their worth outweighed the crimes that had been committed. So the young man came forth and was rewarded with a post in the king’s court, and also married the princess.

  21

  ETHIOPIA

  Ethiopia was the home of ancient cultures such as Axum and Meroe, contemporary with Pharaonic Egypt. It was also closely linked with the cultures of South Arabia, Yemen and Sa’ba, lying across the Red Sea as it narrows. The introduction of Christianity, in the first centuries ad, gave Ethiopia a new identity, visible in the legend of origin of the Solomonid dynasty which claims continuity from the time of Solomon, through Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, to the present. This legend is recorded in the Kebra Negast, the ‘Glory of Kings’, which recounts the origin of the dynasty. The book was most probably composed in the Middle Ages, after 1200, at a time when Christian Ethiopia was being forced to fight against Muslim challengers (such as Mohammed Gragn in Chapter 22). This section also includes some stories from non-Amharic subjects of the kingdom of Ethiopia which were recorded early in the twentieth century.

  SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA

  A very long time ago, the land of Ethiopia lay under the oppressive rule of a serpent which exacted sacrifices and tribute from the people. A man came from another land and lived with the people. He saw their plight, and he determined to end the rule of the serpent. He killed a goat, slit open its stomach, and stuffed the carcass with poisonous herbs. Then he sewed up the carcass and offered the slaughtered goat to the great serpent. The serpent devoured it, fell into a torpor, and died. The people made the man king, since he had delivered them from the serpent, and he married. His only child was a daughter, Makeda, and on his death the people made her queen. She became the celebrated queen of Sheba.

  At that time, which was also the time of the glory of Solomon, there was great trade across the Red Sea and merchants came from the land of Sheba to Jerusalem. These merchants admired the glory of the city and the wisdom and prudence of Solomon, and they took the report of his accomplishments back to their land. Makeda, the queen of Sheba, ruled alone and had not married.

  Those reports of the glories of Solomon’s reign intrigued the queen of Sheba, and she determined to visit him. She ordered ships loaded with the wealth of her lands, to offer as gifts to the great king, and with a great retinue she travelled to Jerusalem. While they were there, Solomon instructed her in his faith and his belief in the one true God, and convinced her of the truth of his words, so that she took him as her teacher.

  After a time, she determined to return to her home, and the heart of Solomon sank, for he was a great lover of women and she was beautiful among all women, dark and comely. So he offered her a banquet, in which the different courses were heavily spiced or flavoured with vinegar, but there was nothing to drink. Then it was agreed that they should sleep in the same room, but she asked him to swear that he would not take her by force, while he made her swear that she would take nothing of his by force. And so both lay down in their beds, and Solomon pretended to fall asleep.

  In the middle of the room was a table, and on it a bowl with clear water. Makeda could not sleep, because of the thirst that was on her from the spicy foods, and when she thought Solomon was asleep she rose to drink from the bowl. But he was awake and watchful, and he also rose and reminded her of her oath. She asked him to release her from the oath, so she could drink, and he agreed on condition she release him from his oath. After she had drunk they lay together and he knew her. That night, Solomon dreamed of a sun that shone bright over his land, but then departed and shone over the lands of the Nile and the land of Sheba, while another sun arose of the people of Judah in Israel, but the people of Israel mistreated it and killed it and held it of no account, although it rose from the tomb and brightened the whole world, especially Ethiopia and Rome.

  In the morning, Solomon gave a ring to the queen of Sheba, saying that if she should carry his seed and it should prove a boy, she should send the child to him with the ring as token. The queen returned to her own land.

  Her son was born and grew up and asked a
bout his father, and she replied that she was his mother and his father, and twice he was satisfied with this answer. But the third time he did not accept it, and so she told him the truth and he set off for Jerusalem to see his father.

  When Bayna Lekhem came to Gaza with the merchants, the people of Gaza wondered to see a man so like to their king, and the word of this marvel travelled throughout the land and reached Jerusalem and the ears of Solomon. Solomon called the captain of the guard and ordered him to bring this young man to him. Bayna Lekhem came and stood before Solomon in the presence of the nobles, and Solomon admired him and said he resembled not Solomon, but his father David in the days of his youth. And when Bayna Lekhem offered the ring as a token of his birth, Solomon put it aside for he had already acknowledged the son beyond possible doubt, such was the resemblance between them.

  After a time, Bayna Lekhem asked of his father that he should be allowed to return to his homeland with the command that hereafter women should no longer rule, but men should rule instead. Solomon hesitated, for he wished to make Bayna Lekhem his heir, but Bayna Lekhem answered that Solomon already had a son born of his wife, but that Solomon and his mother had not married properly. Solomon answered that his own father David had not properly married his mother Bathsheba, but at length he consented. It was Bayna Lekhem who had craftsmen create a duplicate of the Ark of the Covenant, and he stole the true Ark, leaving the duplicate, and brought it into Ethiopia where it still remains. Solomon discovered the substitution and pursued Bayna Lekhem, but his army turned back when they were told that people had seen Bayna Lekhem and his people travelling at an extraordinary pace, and that their feet and the wheels of their carts did not touch the ground.

  THE SEPARATION OF THE DARASSA AND THE JAM-JAMO