Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 15, 1904.djvu/353

 Collectanea. 329

died there. Libanza thereupon sent the various swarms of flies, mosquitoes, &:c., to fight against Nyandembe ; but they were all conquered by Nyandembe, and became his slaves. Libanza then took his shield and spears, fought against Nyandembe, conquered him, got back his slaves, and made Nyandembe also his slave. Libanza returned to his town and sent the flies, &c., about their business.

The Adventures of Libanza.

Three persons went hunting, one of them turned aside and saw a boy, covered with yaws, sitting with his two sisters. The hunter said, " I have found some slaves," and the youngsters said, " We have found a master." The hunter conducted them to the camp, and by-and-by he made a clearing for snaring monkeys. The boy said, " Master, give me the traps and I will snare some monkeys." " You are a little one, can you catch monkeys?" asked the master. He said, " Let me have them." He took the traps and snared thirty monkeys, whereupon they returned to camp to share out the meat. That boy was Libanza. When they had divided the meat Libanza was feared, and they all sat very quietly. Libanza took his share of the meat and went away. Arriving after a time at a large town he changed himself into a boy with yaws. The people there were pounding sugar-canes to make wine. One of them walking to the back of a house, came upon the boy and his sisters, and with surprise exclaimed, " I have found some slaves." His friends said, " Bring them here." So he took them and sat them down on the mortar, and gave them sugar-cane to eat. After a time the boy said, " Give me a pestle, and I will pound the canes." " You are only a small boy, and do you attempt to pound the canes ? " they asked. He took a pestle, and singing, pounded away, and the pestle snapped ; he took two pestles, one in each hand, and they broke with the force of the pounding, and thus he broke all the pestles until only one was left. He took that one, and they fearing him, he went off for good with it.

He and his sisters walked a long way, and came upon a man sitting. One of the sisters said, " I will take him, and him only, for my husband." His name was Koloimoko. As the girl was going out to the place where the man was sitting, Libanza entered into a horn. When Koloimoko came he said " As I was at first