The Promise (Zulu/African)

Nandi was a poor widow with no sons to herd cattle; only a daughter to help in the fields. When the umdoni trees were full of flowers they dug for amadumbe (tubers) to eat with their porridge. In Fall, when there were no flowers, they collected the berries and traded them for dried goat meat or sour milk.

One summer day, Nandi went to gather berries but couldn’t find any. When she heard a hissing sound she looked up and saw Snake, who’d wound itself around the tree, eating berries.

She called out to it. “You are eating all the berries. What will my daughter and I have for trading if there are none left for us? 

Snake slithered down the trunk of the tree. Nandi was frightened but she needed the berries.  “You have to give me something in exchange for the berries,” hissed Snake. “If I give you a basketful, will you give me your daughter?”

“Yes,” said Nandi, thinking only of her need for berries. But once her basket was full, she was horrified at what she had promised. She decided not to go straight home, but to follow a difficult route in hopes Snake would not find her and her daughter.

Although the way was challenging, Snake managed to follow her to the hut. When Nandi saw Snake, she began to cry. “I’m sorry Snake. I cannot allow my daughter to go with you.”

Nandi’s daughter heard the story and told her mother, “A promise is a promise. You must give me to Snake.” She reached out to Snake and said, “I will give you food and something to drink.” Then she made a bed for them.

During the night Nandi had trouble sleeping. She was upset at what she had done. Upset that Snake had found his way to their hut despite her efforts to keep him away.  As she got up, she heard voices. 

Not knowing who was talking, she crept out of her blanket and quietly moved toward the bed of her daughter and Snake. She was amazed to see a fine-looking young man sitting next to her daughter who was weaving beads into a wedding pattern. 

She wondered if she was dreaming but knew she was not when she heard their tender words, saw their loving looks. Then, Nandi saw the coiled-up snakeskin. Without knowing why, she picked it up and threw it into the fire.

Watching the embers, she heard Snake say, “An evil magician cast a spell on me. It could only be broken by a young woman who agreed to marry me and a woman wise enough to burn my skin.”

The mother looked at her daughter, radiant with love. She turned to the fine-looking young man and said, “Welcome home.”