The Legend of Ngong the Giant: A Maasai Tale

 

An East African tale in the traditional style which explains the appearance of Lake Victoria, the Rift Valley, and how the Ngong Hills were thrown up to contour the landscape when a giant fell to earth. Delightfully conceived in the comic style employing simple Swahili expressions which visitors and local people will find entertaining. Neil McLeod and Sue Hooper-Lawrie, who both grew up in Kenya, have collaborated to bring this tribal story to life.

Mzee KabMzee Kabisa asked all the elders of the tribe to gather together in the shade of a big tree, the Mugumo Tree for a meeting. At this meeting Mzee Kabisa said, "We have Bahati mbaya, some very bad luck, Mvua hapana kuja, no rain comes,  Wanyama watakwenda, the buck are disappearing,  Maji na kwisha, the water runs to the sea, Labda Ngong na kuja, and Ngong may come and eat us up."  He finished by asking those gathered at the meeting: "Ta fanya nini, What shall we do?"

i

Then Simba Mukubwa called to Nyani the baboon, who was chattering in the Acacia tree, and said, "Go and tell Tembo the elephant and Nyati the Buffalo to call their friends and come to me. Go to Kifaru the rhinoceros and Ndogoro the waterbuck, and ask them to call Kiboko the hippopotamus, Twiga the giraffe, and Nguruwe Dume (the wild hog with the curley curley tail) so that they too may come to me. Do not leave out Nyoka the snake and Chatu the python, and, of course, Kinyonga the tricky chameleon. I shall go and find Chui and Duma, the leopard and the cheetah, and Fisi and Mwitu, the hyena and jackal. Together we shall see what is to be done."


Available on Amazon