Myths Legends and Traditions

Myth and Legend:

You can still be bitten by the bones of a snake. It is just as deadly as if it were still alive.

If you smoke the ikaka plant, it will protect you and your village from hyenas.
The ashes from the mat snake,  sprinkled around the edges of the village or home works the same.

Traditions:

During pumpkin and mushroom season the cheif must signal to the rest of the village that it is time to eat these types of foods. He takes a small mushroom or pumpkin and throws it at a certain large tree. Then you may eat you veggies.

Soem traditional families keep a certain clay pot for thier ancestors. The family pays homage to the ancestors by placing offerings in the pot. Some families take a small gourd and place it in a special room of their house. They talk to the gourd as if it were a deceased memeber fo their family. A room can be filled with such gourds. It is called a "finga' practice. I learned this in the Mafinga hills.

Finger millet is brewed and pure beer is givenas an offering to the ancestors and to the community free of charge. There is a rumor circulated by the church to move people away from such traditional practices. A man was unable to get a job for many years. He was becoming desperate. He talked to his pastor who told him "Trust in God. God will provide." The man went home weeping and frustrated to his parent's house, at a loss of what to do. His family smiled and sighed happily, "We know what you must do." They took him outside under the shade of a mango tree. They pointed to a small pot underneath and said "This is your brother's, this is your grandfather's..." The man started screaming "No! No!" and ran away. The next day he was offered a job and became very rich. The end.