Untombinde, the Tall Maiden
Xhosa folktale · iintsomi
Kwesukasukela. Untombinde was the tall and beautiful daughter of a great king. Restless and bold, she gathered her companions and announced she would go to bathe in the pool of the dreaded river-monster, Usikulumi (or the great being that dwelt in the deep waters), though everyone warned her that no one returned from that place. The girls set out, laughing, and when they reached the forbidden pool they laid aside their beads and ornaments and bathed. But while they swam, the monster of the deep rose and seized their belongings, refusing to return them. One by one the frightened girls begged for their things, naming themselves humbly, and the creature gave them back. But proud Untombinde, the king's daughter, would not humble herself, and so the monster swallowed her whole and dragged her into the depths. Her companions fled home weeping to tell the king. A great army was raised, or in some tellings a brave hero went out, and after a fierce struggle the monster was defeated and Untombinde was brought back alive from its belly. She had learned that beauty and high birth do not place one above caution and respect. Cosu cosu iyaphela.
The lesson: Pride and recklessness invite disaster; even the high-born must respect danger and heed wise warnings.