Читать книгу Chaka - Thomas Mofolo - Страница 7

Senzangakhona Disowns Nandi

AS AN infant, Chaka was a lovable, bouncing little fellow with chubby cheeks who did not cry even when he fell. Even when he was chastised he did not often cry, or he might cry only once and then keep quiet. Children generally squall when they are given a beating, and they beg for mercy, at the same time telling how repentant they are; or else they run away. All those were things which Chaka never did. He said that pleading for mercy gave satisfaction to the inflictor of the punishment. As for running away, he said that that was cowardice, for when a person is chastised for a wrong he has committed, he must endure the punishment that arises from his wrong-doing. Chaka was, nonetheless, a peaceful little lad who did not trouble his mother with anything. Those who knew him as a child told how, even as he played with other children, any person whose eyes met his, even without having known him before, could tell at once that he was of royal blood, and not the child of a commoner; they said that all who saw him described him with the words: “He is the cub of a lion; he is the nurseling of a wild beast; he is a newborn little lion.” The people all acclaimed him in the same way.

Chaka, after his father saw him, returned to Ncube’s; and even on the occasion of his weaning, only Nandi went to Senzangakhona’s while Chaka remained behind, and was continually being sent cattle and goats which were called his food.

There was a woman doctor at Bungane’s who was very famous for her knowledge of charms to make one popular, charms that brought good fortune, and charms that caused a king to be loved greatly by his people and by other kings. It happened that on the day Chaka was to be strengthened with potent medicines in accordance with the customs of his own people, this woman was fetched so that she should be the one to give him his first taste of meat. On arriving there, she said that Chaka was still too small, and was not yet ready for the strong medicines of kingship. Nevertheless she fortified him with medicines that brought good luck so that he should be successful in all his undertakings. To do that she took the bile of a yellow snake found in Bokone, which was highly respected by the Matebele, the very one through which they said the spirits sent their messages. She mixed the bile with some of her medicines and made him drink the mixture. She said that the child, Chaka, would, in the course of his life, receive great blessings such as had never been received by a human being.

She gave Nandi a medicine horn and said: “Always when the moon is about to die you must bathe this child at the river very early in the morning, before the sun has risen, and then when he has finished bathing he must walk quickly back home, and when the first rays of the sun shine upon the village, you must take some of this medicine with your fingers and anoint his head with it. You must anoint only the centre of the head where the child’s head throbs; be sure to anoint also this tuft of hair which is never to be shaved off. You must do these things before he eats anything. Bathe him in a large river, not a small one.

“When this child is already grown and knows how to bathe himself, whenever he gets into the water, you must go away from him and wait in a place that is out of view, and you are never to go to him unless he calls you. He, on the other hand, must not shout when he calls you, he should rather whistle. If he could see something that frightens him while he is in the water, on no account must he run away, regardless of whatever may appear. You, for your part, must never, even on a single day, ask him what he has seen; rather let him volunteer of his own accord to tell you. Even when this child has grown to be a man, he must never be accompanied by another man when he goes to bathe, he must go entirely alone, or else go in the company of a woman if he wishes to be with another person.”

When Chaka had reached the stage when he was not only able to crawl and to stand, but was attempting to walk, his father Senzangakhona had a son born to him by his second wife. That child was given the name Mfokazana. When Chaka was ready to be weaned, Nandi returned to her husband’s home at Nobamba, and shortly after she arrived there Senzangakhona had another male child, named Dingana, born to him by one of his most senior wives. It was from that time that the lives of Chaka and his mother took a turn for the worse. Before that, Nandi was a precious thing at Nobamba, since the king’s wives held her dear for having removed the shame from them all by giving birth to a boy, while Senzangakhona also adored her, for his part, because of obtaining through her the boy child for whom he had been yearning so long. Nandi was given enough food so that her breasts should swell with milk for Chaka. She was the queen of the household, yet when Mfokazana and Dingana appeared, everything changed. The senior wives turned their eyes to the children born by them and declared that Mfokazana was the king-elect followed in seniority by Dingana. And even as matters stood thus, Senzangakhona once more became the father of a boy, named Mhlangana, whose mother was also senior to Nandi by marriage, and it was then that the affairs of their lives went completely to ruin.

No one was exactly sure about the circumstances surrounding Chaka’s birth. Many people did not know that Nandi was married when she was already heavy. Only very few knew this, and none of them would dare to breathe a word because they would be in serious trouble. It is possible that some who watched her carefully noticed that her months did not reach the number of months of the pregnancy of women. Since Senzangakhona still loved Chaka and his mother a great deal, the senior wives took offence, and demanded that Senzangakhona should say openly what the order of succession of his sons was, so that the nation should know, and the boys too should know their status. However, Senzangakhona refused. The senior wives talked a great deal among themselves about this matter and even told the councillors to advise the king to arrange things for his children; but whenever the councillors tried to raise the matter, Senzangakhona would fly into a rage and tell them that they should get out of the affairs of his household, and that they were councillors in matters pertaining to the nation, not in private households. The senior wives therefore found a sorcerer who turned Senzangakhona’s heart away from Nandi so that whenever he tried to visit her he would feel so afraid that he would go back at once.

After becoming pregnant again, Nandi went back to her home at Ncube’s so that she should be delivered there; and while she was gone the senior wives came before Senzangakhona with anger in their hearts, and they demanded that Nandi should never again return to Nobamba. When Senzangakhona attempted to refuse, they said: “We hope that you have considered well what you are saying because we, for our part, have come to the end of our patience. You refused to listen when we said you should tell the people that, even though Chaka was born first, the proper heir to the kingship was Mfokazana, followed by Dingana and Mhlangana, and today again you refuse to listen when we say that Nandi should never return to this place. We fail to understand why we should be disgraced by such a dog as Nandi who came to your house already pregnant when we ourselves were maidens, and in every way unblemished, when you married us. Besides, we have born you children, and have filled your houses, and the marriage cattle will come to you in herds and fill your folds at once. We have also born you boys. If that wasn’t the case, we would understand. Now we are going to tell about you and Nandi, and will report this matter to the Great King Jobe.”

When Senzangakhona heard this, he was very frightened, and he trembled. It became clear to him that the shame he and Nandi bore would be exposed, that Nandi and her agemates would be killed, and that he himself would be likewise killed since, in spite of being a king, he was teaching the people evil ways. He begged his wives to let the matter end right there; he declared that Chaka was no longer heir to the kingship, and that Mfokazana would instead be his successor. He also promised that Nandi would never again set foot in Nobamba. But his wives, in order to satisfy themselves completely, demanded that Nandi be banished from Ncube’s and be required to return to her own home at Langeni’s together with her child, Chaka. Indeed Senzangakhona banished her, even though he did afterwards plead for them to be allowed to return to Ncube’s. Senzangakhona’s wives were, however, stupefied, and it did not occur to them to demand that Senzangakhona should explain the new order of succession to Jobe, and so Jobe knew only Chaka as the successor.

The pain which Senzangakhona felt in his heart when he had to part with Chaka, his child, and Nandi, his wife, was such that we are unable to describe it, for he loved them greatly. But he was mortally afraid of the scandal involving him and Nandi, and he did not wish that anyone should hear even the slightest hint of it. He therefore decided that by far the best thing to do was to give up Nandi and his son, to give them up and count them among those who were gone for ever. He also realised that, if he did not give up Chaka, not only would Chaka’s mother and all her agemates be killed, but his little kingdom would be torn apart when all those boys grew up. So he closed his eyes, and the pain was like swallowing a stone as he gave up his wife and son.

Gossip is not like bread, so no one withholds it from another. Therefore, even though Senzangakhona kept his scandal with Nandi a dead secret, it did get to be known, and though it was not publicly exposed, the people nevertheless knew it and gossiped about it. From the time they first heard it, they began to hate Nandi and Chaka with a fearful hatred, and they agreed with the royal wives that Mfokazana was the rightful successor to the kingship. They, however, went even further and wished that Chaka should be killed, for he was a child of sin, and they declared that it would have been much better if he had been the child of a concubine.

When Chaka was old enough to herd calves, he experienced untold suffering. The other boys harassed him, and always beat him up most severely, for no reason whatsoever. One day as they were herding, they singled him out to go and bring back some straying calves. When he came back he suddenly heard one of them saying: “Grab him!” They caught hold of him and thrashed him until he was limp, and it was only then that they left him. He asked why he was being molested in that way, but he received no explanation; indeed it became clear that the more he asked the more severely they battered him. These boys were persecuting Chaka because they heard vague rumours that suggested it would be a good riddance if they killed him. One day in one of these constant fights, Chaka smashed one boy’s eye. The next day that boy’s father caught hold of Chaka and beat him up, causing him frightful injuries.

This daily fighting taught Chaka how to fence with his sticks, how to parry many sticks about to land on him all at once, how to fight both in attack and defence. It also helped him build up his running speed in case he had to run away from his attackers. He became fearless in fighting for he had become accustomed to it, and he never became short-winded when running. In fencing, he learned how to parry a blow just at the right time, how to crouch, how to stoop to avoid a blow, how to dodge to one side, how to jump, and how to land a blow at the right spot at the right time.

On the day the man had given Chaka a beating, his grandmother was very grieved by the life of suffering which Chaka led as herder of calves. So she withdrew him from that duty and made him a bird-scarer in the sorghum fields where he had to go at the earliest dawn carrying a glowing towane – a grass fire-kindler which burned his fingers even before he arrived where he was going. Besides, he walked through the chilly dew and was so cold by the time he arrived in the fields that he was not even able to scare the birds properly. Even though they did not beat him, the other scarers made fun of him, and spat in disgust whenever they talked with him, and they turned up their noses at him and generally treated him like a halfwit. And even as all these things were happening to him, Chaka did not know what wrong he had done. Truly there never was a child whose growing up was as painful as Chaka’s. For a person to be disowned by his father is a painful thing indeed.

The calf herders now suffered from boredom because they had become accustomed to relieving it by torturing Chaka. Then they decided to go right there to the fields where he was. And as Chaka was sitting contentedly one day, he saw a whole gang of boys suddenly appearing right near him in the middle of the fields and the tall grass, and they surrounded him. In vain did he look this way and that, there was nowhere he could run. Worst of all, even his little stick was far away from him, in the shelter. They caught hold of him and battered and bashed him till he fainted, then they threw him in a ditch in the tall grass, thinking that he was dead. A certain person who had gone to inspect the fields saw them all the time, but was unfortunately too far away, and when he came to where they had thrown Chaka, he realised that the boy was not dead, but had simply fainted. Then he poured water on him and put him in the shade where it was cool, and Chaka quickly recovered. But he was so exhausted that he was unable to stand. The kind-hearted person informed Chaka’s relations and they came and carried him home in an ox-hide.

That day Nandi came to the end of her endurance and she informed Senzangakhona about the hard life that Chaka was leading, but Senzangakhona did not answer. He too was sad in his heart, and it was as if every time he swallowed, his saliva was mixed with blood; yet he realised that if he intervened, he would give his detractors a chance to tell what they knew. When the wives saw the messenger, they told Senzangakhona to stop sending the cattle and sheep which were called Chaka’s food, and even though his heart was truly sore, he stopped sending them, so that his shame would remain concealed. Oh, how bitter is the fruit of sin, for Senzangakhona had now become separated from his wife whom he loved and whom he married with fifty-five head of cattle, and he had become separated also from his child Chaka, through whom he first knew a son, and, to make it worse, he was forced to persecute them.

From then on, the old woman refused to let Chaka herd calves, and she also refused to let him scare away the birds in the fields, and this made him a laughing stock, a stay-at-home.

When Chaka was getting to be a young lad, Nandi took him to that doctor of hers so that he should be strengthened with potent medicines which would protect him from these people who were intent on killing him. The doctor took some medicinal powder, mixed it with other medicines and gave it to them saying: “The day the moon goes into darkness, Chaka must go to the river very early in the morning. When he finishes bathing, he must vaccinate himself with this medicine, and then he must go back to the village, and then smear his head with the one I previously gave you. As a result of that, even if his attackers should surround him in a large group, they will never defeat him, but instead he will scatter them with ease. He will kill rather than be killed. I want to state very firmly again that this child will receive blessings that exceed all expectations. Tell me, have you ever seen anything at the river, while you were bathing?” Chaka said he had not. Then that woman put her hand on a vein in Chaka’s arm and listened, and then said: “The events which will take place around the life of this child are of great importance; they are weighty matters. I shall hurry back from Zwide’s where I am now being summoned, and if it is at all possible, I shall be back here with you on the tenth day from today. If I should be unable to come on that day, you must know that I am held up by work. But in that case I shall send someone to come and find out for me how things are going, especially since I know that tomorrow Chaka will rise early and go to the river, for that is his day.”

When she was already on her way the doctor felt concern lest Chaka was a coward because that would destroy the potency of her medicines. She therefore sent him two kinds of medicine, one for vaccinating and the other for drinking, whose purpose was to turn him into a fierce person, and make him long to fight; he would also have bravery in his liver, and be fearless. Among the ingredients in those medicines were the liver of a lion, the liver of a leopard, and the liver of a man who had been a renowned warrior in his lifetime. She mixed them all together. The medicine for drinking was constantly added to Chaka’s food. She ordered that the vaccination should be done by a woman with a newborn child, who, besides, must be her first child.

The messenger brought the medicines, and Chaka was even vaccinated while he was still there, and then he went back. From that day on, Chaka had an uncontrollable desire to fight, and it had to be a serious fight in which heavy sticks and spears were used. He dreamed about it at night when he was sleeping; he dreamed about it during the day, with his eyes open; and whenever he saw a man carrying a stick or a spear his whole body would at once begin to itch, and he would wish to engage that man in a fight. He would dream that he saw hordes and hordes of enemy warriors come to attack him, and he would see himself putting them to flight all by himself, without being helped by any of his people. He began to love only those conversations that spoke of war. Even before that Chaka was a very brave person, but he had never been the one to provoke a fight, and he was not quarrelsome, but now these medicines spurred him on and he even went to the pastures in defiance of his grandmother’s orders.

The moment he arrived in the pastures the other boys would rush at him all at once, but he would give them terrible gaping wounds with his blows, till they fled. Soon all the herdboys gave up fighting him, and he became their leader. He watered his cattle first in the marshes, and he was the first one to graze where the pastures were rich. Always at the end of a fight he would feel a sense of happiness, and experience a wonderful feeling of relaxation, like a poisonous snake which, after biting a person, lies sick until that person dies, whereupon it casts its skin and begins to move about again. Chaka soon realised that he did not get tired easily even if he fought for a long time, and that by the time he became tired, he had killed or wounded many people. When he fought, his stick struck the defences of his opponent with such force that the opponent fell to the ground, while his enemies’ sticks were so weak when they landed on him that they were no better than the dry maize stalks left standing in the fields by the reapers.