Reba Paeff Mirsky

“ Nomusa began to grow excited at the prospect of taking the cattle to pasture and for a moment even thought it would make up for not being allowed to go on the elephant hunt.
“Oh, Nomusa, why must you always be so eager to do what boys do? You should be content with being a girl. Girls are worth much more than boys. No Zulu girl can be had for a wife unless she is paid for in cattle. We are valuable.”
But Nomusa’s mind was no longer on what Sisiwe was saying. Her eyes were searching the ground to right and left, seeking the stones with which to make the paint. ”

“ The chief rubbed his hand along the handsome tusks of the dead elephant. “They are fine tusks.”
In the meantime Nomusa and Damasi had been looking at the path made by the herd as they rushed off. Small trees had been uprooted and great branches broken off others. Nomusa stared at the ground.
“Look!” she cried. “A trail of blood!”
“The other elephant must have been very badly wounded,” Zitu said, crouching down to examine the tracks.
He stood up, looking at the sun. “It grows late,” he said, concern in his voice. “But if we do not find the wounded bull today, we may never do so. ”

“ Sisiwe opened her eyes in astonishment. “A girl go on an elephant hunt? Who ever heard of such a thing? Why, Nomusa, you talk as if you were our brother Mdingi!”
“It is true that I do not like girls’ work,” Nomusa said sadly.
“Nomusa!” Makanya called out sharply from within the hut.
“I am here, my mother,” answered Nomusa, quickly crawling through the low opening of the hut. A delicious smell of food cooking enveloped her as she entered. Corn mush and bananas were steaming in a pot over the fire. ”

“ Puleng returned from some little adventure he had been having and began to bark at Nomusa, disturbed over her strange appearance. What with his barking and the shouting and loud questions of all the children crowding round Nomusa and Sisiwe, there was such a din that mothers stuck their heads out of the entrance of their huts and crossly commanded, “Tula!”
“Hush!” warned Nomusa. “You will wake all the babies.” She stroked Puleng’s head to reassure him and quiet his barking. ”

“ Unless they hit the elephants in exactly the right spot, they would not be able to kill them. Nomusa knew that a wounded elephant is a ferocious beast. These next few moments would be extremely dangerous ones. Her heart began to pound so hard she was afraid the elephants would hear it.
The chief now made a quick sign. With all their strength and skill the hunters hurled their sharp-pointed spears at the two bull elephants. Nomusa’s bow twanged as she let her arrow fly, aiming for the vulnerable spot under the elephant’s ear. Zabala and Damasi hurled their short spears. ”

“ When the hunting party reached a waterfall that cascaded over boulders to the rocks and plains below, Zitu ordered a halt. Nomusa hoped it was so that they might eat. She was not used to going without food for such long periods. At home, when the children were hungry, they ate. There was always enough.
While Nomusa and Damasi and the other boys set to work finding dry twigs and branches with which to start a fire, the older hunters cooled their perspiring bodies under the waterfall. They laughed and enjoyed themselves immensely, shouting and splashing each other. ”

“ But Zitu spoke to them again, in a quieter tone. He made signs with his hands, saying that he and his men must have the tusks, but the little people could have the rest of the elephant. At last they understood, and they laid down their weapons, to the great relief of all. The Zulus, too, dropped their weapons on the ground and slowly approached the dead elephant.
The small people began cutting open the huge animal. As Nomusa watched, she saw how carefully they pulled out the eyelashes and the long hairs from the elephant’s ears. ”

“ Nomusa lay on her little bamboo mat, stretching and scratching her lean, naked body. She yawned and thought to herself:
Yo, I am still so sleepy! If only I did not have to get up to fetch water from the stream! Why must I leave my comfortable mat when Mdingi and Kangata may still sleep? Zulu boys have all the fun, and they don’t work nearly so hard as the girls.
Nomusa rolled up her mat, moving quietly so as not to wake her baby sister and her little brother. They lay sleeping on a larger mat next to her mother, Makanya. ”

“ Suddenly the chief spoke, pointing to the sleeping baby. “She looks as if she would be worth five cows.”
“Ay, she will be worth more,” answered Makanya proudly. “And Nomusa here, who helps me so well, is worth seven cows already.”
Zitu looked at Nomusa appraisingly; then, taking hold of her firm arm, he said, “She is a strong girl, almost as big as her older brother. I hear she can do anything a boy can. If she were a boy, I would take her on the elephant hunt when we leave at the full moon.” ”

“ How relieved her father was to see Nomusa!
When he heard what had happened, Zitu looked at Zabala and Damasi proudly.
178“You have done well,” the chief said. “No man could have done better.”
Nomusa looked timidly at her father. “I am sorry, my father. My carelessness has caused you much trouble.”
Zitu nodded. “Some of the fault was yours,” he agreed. “But I am to blame, too. In my eagerness to return home I did not look for you as I should have. Come,” Zitu added gently. “We shall stop for the night when we reach the others. It is too late to go on.” ”

“ Our father is in our hut now; if he hears what has happened he will be very angry. My work is finished; I shall not be missed.”
“I cannot let you go alone,” Mdingi protested. “Nyawuza knows my whistle.”
“Show me how you whistle,” directed Nomusa.
Mdingi whistled, and Nomusa imitated him. After a few tries she could do it exactly like Mdingi. Here is one more thing Nomusa can do as well as I, Mdingi thought bitterly. She should have been the boy.
“Do not say anything about the lost cow,” Nomusa cautioned. “Tomorrow is the day of Damasi’s party, and we might not be allowed to go.” ”

“ Nomusa is warmhearted and generous and affectionate; she loves all her little brothers and sisters and enjoys helping to care for them. But she is strong and brave and daring, too; she feels that girls’ work is dull and boys’ work is much more exciting, and much more fun.
More than anything else, Nomusa yearns to go with the men on the annual elephant hunt. But she knows this is impossible. As her mother says, “Girls never go on elephant hunts!”
After Nomusa’s adventure with a fierce wild boar, her father, Chief Zitu, rewards her bravery. ”

“ Nomusa smiled wretchedly, and Intombi said, “Come and play with us, Nomusa. You will beat us all at this stone game. Here, take my stones for a while. I am tired.” Nomusa wanted to say that she was weary of all these boring girls’ games, but instead she squatted beside Intombi, taking the five stones.
Her heart was heavy as she held the stones in her hand. The game was to hold all the stones in one hand, tossing one into the air while holding all the others and catching the stone in the same hand. Each time a different stone was thrown. ”

“ But Zitu smiled good-naturedly and caught her arm in his powerful hand, feeling her hard little muscles. “Nomusa is strong—as strong as many boys older than she is. And she is clever and brave.”
He looked at his daughter again, and then at his wife. “If Nomusa wishes, she may come on the hunt. But she must be sure to cause me no shame.”
Nomusa’s eyes widened with surprise. Makanya was speechless. “Oh, my father, thank you!” Nomusa burst out. “Please let me go with you, yes, yes!” She turned to her mother. “I know Sisiwe will do some of my work.” ”

“ Nomusa’s father began to instruct them as to their positions in the hunt. Every time he finished a sentence, the hunters would strike on the ground with their spears and shout, “Tshilo!”
Zitu said, “You all know the rules of the hunt, but in case anyone has forgotten, I shall tell you again that the first man to draw the blood of the prey is the owner. The next man to stab it can claim a leg, and if it is necessary for a third to strike, he may have a shoulder. The chief receives a leg from every animal.” ”

“ Quickly Nomusa ran forward, trying to match her step to his. She thought her father even slowed up a little so that she would not have to take little running steps to keep up with him.
“Is it far to the elephant country?” asked Nomusa.
“It is about five sleeps away,” Zitu answered, his eyes on the path ahead. “It may be nearer or farther than that. Much depends on whether herds of elephants are moving south or north, and whether we walk along speedily and without any mishap. We are headed for some high country and wide rivers where elephants like to wander.” ”

“ What good will it do you to know how to trap and shoot? You will never be allowed to go on a hunt. It is better for you to know how to be a good wife.”
Nomusa left Damasi and went to sit with the girls from neighboring kraals. Bored, she listened to stories about things that had been going on in their kraals since the last time they had seen each other: about new babies, accidents to brothers or sisters, what vegetables were growing in their mothers’ gardens, and such things. Body designs were compared and discussed, grass skirts felt, beads admired, and new teeth examined. ”

“ Nomusa and Intombi entered the hut. Nomusa smiled as she caught sight of the new baby, who was still moist from her bath.
“It is Nomusa,” said Intombi simply to the baby’s mother.
Nomusa’s delight in the baby was plain to see; in a few moments she took off one of her necklaces of small shells and hung it around the baby’s plump neck.
“It is a present for the baby,” Nomusa said to the mother. “She is strong and big for her age. I hope she will grow up to be clever in boys’ work as well as in girls’.” ”

“ Nomusa observed that these people did not sleep on mats, but on dried skins of animals, or on leaves. The hut was empty, except for a few gourds. How different were the Zulu huts, thought Nomusa. Since her people stayed a long time in one place, it did not matter how many things they collected and kept in their huts. To people like the Pygmies, who moved often, it was important not to have many things to carry.
When Nomusa came out of the hut, she found Sikhulumi talking to a Pygmy who knew something of the Zulu language. He was asking Sikhulumi if he had any salt. ”

“ Nomusa had finally finished weeding her mother’s garden and had carried back in her left hand a large pumpkin. In her right she held three long pieces of sugar cane. Out of her mouth stuck a small piece of sugar cane which she was chewing and sucking as she walked briskly to her hut. She had stuck five gray and white porcupine quills in her thick hair. Carefully she dropped the pumpkin and the sugar cane before the hut entrance and pushed them before her as she crawled in.
“Well, today you have returned very quickly, Nomusa,” her mother said approvingly. “Have you weeded the garden well?” ”