374 FOLK LORE 



wife." So that night he arrived at a village where 

 there was a big dance, and was hospitably received 

 in one of the headman's own huts. The next day 

 he saw his host's daughter, and made proposals for 

 her which were accepted, so he settled there, and 

 soon after was married. But his wife had no 

 children, so he took another after some time had 

 passed, and the first wife was so low-spirited about 

 it that she went and consulted the Kambaiassa, 

 took some medicine he gave her, and in the fulness 

 of time presented her husband with a fine baby-girl. 

 When the baby made its appearance, the second 

 wife was so jealous of her rival's child that she 

 went to her brother, who was a Nganga of the 

 A-Nyanja people, and asked him for a charm to 

 kill the mother. She also told him she would hke 

 one to kill the child as well, but he refused, saying 

 that he would only give her a charm to kill the 

 mother, and, when she was dead, they would steal 

 the child and sell it. So he gave her the medicine, 

 which she was assured would call a crocodile when 

 the woman went down to draw water at the river, 

 the reptile would take her, and all would be well. 

 All that was necessary was to place it close to the 

 water-side and to say : 



"Ngwena ndza kuno, 

 Ngwena ndza kuno." (Crocodile, come here.) 



That night the jealous one went down to the 

 river to bury her charm, but as she did so the 

 crocodile came and carried her off, and she was 

 never seen again. 



The foregoing is stated to be a true story. 



