Myths and Legends

The myths and legends of the different cultures-

Zimbabwean Legend

The Legend of the tree with no name
By: Gina

There was a family that starved because there was no rain. So the man sang to the tree of his troubles. “Oh tree with no name my throat is dry I am thirsty I will go to Marondera how I wish I could find something to eat.” Then yummy proper food fell out of the tree. After that he went home with a full belly. When he got home his wife had prepared dinner but he said I do not want to eat because he ate the food from the tree. So his daughter wondered why his dads tummy was fat.

The next day when the dad went to the tree his daughter followed him to the tree. The dad had no idea her daughter was following him. She hid behind the rock and the dad sang. “My wife is so greedy she eats all of the dinner look how I grow thinner and thinner.” The daughter was so surprised yummy proper delicious food came out of the tree with no name.

The daughter ran to her mum and told her that there was a magical amazing tree.  She told her mum, “come with me tomorrow when dad goes to the tree we will hide behind the rock and see what dad eats.” “Ok we will see,” said her mum.

The dad did not eat his dinner, he insisted that his family should eat first.  The mum wondered why he would not eat.  She thought maybe my daughter was right. So then the next day the mum followed the suggestion of the daughter- to follow the dad to the amazing tree and hid behind the rock. The father began to sing suddenly the mother sprang in front of him and sang, “this greedy selfish husband of mine eats alone while the children starve.”  Suddenly the tree began to shake. Food fell down from the tree. The whole family picked out their favourite food to eat, they love the food they ate.  The father did the same.  He did not like the food for they all tasted bitter.  Anything he ate was bitter.

This Filipino legend tells us about the origin of the touch-me-not (mimosa pudica) plant.

The legend of Makahiya

by KC

There was once a girl called Maria,a very shy girl,who lived with her parents, Aling Iska and Mang Dondong,in a small village. Maria loved to stay in her garden,which was known for its lovely flowers. One day,bandits raided the village,and fearing for her life, Maria’s parents hid her in the garden. While Aling Iska was praying to God for her daughter's safety, the bandits broke into the house and hit Maria’s parents on the head. After stealing things in the house, the bandits went.

When Maria’s parents woke up, they ran to the garden to look for Maria,but could not find her. They searched everywhere and started to despair,when something pricked Mang Dondong’s feet. Both of them looked closer at the tiny plant closing its leaves. At that moment they realised,that their shy Maria has been changed by the gods into a plant. They named the plant -Makahiya (Tagalog for shyness) .

The makahiya plant

The Samoan Legend of-

The Turtle and the Shark

by Remuel

Long ago, there lived a lady and a man who where very much in love. They were living on the island of Savai’i. One day the man was called away to attend a high chiefs meeting and the young lady decided to go with him. Instead they went to the island of Tutuila, American Samoa, where they stayed with some friendly villagers. After a time they knew that their disappearance would be noticed and therefore their lives together would be short lived. So they decided to give up their lives by jumping off a cliff in exchange for the lives of their families. The gods took pity on them and they were changed into a Turtle and a Shark so that they can live for eternity.

The legend of KaldI

There once lived a young Ethiopian shepherd boy named Kaldi. He lived in a small village where he looked after animals and food. One day, he noticed that his goats were behaving odd after eating the bright red berries from the bush nearby. If he wanted to cure his sickness, he decided to try these fruits. Hed found the taste was sour. After a while, he started to stay alert and be full with energy.

On the way, he picked some fruits to give some to his wife. When he got there, he gave it to her and she described the taste of the berries. They both thought that this was a gift from God.

After a few days, Kaldi took some of the fruits and leaves from the bush to a monastery. As he entered in the monastery, Kaldi told his experience to the monks.   After believing of what Kaldi said was true, he encouraged other monks to cook the fruits and the leaves.

People thought that the outcome was terrible so they the remains into the fire, thinking that was the devil’s work. All of a sudden, a dazzling aroma began to come out of the fire. A new idea got them at once. With roasting and boiling the grains, it became a wonderful flavour. After drinking this new drink, they found themselves to stay up all night. They finally used this new drink as a new type in order to stay awake longer to pray all night long.

By: Raheal Mengistu