Mandla And The Buffalo

In a small African village, a young boy named Mandla finds an orphaned baby buffalo and decides to raise him, naming him Luka. Together, they form a deep bond. Mandla learns the wisdom of his ancestors and he fulfills an old tribal legend that brings him honor.

Music by RedProductions

Transcript

Hello friends,

My name is Wendy Bee.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure.

Today we are going to read a story called Mandla and the Buffalo.

I heard about the legend of Mandla and Luka from my grandfather,

And he heard it from his grandfather.

It began a long,

Long time ago,

Deep in the hearts of Africa,

Where lions and leopards roamed freely,

And great herds of antelope grazed lazily on the sweet African grass.

There lived a boy named Mandla.

Mandla grew up in a small village with his two older brothers named Tabo and Sabu,

And a younger sister named Tandi.

Life in their village was peaceful,

Although sometimes competitive.

Every boy in the tribe was expected to learn the traditional art of stick fighting,

Which was similar to sword fighting,

You could say,

Except it was practiced with long,

Powerful sticks.

Guild stick fighters were able to defend themselves from dangerous animals if the need ever arose.

Mandla wasn't very adept at stick fighting.

His older brothers and even his younger cousin were better than he was.

He just didn't enjoy the confrontation,

Nor getting hit with a stick if he failed to block a blow.

Every day,

The boys and his family would go out to gather dried branches for firewood,

And sometimes cut dry grass for thatching the roof of their hut,

While their mother and sister would stay at home and cook food in big iron pots,

Make beaded jewelry,

And clean their hut.

One day,

While out collecting wood,

Mandla spotted a tiny buffalo calf sitting by itself on the side of a riverbank.

The tiny calf mewed,

A sorrowful sound.

His first instinct was to get as far away from there and as soon as possible.

If there was a buffalo calf,

Then there might be another buffalo close by.

Everyone in the village knew how dangerous fully grown buffalo could be.

As Mandla turned to quietly leave,

He heard the small calf cry again.

The sad sound pierced his heart.

Mandla decided to wait to see if the calf's mother returned.

He found a group of rocks not too far from the river,

Crouched down low,

And remained ever so quiet while he waited.

Minutes turned into hours,

And still the mother buffalo didn't return.

It was starting to get late,

And Mandla would have to start heading back soon.

Slowly he crept closer to the buffalo calf,

Approaching it slowly,

Trying not to startle it.

Seeing Mandla approach,

The little buffalo crouched down low in the grass,

Flattening its ears.

Mandla carefully removed the leather strap from his satchel and tied it around the calf's neck,

Tugging it gently to indicate to the calf to follow.

He was determined to save it.

He knew if he left it there by itself during the night,

It wouldn't survive for very long.

It was too young to protect itself.

Mandla slowly began walking home,

Talking quietly to the calf to keep it calm,

And at the same time regularly looking behind him to make sure its mother wasn't following him.

The calf,

Seeming to understand that it was being rescued,

Contentedly trotted along beside him.

When Mandla reached his village,

He went directly to the crawl where his father kept the family cows.

He suspected the buffalo calf would be hungry,

And so he led it up to Flala,

A female cow who had a young calf of her own.

Mandla's plan was to let the buffalo calf drink milk from Flala.

At first,

Flala resisted and tried to kick the calf away,

But with Mandla's gentle coaxing she relaxed,

And before long,

The buffalo calf was gulping down mouthfuls of sweet,

Warm milk.

The crawl was a large circle structure,

Built from rocks stacked on top of each other,

With a small entrance through which the cows could enter and exit.

The walls were roughly as high as Mandla's chest,

Giving him the ability to look out over the top of the circular walls to scan the bush felt for any predators.

Tonight was supposed to be Tabo's turn to stand guard over the crawl,

But Mandla was formulating a plan.

As Tabo approached the crawl to do his guard duty,

Mandla suddenly popped up on the other side of the stone wall.

He squeezed the buffalo calf between his knees and the wall so that Tabo couldn't see it.

I will watch the cows for you tonight,

Tabo,

Mandla piped up.

Why?

Tabo asked suspiciously.

I just want to,

Mandla replied.

I know you don't enjoy staying awake all night,

And I do,

And besides,

I want to count the stars.

What are you counting the stars for?

Tabo asked.

I took a bet with our cousin Zanda,

Mandla replied.

He said he could count more stars than I could,

And I know that he can't.

If I can count more stars than him,

He will give me his special fighting stick.

And what if you can't,

Tabo asked,

Raising an eyebrow.

Don't worry,

I will,

Mandla insisted.

Mandla knew that the game of counting stars was pointless,

Because basically you could just make up any number and say that's how many stars you counted.

Tabo was generally lazy,

So he agreed.

Anything to get out of guarding the cows was good for him,

And besides,

It looked like it was going to rain that evening anyway.

Once Tabo had walked away,

Mandla settled down against the wall of the crowl.

The cows settled down for the night,

Some still chewing cud while others fell fast asleep.

Mandla pulled the baby buffalo onto his lap.

I think I'm going to call you Luca,

He whispered,

As he gently scratched the calf behind its ears.

The calf gave a contented sigh,

And within a few minutes,

He too fell asleep.

Mandla didn't sleep though.

Being on guard duty meant staying awake and alert,

And listening for predators who might attack the herd during the night.

The following morning,

Mandla rushed into his family's hut,

Grabbed a bowl of stew,

And rushed back out to the crowl before anybody was awake.

He then released the cows into the felt so that they could go and graze.

He tied the leather strap around Luca's neck and followed the cows.

He needed to remain close to them so that he could ensure that Luca got milk to drink from Flala throughout the day.

Mandla's father had gone to another village on the other side of the mountain and would only be back in the next six weeks.

Mandla intended to keep the calf hidden from his brothers until his father returned.

He was afraid that his older brothers would take the calf as their own.

Tradition in their village was that,

If their father was away,

The oldest son then stood in as the head of the family and very well could claim Luca for himself.

And so it continued for the next six weeks.

Mandla bargained with his brothers to let him stand guard duty over the cows at night,

And he stayed with Luca during the day,

Ensuring that he got plenty of nutritious milk from Flala.

Luca began to grow and grow.

Within the few weeks that Mandla had cared for him,

He was almost as tall as Mandla himself.

Mandla and Luca spent hours playing together,

Chasing each other around trees and swimming in the river.

Luca loved rolling in the mud and getting all dirty.

One afternoon,

As Mandla stood next to Luca scratching his ears,

He got the sudden notion to hop onto Luca's back.

"'Can I ride on your back,

Luca?

' Mandla asked him,

Smiling.

Luca bobbed his head up and down in a nodding motion.

Mandla laughed,

Thinking it was just a coincidence that Luca nodded at the exact moment Mandla asked his question.

However,

Luca did understand.

He bent his head down and scooped Mandla up.

Mandla slid onto Luca's back,

And all of a sudden Luca took off racing through the African bushveld.

Mandla,

It turns out,

Was facing the wrong direction.

He sprawled across Luca's back with his legs flailing wildly by Luca's ears,

And he held onto Luca's tail for dear life.

It didn't take long for Mandla to get thrown off.

With all the bronching and swerving through the bushes,

Mandla soon found himself skidding across the ground on his rear end.

Luca galloped up to Mandla,

Indicating that he wanted to do it again.

Laughing from shock and excitement,

Mandla eventually calmed Luca down.

He then gently slid his body over Luca's back and straddled him with one leg on either side of his flank.

Luca immediately started bucking and bronching again.

He was having the time of his life.

Whoa,

Luca,

Whoa,

Mandla shouted.

Calm boy,

Calm,

Calm down.

Eventually,

Luca became tired of jumping around and began to walk.

Mandla praised him and scratched his ears,

Communicating to him that this behavior was much more appreciated.

Over the next few weeks,

Mandla rode on Luca's back as much as he could.

He wanted to show his father how bonded he was to Luca.

It was almost time for his father to return,

And Mandla had devised a great plan to introduce Luca to his family.

The day before the stick-fighting challenge was to occur,

Mandla's father arrived home.

Mandla had managed to hide Luca when his father came to inspect the cows.

Mandla,

Your mother has told me how dedicated you have been in taking care of the cows while I was away.

Thank you,

Son,

His father said gratefully,

But you should share the responsibility with your brothers.

Thank you,

Father,

But I have a good reason for what I have been doing,

Mandla replied.

And what is this reason,

His father asked,

As he stood admiring the cows that were grazing in the felt.

I will show you tomorrow,

Father,

Mandla answered,

At the stick-fighting challenge.

The day of the stick-fighting challenge arrived,

And all the boys from the village were dressed in their traditional loincloths and animal skins.

Dust clouds filled the hot African air as the boys tussled to and fro,

Each attempting to score a point against the other.

Mandla's father was standing on the sidelines,

Shouting encouraging suggestions to Sabu,

Who was competing against a particularly talented fighter from another village.

All of a sudden,

The crowd grew still,

And not a clang of sticks could be heard.

A pathway opened through the crowd,

And the young warriors stood staring,

Their mouths agape in astonishment,

As Mandla made a grand entrance,

Riding down the center of the path on the back of a magnificent buffalo.

Mandla's father stood frozen,

With a look of shock on his face,

And then he smiled the biggest smile.

Mandla,

I have been wondering where you were,

Now I see,

His father said,

Shaking his head in disbelief.

This is truly amazing,

My son.

Legend speaks of one who rides the buffalo,

Will one day become a great elder and wise man in our village,

Did you know that?

Mandla laughed,

No father,

I did not know.

It is true,

His father said,

Looking to the other elders for agreement.

This is so,

One of the elders answered,

I never thought I would see it in my lifetime Hurray for Mandla,

The crowd roared,

Hurray for Luka.

And so,

As the years passed,

Luka grew into a magnificent buffalo.

He only allowed Mandla to ride him,

Although he would accept sweet potatoes from anyone who offered.

Mandla eventually entered the circle of elders,

Even though he was much younger than the actual elders.

He became known as the animal whisperer.

From receiving messages from crows,

To driving leopards away with just his words,

He learned to communicate with many different animal species.

He kept himself busy helping many animals and people,

And he and Luka spent much of their time exploring the wild plains of Africa.

Legend says,

If you sit quietly on top of a certain hill,

Deep in the heart of Africa,

And watch the horizon in the east as the sun rises,

You might be lucky and get a glimpse of Mandla riding on the back of his best friend Luka.

The end.

Thank you friends,

I hope that you enjoyed today's story,

Now sweet dreams and good night.