Once upon a time, there was a beautiful maiden. She was so beautiful that whoever saw her had to turn and gaze at her.
She had the qualities of beauty of her time dimples in her cheeks, dark skin on her face, a gap in her upper teeth, large white and black eyes that kept rolling in the sockets and a long creased neck. She was the only daughter of her old parents and used to work herself to the bone – in order to help them. She would fetch water from the well collect firewood and graze the goats. Whenever she went to the shamba, her mother had to remind her to come back home, for she could easily work the whole day. Accordingly, this girl was given the privilege of selecting her own husband who would not have a bride price to get her. Many men came to court her including the chiefs from various places. She refused all of them, including the chief of her own village, for she was in love with a young man whom she hoped to marry. This young man, Tutu, was a peasant and a native of the girl’s village. He was a man of great physical powers, a great warrior yet at the same time kind-hearted. He loved the girl whole heartedly and looked forward to their marriage. One day, a neighbouring village declared an attack on the girl’s villge. The chief knowing that if Tutu was dead, he would be able to marry the beautiful girl himself, rounded the village warriors up, gave then the news of an imminent battle to take place a short distance away, made Tutu the head warrior. He knew that Tutu would then be subjected to attack and hoped he would be killed. As he said goodbye to the girl, Tutu did all he could to assure her that he would return soon with victory. The girl knew that Tutu was very strong and was likely to come back, but she did not like the idea of being like that. She wept endlessly and could not be consoled even by her old mother who became anxious about her daughter’s health and future. The battle went on for days and the girl remained hopeful though no news came from Tutu. At last she became uneasy. Her instinct warned her against hope as she imagined how Tutu was leading warriors. She longed to go and see him herself but that was beyond her powers. She wanted to send somebody there but she had no one to send. She became even more desperate when more suitors seeing that Tutu was absent- came to court her, bringing her presents which she could not accept. The village chief was confidently among these suitors. At last the girl could bear it no longer. She had stopped working and eating, her lower eyelid was twitching regularly, as a sign of bad luck. The butterflies used to watch her crying and they pitied her and surrounded her. She told them her troubles and they were sympathetic and asked her if they could do anything to help her, she asked them to fly over to the battle field, only to find Tutu wounded and lying flat on the ground with a spear in his chest. Tutu had been speared by one of his own warriors who had been ordered to do so by the chief of the village. The battle was still going on. The butterflies were moved with pity and they did not date to go back and tell the girl about it. So they flew over Tutu’s body which was now lifeless, mourning naturally. Meanwhile, when the girl would not see the butterflies, she became so impatient that she asked the sun to cast his rays and see if Tutu was safe in the battle.. The sun squinted and saw Tutu dead on the battle field. The battle was ended and Tutu’s side had the victory. The warriors had captured the wounded. The sun from its stationary throne looked at the girl and his rays became blurred; he was so moved with compassion that he asked the girl if he could help her. The girl paralyzed with grief begged the sun to lift her and take to Tutu. The sun rays stretched out, lifted the girl gently and carried her to her lover’s body. When she got to the body, she collapsed instantly and the for the whole day, she did not regain consciousness. The sun grew uncomfortably. The sun announced the death of the two lovers everywhere. Tutu and the girl were buried in the same grave and warriors, shaking their heads in wonder about such true love said, ‘ we shall report this at home’ as they left for their village. The butterflies remained there. After sometime, the sun smiled at the grave of Tutu and the girl. The seedling was a strange species and it grew into a huge tree which the father sun nursed and tendered. It blossomed in bright red flowers became the home for the loyal butterflies. The tree was named ‘ekinyhalisa’ or the flame tree in English. It signifies the love of a woman that is violent like a flame and the soft heart of a woman that is easily broken. Questions
a) Classify the above narrative giving illustrations from the story (3mks)
b) Identify any one character trait of the girl (2mks) c) Identify an instance of superstition in the story (2mks) d) Explain the moral lesson learnt from the story (2mks) e) Give an economic activity of the community portrayed in the narrative (3mks) f) Identify and illustrate oral narrative devices employed in the poem (4mks) g) Identify any theme potrayed in this narrative (2mks) h) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage: (2mks) (i) Imminent (ii) Worked herself to the bone AnswersRelated Searches
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AuthorMAURICE A NYAMOTI |
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