(The Capuchin, Winter 1988, pp. 8-9)
At 2,740 km the Zambezi is one of the longest rivers in the world. It flows through six countries and has affected the lives of people in all of them. There are many legends and stories about it – not all of them true.
But some of the stories are true. In the last century, for example, an army of Matebele warriors from present-day Zimbabwe invaded Bulozi, the Western Province of Zambia. The Matebele were Zulus, the toughest warriors in all Africa. In a great battle at Isandlwana they wiped out a British regiment of 800 men, and 2,000 of their local allies. No wonder that they were feared throughout southern Africa. When they invaded Bulozi, they followed the course of the Zambezi, heading towards the capital at Lialui. At one point, they had to cross the river, and here the Lozi defenders found the Achilles heel of the Matebele. The Zulu warriors, tough though they were, knew little about river life. They came from the plains of South Africa; they didn’t know how to swim or to paddle canoes. In making the river crossing, they had to rely on the local people.
Tricked
A Lozi village headman pretended to cooperate with them because of some long-standing grievance against the Lozi king. He offered to ferry them across in canoes. He called his people together and ordered them to bring with them every available canoe. It took some time to assemble them, so it was getting on in the afternoon before ferrying operations commenced, and late in the evening before the last of the Matebele warriors was ferried across. Their leaders decided to make camp for the night, and to set out in the morning on the last stage of their march on the capital.
Early next day, the invading army woke and set out to march. Before they had gone very far, they reached a wide stretch of water. Confused, they searched around for a way out of their difficulty. But there was none. They had been tricked, and had been ferried, not to the opposite bank as they thought, but to an island in the middle of the river. They had no canoes. They couldn’t swim, and they stayed on the island until they starved. Then the Lozi army arrived and finished them off.
The island, called Mbeta, is about 10 km long and 3 km wide. It lies about half-way between two Capuchin mission stations at Sioma and Senanga. Nearby is the Matebele Plain, named after the defeated army of the invaders.
A Narrow Escape
Only a few months ago, there was another Zambezi story, very different from the first, but true all the same. Two brothers, Albert and Likando Halupili, were washing in the shallow water at the river’s edge. Albert, aged about 20, stood a little further out than his 13 year old brother. Completely without warning, he was swept off his feet by a crocodile which caught him around the calf of his leg. It began to pull him out into deep water, where it would drag him under and drown him. Then it would lodge the body under a tree trunk or in the bank of the river until it rotted. Then it would eat it.
Likando reacted with great courage and speed. He ran towards the croc, climbed on its back, and put the thumb and forefinger of his right hand into the croc’s nostrils. He then pulled the jaw upwards, using all his strength. This enabled Albert to wrench his leg free. The croc, realizing that he had lost the battle, headed back out for deep water while young Likando tried to get off its back. He was in great danger of being taken off by the croc, when Albert, seeing what was happening, rushed back and grabbed Likando, hauling him off the croc’s back which he had straddled like the rider on a horse. The two boys made it safely to the bank, and Albert was brought to the local clinic where his injured leg was treated. They are both now safe and well, though more cautious in going near the river. They were the lucky ones. But many others were not. In the last four years, about 17 people have been taken by crocs along a 50 km stretch of river near Sioma mission.
The Kerryman’s Version!
A final story. A Kerry diocesan priest, on loan to a Zambian diocese, started to swim across the river at a place notorious for crocodiles. People watched in horror as they saw crocs closing in on him on the surface, and heard the characteristic whistling sound of air in their nostrils. Then, at the last minute, they turned away, and the priest reached the opposite bank safely. The people were astonished and asked him what had happened. He showed them a T shirt he was wearing, with the inscription “Kerry for the 1988 All-Ireland Hurling Final.” ‘Not even a croc would swallow that,’ he said. Is that story true? Well, now, I wouldn’t swear to it.