Hlakanyana the Trickster
Xhosa folktale · iintsomi
Kwesukasukela. Hlakanyana was no ordinary child. He spoke from inside his mother's womb, demanding to be born, and the moment he was born he was already cunning, small as a weasel and quick as thought. While still a newborn he went out to the cattle-fold, slaughtered animals, and tricked the grown men into giving him the best meat, talking so cleverly that no one could catch him in his lies. He travelled the country playing tricks on everyone he met. Once he came upon an ogress and outwitted her by persuading her to put her own children into the cooking pot instead of him. Another time he stole birds from the traps of older boys, then convinced them the birds had flown off on their own. But Hlakanyana's cleverness sometimes turned against him. When he tried to trick a cannibal or an animal craftier than himself, he was nearly caught and had to talk his way out with ever more outrageous schemes. He could change shape, slip through small openings, and twist any argument to his advantage. Wherever he went he left people confused, robbed, and arguing among themselves, while he slipped away laughing. Cosu cosu iyaphela, the story ends.
The lesson: Cleverness can win you anything in the moment, but the trickster who lives only by deceit eventually meets someone craftier and is caught in his own snares.