The Wise Old Woman and the Riddle (The Counsel of the Elder)
Sesotho folktale · ditšomo
Kwesukasukela... A chief or a community faced a problem that none of the strong young men could solve: a dispute over inheritance, a deadly riddle posed by an enemy, a famine, or a question of who truly owned a contested thing. The proud warriors and clever young men each gave their answers, but all were wrong, and the danger grew. At last someone remembered an old woman, frail and forgotten, who had once been driven out or ignored because the people thought the aged useless. Brought before the gathering, she listened quietly, then with the patience and deep knowledge of long years gave the true answer or the wise judgment, untangling what the young could not, naming the rightful owner, solving the riddle, or showing where hidden food or water lay. Her wisdom saved the people, and the chief honoured her, decreeing that the old should never again be cast aside or starved, for in their memory lies the wealth of the nation. This widely told wisdom-tale, a favourite of the Basotho who hold elders in deep respect, teaches that grey hairs carry knowledge the young have not yet earned. Cosu cosu iyaphela.
The lesson: Honour the wisdom of the elderly; the knowledge of long years can save a people when youthful strength and pride fail.