Mkaaah Jeechonee, the Young Hunter Looking for the Cannibal

Part One

Sultan Maaj′noon had seven kids, and a big cat, things that made him very proud.

Everything went well, until one day the cat caught the calf. When they conveyed the information to the sultan he said, “Good thing, the cat is mine, and the calf is mine.” So they answered, “OK, sir,” so let’s leave the matter as it is.

A few days later the cat caught the goat; and when they told the sultan he said, “The cat is mine, and the goat is mine;” so the matter came to an end.

Two days later, the cat grabbed the cow. When they told the sultan, he silenced them by saying, “My cat, and my ox.”

Two days later the cat grabbed the donkey; the results were the same.

The cat later captured a horse; the results were the same when the Sultan got involved.

The next to be killed by the cat was a camel; and when they told the sultan, he was really annoyed and said “what is the matter with you people? He was my cat, and my camel. I believe you don’t love my cat, and you want him killed, you bring me these stories every day. Let him eat whatever he wants. ”

In a short time the cat amped up his tricks and jumped a child, then an adult man; and all those times the sultan was saying that the cat and all the victims belonged to him, and he did not think beyond that.

In time, the cat became more adventurous, visiting the surrounding city, annoying and attacking anyone who went to fetch water, or the animals in the pastures.

Eventually some of the people found courage, went to the sultan, and said to him, “What’s the matter, chief?” Since you are the sultan then you are supposed to be our protector, ─ or you should be our protector, ─ and now you have decided to let this cat do as he pleases, he lives outside the city, and kills every living creature that comes near him, and at night he comes to the city and does the same thing. . Now, what are we going to do about this? ”

But Maajnoon responded by saying: “I believe you hate my cat. And you want me to kill him; but I will not do it. Everything he eats is mine.”

All the people were disappointed by the outcome of that conversation, and no one dared to kill that cat, they all decided to move to the surrounding areas where the cat did not reside. But still the situation did not calm down, after the cat did not see people passing by, he decided to relocate as well.

The people continued to complain, until at last Sultan Maajnoon ordered that anyone who brought charges against the cat, not be allowed to see him.

After people decided to lock themselves in their homes with their livestock, the cat decided to enter the city, killing and eating cattle, birds, and everything else he encountered.

The sultan decided one to go with his six sons on the journey. He said, “I am going to tour my empire today; you all come with me. ”

The seventh child so young that he could not go anywhere, and therefore they used to leave him with women at home, his brothers called him Mkaaah Jeecho′nee, meaning the one who always sits in the kitchen.

After a long travel they reached the bush. The father was in front, with the children following him, suddenly the cat jumped up and killed the three children from the end.

The king’s servants shouted, “Cat! cat! ” and the soldiers asked for permission to search for him and kill him, the sultan granted the permission without hesitation saying: “this is not a cat, it is a noon’dah. He has taken my children. ”

Nowadays, no one has ever seen a Noondah, but everyone knew that it was a dangerous animal that could kill and eat other creatures.

When the sultan began to mourn the loss of his sons, some of the people who heard this said to him: “Sir, this Noondah does not choose who to eat. He cannot think: ‘This is the son of the Sultan, I will leave him,’ or, ‘This is the wife of the Sultan, I will not eat.’ he can eat even you. ”

And he said, “I could not agree more.”

Soldiers who tried to capture the cat, some were killed and others fled, and the sultan and his remaining sons took the bodies of the deceased and went to bury them at home.

After Mkaaah Jeecho′nee, who was the seventh child, heard that her brothers had been killed by Noondah, she told her mother, “I too will go, to get myself killed as he how he killed my brothers, or I will kill him.”

But his mother begged him: “My son, please do not go. The three have died; and if you are killed too, will it not be one wound after another in my heart? ”

“Either way,” he said, “I can’t stop going; but do not tell my father. ”

His mother prepared a cake for him, and gave him some servants to go with; he took the best spear with him, which is as sharp as a razor, and a sword, said good-bye to his mother, and went away.

Due to being left at home many times, he failed to know where he was going to hunt; so he went hunting in their neighborhood, when he saw a big dog, he believed it was the animal that was looking for him; and he slew him, and tied him with rope, then carried him back home while singing.

Part Two

The mother was upstairs, she heard him and looked out the window, and saw what he had brought and said, “My son, this is not Noondah, the cannibal.”

So he left the carcass outside and went to talk about it, and his mother said to him, “My dear son, Noondah is a bigger animal than the one you brought; but if I were you, I would quit this challenge and stay at home. ”

“Definitely not,” he said aloud; “I will not stay home until I meet and fight Noondah.”

He left again, and this time he went farther than the first time. He immediately saw a cat, and believed that cat was the animal he was looking for, killed him, tied him up, and dragged him home, singing,

“Ooh, mom, I killed him

Noondah, the cannibal. ”

When the mother saw the cat she said, “My son, this is not Noondah, the cannibal.” He decided to throw it away.

His mother kept begging him to stay home, but he would not listen to her, and continued to leave home again for another search of the cannibal.

This time he went into the woods, and met a cat bigger than the first one, he killed him, tied him up, and dragged him home, singing,

“Ooh, mom, I killed him

Noondah, the cannibal. ”

But when the mother saw him again, she said to him, “Son, this is Noondah, the cannibal.

He felt bad; and his mother said to him, “Now, where will you find him Noondah? You do not know where he is from, and you do not know what he looks like. You will get sick, and you health seem to be deteriorating. Come, stay home. ”

But he told her: “There are three things that I am doing, and I am going to do one of them: I am going to die; I will look for him Noondah and kill him; or I will return home unsuccessfully. In any case, I’m leaving. ”

This time he went farther than before, saw a zebra, killed him, and dragged him home, singing,

“Ooh, mom, I killed him

Noondah, the cannibal. ”

His mother had to tell him once more, “My son, this is not a Noondah, the cannibal.”

After another long discussion, whereby his mother tried unsuccessfully to persuade him, he left again, went further, caught and killed a giraffe, He said to himself: This one must be Noondah. ” So he dragged the dead giraffe home, singing,

“Ooh, mom, I killed him

Noondah, the cannibal. ”

Once again his mother informed him, “My son, this is not a Noondah, thecannibal.” He then told her to stay at home like his brothers who are not bothered to hunt down Noondah, and instead they are settled and continue to do their business at home. But he claimed that he was not the same as his brothers, still showed determination to continue his hunt until he gets successful. He therefore left again, and went farther than before.

As they passed by in the wilderness, they saw a rhinoceros lying under a tree.

“Where, chief?” they shouted, eagerly.

“There, under a tree.”

“Ooh! What can we do? ” they asked.

He replied: “First of all, we must eat our food, and then we can fight against it. We have found him at a good place, but if he kills us, we will have nothing to do. ”

So they all took their starchy cakes and ate until they were full.

Later Mkaaah Jeecho′nee told them, “Each of you take two guns; one should be held close to the other, and the other should be held in the hands, and when the time comes, we will shoot together. ”

And they all said, “Well, great.”

They walked through the bushes walking carefully, and came out on the other side of the tree, behind the rhino; then they moved closer to him, and fired a shot together. The beast jumped, ran a short distance, then fell to the ground.

They bound him, and dragged him for two days, until they reached the city, and Mkaaah Jeecho′nee began to sing.

Part Three

“Ooh, mom, I killed him

Noondah, cannibal. ”

But he got the same response from his mother: “My son, this is not Noondah, the cannibal.”

Many people came and looked at the rhino, and they felt sorry for the boy. Her mother and father begged him to stop the hunt of Noondah, and his father promised to give everything he will ever need if he decides to stay home. But he said, “I do not hear what you are saying; goodbye. ” And he left again.

This time he walked the longest distance from home, and finally about noon he saw an elephant lying in the woods. He said to his servants, “Now we have found Noondah.”

“Aah, where is he?” they asked.

“There, in the shade. Do you see him? ”

“Ooh, yes, great; should we go? ”

“If we go to him, he may be looking to on our side, then come to us. And if he comes to us, some of us will be killed. I think it would be best if one of us approaches him and see the side he is looking at.

Everyone agreed with the idea, a servant named Keerobo′to crawled on his knees and hands, and went to see the beast’s position. When he returned in the same manner of crawling using knees and hands, his superior asked him: “Eeenh, what do the reports say? Is it Noondah? ”

“I do not know,” replied Keeroboto; “But I think he will definitely be him. It’s wide, he’s got a big head, my god, I’ve never seen such big ears! ”

“Okay,” said Mkaaah Jeecho′nee; “Let’s eat, then let’s go.”

So they took their starchy cakes, and molasses cakes, and ate until they were full.

After eating, the young man said to them: “My people, today it may be the last day we will see; therefore everyone should have a rest. Those who decides to escape, they should do so, and those who die let them die; but if I die, let those who escape tell my father and mother not to mourn.

But his servants said to him, “Oh, keep quiet, chief; not one of us will die, let us pray to God. ”

They crawled on their knees and hands until they approached the beast, and said to Mkaaah Jeecho′nee, “Tell us what to do, chief;” but he said, “I have no plans, just let us all shoot together.”

Fortunately, they all fired shots together, and suddenly the elephant jumped, and chased them away. They flew like helicopters! They dropped their rifles, and whatever they carried, they ran and climbed trees with great speed.

When the elephant ran some distance he fell to the ground.

They all remained in the woods from nine o’clock to twelve o’clock in the morning, without food or clothing.

The young man at the top of the tree wept bitterly, saying, “I do not know the meaning of death, but for me this will be the meaning of it.” “Maybe Noondah is under a tree, he will eat me.”

And every servant had a mind like that of a boy, he longed to come down from the fig tree, but he was afraid, feeling that Noondah was waiting for him to eat.

Keeroboto saw the elephant as he fell, but he was afraid to go down from the fig tree and said to himself, “Although he fell to the ground, he is probably not dead.” Soon he saw a dog approaching an elephant and sniffing it, and he was convinced that he was dead. He quickly got down from the fig tree and screamed, and was answered; but he did not know where the voice came from, he yelled out again and listened intently. When the voice was answered he followed it all the way it came from, and found his two relatives in the same tree. He said to them, “My friends, come down; Noondah is dead. ” They quickly descended and began searching for their chief until they found him. When they informed him of the death of Noondah, he went down as well; after a while all the servants had gathered together and took their guns and their clothes, and were safe again. But they were all hungry, rested and ate, and went to claim their victory.

As soon as Mkaaah Jeecho′nee saw the elephant he said, “Aah, this is Noondah! This is it! This is it! ” And they all agreed that he was.

So they dragged the elephant for three days until they reached the city, and the boy began to sing,

“Ooh, mom, this is it,

Noondah, the cannibal. ”

He was very angry when his mother replied, “My son this is not a Noondah, the cannibal.” She continued: “Poor boy! What happened to you. Everyone is surprised to see a young man like you wondering around doing this useless challenge, you are expected to have a greater understanding than this! ”

Dad and Mom began to plead with him, and they finally agreed that this trip would be his last, no matter what the outcome will be.

They said to each other their last goodbyes and started the journey again, walked and walked, passed through the forest, until they reached a high mountain, decided to set up camp and slept at the bottom of the mountain.

Part Four

Early in the morning they cooked and ate rice, then Mkaaah Jeecho′nee said: “Now let’s go up the mountain, and look at the whole country from the top.” They went, and went, and after a long time got exhausted, but they reached the summit, rested as they made their plans.

One of the servants named Shindaa′no, as he was walking along, looked down at the mountain, and at once he saw a great beast in the distance; but due to the distance and the many trees, he could not see him well. He called his boss, showed him, and there was something in the heart of Mkaaah Jeecho′nee told him that this beast was probably Noondah. To satisfy himself, he grabbed his rifle and spear, descended the mountain so that he could see him clearly.

“Aah,” he said, “this must be Noondah. My mother told me his ears are small, and those are small; he told me that Noondah is wide and short, and this is what he is; he said he has two spots like a cat, the same spots there; he told me his tail was thick, and that thick tail is there. He must be Noondah. ”

He went to his servants and ordered them to eat some food first, and they did so. He then told them to give up all trivial things, because if they were supposed to run they could run well without obstacles, but if they win the fight they would return to take their luggage.

After making their plans, they started down the hill, but as they walked half a mile Keeroboto and Shindaano panicked. Then the boy reassured his colleagues: “Ooh, let’s go; do not be afraid. We will all live or die. What are you afraid of? ” After encouraging them, they continued their journey.

As they approached the area, Mkaaah Jeecho′nee ordered them to take off their clothes but only keep a single piece of clothing to avoid getting stuck if they needed to escape through the thorns and tree branches.

As they approached the animal, they found him asleep, and they all agreed that he was Noondah.

Then the boy said, “Now the sun is setting, should we shoot him, or should we wait until morning?”

And they all wanted to shoot immediately, so they could see what the outcome would be without continuing to be confused. So they all planned to shoot together.

They all moved closer, and when the chief spoke, they all fired shots together. Noondah could not even draw; one blow was enough for him. However, they all dispersed and rushed up the mountain in fear after taking those shots. That night they ate and rested.

At daybreak they ate their rice, then went down the mountain to see what had happened, and found the animal dead.

After eating and resting, they began the journey back home, dragging the carcass of the animal. By the fourth day, on the way, the beast began to show signs of decay, and the servants were tempted to leave it on the road; but Mkaaah Jeecho′nee told them to keep dragging him even if he had one bone left.

As they approached the town he began to sing,

“Mother, mother, I have come

From ghosts, at home.

Mother, hear me sing;

As I tell you what I brought.

“Ooh, mom, I killed him

Noondah, the cannibal. ”

And when the mother looked at him, she cried, “My son, this is Noondah, the cannibal.”

Then all the people came to welcome him, and his father was filled with joy, gave him honor, and sought for a beautiful and rich woman for him; After his father’s death Mkaaah Jeecho′nee became the Sultan, and he lived for many years happily, and was loved by all the people. (Tip: If you like stories involving Sultans and their families, check out our other article “Folktale: The Sorcerer and the Sultan’s Son“).

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