Khoeli-Sefubeng

Overview

Khoeli-Sefubeng bears the image of a full moon on his breast, like his father, the chief Bulane. His mother is the neglected wife. When she gives birth, the favoured wife acting as midwife throws the child behind the household pots and substitutes a little dog while the mother lies unconscious. A mouse immediately carries the infant into its hole and cares for him. The dog is a substitution used to deceive the household, rather than a transformation of the boy.

The favoured wife discovers the mouse playing with the surviving child. Pretending to be ill, she persuades Bulane to burn the mother’s hut as a supposed cure. The mouse overhears their secret conversation and transfers its charge to a hole beneath the cattle-kraal wall before the fire. When the woman later finds the child under a cow, she induces the chief to pull down the kraal; the mouse moves him again, this time to traders’ accommodation, then returns home.

A visitor from Bulane’s village sees the grown youth and his shining breast mark. Bulane comes, hears the whole rescue account and examines the mark. He brings his son home, calls a public assembly and explains the deception. The mother receives fine clothes in place of her rags, and Bulane appoints the youth chief. The guilty wife is sent back to her father with her belongings. A note gives a different ten-wife version involving crescent and star marks; it does not replace the two-wife main narrative.

Origins & earliest records

Jacottet presents this tale in parallel Se-Suto and English with comparative notes. No individual contributor is identified in the inspected episode; the publication date is not a first oral attestation.

Records & interpretation

XXVIII, The Child with a Moon on His Breast, complete bilingual pp. 190–195; English pp. 190, 192, 194. Full-moon image gloss p. 190 note; ten-wife crescent/star variant pp. 192–193 notes.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, vol. I

   Édouard Jacottet, collector and translator; J. C. Smith, English text assistance · 1908

   XXVIII, The Child with a Moon on His Breast, complete bilingual pp. 190–195; English pp. 190, 192, 194. Full-moon image gloss p. 190 note; ten-wife crescent/star variant pp. 192–193 notes.

2. 02

   The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, volume I

   Unnamed Sesotho narrative contributor; Édouard Jacottet, editor and translator; J. C. Smith, English text correction · 1908

   The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, volume I, Morija/London, 1908, actual title-page OCR. Full preface and introduction xxii method statement read; complete XXVII–XXIX, bilingual pp.184–201, English narratives and all explanatory notes independently read. Facing Sesotho placement inspected without independent translation.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Collected Se-Suto text with English translation and notesJacottet — complete selected bilingual taleResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.