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Overview

Leobu is the chief’s son in Jacottet’s selected account. His father hears that the people are in distress and summons him to carry a promise: death will be followed by renewed life. A servant is present and hears the instruction. The chief does not order the contrary message. The text leaves the cause of the initial distress unspecified; a note’s suggestion that deaths have occurred is the collector’s explanation.

Leobu departs, but Khatoane hastens ahead through villages and hamlets announcing that people will die without rising again. When the authorized son arrives afterwards, he identifies his father as the source of the promise. The listeners reject it because they have already accepted the earlier announcement. Leobu repeats the instruction, but their refusal persists. The ending rests on the accepted first message, without giving either messenger a subsequent journey, punishment or restoration of the dead.

Jacottet glosses Leobu as chameleon, while the narration defines him by a chiefly household relationship. The footnote distinguishes versions in which he is not called the chief’s son. It also contrasts the selected unauthorized deception with narratives where two messengers are actually dispatched with different messages and the first arrival determines the outcome. Those arrangements change the messenger’s authority, rather than merely changing its speed.

The final exchange turns on a saying about the priority of a first statement. Jacottet admits that the exact meaning and derivation of the Se-Suto word he renders as dismissive talk were no longer obtainable, and explains the expression as one about an assertion or promise that cannot be disclaimed. That translation uncertainty is retained alongside the clear narrative outcome. No individual storyteller is named for this tale in the inspected pages.

Chief’s sonChameleon-name glossMessage of renewed lifeArrives after false messengerRejected by villagers
01

Origins & earliest records

Jacottet’s complete VI is printed in Se-Suto and English. The chapter’s comparative notes distinguish its unauthorized false messenger from other death-message versions. No individual teller is identified in this inspected episode.

02

Records & interpretation

VI, Leobu, complete bilingual pp. 46–49; English pp. 46 and 48. Chief’s son and message p. 46; chameleon gloss p. 47; Khatoane’s false message and rejection of Leobu p. 48; variant and translation notes pp. 48–49.

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

    VI, Leobu, complete bilingual pp. 46–49; English pp. 46 and 48. Chief’s son and message p. 46; chameleon gloss p. 47; Khatoane’s false message and rejection of Leobu p. 48; variant and translation notes pp. 48–49.

  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: Sesuto Book Depot; London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1908. Actual title-page OCR, full preface and introduction xxii collection/English correction statement read. Complete VI, Leobu, bilingual printed pp.46–49; English narrative pp.46/48 and complete surrounding comparative/translation notes independently read. 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.

The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, vol. I

The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, volume I, Morija: Sesuto Book Depot; London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1908. Actual title-page OCR, full preface and introduction xxii collection/English correction statement read. Complete VI, Leobu, bilingual printed pp.46–49; English narrative pp.46/48 and complete surrounding comparative/translation notes independently read. Sesotho placement inspected without independent translation.

  1. A chief’s son brings the intended message of renewed life too late to displace a servant’s contrary announcement.

    VI, Leobu, complete bilingual pp.46–49; English pp.46/48, chameleon/son note p.47, lizard note p.48 and uncertain-expression note p.49

Leobu is the chief’s son in this telling; the name is said to mean chameleon, without an identified scientific species. The servant overhears and acts without a separate commission. The reason for the original distress is not explained; Jacottet’s death explanation and proposed version priority are conjectures. His uncertain makoalepetso translation remains acknowledged. No universal African version or global-first claim; J. C. Smith’s English correction credited.

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 Leobu legendResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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