A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Thakane’s husband and his family demand that her newborn daughter be sent to the human-eating grandfather. She refuses and takes the baby to a reedy pool, grieving at the prospect of drowning her. An old woman emerges from the water and offers to care for the child instead. She arranges visits and repeatedly brings Lilahloane out to meet her mother.
Under this care Lilahloane becomes a maiden within a year and passes through initiation beneath the water. When her father secretly sees her, the guardian senses that someone is spying and takes the girl back below. He later promises she will no longer be sent to be eaten and asks for her return. The guardian requires a thousand cattle, which the family brings to the pool. The text reveals that the water is only its upper surface: below it live the old woman’s people. The daughter returns, and the cattle enter their underwater settlement.
Origins & earliest records
Jacottet prints parallel Se-Suto and English texts and adds comparative commentary. No individual contributor is identified in this inspected tale; proposed relationships to other stories remain editorial comparisons.
Records & interpretation
XVII, Kumonngoe, complete bilingual pp. 112–125; English pp. 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 124. Milk tree pp. 112–114; pool upbringing pp. 118–122; father-rock and release pp. 122–124.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, vol. I
XVII, Kumonngoe, complete bilingual pp. 112–125; English pp. 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122, 124. Milk tree pp. 112–114; pool upbringing pp. 118–122; father-rock and release pp. 122–124.
- 02
The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, volume 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 statement read; complete XVI–XVII, bilingual pp.108–125, 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.
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 statement read; complete XVI–XVII, bilingual pp.108–125, English narratives and all explanatory notes independently read. Facing Sesotho placement inspected without independent translation.
- An unnamed old woman shelters a threatened infant below a pool and returns her for a cattle payment.
The selected guardian is an old woman; a crocodile caretaker belongs to Jacottet’s cited alternative, not this witness. She is not described as the girl’s biological mother, grandmother or named deity. Her underwater community is explicit; anatomy and origins remain unstated. No initiation details reproduced. Specific teller not assigned from volume-level credits; J. C. Smith’s English correction remains credited.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Collected Se-Suto text with English translation and notesJacottet — Pool Guardian of LilahloaneResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.