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Overview
Litokotoko is born with hands and feet. The grandmother entrusted with her harms the infant and conceals the removed limbs in her own hut, then pretends ignorance when the mother returns. The girl grows up without them. The supernatural event comes later: the same grandmother brings the hidden hands and feet back and attaches them so that Litokotoko can stand, walk and prepare her food.
While the family works in the gardens, Litokotoko fetches water, grinds grain, cooks porridge, sweeps and clears ashes. Before the workers return, the grandmother removes the limbs again. Asked who has cleaned the house, Litokotoko initially attributes the work to her grandmother. On the following day, after receiving another temporary restoration, she hides and refuses to answer the grandmother until her parents arrive.
Litokotoko then appears with her hands and feet and explains the entire arrangement. Her father recognizes them and takes the matter to the chief. At the assembly the grandmother confesses, and the story ends with her execution. Jacottet compares another tale about a boy born without limbs; that comparison is not Litokotoko’s origin, which explicitly begins with an injury inflicted after birth.
Origins & earliest records
Jacottet prints this complete narrative in parallel Se-Suto and English. His general introduction describes several contributors and collection routes, but the inspected tale does not identify an individual teller.
Records & interpretation
XXXVII, Litokotoko, complete bilingual pp. 254–259; English pp. 254, 256, 258. Restoration and household work p. 256; disclosure, confession and ending p. 258.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, vol. I
XXXVII, Litokotoko, complete bilingual pp. 254–259; English pp. 254, 256, 258. Restoration and household work p. 256; disclosure, confession and ending p. 258.
- 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 method statement introduction xxii read; complete chapters XXXVII–XXXIX, bilingual printed pp.254–265, English narrative and full explanatory notes independently read. Sesotho placement inspected without an independent-translation claim.
Family, evolution & connections
Litokotoko and her mother’s earlier children
XXXVII, English pp. 254–258.
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- Litokotoko’s unnamed mother
- Earlier unnamed children (father unspecified)
Shared mother connected to her separately described children. The earlier children’s father and number are unstated. Litokotoko’s father appears in the ending but is not automatically their father. The grandmother’s maternal or paternal side is not specified and is omitted from this parentage graph. All relatives remain unnamed; literal loss and restoration of limbs in the tale is not a modern medical claim.
Unnamed mother of Litokotoko
The opening identifies Litokotoko’s mother and narrates the girl’s birth. The grandmother is not separately identified as this mother’s mother.
Unnamed father of Litokotoko
The closing recognition and court complaint identify Litokotoko’s father. No personal name, supernatural identity, or parentage for him is supplied.
Unnamed grandmother of Litokotoko
The narrator identifies the woman as the children’s grandmother. The account does not specify whether she is maternal or paternal, so no intervening parent is assigned.
Earlier unnamed children of Litokotoko’s mother
The opening says her mother previously bore several children who died. Their names, number and father are unspecified; they are not automatically given Litokotoko’s named-as-role father.
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 method statement introduction xxii read; complete chapters XXXVII–XXXIX, bilingual printed pp.254–265, English narrative and full explanatory notes independently read. Sesotho placement inspected without an independent-translation claim.
- A mutilated girl retains her temporarily restored limbs and exposes her grandmother.
XXXVII, Litokotoko, complete bilingual pp.254–259; English pp.254/256/258
The limbs are removed after birth, not absent from birth. Theal’s boy with similar restoration is an editorial comparison, not Litokotoko’s sex, sibling or identical variant. Specific narrator not identified. English corrector credited; no source-wide rights conclusion inferred from public access.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Collected Se-Suto text with English translation and notesJacottet — LitokotokoResearch access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.