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Overview

A daughter of Bulane cooks grain reserved for cattle despite her mother’s refusal. The pot fills, then opens itself and pours out enough cooked corn to cover the enclosure. The girl gathers her belongings and calls Mothemelle to take her upward. Her younger sister calls for her return, and the bird obeys both requests in succession. The elder strikes the younger each time she is brought down, finally confines her inside the hut and blocks the door. Free of the competing call, Mothemelle carries the elder far away and drops her where no village is visible.

Horsemen encounter the girl with a chief’s son who has been unable to speak. At the sight of her he speaks, and she joins his household. After bearing two children she returns with men and cattle, finds her family and completes a marriage payment before leaving again. The younger sister later asks Mothemelle to take her to this successful sister. It initially refuses, recalling her earlier reproaches, but eventually carries her away. It drops her beside a village beneath a lake, where man-eaters approach by hopping on one leg, then flies far off.

An old woman warns the younger girl that her hosts are preparing to eat her. Although she answers rudely, she follows the warning and leaves a clothed stone dummy in her sleeping place. During her long flight she repeatedly calls the absent Mothemelle, finding that neither the river nor lake answers in its place. She eventually reaches relatives after further quarrels and food theft, then marries after another dispute over a proposed husband. Mothemelle does not return to rescue or punish her at the end; its last act is the abandonment near the lake village.

The bird receives no fixed appearance beyond the editor’s fabulous-bird identification. The younger sister’s Monyemelle is explained as a spiteful alteration of its name, so the two forms are treated as one being. Its transport has contrasting consequences for the sisters, rather than an invariably benevolent or invariably murderous purpose.

Fabulous birdResponds to rival callsLong-distance carryingInitially refuses younger sisterDrops traveller beside lake villageDoes not answer later pleas
01

Origins & earliest records

Jacottet’s complete XXXIII is printed in Se-Suto and English. A note explicitly identifies the carrier as a fabulous bird; no individual contributor is named in this inspected episode. The editor’s guesses about older forms of its mounted travellers remain conjectures.

02

Records & interpretation

Jacottet (1908), XXXIII The Mothemelle, complete bilingual pp. 220–233; English pp. 220, 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232. Fabulous-bird identification and Mothemelle/Monyemelle distinction pp. 222–223; lake village and one-legged pursuers p. 224; dummy escape p. 226; complete human aftermath pp. 228–232.

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

    Jacottet (1908), XXXIII The Mothemelle, complete bilingual pp. 220–233; English pp. 220, 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232. Fabulous-bird identification and Mothemelle/Monyemelle distinction pp. 222–223; lake village and one-legged pursuers p. 224; dummy escape p. 226; complete human aftermath pp. 228–232.

  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 collection/translation statement introduction xxii independently read; complete XXXIII, English printed pages 220, 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, with facing Sesotho placement and explanatory notes inspected. Selected historical witness only.

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 collection/translation statement introduction xxii independently read; complete XXXIII, English printed pages 220, 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, with facing Sesotho placement and explanatory notes inspected. Selected historical witness only.

  1. A fabulous bird transports two sisters to different destinations; their subsequent experiences have different outcomes.

    XXXIII, The Mothemelle, complete bilingual pp.220–233; English pp.220/222/224/226/228/230/232; bird identification and name note pp.222–223

The younger sister’s Monyemelle is explained as a spiteful altered address to the same bird, not another creature. No physical bird anatomy or biological relationship invented. The later human aftermath is included; the elder sister’s marriage is not confused with the younger sister’s mistaken identification of the lake village. Specific narrator is not identified from the volume-level contributor list. Sesotho placement is not an independent translation; J. C. Smith’s English correction is credited.

References

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

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

Image credits

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

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