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

Overview

Rahlabakoane first takes Thakane away to be eaten as punishment for giving forbidden Kumonngoe milk to her brother. Speaking animals condemn his decision along the way. In the cannibal household it is the father who is eaten, while Thakane becomes Masilo’s wife. Much later, when she returns toward home with her husband, children, cattle and attendants, a new rock blocks the mountain pass.

The rock speaks directly to Thakane, threatening to eat her and the others. The narrative explicitly identifies it as Rahlabakoane, whose heart has become rock. Its huge mouth swallows successive groups of cattle, then the people offered to obtain passage, and finally Thakane’s own household. Inside is a cavern holding other captives and living cattle.

An already-swallowed young man cuts a way through from within despite warnings from the people around him. The rock dies and collapses, releasing the newly swallowed family and other survivors. Older victims who have decayed remain inside. The living people and cattle return to their homes, and Thakane’s family receives a welcome from her mother and brother. The ending therefore releases survivors without claiming that everyone ever swallowed is restored.

Father transformed after deathRock blocking mountain passSpeech and huge mouthCavern inside bodySwallows people and cattleKilled from withinLiving captives released
01

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.

02

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.

  1. 01

    The Treasury of Ba-suto Lore, vol. I

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

    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.

  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 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, evolution & connections

Rahlabakoane’s daughter and her two children — XVII

The complete Kumonngoe account, English pp. 112–124.

  • Rahlabakoane and Mahlabakoane (Thakane’s parents)

Named joint parents, their daughter, and her explicitly stated children with Masilo. The younger child has no name or specified sex and is not identified with the rescue boy. The pool guardian is a caregiver, not a biological ancestor. Masilo’s unnamed cannibal father is distinct from Rahlabakoane. Recurring Thakane and Masilo names are not merged with other tales. The rock is a narrative transformation, not geological evolution.

Édouard Jacottet, The Treasury of Ba-Suto Lore (1908), XVII, Kumonngoe, English pp. 112–124

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.

  1. The heart of Thakane’s dead father becomes a speaking rock that swallows travelers and is cut open from inside.

    XVII, Kumonngoe, complete bilingual pp.112–125; Rahlabakoane eaten English p.116, heart-rock pp.122–124 and full ending p.124

The text specifies his heart becoming rock, not a documented ordinary geological object or bodily resurrection. The rescuer is unnamed and is not made Lilahloane’s sibling. No promise that every swallowed person revives; historical population wording in the ending is not adopted as an anatomical or cultural generalization. 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.

  1. Collected Se-Suto text with English translation and notesJacottet — Rahlabakoane’s Swallowing RockResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

FT·3321 · RESEARCH EDITION 01Back to top ↑