Maakana Kalo

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Maakana Kalo

Once upon a time, a Maakana (Grey Heron) was flying
over a beach and landed there close to the waterline. He
made a dropping and flew away. After a while he flew back
to the same spot and saw that a wave had washed his
faeces away. The bird asked the wave, “Where is my
dropping?” The wave answered, “I have washed it away.”

The Maakana said, “You have to give it back.” The wave
meekly offered, “I cannot give you back your dropping, for
it has dissolved, but I can give you a tuna fish instead.”
Grudgingly the Maakana accepted the fish and flew away
with it. The bird then landed on the roof of a shed, left the
fish there and flew away again. When he came back to the
same place, he didn’t see the fish. He asked some young
men there who were boiling fish and putting pieces out to
dry, “Where is my fish?” The people answered, “We have
cut it, boiled it and put it to dry.” The Maakana said in a
huff, “You have to give it back.” The people meekly
offered, “We cannot give you back a raw fish; we have
already cut it all and boiled it, but we can give you a dry
fish piece instead.” The Maakana accepted their offer and
flew away with the piece of dry fish. The bird then landed
close to a kitchen, left the dry fish there and flew away
again. When the Maakana came back to the same spot, he
didn’t see his dry fish. He asked the women.

there who were cooking boakiba (fish cake), “Where is my
dry fish?” One girl answered, “We have cut it into pieces
and baked boakiba with it.” The Maakana was indignant,
“You have to give it back.” The women gently offered, “We
cannot give you back a dry fish; we have finished it all, but

we can give you a whole fish cake instead.” The Maakana
accepted their offer and flew away with the boakiba.

The bird then landed on a veranda, left the boakiba there
and flew away again. When he came back to the same
place, he didn’t see the fish cake. He asked the men and
women he saw there making rope,4 “Where is my cake?”
The people answered humbly, “It was tea time and we ate
it with our tea.” The Maakana ruffled his feathers and said,
“You have to give it back to me.” The people politely said,
“We cannot give you back the boakiba, we ate it along

with some tea, but we can give you a roll of good rope
instead.” The Maakana accepted their offer and flew away
with the rope

The bird then landed under a shady tree, left the bundle
of rope there and flew away again. When it came back to
the same place, he didn’t see his rope. He asked some old
men who were there making drums, “Where is my rope?”
The men answered, “We have used it already to make all
these drums.” The Maakana was very annoyed, “You have
to give it back.” The people made the bird a generous
offer, “We cannot give you back your rope, but we can
give you instead two drums, choose the ones you prefer.”
Thus mollified, the Maakana accepted their offer and flew
away with one old drum and a new drum.

The bird flew now to a tall palm tree overlooking the
beach and sat on a palm frond with his two drums. He
tapped the drums with his beak and enjoyed their
different sounds. The new drum was making the sound
“ṭo-ṭṭo” and the old drum “ḍan-ḍan’.

A poor woman happened to pass under the coconut tree
while she was combing the beach.5 Hearing the drumming

noise she looked up and saw that the Maakana was
engrossed beating his drums. She thought, “Those are
nice drums, I wish I had some like those.”

And just at that moment the frond on which the Maakana
had been sitting, which was not green anymore, gave way
and fell with a crash to the sand. The drums hit the bird on
the head and he died.

The woman then took the drums away and went home
singing happily.

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