The Twelve Girls: A Nandi Tale of the Ogre

Shared by William Kiptoo. A Nandi folk tale from Lelmokwo, narrated by Tapsiarga Cheruiyot (about 62 years old) and recorded in Ciarunji Chesaina's Oral Literature of the Kalenjin. Retold here in brief.

First shared in The Wonders of Sergoit Hills Facebook group on 6 February 2024.

Long ago, twelve girls went to the river to wash clothes and bathe. When the washing was done they plunged in to swim, and felt the water tremble. A huge ogre with a big belly swam towards them. The girls tried to escape, but the ogre caught them all and swallowed them as they screamed for help.

A hunter nearby heard the cries and came to see. The ogre swallowed him too, spear and all. Inside the ogre's stomach, the hunter thought hard and decided to cut his way out. He told the girls to sing while he worked, and as they sang he pierced the ogre's belly again and again with his spear.

Feeling the pain, the ogre ran to a far off land where nobody lived, and there, his strength gone, he lay down and slept. Soon his stomach burst open, and the hunter and the twelve girls stepped out into an empty country.

The hunter married the twelve girls, and they had so many children that they filled the whole land. They took the name "Nandi" for themselves.

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