Thakane, The Dragon Hunter

Every culture has its legends about heroes taking on impossible challenges, but one of my favourites comes from Lesotho. It’s the tale of Thakane, a fearless young woman who took on glowing water dragons to protect her family.

How It All Started

Thakane was a Basotho princess. Her father, who was a great chief, passed away when she was very young. She ended up raising her two brothers. She cared for them, made their food, and filled their water jugs. She made sure they went to school and took care of them after their initiation. 

When the boys grew up, they demanded special gifts. They wanted shields, shoes and hats made from the skin of the Nanabolele. 

The Nanabolele were mysterious water dragons that glowed in the dark and gave off a cloud of red smoke. These dragons were feared across the land, and no one in their right mind went looking for them. Everyone knew they were deadly predators.

At first Thakane called them crazy, but they insisted that, as the sons of the chief, it was their right to demand it. Eventually it got so bad, they refused to leave their hut until their request was fulfilled. So Thakane was left with no choice.

The Quest

She left home with an ox and all the supplies she could carry, in search of the Nanabolele. 

To calm her nerves, she sang a song about the Nanabolele, hoping that the song will make the dragon reveal itself. When she reached the nearest river, still singing, the waters parted and a little frog hopped out. He offered to help her find the horrible dragon. He said he knew where the Nanabolele lived. She was grateful, because she had no idea

She followed his directions from river to river, until at last, they came to the deepest and widest river of them all. There she sang her song again, and tossed some of her meat into the river. Then she tossed in the entire ox, but nothing happened. 

Suddenly the waters stirred. But it wasn’t the Nanabolele that stepped out, it was an old woman. She welcomed Thakane and asked her to come into the water with her. She followed the old woman, and to her surprise, there was a whole world under the river, dry and breathable. But it was also silent and empty. 

She asked where all the people were, and that made the old woman very sad. She told Thakane that the Nanabolele ate everyone; adults, children, cattle, sheep, dogs, everything! This made Thakane very scared, and she hid in a deep hole that the old woman showed her. 

Just when they got settled, they heard it: the Nanabolele was back! Three of them. They glowed, shining as red as a sunset. And they were sniffing the air, like they could smell Thakane in her hiding place! They searched and sniffed, and sniffed and searched, until they got tired and went to sleep.

When she was sure that the Nanabolele was fast asleep, she crawled out of the hole and quietly slaughtered the biggest one before the others could wake up. She stuffed everything she needed from it in her packs and prepared for the journey home. 

Before Thakane and the little frog left, the old woman gave her a pebble, saying that the Nanabolele will try to hunt her down and that it would save her them. All she had to do was throw it on the ground.

The Great Escape

Of course, the surviving dragons weren’t going to just let her walk away. When they woke up and found their dead friend, they started chasing after her. 

She remembered the old woman’s words. Each time they got close, Thakane threw down the pebble and a massive mountain rose up, blocking their path. Once the Nanabolele climbed over, the pebble would return to her hand. And when they got close again, she would throw it again. The Nanabolele were not good climbers, so each time they got to the other side of the mountain, they were exhausted and needed to rest. This bought Thakane some time. 

This went on for several days, when she finally saw her village in the distance. But as she approached the gates, the Nanabolele came running at her from behind. 

She called on the dogs of the village to scare the Nanabolele away. Thakane had no idea if this would work, but to her great relief, it did! The Nanabolele turned on their heels and ran away, terrified.  

There was only one thing left to do. The Nanabolele skin which gives off light in the dark was cut and prepared into hats and armour and weapons, and Thakane herself took them to her brothers in their hut.

Nobody else had seen such wondrous items, and Thakane’s brothers rewarded her handsomely, giving her a hundred head of cattle.

And just like that, Thakane’s story became part of Basotho legend. To this day, it’s often told with the traditional ending, “ke tsoma ka mathetho” – meaning “this is a true tale of the Basotho people.”