The Leopard and the Antelope's Hide

The Leopard and the Antelope were once friends. The Antelope owned a magnificent drum with a hide so fine it could be heard in the land of the spirits. The Leopard, who was a powerful chief, coveted the drum. "Lend me your drum for the great initiation ceremony," the Leopard asked. "Its voice will bring honour to us all." The Antelope reluctantly agreed but made the Leopard promise to protect it. During the ceremony, the Leopard, full of pride, beat the drum so hard that the hide split. When the Antelope asked for his drum back, the Leopard returned it, broken. "It was a weak drum," the Leopard said, showing no remorse. The Antelope took the broken drum and went not to the chief, but to the Nganga (diviner/healer). The Nganga told him to stretch the broken hide over a new wooden frame, creating not a drum, but a mask. He told the Antelope to dance with the mask, and it would give him power over the Leopard. When the Leopard saw the masked Antelope dancing, he was terrified, for he saw the spirit of the wronged drum in the dancer's movements. He fled in shame, and the Yaka people learned that when justice is denied, a man must make his own power object to reclaim his honour.