Page 27 - Empires of Medieval West Africa

Empir E s of m E di E v al w E st africa

When he beat the drum, four troops of cavalry (soldiers who fight on
horseback) came out from the four corners of the wilderness. The four
commanders recognized Diabe Cissé as their leader and became his
lieutenants. Later, after the kingdom was founded, they became chiefs
or governors of the four provinces, and were known as fado.
Diabe Cissé set out to find a location where he could settle down.
He wound up at a place that became Kumbi Saleh. It is located in the
southern part of what is now Mauritania.
When Diabe Cissé arrived at the site where the town of Kumbi
Saleh was to be established, he found it was guarded by a giant snake
named Bida. In several versions of the legend, Bida is said to have lived
in either a well or a cave. The great snake is usually thought of as a
python. The python is a snake that often lives near streams and rivers,
so having Bida take this form suggests the new settlement was located
near water.
Diabe Cissé entered into an agreement with the snake Bida. They
agreed that Diabe Cissé could settle there and Bida would remain the
guardian of the place. They also made a deal that every year the great
snake would be given the most beautiful young virgin. In return, Bida

CONNECTIONS

The Giant Rock Python

the giant african rock python is a nonpoison- wrapped its coils around him, pinning his arms
ous snake with a triangular head and a thick to his sides and squeezing him to death before
body. it is colored with shades of brown, eating him whole. children who were with the
yellow, and green. this python can grow to boy were too frightened to run away, so they
more than 20 feet long, and kills its prey by hid in the mango trees for several hours.
coiling around it and squeezing it to death. the only evidence found by police and
pythons live around rivers and swamps. snake specialists was a trail of flattened grass
the african rock python normally eats birds african rock python normally eats birds a leading to a nearby stream. one theory was
and small mammals. But the legends about it that the python had come out of its win-
eating people are not so hard to believe. ter hibernation and was hungry when the
in 2002 near durban, south africa, a 20-africa, a 20-a boy showed up looking for mangoes. afri-
foot long snake swallowed a 10-year-old boy. can rock pythons are a protected species in
according to local newspapers, the boy was south africa, so residents were told that if
picking mangoes when the python suddenly they found the snake, they should not kill it.

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