Long ago, in the heart of the Kalahari, there lived a traveller named Tumo, a man who roamed from village to village carrying only a walking stick and a small leather satchel. He sought wisdom more than riches, for he believed that every path held a lesson, and every sound carried a story.
One season, when the rains failed and the air turned harsh, Tumo found himself wandering through a stretch of land where the earth cracked beneath his feet. The trees were dry, and even the birds had grown silent. The villagers he passed were weary and bitter. They spoke of a river that once sang, a river that used to make music so beautiful that it could heal sorrow and call rain to the land.
“But the river no longer sings,” one old woman said, shaking her head. “We took from it without thanks. We dirtied its waters, and the stones grew silent.”
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Her words rested heavily in Tumo’s mind. That night, he dreamed of a glowing river winding through darkness, its stones humming softly like deep voices. When he awoke, the dream called him onward.
He walked for three days beneath the burning sun until he reached a narrow valley. There, between two cliffs, lay a ribbon of silver water winding through smooth grey rocks. It was still and quiet, too quiet. Yet when he stepped closer, he felt a faint vibration beneath his feet, as if the stones were holding back a song.
Tumo knelt and touched one of the river stones. The moment his hand brushed it, a deep tone rose from the earth, a low, mournful hum that rippled across the water. Then another stone began to sing, then another, until the whole river shimmered with sound.
The music was not like any human song. It was a chorus of sorrow and remembrance, the voice of the land itself. The river sang of forests cut down without prayer, of animals hunted without need, of fires lit carelessly and water wasted. It sang of the silence that followed when humans forgot to listen.
Tumo’s heart trembled. He bowed low and whispered, “Forgive us, great river. We did not understand your pain.”
The waters stirred gently. The stones’ voices softened, their song shifting to something tender and weary.
“You hear because you listen,” the river seemed to say. “Few remember that the earth is alive. We sing not to curse, but to remind.”
Tumo sat by the river until the moon rose high. He took a small drum from his satchel, the only thing his late father had left him, and began to beat it softly, matching the rhythm of the river’s hum. As he played, the tones of the drum and the stones blended, weaving a melody that sounded like forgiveness.
At dawn, the traveler filled his calabash with the river’s water and began his journey back. Everywhere he stopped, he shared what he had heard. He told the people, “The earth still speaks, but only to those who listen. Its stones remember every kindness and every wound.”
Some mocked him, calling it the tale of a wandering fool. But others listened. They began to pour libations before fetching water, to plant trees before cutting wood, to sing to the soil before sowing seeds. Slowly, the rains began to return. The air softened, and the ground grew green again.
Years passed, and Tumo grew old. Before his final journey, he returned to the river one last time. The stones were singing again, quietly but joyfully, as if the world itself had begun to heal.
He knelt at the riverbank, smiling through tears. “You kept your promise,” he whispered. “You sang until we remembered.”
The wind rustled through the reeds like applause, and the stones glowed faintly in the sun. It was said that when Tumo died, the river sang louder that night, carrying his name on its current. And to this day, when the wind blows through certain valleys in Tswana lands, people say it carries the faint hum of the River of Singing Stones, reminding all who hear it that the earth never truly falls silent, it only waits to be heard again.
Moral Lesson
Respect for the earth begins with listening. When we honour nature’s voice and act with care, the world sings in harmony once more.
Knowledge Check
Who was the main character in The River of Singing Stones?
Answer: Tumo, a wandering traveler seeking wisdom.What did the river sing about?
Answer: It sang of the harm humans had done to the earth and the need for respect.How did Tumo respond to the river’s song?
Answer: He listened humbly, apologized, and spread its message of care and renewal.What lesson did the people learn from Tumo’s story?
Answer: That the earth is alive and responds to kindness and gratitude.What happened when people began respecting nature again?
Answer: The rains returned, the land healed, and the river sang once more.What is the main moral of this Tswana folktale?
Answer: Healing begins with listening to each other and to the living earth.
Source: Tswana folktale, South Africa. Documented by Gabriel Setiloane in The Spirit of the African Earth (1988).
