Gendefli once lived among his family and his people, but a quarrel changed the course of his life. Whatever had passed between him and his family became serious enough for him to separate himself from them completely. He gathered all the property that belonged to him, took his wife with him, and left the place where he had lived. Instead of remaining among his people, Gendefli chose a life far away from them.
He travelled until he reached a high mountain. At its summit, he made his home and settled there with his wife. The mountain became the place where Gendefli intended to build a life separate from the community he had left behind. He did not return to live among his former people. Instead, he and his wife remained together on the mountain, living by themselves and forming their own household.
As the years passed, their family grew. Gendefli and his wife had children, and the children grew up on the mountain. Their home was different from the homes of families who lived together in the community below. They had been raised in the quiet of the mountain, away from the people and relationships that had once surrounded their father.
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Gendefli remained committed to the life he had chosen. The mountain was no longer simply a place where he had settled after a quarrel. It had become the centre of his life and the home of his family. He had left his former community behind and had built a separate existence with his wife and children.
Eventually, Gendefli grew old. As his years advanced, he began to think about what would happen after he was gone. His children were now grown, and he wanted them to continue the way of life he had established. He advised them to remain on the mountain and to live together as a family of their own, just as he had done with their mother.
But his children did not share their father’s attachment to the mountain. Instead of accepting his advice, they insulted him and questioned what he actually possessed. Their response challenged the value Gendefli placed on the life he had built. To them, the mountain and the solitary existence that had meant so much to their father did not offer the kind of future they wanted.
Gendefli answered them with words that revealed how deeply he identified with the mountain. He spoke proudly of himself as a chief and described the mountain as his throne. He praised its height and its untouched paths, presenting the mountain as a place that belonged to him and reflected his own independence. His words showed that he saw dignity in the life he had chosen, even though his children did not see it in the same way.
He then told his children that they would not become like him. His statement carried both pride and resignation. Gendefli had chosen to separate himself from his people, but his children were not willing to inherit that same separation. The life that had seemed right to their father did not become their own simply because they had been raised within it.
After this conversation, Gendefli died. His life on the mountain came to an end, but the choice he had made continued to shape the story of his family. His children did not remain where their father had wanted them to stay. They descended from the mountain and joined another family.
The decision of Gendefli’s children marked a clear difference between one generation and the next. Their father had separated himself from his family and community and had chosen to establish a household of his own on a high mountain. His children, however, chose connection with another family rather than continuing the isolated life he had created.
Yet Gendefli’s name did not disappear with his death. The mountain where he had lived remained associated with him. According to the tradition recorded by Enno Littmann, the mountain was still called Gendefli. His name therefore became connected to the landscape where he had spent his later years, leaving a lasting reminder of the man who had chosen to live apart from his people.
The story of Gendefli is therefore not simply about a man who moved to a mountain. It is also about the different ways people understand family, independence and belonging. Gendefli believed that a separate life could become his own kind of strength and dignity. He wanted his children to preserve that way of life after his death, but they made their own choice.
His children showed that a parent’s way of life cannot always be passed from one generation to another. Gendefli had made his decision after a quarrel with his family, and that decision shaped the rest of his life. His children were raised within the world he had created, yet when they became adults, they chose a different path.
The mountain remained, even after Gendefli and his children had gone their separate ways. Its paths and heights became part of the memory attached to his name. While Gendefli had hoped that his children would remain there as a family apart from others, they instead went down from the mountain and joined another family.
In the end, Gendefli’s story preserves a simple but meaningful contrast between a father’s wish and his children’s choice. One man found his identity in solitude, while the next generation chose to leave that solitude behind. The mountain carried Gendefli’s name forward, but his children carried his family in another direction.
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Moral Lesson
A person’s idea of a meaningful life may not always be shared by the next generation. Family members can respect where they come from while still choosing a different path for themselves. The story also reminds us that the choices we make can leave lasting marks on the people and places connected to our lives.
Knowledge Check
1. Why did Gendefli leave his family?
Gendefli quarrelled with his family and decided to leave.
2. Who went with Gendefli when he migrated?
Gendefli took his property and his wife with him.
3. Where did Gendefli settle?
He settled on the top of a high mountain.
4. What did Gendefli advise his children to do when he grew old?
He advised them to remain on the mountain and live together as a family by themselves.
5. How did Gendefli’s children respond to his advice?
They rejected his way of life, insulted him and eventually went down from the mountain.
6. What happened to the mountain after Gendefli died?
The mountain remained known as Gendefli.
Source
Adapted from “The Story of Gendefli,” Story 37, p. 52, in Enno Littmann, Tales, Customs, Names and Dirges of the Tigre Tribes, Volume II, English translation, 1910.
