How The Legendary Elephant “Maaifoedie” Got His Name!
The start of it all. Legendary elephant Mayafudi is born to the matriarch Ukuthula (Peace from within), an akward little animal, smaller and uglier than his twin sister, Nkosikazi.
The “ugly duckling” develops quickly. His trunk becomes his secret weapon. He naughtily pelts a game ranger on the neck with a ripe marula fruit. The ranger falls from his bicycle and swears loudly: “maaifoedie!” The elephants hear “mayafudi”, a Tsonga sounding word.
This is how Mayafudi gets his name...
What a wonderful little book! “Mayafudi … memories of an elephant”
… written by well known author Hennie van Deventer and newly
translated from the original Arfikaans version.
In the book the eventful life story of Mayafudi and his herd is
chronicled. It is a mixture of fact and fiction.
Mayafudi’s trials and tribulations include natural disasters like
fires, floods and droughts. He experiences the cruelness of culling,
hunting and poaching.
The dramatic deaths of his grandpa, the great tusker Mafunyane (The
Angry One) , mother, Ukuthula (Peace from Within), father,
Moholoholo (The Large One), and twin sister, Nkosikazi (Little
Princess), in different disasters have a severe impact on his life.
As a result he finds himself in constant conflict with the values
the wise Ukuthula had taught him.
His moment of truth dawns when in a fit of rage he firstly attacks a
band of poachers and then a safari vehicle filled with tourists.
He flees for his life – back to the land of his fathers next to the
Sabie River. There he finds peace … and an unexpected surprise that
changes his life.
The book takes a close look at elephant behaviour and is told from
an elephant perspective. The backdrop is the Kruger National Park
which the author knows well and loves passionately.
This is what Danie Krynauw said …
Every Child’s Desire … to become a Game Ranger. Help the wish come true this Christmas
“After reading Mayafudi - memories of an elephant every child will want to become a game warden.” (It is NOT only a book for children, but for ALL lovers of nature.)
Buy Mayafudi … memories of an elephant here now
PERFECT CHRISTMAS and BIRTHDAY GIFT …. Hennie will personally autograph your copy of the Printed version and post it to you within 48 hrs of the order being placed at the store. Alternatively contact Hennie by email and arrange payment directly with him. You can email him here hvandeventer(at)mweb.co.za (replace (at) with @).
You can also ring him … Telephones: 021-553-1761 (also fax) or 083 252 8165 (mobile)
While you’re waiting for the book to arrive and if you order at the store you will get free download link to book in pdf format so you can read the content while you wait for the printed copy. Or you can just buy the pdf version only.
Buy Mayafudi … memories of an elephant here now
Blood of Mafunyane
Mafunyane, the numero uno of the famous “magnificent seven” - the great tuskers of a bygone era - was the grand sire of the legendary elephant Mayafudi.
Mayafudi’s favourite story is one told by his father Moholoholo (The large one), a raconteur of great repute. It is a story of an elephant’s triumph over adversity brought on by humans for the sake of science.
Moholoholo recalls the day of drama and tension when Mafunyane was immobilized and marked with a radio transmitter collar. A calamity threatens when Mafunyane’s great tusks prevent him from getting up. Mafunyane becomes extremely agitated and then spectacularly turns the tables.
A proud Mayafudi is exhilarated. “Hurrah for Mafunyane,” he always feels like shouting at the end of his father’s story.
Great escapes
Mayafudi is a daredevil and full of pranks.
One of his pranks is to scare hikers on the Sabiepark side of the river by suddenly lowering his trunk in front of them. One day the prank nearly goes awry. In stead of hikers he meets up with a pride of lions chasing a waterbuck across the river. He learns a valuable lesson about power.
An older bull saves him when he forgets his mother’s “traffic rules” and nearly runs in front of a car on the Skukuza road near the Kruger Gate.
The narrowest of several narrow escapes is when he gets isolated in a raging Sabie River after a flood. Ukuthula has to risk her own life to execute a dramatic rescue in the nick of time.
Young and spirited
Mayafudi becomes a spirited young bull. He loves to play dead and then scare the life out of everyone. He hides behind trees and playfully surprises rangers on bicycles. He teaches a Johannesburg couple never, never to venture behind a no-entry sign again to watch game.
Two British visitors, dear old ladies, are forced to reverse their borrowed Volkswagen Beetle for 16 kilometers, panicking all the way, while the mischievous giant slowly keeps on coming at them in the middle of the road.
After every incident a sardonic smiles lights up his face. And is there a trace of a wink?
Evil from the sky
Mayafudi’s first experience of culling becomes one of the most dreadful days of his life. The Sanpark’s helicopter swoops down on Ukuthula’s herd. Nkosikazi (Little Princess) , Mayafudi’s twin sister, is one of the victims.
The herd looks on in horror. Ukuthula gets onto her back legs and waves her trunk frantically at the “angel of death” hovering above her herd. Her pain and grief is heartbreaking.
The surviving elephants gather around their dead comrades, walking in a circle, their trunks raised in a last salute. The ground team moves in with their sharp knives.
Ukuthula and her herd slowly moves away from the scene. The legendary elephant Mayafudi stays in close support of his mother. The elephants are dead silent. After walking for hours they reach a favourite dam. Ukuthula moves closer to drink. The others stand silently, keeping their distance. Then some of the younger ones start spraying each other. They roll in the mud.
After a while Ukuthula and Mohololo enter the water. The message is clear: The herd has been hard hit, but is unbroken. Life must go on.
Allies in khaki
An elephant bull is snared by poachers near the Mozambican border. The wire has cut deep into his flesh. His trunk hangs on threads. His tusks have been removed, evidently in a great hurry. Then the poachers poured a poison over his dead body to kill the vultures for muti. Dozens are killed.
Mayafudi is sickened by the scene. A day or three later he perceives three suspicous looking men in the veld in the same area. They carry weapons and their motives can surely not be honourable. Mayafudi feels the urge to attack them.
Then a powerful 4x4 emerges. On the front door is the famous Sanparks logo of a proud kudu head. A game ranger jumps out, R1-rifle in his hand. He shouts at the three men. They start running with the ranger is in close pursuit. Shots ring out. Then he steps into a hole, stumbles and falls.
His mate in the 4x4 rushes to his aid. With his ankle badly hurt, the ranger manages to pull his body onto the truck, and the chase continues. More shots are fired. One poacher is wounded. Another is brought down by a fierce tackle. Mayafudi can hear the crack of the butt against heads. They stay down. The third man is still running!
Ukuthula is right about rangers being our allies, Mayafudi thinks. He feels like shouting: “Hurrah for the rangers”. His emotions at this juncture are exactly the same as those he experienced at the end of Moholoholo’s story about Mafunyane’s heroics.
Confrontation
The first sign that something is wrong is a dilapidated old bakkie parked in the middle of the road. When Mayafudi approaches the vehicle a shot rings out. It whistles past his head. An ambush! The image of a badly wounded Ukuthula flashes through his mind.
The poacher with the AK47 is unexperienced. When he sees Mayafudi coming for him, he jumps from the bonnet of the vehicle and runs for dear life. He is too slow. Mayafudi quickly cathces up with him and tramples him to death.
The man’s two partners in crime are stunned. They try to flee with the bakkie, but Mayafudi, blind with rage, crashes the vehicle into a tree and turns it on its roof.
Deeply disturbed by the incident, he moves on. His next stop is
Shingwedzi and the Kanniedood Dam, an attractive place that somehow
reminds him of his home on the Sabie River. Large herds of elephant
and buffalo frequent the dam.
For Mayafudi the presence of so many elephants provides plenty of opportunity to question them about Mafunyane. They give directions. The last leg of his journey takes him to the Bububu. What a let-down! Only a loner can be happy in such isolation. But the Kanniedood – that’s another proposition. Mayafudi decides to return. Find more exciting Sabiepark Stories here
Slowly the former Mayafudi gains the upperhand. As the years go by he becomes an older and wiser elephant, as solid and stable as in his early years. A venerable senior citizen.
Moment of truth
Mayafudi’s momemnt of truth dawns when he surpises three men and a woman, probably Mozambicans taking a short-cut to Johannesburg, near the Shingwedzi camp. One of them kneels to pick up some dry wood. Mayafudi is able to see him trying to kindle a fire, probably to keep dangerous predators at bay.
A sudden gust of wind transforms the fire into a conflagration, the dried grass crackling as the flames soar aloft. The frightened foursome do their utmost to extinguish the fire. They don’t want it to reveal their trespassing.
Arsonists! Devils! Mayafudi’s deduction hits him like a bolt of lightning.
With searing intensity he remembers a horrible night of flames when he was young. Also the despair and trauma, as the flames came rolling nearer from everywhere. He is overwhelmed by an aggression, which he has not experienced for a long, long time.
A resounding trumpet-call, interminable and intense, shatters the silence of the bush. Then, the earth rumbles as he charges. A few enormous paces enable the rancorous Mayafudi to catch up with them. He pounds the transgressors, again and again. He turns his attention to the little bundles and plastic containers. These are demolished.
Mayafudi blindly rushes towards the main road, the H1-7. The alarmed elephant, weighing a full six tons, runs across the road, in front of an approaching green Land Rover Safari vehicle, taking a group of hikers back to Shingwedzi.
The frightened Shangaan game ranger at the wheel locks his squealing brakes, tries to take avoiding action by swerving wildly, pushing the hooter-button all the time. Startled, Mayafudi reacts even more furiously . He attacks the vehicle mercilessly. With one mighty heave of his huge head, he turns the vehicle on its side off the road.
After having vent his anger on the Land Rover he turns his attention to the trailer, which lies on its lid with the wheels still spinning. His tusks gash the green metal twice. Only then the enraged elephant comes to his senses.
The scene of his wrath is chaotic. Binoculars, cameras, handbags, hats and water bottles lie in utter confusion on the road. Two suitcases, one of which having become open, lie next to the trailer. Diesel leaks from the inverted fuel tank on to the road. The passengers are not seriously injured, but in a state of severe shock. A young woman screams hysterical. Others cry.
“I must get away from here. Immediately,” the message flashes through Mayafudi’s brain, repeatedly like a radio distress signal. Soundlessly, he blindly runs into the bush.
Where now? He realises that he had done something terribly wrong. After dusk, in his hiding-place in the bush, he realises his only option. He must flee, as far and as fast as possible.
His flight would not be an aimless rush away from the game-rangers, who would inevitably be following him, armed with heavy guns. He would combine his flight with a homecoming – the only place where he could presently spend his autumn years in peace.
He would return to the Kruger Gate and the Sabie River....