Legends of supreme world

One African legend, which I read in the library of the Institute of African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1994, told about a woman who gave birth to diamond crystals. So much time has passed that I don’t remember which people exactly this legend was, and who compiled the collection. Internet searches yielded no results. Even though I remember some phrases literally. Perhaps this work has simply not yet been digitized... In any case, if you find out the history and identify the people or at least the country, I will be very grateful to you. Therefore, I will describe in detail everything that I can remember. So, the legend of an unknown people:
In one village there lived a young beautiful girl. Many approached her, but she refused everyone, saying that she was waiting for a groom who would give her the most unusual and most beautiful gift. The girl was of a noble family and, moreover, a rare beauty; many guys would like to take her as a wife and sent her various rare and expensive gifts. But she rejected everyone. All the gifts seemed like ordinary trinkets to her. Many grooms came from distant places and, after refusal, chose other girls. According to the law of the people, a young husband must live in his wife’s village for 10 years, working for the good of the community, and after that, if he wishes, he can return to his homeland with his wife and children. Many stayed forever. And how can you not stay? If the land was fertile, nature was beautiful, and the springs were filled with clean and fresh water all year round? The rulers were kind, did not offend the people, and an army of archers protected them from enemies. Soon all the girl’s friends had already played happy weddings and were expecting their firstborns. Having heard about the girl’s intractable character, the suitors stopped coming. She had been looking at the road for many days and had not seen an unfamiliar face. Her father and mother despaired of asking her to marry and left her alone; now she watched the house and household, sometimes still glancing at the road. Calm village life flowed by peacefully.
One day, already without any hope, looking out the window, the girl saw dust rising on the road, in the distance near the horizon, as if someone was driving a large herd of cattle. She halted and began to observe, the dust cloud grew, but from it there was no sound, neither the clatter of hooves, nor the mooing of animals, it moved in an ominous silence. Soon the girl heard the voices of women working in the field; they ran screaming towards the village and pointed in horror at the dust cloud. The girl became excited, her heart suddenly pounded in her chest, as if about to jump out. She called the servants and ordered them to anoint her with precious fragrant oil and dress her in the most expensive clothes, decorate her hair with the most expensive jewelry. When everything was ready, the girl left the house and stood at the beginning of the road. The silent dusty cloud attracted her to itself with a mysterious force. Having no more strength to resist, she went to it and entered it, there was a noise and a terrible roar, and where the cloud of dust froze and where the girl entered, a huge hole gaped. Having recovered from their fright, the villagers began to approach the pit. It was very deep and dark. The villagers decided to close it so that no one would accidentally fall through. They made a secure cover from palm trunks so that even a buffalo or elephant could not fall through it. Time passed, everyone had already forgotten about this incident and about the stubborn bride, who, as everyone believed, was taken underground by a terrible underground spirit. And only the girl’s old mother came to the closed pit every evening to cry.
One evening, she heard someone singing in the pit, like many thin voices. Moving closer, she looked into the gap and saw light streaming from the hole in rays. Her tears fell on the lid covering the pit, and suddenly it rose into the air, the woman got scared and began to call people. When everyone gathered, they saw a beautiful woman coming out of the pit and leading several dozen beautiful boys and girls of various age. Light emanated from the children's faces. Everyone was very happy, because the girl brought so many beautiful children with her. The holiday continued almost until the morning, and in the morning the girl’s mother discovered that where the children and their mother were sleeping, diamond crystals were shining, and they themselves had disappeared. Since then, diamonds began to be mined in this village, right in the mysteriously appeared pit, and valuable and large crystals were regularly found. The girl remained in the memory of the people as the Mother of Crystals.
In the picture, the position of the hands and face signifies concentration, perseverance, and absolute focus of consciousness. The colors symbolize the various elements involved in the process of birth and creation of diamonds. The headdress, clothing and face are inspired by the different peoples of Southern and Eastern Africa.

 

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