When Ramalah was ruler of a great kingdom, his wife Chakula conceived twin sons. They were the brothers N’ga and Sufa of whom many stories are told. So bold were N’ga and Sufa that even within their mother’s body they would struggle, and she would eat herbs to dull the discomfort.
      When time came for her to give birth, she called them N’ga and Sufa after the sun and moon, for they would chase each other as the sun chases the moon. Though they often fought each other, their hearts were good and they walked with Aiheu. Queen Chakula consulted the shamans about them, and was very happy and sad at once. For they all agreed N’ga and Sufa would live happy yet short lives. From that moment she was afraid to leave them with anyone but her sister Alba for she worried about them constantly.
      Once when the Queen was aprowl, Alba took the cubs to her cave to sleep. And that night the earth shook, and the entrance of the cave was sealed. When Chakula returned, she found the rubble and tried to dig them out. But all her efforts and all her mother’s love was not enough to clear the entrance. So the other lionesses took turns digging, and the work went on as the moon rose and the sun rose. One, two, three days, then four days passed and still the cubs were beyond reach. All hope had gone, and Chakula was left alone to dig, but she was faithful and kept working into the fifth day that she might see their bodies one last time. She was sure this was the fulfillment of the prophesy.
      On the fifth day, she opened a passage to the inside of the cave. And N’ga and Sufa emerged weak and unhurt. Chakula wept with joy, and gave thanks to Aiheu. But when she looked inside, her sister Alba lay dead. Alba, who was not in her milk, had opened the deep veins of her arm and nursed the cubs with her own blood so they might survive.
      Alba’s body was dragged to the fields, but along the way where each drop of blood fell there grew a beautiful red flower which to this day is called Alba in her memory. There is a medicine made from this plant called “the blood of mercy, ” and it has great power to heal and instill gentleness.
      N’ga and Sufa grew in power and size until one day they were ready to take a mate. It was at this time a white lioness named Minshasa came into their kingdom, and N’ga and Sufa were both smitten with her great beauty and the powers she possessed. Because they were both strong and determined, they fought for five days and nights without sleep or food. On the fifth day, they both collapsed in a deep sleep, and while they were unaware, Minshasa left to find Mano whom she eventually married and fathered a great people. And when N’ga and Sufa awoke, they felt sore and foolish and swore to end their days of fighting forever.

      Roh'kash (Great Mother) was the first of the living. In her was the essence of life, and through her, life entered the world. First she gave birth to the sun. The sun was the child of her strength, and she was very bright and brave. It used up most of her virility to do this, but she tried again, and gave birth to the moon. The moon was the same size, but very pale and shy. Thus she used up all of her powers of fertility. She was tired and came to earth, which was desolate. There she slept on a rock in the moonlight. This resulted, quite unexpected to her, in the first union, which was with the Roh’khim (Great Father). Because this union was between the spiritual and the physical, she conceived and brought forth offspring which had both spiritual and physical components. These children of Roh'kash were the ancestors of the different tribes that still walk the earth today.

       LEGAL NOTE:This original copyrighted work by John Burkitt and David Morris is based on Walt Disney’s feature film “The Lion King.” Elements taken directly from The Lion King are the property of The Walt Disney Company. “Chronicles of the Pride Lands” is distributed free of charge excepting reasonable distribution costs. Quoting passages from our work, writing original pieces based partly (or entirely) on our work, or using characters we created is fine as long as you secure prior approval. That begins by sending either of us a copy of the work. Our e-mail addresses are:
      John H. Burkitt: john.burkitt@nashville.com.
      David A. Morris: damorris@wilmington.net.
      Your comments on our work, pro and con, are always welcome. We have been asked about our legal note. This is our official response: “The copyright is maintained solely to prevent patently vulgar or lewd misuse of our characters. Most any work, including parodies would be fine as long as it meets certain reasonably broad standards of decency. We reserve the right as copyright holders to define and change those standards. None of these standards is meant to force the applicant to be consistant with the literary style or plot of the original work.”
      The characters Akase, Isha, and Malaika are the property of Brian Tiemann. Used with permission.
      Finally, this story is a fictional work. All resemblance to any characters living or dead is purely coincidental. Well actually not. With love and respect, we honor those who taught us how to laugh and cry. Without acting as clear models for any one character, many great souls, some non-human, pressed their mark indellibly on the fabric of our lives.
       REVISION NOTE:It is pointless to compare the old and new Chronicles for consistency. Consistency WITHIN this version was more important that consistency with the older materials. Many sharp-eyed readers pointed out a number of flaws in the old Chronicles of the Pride Lands, and those concerns have been addressed here. We both request that all earlier versions of Chronicles of the Pride Lands be replaced by this later revision.