Kaikuzi or Kayikuuzi is a character in the Gandan creation myth, The Legend of Kintu. He is the son of

Ggulu Ggulu is a character in the Gandan creation myth. He is the creator of all things in heaven. The legend In the legend, two of Ggulu's daughters discover Kintu, the first human being according to Gandan myth. When Kintu declines to follow the daug ...

. His name is translated as "the digger." He is responsible for attempting to rid the Earth of Walumbe, meaning "death" or "disease."

The Legend

After

Kintu Kintu is a mythological figure who appears in a creation myth of the Uganda people of Buganda, Uganda. According to this legend, Kintu was the first person on earth and the first man to wander the plains of Uganda alone. Kintu in mythology In th ...

succeeds in

's tests and returns to Earth with

Nambi Nambi is a pastoral lease and sheep station located about north east of Leonora and south east of Leinster in the Goldfields of Western Australia. The station was established in 1899. The property was owned by the Leonora Pastoral company ...

and Walumbe, he soon finds that in keeping with the Ganda tradition, Walumbe, as a brother of the bride, desires one of Kintu's children as his own. Kintu refuses Walumbe and continues to do so throughout the years. Frustrated, Walumbe, then begins to kill a single child every day. After conversing with

, Kaikuzi is sent to aid Kintu in returning Walumbe to heaven. Kaikuzi grapples with Walumbe, who then retreats by burrowing into the Earth. Kaikuzi pursues Walumbe, yet soon tires of the task. Kaikuzi then orders that there be two days of silence so as to lure Walumbe out. Kaikuzi then returns to his pursuit of Walumbe who finally emerges at a place called Tanda (located on the southside of the road to Mityana). At this place, children cry out at the sight of him and he again retreats into the earth. Kaikuzi then appears at Tanda and becomes frustrated upon hearing that the children broke the silence. Upon Kintu's dismissal, Kaikuzi returns to heaven and explains the situation to

. Upon hearing of this, Ggulu allows Walumbe, and thus death, to remain on Earth.

References

*Thury, Eva M. & Devinney, Margaret K. (2005). ''Introduction to Mythology'' .

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. {{ISBN, 978-0-19-517968-2 Ugandan culture