ASOUTH AFRICAN poet recalls how in the early nineteenth century the Xhosa king Hintsa (c. 1790-1835) regularly appeared before his people to conduct the affairs of the nation. A bard approached the court one day, and, with a familiar image from the oral tradition, moved at once to transform the moiling crowd into a responding audience: "The late-riser has seen nothing, / He will never see the python uncoil!" The lines were ambiguous, but it was quickly apparent that they told of a lack of military preparation for a war that seemed imminent. As he revealed his foreboding, the poet strode through the throng to the motionless figure of the king. His theme was urgent, the realities of contemporary history were plain; to relate theme and reality, he constructed a set of imaginary events having to do with forbidden sexual dalliance. He boldly addressed the king with such epithets as "You-who-expose-your-loinsto-the-door" and "Thrower-forward-of-the-penis / (Not-to-anyonein-particular)," imposing upon him the role of fictional miscreant. He combined fanciful image with his perception of historical event to create a metaphorical admonition: the king was dawdling while disaster menaced, his traditional accountability to the people emphasized by his supposed self-indulgence. "The girls do not wipe their bottoms, / They fear being pricked in the ass!" the poet cried. "[W]hat do the intonjane [puberty ritual] girls do / When the battle of the penises approaches?" In the end, the images of reality and fantasy clearly bonded, the poet turned on the king: "Eee, what is the matter with this man / That his testicles are swollen? / Is it because he