Zambe, son of the supreme god Mebe’e, created a chimpanzee, a gorilla, an elephant, and two men- a European and an African. To these creatures, Zambe gave the tools of survival- fire, water, food, weapons, and a book. In time, Zambe returned to check on the earth. “All the tools you were given for survival,” he asked each creature, “where are they now?” The chimpanzee and the gorilla had discarded all but the food. The elephant could not remember what he’d done with his possessions. The European kept the book but discarded the fire, while the African discarded the book but kept the fire.
Thus, Europeans remained keepers of the book
but Africans remained
Keepers of the Flame.