Long ago, there existed nothingness, and in this void, Shumusi ("the sun") and Usiku ("the night") fought endlessly. Finally, after a long time, Mwezi ("the moon") and the Nyota ("stars") begged Them to stop fighting, and the two agreed on the condition that Mwezi and the Nyota created something They could take turns ruling over. Again, there was agreement, and Mwezi and the Nyota went to work.
With careful grace, Mwezi created the world; the ocean, the Kalahari and the Shadowlands. When she was finished, each of the Nyota came down to the ground and birthed a single thing; the plants and animals that cover the world. At once, Shumusi and Usiku began to rule; light for twelve hours, darkness for another twelve. Taking pity on the animals who were frightened by the darkness, Mwezi and the Nyota looked down on them when Usiku commanded the world to give them comfort. Usiku was angered by this, but because the agreement between He and Shumusi had not been broken, he could do nothing about it. Enacting a ploy, he asked Shumusi that, since the Kalahari and ocean were never without some light, if He might have the Shadowlands. Shumusi, who had no interest in them, agreed, and the Shadowlands became a place of eternal darkness.
Inside the Shadowlands, Usiku's scheming continued, and when it was his turn to rule, he quietly grabbed the spirits of many animals who had reached the end of their lives and took them to his new kingdom. From these spirits, he created the first maovu, the evils that would plague the Kalahari from that day foreword; famine, drought, disease and predation. At once, the animals began to die quickly, so quickly that the Nyota were horrified by what was happening to their children. Even Shumusi, content simply to rule with no connection to the beasts, was shocked at what was happening. Finally, when all seemed lost, a bold herd beast stepped forward to address Usiku; Ndovu, the elephant. He asked Usiku to stop striking at the animals of the Kalahari, to which Usiku replied that He would, if Ndovu would give up something most dear to him in return. Ndovu, wisest of the wise elephants, thought for a moment, and then offered his life in the exchange, asking that he be turned into stone. Happily, Usiku agreed, and no longer did He bring misery to the Kalahari.
But the schemes of Usiku were far from over, for although he agreed that He would not bring his maovu to the Kalahari, he did not promise that they would never visit the desert again. Usiku searched the night until he found the most evil of among all animals, Kifo, the jackal, and brought him to the Shadowlands to be made His lieutenant. In Usiku's place, Kifo went out to sow misery with the maovu created by his master, and although he was not as quick or as insidious as Usiku, many animals fell to him.
Unable to watch their children slaughtered, the Nyota watched them as intently as they could, and when they had died and their spirits were set free, they took every one that Kifo had not seized first to join them in the sky to wait. When the time is right, they will spring forth with their children, to strike at and destroy both Usiku and Kifo, so that their wickedness will never again harm the Kalahari or the plants and animals that live within it.