In the distant past, long before there was anyone alive to remember it, the Kalahari was covered with plants, and the god Shumusi ("the sun") created the animals of the Kalahari as his children. However, Shumusi was an uncaring god, and the animals struggled for survival beneath his unyielding rays, for although there were plants, there was no water. Unable to bear this needless suffering, Mwezi ("the moon") came down to the Kalahari and sought the oldest and truest Shepherd's tree that was ever to be. From this tree, she created Ntate and Mme, the first hyenas, and gave them sharp wit so that they might teach the other animals how to protect themselves from Shumusi's unforgiving light. And so, Ntate and Mme went forth and taught the other animals how to find shadows were it was not so hot, and how to hide in the shade when it was too bright. Not to be outdone, proud Shumusi shone even brighter, and the plants began to die and the animals had only their own shadows to hide in.
Knowing that she had made their situation worse, Mwei wept, begging her children to forgive her. But Ntate and Mme were not angry, insightfully stating that they had outwitted Shumusi once, and with Mwezi's help, they would do it again. If they had only a little more power, they could enact a plan to end the suffering of the other animals. Trusting the hyenas, Mwezi taught them to use magic, and they danced in a circle and from Mwezi's tears, they created a river so that the plants might survive, and so too would the animals. Even angrier, Shumusi glowed ever brighter until the river was dry, and then he turned the soil of the Kalahari into sand, punishing all animals for the hyenas' cleverness and further demanding that Mwezi not help her children any more. Mwezi was reluctant, but Ntate and Mme dipped their heads and promised that Mwezi would never again help them to change the desert.
Satisfied, Shumusi ceased to pay attention to the hyenas, and to bide their time, they had their own children together, and to the wisest of their children, they taught magic. Months later, when Shumusi spent much of his time away from the Kalahari, Ntate and Mme asked Mwezi if she would go to the west and bring back some water from the ocean, so they they and their children would know what the ocean water would look like. Happy to help her children, Mwezi fulfilled their request, and when she returned with the ocean water, the hyenas and all of their children danced in a circle, and water fell from the sky. Because Shumusi was away, this water did not dry up, and so was rain created. When Shumusi returned, he was furious, but found that as soon as he left the Kalahari, the rain would return. Finally, Ntate and Mme had so completely outwitted him that he was beaten. In his anger, he took Mwezi from the world and trapped her in the sky, condemning her to look down upon her children only twice a month. He then killed Ntate and Mme, so that they would not longer trick him and command his land, for their children did not possess the same wit and insight that they did.
But again, Shumusi had been tricked, for although Ntate and Mme were dead, their spirits continued to live on, invisible and unheard, but they had the insight to teach their children how to contact them using magic, by scattering the entrails of a dead animal along the ground, which the spirits would arrange to spell a message. The first message spelled was one of warning, of the jackal Kifo, who would bring suffering to the Kalahari. True to their words, Kifo did bring suffering to the Kalahari by stalking the cubs, and Shumusi caught him, he banished him to the Shadowlands, which had never felt Shumusi's rays. When Kifo had left, the spirits of Ntate and Mme gave their children another warning; that Kifo would return and that they should support Shumusi when he did. Again, Kifo returned, now calling himself the spirit of death, and began to hunt all animals of the Kalahari. The animals begged Shumusi to take action, and seeing the chance to reassert his power over them, he created Shujaa, the first lion, and Adui, the first leopard.
Shujaa, proud and noble, searched for Kifo on the open sands and in the trees, while Adui skulked in the shadows, waiting for the time to strike. The hyenas, following the guidance of the spirits, now greater in number because of Kifo's actions, advised Shujaa on how he might find and attack Kifo. Following their advise, Shujaa was able to chase Kifo into an ambush, and he and Adui drove the jackal back to the Shadowlands. Although still displeased with the hyenas, Shumusi could not take action against them without earning the ire of his favorite children, Shujaa and Adui, and so he left them alone, even when they danced in the rains while the sun was away. Once more, Shumusi had been tricked.
Feeling powerful, the hyenas stopped heeding the words of the spirits, and so were surprised when Adui suddenly left to hunt Kifo in the Shadowlands, and were surprised still when Shujaa's mate, whom he loved dearly, was killed by one of his own pride. Angry because they had not warned him of this outcome, Shujaa attacked the hyenas, killing some of them. Suddenly feeling the bite of their lack of knowledge, the hyenas once again communicated with the spirits, only to learn a horrifying story. Although he could not take action against the hyenas themselves, Shumusi secretly invited Kifo from the Shadowlands and allowed him to speak to the spirits, whispering dark things to them. Angry that they were being forgotten, some of them swore to only bring misfortune to their descendants. Calling themselves mizukabaya ("evil spirits"), they followed Kifo into the Shadowlands and became his agents, acting for him in the Kalahari when he could not. Filled with shame at their failure, the hyenas swore never to use their magic to help only themselves, but to help all animals of the Kalahari, in exchange for an object or service that would ensure both the hyenas and their ancestors resisted the machinations of Kifo.
Once again advised by their ancestors, they hyenas went to Shujaa to ask his forgiveness, and to tell him of Mwezi. To lose his mate was a great tragedy, but if there was anyone who could help him, it was her. Although he was still angry, Shujaa was once more guided by his own wisdom and not his rage, and the noble lion thanked them politely and went to join Mwezi in the sky. Blaming the hyenas for the loss of their greatest hero, but at the same time, sworn to protect them, the other lions swallowed their pride and continued in their duty, sometimes lashing out at the hyenas when they felt Shujaa would not see them.
Life continued, the hyenas died and joined their ancestors and their children took their places. Unwilling to become mizukabaya, many spirits began to punish their descendants when they were begin forgotten, striking them with illness and misfortune. Sometimes, the whispers of Kifo were too strong, and they followed him to the Shadowlands. The hyenas have taken this in stride, knowing that Mwezi would advise Shujaa on what to do about the spirit of death, and knowing that, when he was ready, the first lion would return to the Kalahari. To this day, the hyenas have remained ready to stand by his side when that day comes.