Funkazi was a very beautiful girl. Everyone in the village talked about her fine looks. Funkazi’s story spread around and wide and she became very proud. She did not think that there was any man good enough to marry her. She found fault in every man that asked her hand in marriage. When Kem-tebe, a monster who had only a head and no other part of the body heard about the proud and beautiful Funkazi, he vowed to marry her.
Kem-tebe set out and borrowed hands, legs, body and beautiful clothes from human beings. Then, he dressed up and went to ask Funkazi to marry him. As soon as Funkazi saw Kem-tebe, she embraced him and agreed to marry him. She had never seen such a handsome man in all her life. Kem-tebe took his new bride on the long journey that would take them back to his village.
They walked day and night until they came to a lonely forest.
“Where are we going?” Funkazi asked Kem-tebe in a frightened voice. “There are no human beings here”. “I am taking you back to my village,” Kem-tebe told her.
As they passed a clearing in the forest, some people suddenly came up to Kem-tebe and grabbed the part of the body that Kem-tebe had borrowed from them.
Funkazi, the new bride was shocked when she saw her husband losing every part of his body. In the end, Kem-tebe became what he was before – a monster with only a head. But she was lost in a strange land. Funkazi cried and cried. One day, she met an old woman.
“Why do you weep, young girl?” Asked the kind, old woman.
“I am lost, please help me to go back to the world of human beings,” pleaded Funkazi. The old woman gave Funkazi a whip.
“Strike the ground with it”, she commanded Funkazi. As soon as Funkazi struck the ground with the whip, she found herself once again in the real world of human beings. Kem-tebe tried to chase after her but could not catch up with her.
When the people of Funkazi’s village heard her story, no one would go near her. Her village people said that since she had been married to a ghost she must be cursed. Funkazi became lonely and was unhappy until she died.