The Legend of Toto
To Toa, or “People of the Stone”. Toto (or Toto as he was called in Swahili for “Tot”, an archaic word for turtle) was a giant artificially made replica of the extinct species of large, live placental animal that roamed the African landscape millions of years ago. The origin of Toa is shrouded in mystery but most speculate that he was the last of a great migration of early African humans who crossed the Equator to reach what we now call Egypt. Toa’s story in the Bible is one of a man who is sold as a slave on the African coast, who then ends up with a female mate and has to raise her young son alone. Toa is an extremely kind, gentle giant and his caring is displayed when Mary, his only daughter, gives him shelter after he captures her baby brother.
Toto lived alone in a large yard amongst the wildebeests of the plains of Mohenjo-daro in prehistoric times. When Mary and her sister, Afriyie, brought him into their home they named him Toto (meaning ‘stones’). It was only when Mary and Afriyie later discovered that Toto was the actual surviving male offspring of the wife of Noah, that they realized his true identity. It is rumoured that Toto escaped from his cruel master and lives today in Nairobi, Kenya. However, there is no recorded evidence to support this claim. It is also believed that Toto was an orphan who was abandoned by his surrogate mother when she was killed by one of the lions in the vicinity of where his birth place was found.
Toto lived among the Natives (otherwise known as Bushmen) of Mohenjo-daro for about five hundred years until he was captured by the British during their rule of Mohenjo-daro. At this point in his life, Toto developed what was described as ‘self-confidence’. He was so full of self-belief that he was arrogant enough to challenge the Bushmen whenever they came to hunt. After a few encounters, Toto finally managed to lure a lion out of his hiding place and kill it.
However, it is said that Toto’s story does not end here. He later led his half brothers to Mohenjo-daro to fight the Britishers, but they were defeated by the natives. According to oral tradition, Toto killed two Bushmen with his bare hands before leaving the city. There is no record of any of the Bushmen ever coming back to collect the body of Toto to present it to the king.
It is widely accepted that Toto was completely content with this role for quite some time. His half-brothers tried to dissuade him from hunting, but Toto did not listen. He refused to leave Nairobi and live in the bush. Finally, in his eighty-first year he decided to enter a film festival, but was declined by the judges. Instead, he retired to Mombasa, Kenya to write books about his experiences.
In fact, many believe that Toto’s life was so full of mystery and mythology that many of the events in his books actually took place during that time in his life. Some even say that his life was so full of mystery that he actually wrote the books based on the myths he believed he experienced. However, there are also many who believe that Toto’s death was truly a myth, and that the real story of his life has never been told. Whatever the case may be, Toto remains as an important part of Kenyan history to this day.