Nombo's Metamorphosis

Nombo’s metamorphosis (Poñereci Nombombi axwe) is a Taj folk tale explaining the creation of the Jatropha or white lomboy (Jatropha cinerea), a versatile medicinal plant with antiseptic, cauterizing and coaugulant properties, used to disinfect and cauterize wounds, stop mild hemorrhages, and even cure ailments like mouth sores and hemorrhoids.

Tale
Long ago, when folk and beast could talk and intermarry, there was a young maiden called Nombo. She was a healer in training and she had given birth to her first child.

Since she was young and naïve, she did not put a circle of water around her crib to ward off demons, and when no one was looking, a demon snuck in and gave her baby a deadly fever.

She asked for advice from her teachers, and they recommended baths and herbs, but nothing seemed to cure the demonic fever. She prayed day and night to compassionate spirits for a cure, and after five days and five nights she awoke with her breasts aching and swollen. To relieve the pain she fed her child, and with every squeeze she could feel the abrasive heat of the fever go away, leaving the baby free from all ailment.

She told the news to her teachers, and they wanted to test if her gift was a one time thing or if she could still do it, so they brought her to a sick old sage with cataracts, leprosy and a broken bone. The sage drank Nombo's milk, and slowly she regained her vision, her skin was cleared and her bone healed. Soon enough, Nombo was an acclaimed healer, traveling the five queendoms to share her gift.

One day, she encountered a grey mountain lion with mange pinned to the ground with golden spikes on each paw. “Help me, and I’ll reward you handsomely, as we, mountain lions, are loyal servants to the highest spirits, you’ll be able to get whatever you please” they said, and to their aid Nombo came. She removed the spikes and fed the lion her milk, and slowly the lion recovered their color, which wasn’t buff, like mountain lions are, but an array of ocre reds. “Thanks, I’ll make sure your reward reaches you soon” said the beast, which no longer looked like a mountain lion, and they ran away.

The next day, everyone in the town she was living in was mangled and torn to pieces but her, as the beast she unleashed was an ancient demon of devouring that was sealed in times immemorial.

A spirit then visited her, telling her that to atone for her mistakes, she would have to share her gifts with all beings and have her limbs torn every time they wanted to access it, so they turned her into the plant we now know by her name.