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Author unknown, but I think it appeared in The Canadian Leader magazine
In 1888, when a British expedition was sent to Zululand, South Africa, it had to contend with Dinizulu, King of the Zulus - a clever, heavily built man, 6 ft., 7 ins. in height. On state occasions, Dinizulu wore a necklace about 12 feet in length. It consisted of 1,000 or more wood beads, made from a South African yellow wood and strung on a rawhide lace.
The necklace was a distinction conferred on royalty and outstanding warriors. During the hostilities that swept Natal and Zululand in those faraway days, the man who was to become the Founder of the Scout Movement - then Captain Robert Baden-Powell - gained possession of Dinizulu's Necklace.
Many years later, in 1919, when Baden-Powell instituted Wood Badge training for Scoutmasters he remembered Dinizulu's Necklace and taking two of the wooden beads and knotting them on a leather thong, he created the Wood Badge - to be worn around the neck and to be the only proficiency badge worn by Scoutmasters. The Wood Badge, with its replicas of the original Dinizulu beads, is now worn by thousands of men and women around the world.
There are a number of sequels to the story of Dinizulu's Necklace. In 1963 a grandson of Dinizulu, Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, visited Canada to attend the Anglican World Congress in Toronto and on a side trip to Ottawa was hosted by a member of the Ottawa District staff, DSM. Oliver Belsey. The following Christmas he sent Mr. Belsey a Christmas card depicting his late father doing a Zulu dance, a picture of himself in the full regalia of a Zulu Chieftain and two wooden beads (Wood Badge) taken from the military award of one of Dinizulu's warriors who passed away in 1962.
In 1965 at Kwakhethomthandayo, the Royal Kraal, near Nongoma in Zululand, Scouting history was made with the Investiture of Paramount Chief, Bhekuzulu Nyangayizwe, before 5,000 of his people. The Paramount Chief was invested as a Scout by a South African Headquarters' field commissioner.
To mark the 12th World Jamboree and the 60th Anniversary of Scouting, the Boy Scouts of South Africa decided to make four authentic replicas of Dinizulu's Necklace. After much research and months of hard work by European Rover Scouts in Natal, and Zulu Scouts from Natal troops, the four reproductions of the original were completed.
Three of them were taken to the 12th World Jamboree in Idaho, U.S.A., in August, 1967. For museum purposes, one necklace was presented to the Chief Scout Executive of the host country, Boy Scouts of America; one to the Acting Director of the Boy Scouts World Bureau and one to the Camp Chief, International Training Centre, Gilwell Park, London. The fourth necklace remains in South Africa as an historic memento of the land of the origin of the Wood Badge.
Hear now the Webelos legend;
The tale of the Webelos tribe;
The tale of Akela its Chieftain.
'Hoo', called the owl in the darkness, and Mowglie, the Indian
boy,
Lay in his tipi and listened to the rustle of trees in the night.
'Boom' went the deep muffled beat of the great ceremonial
drum;
the braves of the tribe were convening,
He wished he could answer that call.
Quick, like the flight of an arrow;
Quiet, in the hush of the night;
Before a great fire ring they gathered
Awaiting Akela their Chief.
Here in the great council ring fire
On top of the cliff there they met.
Here often they come for decisions
Here, too, the Great Spirit they sought.
Here they sought help from the Spirit
On hunt or on warpath; in peace.
Here they met their Chief Akela;
Awaited his final decrees.
Now with the 'boom' of the big drum
All was quiet, the night was quiet still.
The great ceremonial fire, when lighted, illuminated the hill
The tom-toms began, set the rhythm, Akela stepped into the
Ring.
First low and slow, then ... like thunder...
The beat as he danced near the fire.
Dancing with grace, full of gesture,
In costume he told of his life.
He told of the strength of his father,
The powerful 'Arrow of Light'
'Kind Eyes' his mother, taught those things that only a mother
can know.
He once save her life with his arrow;
His father helped fashion his bow.
The tom-toms beat on and his dance
Told of trips to the forest, where wolf
Taught him the ways of the wild life of the ground, of the
tracks, ways to food.
Through dancing and gesture he told how he next faced the Bear
and learned
The meaning of Courage; and then
He became a young Scout on the trail.
Akela, the Wise, closed his dance.
By sign and by gesture he told
How the Tribe can be strong only when
The boys of the Tribe are quite strong.
He said this, 'The future is hidden.
But if we are strong and are brave,
If we can teach our boys to be square,
Our tribe will continue to be strong.'
"Let us name our tribe for the Bobcat,
The Wolf and the Bear and the Scout,
The Webelos Tribe we'll be called and
The strongest of all we will be."
Akela thus ended his dance
The beat of the tom-tom was stilled.
In silence the warriors stood,
Then gave the great guttural "HOW"!
The fire burned low, all was still.
No sound broke the hush on the hill,
Save the crackle of embers and all
The mysterious half- noises of night.
The braves raised their right hand toward heaven.
"Living Circle" was formed with their left.
The Webelos pledge was then given;
"To live and help live' was their pledge.
This, then, is the Webelos legend.
This, then, is the reason they're strong.
They honor the pledge which they make;
"To live and help live" is their goal.
(Arranged from the prose by Milton Klint, Salina, Kansas)
I found this as a skit in a 1962 edition of How Book Of Cub Scouting. I modified it for an advancement ceremony. I changed the main character from Brave Heart to Akela. I also changed the events a little to fit the advancement ranks we had. I left it as a ceremony when I included it here. You can uses it as a ceremony or change it into a story or skit.
Baloo: Akela had to pass a test to prove himself worthy of becoming chief. All the braves were given four arrows. These were special arrows, once they had been used they would shatter. They could only eat food they had caught themselves. The brave who stayed out the longest would become chief.
Akela: I walked far from camp and stopped at the side of a clearing. I waited all night for a deer to come by. I took careful aim and shot. It provide me with food for many days. It's hide provided me with clothing.
Baloo: This showed that Akela had learned the basic skills he needed. It also showed the virtue of patience. The rank of Bobcat indicates the Cub Scout has learned the basic skills. Will _____ come up an join us by the campfire. Your parents will join you later. ____ has earned his (their) Bobcat badge(s).
Akela: I walked along the trail near the stream. There, I came upon a friend laying in the trail. He had used up all his arrows and was starving. I saw a squirrel in a near by tree. I wanted to save my arrows for bigger game, but my friend was starving. So, I shot the squirrel for my friend.
Baloo: This showed Akela had learned the value of friendship and that he was unselfish. The Wolf badge indicates the Cub Scout has learned new things has he travels the trail of Scouting. Will _____ come up an join us by the campfire. ____ has earned his (their) Wolf badge(s).
Akela: As I followed the trail by the stream, I came face to face with a huge bear. It growled and started running toward me. I strung my bow, took careful aim and when he was near I shot and killed him. He provided me with food for many more days. His heavy coat provided me with shelter from the cold nights.
Baloo: This showed Akela is brave. This is also why honor the Cubs at the next level of accomplishment with the Bear badge. Will _____ come up an join us by the campfire. ____ has earned his (their) Bear badge(s).
Akela: The meet from the bear lasted for many days, but soon I had to continue on to search of more food. I came upon a wolf that had just killed a dear. The wolf saw me and ran off. I was hungry, but I had promised to only eat food I had killed, so I continued on.
Baloo: This showed Akela's honesty. To earn the Webelos badge, the Cub Scout must learn the Boy Scout law which includes honesty. Will _____ come up an join us by the campfire. ____ has earned his (their) Webelos badge(s).
Akela: I was many days from our camp. I needed food to give me the strength to make it back to camp. So, I tracked the wolf I had seen before. I took my last arrow, took careful aim and missed. I was scared because I had no food or arrows. As I started back to camp, I prayed to the great spirit. Suddenly, I saw the arrow; it was still whole. I followed the wolf's trail again. I took aim and shot him. I now had enough food to return home
Baloo: Akela learned that sometimes you have to ask for help. Our Cub Scouts sometimes need help also. Their parents provide that help. So, will the parents please come up and stand behind their sons.
Rick Clements
Cubmaster
Pack 225