Chilube

Overview

Chilube is a Subiya name for the forest figure Jacottet prints as Sikoulokobouzouka. In tale XLVII, one whole side of his body is made of wax: a leg, arm, ear, eye and half of his head and hair. His wife and children have the same unusual bodies. His legs resemble those of an animal; the collector’s note compares his feet to hooves. Even his axe and spears are wax, although the axe is sharp. His household has stores of honey, meat and grease, and a hut built with elephant tusks and elephant and python skins. Reports describe a village that cannot be seen.

The encounter concerns Mashambwa, a man gathering honey in the forest. An approaching voice sings, while a bird leads the honey-gatherer to bees. After he takes the honey, the forest figure demands it. Mashambwa refuses and accepts a wrestling challenge. His opponent is exceptionally strong, but Mashambwa reasons that a foot gripping a tuft of grass would make him difficult to dislodge. He therefore conducts the struggle on sand and throws the challenger down. When threatened with death, the defeated forest figure offers harmful knowledge. Mashambwa rejects that offer and chooses knowledge associated with obtaining meat and other food instead; he also receives knowledge connected with gifts from chiefs.

After they separate, Mashambwa becomes lost for the rest of the day and encounters the figure again. He is directed back to the village with an instruction to remain silent even when greeted. His neighbours recognize what has happened and build him a separate hut. He remains ill throughout the year. The forest figure brings food and treatment when other people have gone away. On recovering, Mashambwa sees vultures and directs the villagers towards them. They find meat, bring it back and give it to him to eat. The ending records that delivery; it does not explicitly describe a communal reunion meal.

The same text closes with a different hunter carrying a gun and accompanied by dogs. The forest figure fears both: when the hunter aims and sends his dogs forward, he flees, and the hunter continues on his way. This brief second encounter has a different outcome from Mashambwa’s prolonged relationship. Jacottet’s adjacent notes connect the name Chilube with comparisons to Chiruwi, Muenda-ndjangola and Kaendi-kamo, but distinguish those regional names and explanations. In particular, Kaboukou supplies the explanation of the Louyi name; he is not the intermediary named for Mashambwa’s encounter.

Jacottet separately connects the Louyi Mouenda-ndjangola tale with the Subiya forest figure, while noting differences. In this Louyi version the cattle thief has one leg and lives on an island with his parents and wife. His mother divides the river to let stolen cattle cross. He later gives her only the feet of a slaughtered animal while his wife eats the meat. She resents that exclusion. After further cattle theft, she refuses to open the crossing, and the pursuing herdsmen catch and kill him. The water-divider is his mother here, rather than a wife; the tale contains no resurrection. Those differences remain regional narrative distinctions instead of being added indiscriminately to Mashambwa’s wax-sided challenger.

Origins & earliest records

Jacottet’s 1899 Études sur les langues du Haut-Zambèze, volume II, Textes Soubiya, XLVII, pp. 138–140, publishes a collected encounter report alongside the Subiya text. The actual printed p. 138 note names Mashambwa as the reported participant, who told Kasala, who in turn told Jacottet. Alice Werner’s 1933 comparative chapter supplies the later mediated witness. The encounter’s oral beginning is undated.

Records & interpretation

Complete XLVII and its notes were read, with the original printed p. 138 inspected to verify Mashambwa and Kasala despite corrupted OCR. Jacottet explicitly identifies Chilube as a Subiya name for this figure. His comparative claims about other traditions and his proposed initiation interpretation are commentary, separate from the reported actions. Werner is retained as a later mediated witness, rather than substituted for the primary transmission chain.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Études sur les langues du Haut-Zambèze, II: Textes Soubiya

   Édouard Jacottet; encounter attributed to Mashambwa through Kasala · 1899

   XLVII, pp. 138–140, full encounter and closing hunter episode; p. 138 note distinguishes Kasala transmission from Kaboukou’s Louyi name explanation. Original title page gives 1899 despite conflicting Archive metadata.

2. 02

   Myths and Legends of the Bantu

   Alice Werner · 1933

   Sikulokobuzuka section: later comparative discussion of Jacottet’s collected witness and related regional figures.

3. 03

   Études sur les langues du Haut-Zambèze, III: Textes Louyi

   Édouard Jacottet · 1901

   XLVIII, Mouenda-ndjangola, pp. 121–123, complete cattle theft and fatal pursuit; collector explicitly compares the Subiya figure while distinguishing mother from wife and absence of resurrection.

4. 04

   Jacottet Textes Louyi: Jacottet Louyi comparison with the Subiya one-legged raider

   Louyi narrative contributor individually unresolved; collected by Édouard Jacottet · 1901

   Édouard Jacottet, Études sur les langues du Haut-Zambèze, third part: Textes Louyi, Paris: Ernest Leroux,1901. Title and complete introduction independently read; misleading catalogue1869 date rejected. French translation with Louyi originals. Introduction names Kaboukou(1895), Akaende and Maroumo(1900), but retained contents omit promised tale-level initials, so individual attribution for these selections remains unresolved.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Digitized primary collected text and original printed notesJacottet — Textes Soubiya XLVIIResearch access: 2026-10-05
2. Historical comparative retellingWerner — SikulokobuzukaResearch access: 2026-10-05
3. Digitized primary collected regional variantJacottet — Mouenda-ndjangola variantResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.