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

Overview

Chimpukela is presented as the being belonging to the people of Kaia. The bird Ngundu tells him that Lifuma has gathered coastal shells, pebbles and salt water to support a claim on behalf of an inland community. Chimpukela pursues Lifuma, overtakes him and demands to see what he is hiding under his cloth.

Lifuma pushes him aside; Chimpukela trips on an ant-hill, grows angry and knocks Lifuma down, and the fall breaks Lifuma's leg. When the mug of salt water spills, Chimpukela takes the beach objects back.

He then declares that ant-hills will no longer exist in his country, and the narrative attributes their absence there to this curse. His role is that of a local claimant and enforcer of territory, opposed to Lifuma's effort to regain the beach for fishing. He is a distinct named being in the account, not another name for Lifuma.

Anthropomorphic pursuerBelongs to the people of KaiaInformed by the bird NgunduGuards beach resourcesRecovers the gathered objectsCurses ant-hills from his country
01

Origins & earliest records

Earliest inspected attestation: Dennett, Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (1898), chapter XXIV, pp.94–95. Oral origin is not established.

02

Records & interpretation

Single collector-published narrative read in the digitized OCR text; publication details confirmed through Internet Archive metadata. The asserted absence of ant-hills is not independently verified.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (French Congo)

    R. E. Dennett; introduction and appendices by Mary H. Kingsley · 1898

    Selected bibliography; chapter XXIV, pp.94–95, is the inspected attestation.

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.

References

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

  1. Digitized public-domain book (OCR text)Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (French Congo) — full OCR textResearch access: 2026-10-07
  2. Bibliographic metadata recordInternet Archive metadata: cu31924006487999Research access: 2026-10-07

Image credits

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

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