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Overview

In Dennett's 1898 collection, Nzambi promises her daughter to whoever can bring down heavenly fire held by Nzambi Mpungu. Spider climbs to the blue roof of the sky and leaves a strong silk thread reaching back to earth. Tortoise, woodpecker, rat and sandfly then follow it up. Woodpecker breaks an opening in the roof. Rat survives a test in which bamboo is set alight. Sandfly secretly follows the heavenly ruler and finds out where the lightning is kept.

Spider identifies the fire as a case from five in the fowl-house, and Tortoise carries it down. Nzambi accepts the fire and grants Spider her daughter. Woodpecker, Rat and Sandfly then each claim the marriage because their work was essential. Nzambi acknowledges Spider’s success but withdraws the marriage to avoid conflict. The participants instead receive fifty lengths of cloth and a case of gin each; the daughter remains with her mother.

The telling explicitly uses cloth and gin as compensation. These rewards do not establish the age of the oral narrative or an unchanged earlier form. The source gives Spider no human form and does not identify him with another named spider figure.

Speaking silk-producing spiderClimbs to the sky roofLeaves a silk thread to earthLeads a multi-animal expeditionIdentifies the correct fire case
01

Origins & earliest records

The earliest source inspected here is Dennett's 1898 printed collection. That printing is a date of attestation, not evidence of when the oral narrative originated.

02

Records & interpretation

Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (1898), chapter XVI, 'How the Spider Won and Lost Nzambi's Daughter', pp. 74–76; read from the Internet Archive OCR text.

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 XVI, pp. 74–76.

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. Primary source (digitised text)Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (French Congo) — full OCR textResearch access: 2026-10-07
  2. Catalogue metadataInternet 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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