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

Overview

One account leaves only Nachiponda and Changala after a goblin eats the population, then ends soon after Changala’s spear attack. Another gives two sons, a mother repeatedly warned against opening a door, and a contest that ends in her capture. The versions differ in completeness and ending. This profile records those differences instead of silently completing the shorter tale from the longer one or inventing a fully consistent biography for the monster.

The mother’s repeated encounters center on a suggested game that becomes a wrestling contest. Her sons and dogs rescue her on earlier days, but repetition ends with her death and consumption. The final defeat releases the broader population and brings the sons chiefly status; the shorter version does not preserve all those incidents.

Devouring goblinDoor warningVersion differences
01

Origins & earliest records

The selected witness is Alice Werner’s 1933 comparative collection, section Three Variants. Its stated source context is Mrs. Dewar’s Chinamwanga collection, compared by Werner. Publication and collection dates do not establish the beginning of the oral tradition.

02

Records & interpretation

Three Variants explicitly supplies the features and narrative actions summarized here. The account is mediated through named collectors or reported narrators, not a current community statement or independently verified encounter. Broad colonial interpretations are not adopted as facts.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Myths and Legends of the Bantu

    Alice Werner · 1933

    Three Variants; cited source context: Mrs. Dewar’s Chinamwanga collection, compared by Werner. Selected historical witness, not exhaustive.

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. Historical collection and comparative commentaryMyths and Legends of the Bantu — Three VariantsResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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

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