Kikuambi, Rescuer of the Four Girls

Overview

Three young women visit Ma-kishi friends, reluctantly allowing a younger sister to accompany them. The child stays awake while their hosts plan to consume the visitors and repeatedly answers their nighttime inquiries. On the third night the girls escape, but a swollen river blocks their route. They climb a tree: the elder three sit higher and the child below. Their pursuers find them at dawn and begin chopping down the tree. Seeing Kikuambi circling overhead, the girls plead for rescue and promise payment at home.

The hawk initially refuses because he expects them not to pay. They persist, promising that their mothers will compensate him or that they will pay themselves. He agrees and carries the elder girls across the river one at a time. As the tree begins to fall, their urgent call sends him back for the youngest, whom he also saves. At home they acknowledge both her vigilance and his rescue. Two days later Kikuambi comes to claim his reward. Unable to put payment into his hands, the household tells him to help himself to their fowls. The ending explains his taking chickens as the compensation for this particular deed, contrasting it with his former food of locusts and small birds.

Origins & earliest records

The note to VII credits Jelemía dia Sabatelu, gives the Mbaka dialect and identifies the story as Mbamba. Chatelain’s comparative explanation concerning the pursuers is separate from the narrated rescue; no individual modern community custom is inferred from the hawk’s reward.

Records & interpretation

Complete tale VII, The Girls and the Ma-kishi, bilingual pp. 102–111; hawk rescue and payment English pp. 109 and 111; contributor note p. 281.

Selected bibliography

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

1. 01

   Folk-Tales of Angola

   Héli Chatelain, collector, editor and literal English translator · 1894

   Complete tale VII, The Girls and the Ma-kishi, bilingual pp. 102–111; hawk rescue and payment English pp. 109 and 111; contributor note p. 281.

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. Collected Ki-mbundu text with facing English translation and contributor notesChatelain 1894 — Kikuambi, Rescuer of the Four GirlsResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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