Kimbiji kia Malenda a Ngandu

Overview

After the rescue of his daughter, Kalunga-ngombe sets Sudika-Mbambi another task: kill Kimbiji kia Malenda a Ngandu, which has been taking his goats and pigs. The hero requests a suckling pig, sets it on a hook and casts the bait into the water. Kimbiji swallows it. When Sudika-Mbambi pulls, he tumbles into the water and is swallowed too. The death registers elsewhere in the drying of the hero’s kilembe.

Kabundungulu reaches the same household and is told what happened. He likewise requests a pig and baits a hook, but calls people to help pull the creature onto dry land. Cutting it open, he finds his elder’s bones, gathers them and commands the dead hero to arise. Chatelain’s linguistic note glosses kimbiji as big fish, malenda as a large local river fish and ngandu as crocodile. That compound terminology is retained without assigning a modern zoological species or inventing scales, fins or teeth beyond the translated encounter.

Origins & earliest records

Jelemía dia Sabatelu, also named Jeremias Alvares da Costa, supplies tale V. Chatelain specifies the Mbaka dialect and describes the story as current among Mbamba people. Notes III and V separate the narrator’s family and collection history from the English editor’s comparative theories.

Records & interpretation

Complete tale V, Sudika-Mbambi, bilingual pp. 84–97; English narrative pp. 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95 and concluding line p. 97; contributor notes III and V, and numbered notes 311–347. Capture and restoration English pp. 93 and 95; note 344 p. 280.

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; named contributor in origin · 1894

   Complete tale V, Sudika-Mbambi, bilingual pp. 84–97; English narrative pp. 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95 and concluding line p. 97; contributor notes III and V, and numbered notes 311–347. Capture and restoration English pp. 93 and 95; note 344 p. 280.

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 — Kimbiji kia Malenda a NganduResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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