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

Overview

The unnamed physician is summoned when Kitamba kia Xiba refuses normal village life until his dead queen returns. He gathers herbs and has the chief and villagers wash, then requests a grave in his guest-hut beneath the fireplace. He enters with his child and they are covered over. His wife remains above, tending the fireplace with water. Below, a wide road opens and father and child walk to Kalunga-ngombe’s village, where Queen Muhongo sits sewing a basket.

The physician explains his mission but cannot bring the queen back. She gives him her burial arm-ring as evidence, identifies a chained likeness of the still-living chief and warns him to conceal that sight. She refuses him food because eating below would prevent his return. He goes back to the entry. On the surface, cracks appear in the fireplace and his head emerges; he climbs out and lifts the child up. The child faints on seeing the sun, but revives after the physician gathers herbs and washes him.

The next morning he reports to the headmen and receives two enslaved people as payment. They present the queen’s ring and message to Kitamba, who recognizes it and eventually resumes eating and drinking. The physician’s success is a completed journey with testimony and a returned child, rather than a successful resurrection of Muhongo. The collection supplies neither his personal name nor a named contributor biography for him; Jelemía is the narrator, not the traveling character.

Enters covered grave with childRoad to dead queenReturns with burial ringChild revived after faintingReceives enslaved payment
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Origins & earliest records

Named contributor Jelemía dia Sabatelu; Kasanji origin, Mbaka dialect. The physician belongs to the collected narrative, while Chatelain’s discussions of magic and underworld comparison belong to the edition’s notes. No historical professional identity is invented for the unnamed traveler.

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Records & interpretation

Complete XL, King Kitamba kia Xiba, bilingual pp. 222–227; English pp. 223, 225, 227. Contributor, origin and notes 575–578 p. 304.

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 XL, King Kitamba kia Xiba, bilingual pp. 222–227; English pp. 223, 225, 227. Contributor, origin and notes 575–578 p. 304.

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 — Physician of Kitamba’s Underworld JourneyResearch 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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