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Overview

While Ngunza is in Loanda, a dream warns him that his younger brother Maka has died. At home his mother attributes the death to Kalunga-ngombe, and he resolves to fight that figure. He orders an iron trap from Loango smiths and waits nearby with a gun. When Kalunga-ngombe is caught, Ngunza prepares to shoot. The captive protests that people are brought to him rather than killed wantonly by him and invites Ngunza to visit his brother after four days.

In Kalunga, the ruler questions arriving dead people about their deaths. Their replies are presented as evidence for his defense. Ngunza meets Maka and offers to bring him back to earth, but Maka refuses: his present life and possessions are better. Ngunza therefore returns alone. Kalunga-ngombe gives him seeds for planting, including manioc, maize, beans, squash and fruit trees, and promises to visit his home in eight days.

Ngunza flees east instead. Kalunga-ngombe follows, asking at a house where the people say Ngunza passed when their corn was planted and they are now eating it. He finds him at another house and threatens to kill him. Ngunza challenges this threat as inconsistent with the earlier denial of killing. Kalunga-ngombe draws his hatchet to cast it at him; Ngunza becomes a kituta, and the narrative ends with that transformation. It does not report Maka returning, the hatchet striking Ngunza or a subsequent life story.

Dream warning of brother’s deathTraps death rulerVisits deceased brotherReceives agricultural seedsFlees eastBecomes kituta
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Origins & earliest records

Senhor Sant’Anna e Palma of Calumbo supplied written notes, which J. C. da Matta transcribed for Chatelain. The collection identifies Lower Kuanza origin and dialect. The smiths’ description refers to itinerant Loango smiths, not a journey to the Loango coast. Some trap words and the brother’s meeting-place word were already undeciphered by the editor; the OCR’s contributor-meeting year conflicts with the edition date and is not adopted.

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Records & interpretation

L, Ngunza Kilundu kia Ngunza, bilingual pp. 248–251; English pp. 249, 251; contributor, undeciphered words and transformation notes pp. 308–309.

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

    L, Ngunza Kilundu kia Ngunza, bilingual pp. 248–251; English pp. 249, 251; contributor, undeciphered words and transformation notes pp. 308–309.

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 — Ngunza Kilundu kia NgunzaResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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