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Overview

Nenpetro's daughters, Lunga and Lenga, may marry only a suitor who knows their names. Nsassi, a gazelle presented as a prince, fails and leaves disappointed. His loyal dog stays behind and overhears the father calling the daughters by name. On the way back, though, the dog forgets the names twice: first after eating a kitten, and then after drinking from a stream. Once the daughters themselves give it food and drink, it finally reaches its master still remembering. It asks for payment before telling, and is given a pig.

The singing and dancing that follow leave both master and dog thirsty. They drink on the road and forget the names again. The dog goes back and learns them once more, and this time neither of them eats or drinks on the journey. Nsassi names the daughters correctly and marries them. A rival antelope then declares war, and Nsassi defeats it, kills it and eats it.

Dennett’s footnote gives Nsassi as the Musurongo form and Nsessi as the Cabenda and Loango form of the name. The faithful dog supplies the decisive knowledge, but both companions repeatedly lose it through eating or drinking. The text identifies the suitor as a gazelle without specifying a zoological species.

Gazelle presented as a princeAssisted by a faithful talking dogWins brides through a name-guessing testDefeats a rival antelope
01

Origins & earliest records

The earliest source inspected here is Dennett's 1898 printed collection, which includes his note on the dialect forms of the name. This dates the attestation, not the oral origin.

02

Records & interpretation

Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (1898), chapter IV, 'How Nsassi (Gazelle) Got Married', pp. 35–38; read from the Internet Archive OCR text.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (French Congo)

    R. E. Dennett; introduction and appendices by Mary H. Kingsley · 1898

    Selected bibliography; chapter IV, pp. 35–38.

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. Primary source (digitised text)Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (French Congo) — full OCR textResearch access: 2026-10-07
  2. Catalogue metadataInternet Archive metadata: cu31924006487999Research access: 2026-10-07

Image credits

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

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