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Overview

Nyandzoumoula-ndéngéla encounters a boy guarding cattle and swallows the entire herd, the boy’s sticks, the boy himself and his small calabash. The herdboy remains able to sing from inside him, asking for his cattle and return home. Annoyed, the ogre attributes the sound to the neck of the swallowed gourd. He brings the vessel back out through his mouth, throws it away and runs heavily, believing he has left the noise behind.

He reaches companions sitting together drinking beer. Asked why he is so full, he denies the accusation and says he ate honey. The boy’s voice resumes from his stomach, exposing the denial. His companions question him again and propose opening his stomach; he permits them to do so. The cattle emerge, together with the people he has eaten along his route. The rescued community makes the herdboy chief because his intervention removed their devourer. The short account ends at this appointment rather than continuing into a rivalry over his rule.

Swallows cattle and boy aliveSwallows household objectsCaptive voice from stomachMistakes gourd for sound sourceClaims honey mealLiving victims released
01

Origins & earliest records

Junod’s footnote identifies Titus Senzéla as the intermediary who wrote the tale from an unnamed woman’s dictation near the town. Henri-Alexandre Junod publishes the French translation; neither Junod nor Titus is substituted for the unnamed narrator.

02

Records & interpretation

Junod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa (1897), tale XII, complete pp. 198–200; contributor footnote p. 198.

In the literature

“il commença par les bœufs et les avala tous, jusqu’au dernier.”
Unnamed woman near the town; Titus Senzéla, written intermediary; Henri-Alexandre Junod, French recording/translation · Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa
XII Nyandzoumoula-ndéngéla, le mangeur d’hommes, printed p.198 · Henri-Alexandre Junod (French)

The ogre begins by swallowing the cattle.

Selected bibliography

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

  1. 01

    Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa

    Unnamed woman near the town, narrator; Titus Senzéla, written intermediary; Henri-Alexandre Junod, collector and translator · 1897

    Junod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa (1897), tale XII, complete pp. 198–200; contributor footnote p. 198.

  2. 02

    Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa — XII Nyandzoumoula-ndéngéla, le mangeur d’hommes

    Unnamed woman near the town; Titus Senzéla, written intermediary; Henri-Alexandre Junod, French recording/translation · 1897

    Henri-AlexandreJunod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa, Lausanne:GeorgesBridel1897, Princeton scan. Original French recording/translation, no later English version substituted. Complete talesXII198–200/XIII200–203 read in retained OCR and all six original printed198–203 pages visually checked. For this manifest, zero-based canvas index is printed page+3; scandata leaf number is printed+4, a one-step discrepancy checked in visible folios.

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.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa

Henri-AlexandreJunod, Les chants et les contes des Ba-Ronga de la baie de Delagoa, Lausanne:GeorgesBridel1897, Princeton scan. Original French recording/translation, no later English version substituted. Complete talesXII198–200/XIII200–203 read in retained OCR and all six original printed198–203 pages visually checked. For this manifest, zero-based canvas index is printed page+3; scandata leaf number is printed+4, a one-step discrepancy checked in visible folios.

  1. The man-eater swallows a herd, the young herdsman’s sticks, the boy and his calabash. The boy’s singing causes noise inside him; the ogre blames the calabash and throws it away, then lies to companions that he has eaten honey. Continuing sounds expose him. His companions open his belly, releasing cattle and people swallowed on his route, and appoint the helpful boy chief. Footnote198 states Titus Senzéla wrote the unnamed woman’s dictation.

    XII Nyandzoumoula-ndéngéla, le mangeur d’hommes, complete printed pp.198–200, contributor note198

The unnamed woman is the narrator, Senzéla the written intermediary, Junod the published French translator/collector. No name or personal collection date invented. Song text is not excerpted, and its mention of a brother is not promoted into independently established genealogy.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. French translation of attributed oral narrative; digitized primary editionJunod — Nyandzoumoula-ndéngéla, tale XIIResearch 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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