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

Overview

In this account, Basa is a successful fisherman who hides his catch and tells his relatives he has none, even while fish spoil in his house. Sunga observes the deception and is grieved by it. She sends a small servant to call him; Basa first hears three claps and a voice asking him to come to the child's mother.

The child leads Basa into the river, where the water dries, fish vanish and fallen trees are cleared, opening a road to a fine town in a great lake at the river’s watershed. Sunga welcomes him and offers food and wine. Basa first claims the smell alone has satisfied him, but finally eats and drinks, consuming all the wine.

Sunga then removes his power of speech so that he can lie no longer, and sends him home, where he afterwards makes his wants known by signs. The narrative presents this as a punishment for deceit toward kin, not as a general explanation of speech loss. The account is framed as a family story of its narrator; that framing belongs to the printed text.

Female personified beingDwells in a town within a great lakeServed by a child messengerSummons announced by three claps and a voiceRiver dries to open a road when Basa follows her messengerPunishes lying by removing speechNo animal or fish form described
01

Origins & earliest records

Earliest inspected attestation: Dennett, Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (1898), chapter XXII, pp.88–89. Oral origin and age are not established.

02

Records & interpretation

Single collector-published narrative read in the digitized OCR text; publication details confirmed through Internet Archive metadata.

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 XXII, pp.88–89, is the inspected attestation.

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. Digitized public-domain book (OCR text)Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (French Congo) — full OCR textResearch access: 2026-10-07
  2. Bibliographic metadata recordInternet 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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