In a deep forest, where sunlight filtered gently through tall trees, there lived three sisters known as the white ladies. They were fair, graceful, and mysterious, and their lives unfolded far from the eyes of the world. One day, as the youngest sister sat by a window enjoying sugarcane, she cut her finger. Bright red blood welled against her pale skin. A shepherd happened to pass beneath the window, and she called out to him.
“Look, good shepherd! The white thing looks like the red thing, and the red thing looks like the white thing. Just as Ngana Vidiji Milanda, because of his great beauty, has been bewitched by wizards near the shore.”
The young lady asked him, “Tell me, shepherd, how many days must one walk to reach the place where Ngana Vidiji Milanda lies?”
The shepherd replied, “Eight days you must walk, and on the ninth you will arrive. To awaken him, you must shed tears enough to fill ten jugs and two.”
Hearing this, Ngana Fenda Maria resolved to go. She journeyed for eight long days through the forest, and on the ninth she arrived at the place where Ngana Vidiji Milanda lay under enchantment. There she began to weep, filling jug after jug with her tears.
By the time she had filled ten jugs and one, a traveller passed by, leading a slave he wished to sell for a jug of water. Fenda Maria exchanged one jug of tears for the slave, whom she called Kamasoxi. Then she returned to her task, weeping into the jugs.
When her eyes grew too sore to go on, she told the slave, “Kamasoxi, come! Weep into this jug. When it begins to fill, wake me, for my eyes pain me greatly.”
But Kamasoxi ignored her mistress’s instructions. She filled the jug herself, and when the twelfth jug brimmed, Ngana Vidiji Milanda awoke.
He looked upon Kamasoxi and said, “Embrace me, my wife.”
Instead of pointing to Fenda Maria, asleep nearby, Kamasoxi replied, “Embrace me, my husband.” And so, she went away arm in arm with Ngana Vidiji Milanda. From that day, Kamasoxi became Fenda Maria, and the true Fenda Maria was reduced to slavery, called Kamaria. Together, the false wife and Milanda built a fine home.
One day, Milanda gathered his slaves and said, “I am going to Portugal. Speak your desires, and when I return, I shall bring them to you.”
Each slave asked for ornaments: necklaces, copper beads, earrings, fine clothes, and rings. When he asked Kamaria what she desired, she said humbly, “Master, I need no clothes, for a slave cannot wear such things. Bring me instead these: a lamp that lights itself, a razor that whets itself, scissors that cut by themselves, and a stone that speaks only truth.”
When Milanda told his wife about this request, she laughed. “Kamaria is a bush-slave who knows nothing. Do not trouble yourself with her foolish wishes.”
But Milanda replied firmly, “I will bring all that was asked of me, hers as well.”
He went to Portugal, stayed as long as he pleased, and searched city after city until he found all that Kamaria had asked for. When he returned, his slaves rushed to receive him joyfully, but Kamaria stayed hidden in her hut, ashamed of her ragged clothing. Milanda noticed her absence and demanded she come forth. He gave her the magical objects she had asked for, though the false wife tried to forbid it.
That night, while all slept, Kamaria took her kalubungu, struck it upon the ground, and out came fine dresses and all the things of a lady. She placed the gifts from Portugal upon the table and cried:
“Ngana Vidiji Milanda, you abandoned me! I walked eight days in the forest and shed tears for you, ten jugs and one more. I even bought a slave with my tears to aid me. Yet when you awoke, you chose her as your wife, leaving me in misery. If I have spoken lies, let the lamp light itself, the razor whet itself, the scissors cut themselves, and the stone of truth strike the ground.”
At her words, the lamp flared, the razor sharpened, the scissors cut, and the stone struck. Overwhelmed, she prayed, “God, help me!” and the wonders vanished.
An old woman in the household witnessed this and began to suspect that the true mistress had been made a slave. She kept silent but watched again the following night. She saw Kamaria repeat the same ritual, her lament rising with each magical sign.
The old woman whispered to Milanda, urging him to test his wife. That night, Milanda pretended to leave for a feast but secretly hid near the house. He watched as Kamaria summoned slaves, bathed, and dressed herself in radiant garments, telling again of her eight-day journey and her tears of devotion.
When she cried, “If I speak lies, cut me to pieces!” the magical objects stirred to life. At that moment Milanda rushed in. Seeing him, Kamaria fainted; Milanda too collapsed, until the old woman revived them with remedies.
Together they confronted Kamasoxi, who trembled with fear. Milanda ordered his slaves to seize her and cast her into a barrel of coal-tar. From her remains came white clay, which Milanda and Fenda Maria used to anoint themselves.
Thus, the truth was revealed, and Fenda Maria was restored as mistress beside Ngana Vidiji Milanda.
I have told my story, whether good or bad, it is done
Moral Lesson
This tale reminds us that truth always rises above lies, no matter how deeply hidden. Fenda Maria’s courage, sacrifice, and honesty endured trials of pain, deceit, and humiliation. Though the false wife tried to steal her place, divine justice and perseverance revealed the truth.
The story teaches that loyalty, endurance, and sincerity are stronger than deception. Those who endure hardships with faith and integrity will eventually reclaim their rightful honor, while lies and selfishness bring ruin.
Knowledge Check
1. Who are the main characters in the Angolan folktale of Ngana Fenda Maria?
Ngana Fenda Maria, Ngana Vidiji Milanda, and the deceitful slave Kamasoxi are the central figures.
2. What task did Ngana Fenda Maria perform to awaken Vidiji Milanda?
She shed tears to fill ten jugs and two, showing her deep devotion and sacrifice.
3. How did Kamasoxi betray her mistress Fenda Maria?
Instead of waking her, Kamasoxi claimed to be Vidiji Milanda’s wife when he awoke, taking Fenda Maria’s rightful place.
4. What magical objects did Kamaria request from Portugal?
She asked for a lamp that lights itself, a razor that sharpens itself, scissors that cut by themselves, and a stone that speaks only the truth.
5. What role does the stone speaker-of-truth play in the story?
It symbolizes justice, confirming the truth when Fenda Maria recounts her suffering and exposing lies.
6. What cultural origin does this folktale belong to?
It is a traditional Angolan folktale, collected by Héli Chatelain in Folk-Tales of Angola (1894).
Source: Traditional Angolan folktale, collected by Héli Chatelain in Folk-Tales of Angola (1894).
