Long ago, in the villages of Angola where the forest stretched like an endless sea of green, there lived a hunter named Nianga dia Ngenga. Known across the land for his skill with the gun and his tireless spirit, Nianga dia Ngenga had two wives, one elder and one younger. To aid him in the hunt, he kept two loyal companions, his dogs, a male and a female, who followed him faithfully into the bush. Together, the man and his animals sought game in the wild places where shadows thickened and the air smelled of earth and leaf.
But even the greatest hunter can falter. For a time, Nianga dia Ngenga’s hunts grew fruitless. No matter how he aimed or how far he trekked, the animals evaded him. Worried, he sought the help of a medicine-man to restore his luck. The healer mixed strong medicines, gave them to the hunter, and spoke solemn instructions:
“If thou spend the night in the house of the elder wife, thou shalt climb the tree-seat. But if thou spend the night in the house of the younger wife, do not climb the tree-seat, sit instead upon the termite hill.”
Nianga dia Ngenga nodded his agreement. From then on, his hunts prospered again.
The Forgotten Instruction
One morning, Nianga dia Ngenga set out into the bush with both dogs at his heels. The dew clung to the tall grasses, and the silence of the wild pressed around them. He built his tree-seat and climbed up, while his dogs waited below. Soon, a deer approached. Nianga aimed, fired, and struck it down. The dogs pounced and finished the kill.
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But when Nianga tried to descend, he found he could not. His body struggled, his hands gripped the bark, yet he remained stuck. The sun slid low, and darkness wrapped the land.
The male dog thought: “If I keep silent, my master shall die in the tree.” At last, he spoke: “Master, throw down the hatchet. Do not fear ill omens, throw it, that we may save thy life.”
Nianga cast the hatchet to the ground. The male dog seized it, chopped a tree, while the female carried the log to the base of the tree-seat. Together they set it upright.
“Step upon the pole, Master,” the male urged.
Nianga obeyed, descended, and stood again on the earth.
The Dogs’ Revelation
The hunter skinned and bound his deer, preparing the meat for home. Then the dogs spoke once more:
“Master, thou didst call the medicine-man, and he gave thee rules. Today thou forgot. Yet we saved thee. Know this: from now on, thou shalt hear the speech of all creatures, the fowl, the goat, the little bird of the bush, the dog itself. But one warning we give thee: keep silence. If thou reveal what thou hast heard, thou shalt die.”
Nianga dia Ngenga promised: “Very well.”
At home, he fed his dogs richly, giving them meat, mush, and gravy before the eyes of his wives. When they questioned him, he answered: “Because they are those with whom I always go out.” The women were silent.
From that day, Nianga indeed heard the voices of animals, but he kept his peace.
The Fatal Laughter
One day, Nianga sat outside with his dogs. His elder wife pounded grain at the mortar. Near them, the fowls whispered with the goat:
“A visitor is coming. Today, fowl, thou shalt be killed.”
The fowls answered: “Nay, goat, thou art fat, they shall kill thee first.”
The goat retorted: “Nay, chicken, they shall kill thee today; tomorrow they shall kill me too.”
Hearing this quarrel, Nianga laughed aloud. At that same moment, his mother-in-law approached in ragged clothes. His wife turned, saw her mother, and flared in anger.
“Thou laughest at my mother!” she cried.
“No,” Nianga protested. “I laughed at matters of my own, not at her.”
But she accused him again, told her mother that her husband mocked her appearance. The old woman took offense and refused to enter the house, finding shelter elsewhere.
That night, Nianga’s wife demanded: “Tell me what made thee laugh, else I shall believe thou mocked my mother.”
He begged her to let it rest, but she pressed him, swore she would not relent.
The Death of the Hunter
At dawn, Nianga called the villagers to gather. Standing before them, he said:
“People, hear me. Today I shall die. Do not hold my wife guilty alone. Hear my tale. I called a medicine-man, and he gave me rules. I forgot, and I was trapped in a tree. My dogs rescued me and told me: from now on, I would hear the speech of animals, but if I told it, I should die. Yesterday, I laughed at the words of fowls and goat. My wife mistook my laughter. She forced me to reveal the truth. So now I tell it before you. My time is finished.”
He entered his house. Moments later, his wife found him dead. His faithful dogs, too, died with him, bound by fate to their master.
The hunter’s kin gathered in grief. They declared: “Wife, thou hast killed our kinsman, for hadst thou not forced him, he would yet live.” They demanded compensation. Her uncles paid six cattle to settle the debt.
Thus ended Nianga dia Ngenga, undone not by beasts of the bush, but by disobedience, a wife’s insistence, and the weight of words never meant to be spoken.
Moral Lesson
This Angolan folktale teaches lessons on obedience and restraint. Nianga dia Ngenga prospered only when he respected the medicine-man’s rules. Forgetfulness brought peril, yet loyalty of his dogs saved him. But in the end, it was not disobedience in the hunt but recklessness of speech at home that destroyed him.
The story warns us: wisdom is not only in hearing but in knowing when to remain silent. Some truths, once spoken, bring only ruin.
Knowledge Check
1. Who was Nianga dia Ngenga?
A skilled hunter in Angola with two wives and two dogs.
2. What instructions did the medicine-man give him?
To use the tree-seat only after sleeping in the elder wife’s house; otherwise sit on a termite hill.
3. How did the dogs save their master?
They chopped and carried a log, making a pole for him to climb down.
4. What special ability did Nianga gain?
The ability to hear and understand the speech of animals.
5. Why did Nianga die in the end?
Because he revealed the animals’ speech to others, breaking the warning of his dogs.
6. What cultural origin does this story belong to?
It is an Angolan folktale.
Source: Kimbundu folktale, Angola .
