Let us tell of Ngana Kimanaueze kia Tumba a Ndala, beloved among friends, who begat a son named Nga Nzua of Kimanaueze. One day, Kimanaueze commanded his son: “Go to Loanda to do business.” Nga Nzua replied, “Father, I have only just brought home a wife.” But his father insisted, and so the son obeyed. He set out, reached Loanda, and traded well.
Yet while he was gone, disaster struck. The Ma-kishi raiders sacked Kimanaueze’s home and destroyed his household. When Nga Nzua returned, he found emptiness and hunger. Wandering in despair, he encountered his wife, who revealed the Ma-kishi’s destruction. They lived together, and soon she conceived.
READ THIS: Ngana Samba and the Ma-Kishi: A Kimbundu Folktale of Courage, Motherhood, and Escape.
When her time came, she heard a mighty voice from her womb:
“Mother, my sword, here it comes.
Mother, my knife, here it comes.
Mother, my staff, here it comes.
Mother, set yourself well, I am coming!”
A son burst forth declaring, “My name is Sudika-Mbambi. On earth I plant my staff; in the sky I set up the antelope.”
Soon another voice came from within her belly:
“Mother, my sword, here it comes.
My knife, here it comes.
My staff, here it comes.
My kilembe, here it comes.
Mother, sit well, I am coming!”
Another son was born, declaring: “My name is Kabundungulu, of the tree of Lukula. My dog eats palm nuts, my kimbundu swallows a bull.”
The brothers, though newborn, spoke with power. They cut poles, bound them, and built houses with magical ease. Sudika-Mbambi then said, “Mother and Father, enter; I have built already. Now I must fight the Ma-kishi. Younger brother, remain with our parents. If my kilembe withers, you will know I am dead.”
Sudika-Mbambi departed. Along the road he met four strange men, each named Kipalende, with peculiar boasts: one who erected houses on rock, one who carved ten clubs a day, one who gathered corn leaves in Kalunga, and one who bent beards to Kalunga. He welcomed them all as companions.
Together they built houses and set out against the Ma-kishi. But at home, an old woman appeared with her granddaughter, challenging each Kipalende left behind. Each fought her, was defeated, and lay crushed beneath a stone until Sudika-Mbambi exposed the truth. At last, when he himself stayed behind, Sudika-Mbambi fought and slew the old woman, keeping her freed granddaughter as wife.
The Kipalendes, jealous, plotted to kill him. They tricked him into sitting on a mat over a pit. He fell in, and they covered it. But Kabundungulu, watching the sacred kilembe tree, saw it wither. He poured water, and it revived, keeping his brother alive.
In the pit, Sudika-Mbambi found a road and an old woman hoeing strangely, with her head in the sun and her feet in the shade. He greeted her respectfully, and she showed him the way, warning: “Take the narrow path. Carry with you a jug of red pepper and a jug of wisdom.”
Sudika-Mbambi followed her counsel and arrived at the house of Na Kalunga-ngombe. To win the daughter’s hand, he faced trials: reclaiming her from Kinioka kia Tumba, defeating swarms of ants, bees, and wasps, and slaying monsters. Yet he was swallowed by Kimbiji kia Malenda a Ngandu, a beast of the waters.
Again, Kabundungulu knew through the withering tree. He followed the same path, found the old woman, and reached Na Kalunga-ngombe. With a hooked piglet, he lured Kimbiji from the water and cut him open, restoring Sudika-Mbambi to life.
The brothers triumphed, but rivalry brewed. Sudika-Mbambi married Na Kalunga-ngombe’s daughter and retained the old woman’s granddaughter. Kabundungulu asked for one wife, but Sudika-Mbambi refused: “My brother, you cannot marry my wives.”
Resentment grew. When Sudika-Mbambi went hunting, Kabundungulu pursued his brother’s wives. They confessed, and Sudika-Mbambi, enraged, fought with Kabundungulu. Their swords could not wound; their strength could not overcome. At last, they parted, each going his own way: Sudika-Mbambi to the East, Kabundungulu to the West.
And so, it is said: when thunder roars from the East, it is Sudika-Mbambi’s voice; when it answers from the West, it is Kabundungulu’s.
Moral Lesson
This story teaches that courage and unity can overcome even the strongest enemies, yet jealousy and pride can destroy the closest bonds. Sudika-Mbambi and Kabundungulu, though powerful and blessed, allowed rivalry and suspicion to divide them, leaving their legacy not in peace but in the eternal rumble of thunder. The folktale reminds us that strength without humility, and victory without loyalty, lead only to division.
Knowledge Check
Q1. Who were the parents of Sudika-Mbambi and Kabundungulu?
A1. They were the children of Nga Nzua and his wife, descendants of Ngana Kimanaueze kia Tumba a Ndala.
Q2. What magical sign revealed Sudika-Mbambi’s fate to his younger brother?
A2. The withering of his sacred kilembe tree signaled his death or danger.
Q3. Who repeatedly tricked the Kipalendes and defeated them in combat?
A3. An old woman with her granddaughter, who challenged and crushed them with stones.
Q4. How did Kabundungulu rescue his elder brother from death?
A4. He lured Kimbiji kia Malenda a Ngandu with a hooked piglet, cut it open, and revived Sudika-Mbambi.
Q5. Why did Sudika-Mbambi and Kabundungulu quarrel at the end?
A5. They fought over women, leading to their final separation.
Q6. What natural phenomenon symbolizes their eternal division?
A6. Thunder: Sudika-Mbambi thunders from the East, and Kabundungulu answers from the West.
Source: Traditional folktale of the Kimbundu people, Angola.
