The Mwindo Epic from the BanyangaDaniel Biebuyck, Kahombo C. Mateene A dynamic translation of the timeless African epic. The feats of the hero Mwindo are glorified in this epic work, sung and narrated in a Bantu language and acted out by a member of the Nyanga tribe in the remote forest regions of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Beautifully structured and richly poetic, the epic is in prose form, interspersed with song and proverbs in verse. As an example of the classic tradition of oral folk literature, the tale provides profound insights into the social structure, values, and cosmology of this African people. |
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agnatic already animals Aunt Iyangura banana grove banana trees Baniyana billhooks birth bongo antelope born búri chief child climbed conga conga-scepter counselors cross-cousin dance descent groups divinities Dragon drum epithet expression fight forest friend Nkuba gave girls give goat going to encounter heard helpless against Mwindo hero hero’s husband join Mwindo joining Iyangura Kahindo Kahombo Kahungu karamo Kárįsį Kasiyembe kill kinship lightning little father threw Little-one-just-born-he-walked maidens male marriage maternal uncles mother Muisa Mukiti Musoka Mwindo answered Mwindo epic Mwindo sang narrator Ntumba Nyanga country Nyanga text Nyangaized Oh father onomatopoeia paternal aunt pool powerless against Mwindo praise proverbs Pygmies rain raphia resuscitated ritual wife river rope Rureke saying semivowel seven Sheburungu Shemwindo possesses shouted singing sister of Shemwindo song spear spirit story Swahili term things told translated verb village of Tubondo Water Serpent wiki wives women word young