Reading Diary A [Stories of the Congo]

How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life:

• Husband: Nenpetro, Wife 1: Ndoza'ntu (the Dreamer), Wife 2: Songa'nzila (the Guide), and Fulla Fulla (the Raiser of the Dead).
• Nenpetro, went hunting in order to satisfy his wives hunger. An ox was the only animal to do that but he was killed before he was able to come back to the women. 
• Wife 1 had a dream that their husband was dead, Wife 2 brought them to his body, and Wife 3 brought him back to life.
• The wives had a competition to see which pot the husband would eat from. Wife 1 and 2 had chicken in theirs while Wife 3 had some pig in her meal. The husband decided that Wife 3 had the most important gift in bringing him back to life but he should have mixed all the meals together. 

Source

How Nsassi (Gazelle) Got Married:

• Nenpetro had one daughter with both Wife 1 and 2. Since they were wealthy, they decided to have their daughters marry a man that knew their names: Lunga and Lenga. 
• An antelope came to offer his presents for their hand in marriage but was denied until he knew their names. 
• Nsassi does the same and Nenpetro tells him the same thing. Nsassi had a loyal dog who kept getting the daughter's names but kept forgetting. 
• He finally remembers and tells his master who forgets one time before offering their hands in marriage.
• The antelope declares war, Nsassi wins and they eat him. 

The Vanishing Wife:

• In a town lived two brothers. Swarmi was married and well taken care of. He did not treat his brother Buite, alone and despised. in a warm and welcoming fashion. One day, Buite decided to leave, live his life out in solitary in a deep valley.
• One night he had a dream that a wife had come to him. All he had to do was tap on the ground three times, a canoe appears, and he were to fish and carry them to this beautiful girl who called out to him. The only thing he had to do was to cut off the fish's head for the girl could not stand it. He awoke, to find that the dream was true. 
• His wife had servants who would help him carry the fish back. One day he decided not to cut off the head of the fish. When the servant protested, the man scolded him for talking back to his master. At last minute, he decided to chop off the head of the fish. This happened 8 different times to 8 different servants.
• The ninth time, Buite could not catch the servant on time. He arrived home to nothing but Swarmi, who could not believe his prosperity and wanted to see for himself. 
• Swarmi despised him even more and Buite wept. 

Another Vanishing Wife:

• There were two brothers and a mother. One brother was handsome while one brother, Mavangu, was not. He was treated poorly so he ran away. He found his way to a big tree. 
• He pulled off leaves of the tree until one became a beautiful woman, his wife. She also had him become more handsome with better clothes. 
• She told him not to tell his people as to how this came to be but he did not listen. He told his mother and brother and after each detail a piece of cloth was stripped from him until he was naked. 
• Mavangu was foolish for wanting to please his people, enemies, rather than please his wife, who had been so good to him.

The Jealous Wife:

• A man went to go on trade for six months, while his two wives take care of his children. Each took turns fishing and taking care of the children. 
• When the younger wife went off to go fishing, the elder wife was to take care of their children. However, she was a jealous woman who wanted to murder the younger wife's child for they were much more intelligent than her own. 
• She stabs the child in the place they were most known for sleeping. The following day she finds out that she has killed her own child and takes of in the woods. 
• When the husband comes back, he makes it a mission to find her. When he does she was rocking the dead child and singing a sad lullaby. 
• The husband has her killed, burned, and sets her ashes into the wind. 

Ngomba's Balloon:

• Ngomba was cursed with sores but she has a gift for fishing. As she was fishing for he mother, Mpunia (murderer) tells Ngomba that if she does not come with him, he will kill her. She tells him to cure her. He does and the two get married.
• Mpunia was very fond of dancing. 
• Ngomba pined for her mother and starts plotting a way to go back to her. She tells her people to vut the leaves of the Mateva tree and set them to dry so she can make a big ntenda, or basket. 
• Her husband grows suspicious of the smell and plots to kill her with a burning hot cork crew. 
• He could not for he gets side tracked into dancing. 
• Ngomba decded it is time to escape and floats the ntenda back into her town. 
• Mpunia comes looking for her and the people tell him that he should be thanked for curing her.
• They kill him.

How Kengi Lost Her Child:

• Kengi and Gumba were married to the same man but had separate lands to farm their crop.
• Kengi got mad at Gumba for taking some seeds from her. 

After some time they came to an agreement that all that was born on the farm of the one should belong exclusively to her, and that the other should have no right to take it for her use. Source

• One day Kengi goes to Gumba's home to ask her for some tobacco. She was in great pain. Gumba tells her to stay while she smokes it. Meanwhile she has a baby on Gumba's property. She takes the baby stating that it was born on her property.
• Kengi, upset, takes her plea to the Malinombi and states her case.
• After deliberating, the Malinombi states that Gumba was acting within her right and that the child does, in fact, belong to her.
• I would be so angry. 

The Twin Brothers.

• A set of twin brothers, Mavungu (older) and Luembra
• Mavungu wanted to marry Nzambi's daughter and used the power of his charms to do so. On his first night with her, she tells him about a town where no one returns. He ofcourse goes but is killed by an old lady.
• Luebra, concerned about his brother, goes to find him but Nzambi's daughter mistakes him for his brother. Luebra finds out about the town.
• He goes to find the town and kills the old lady. He brings back the bodies of his brother and the rest of the prisoners. They fight over the others. Mavungu claimed that they were his because he was the oldest while Luebra believed that they were only alive because of him. 
• Mavungu kills his brother but Luebra's horse brought him back to life, thirsting for revenge against his brother.