Overview
Region
Central Africa
DRC
Era
Pre-colonial Oral Traditions
Language
Nyanga/English
Genre
Folklore
About This Work
The epic of Mwindo, the Nyanga culture hero who is born against his father's wishes, descends into the underworld, battles supernatural enemies, and returns to establish a just kingdom. Transcribed from the bard Candi Rureke's performance in 1956.
Literary Significance
The most extensively documented Central African oral epic; a primary text for understanding pre-colonial Congolese cosmology and governance