Judgment Tales of the Nkudo in Congo

What Do You Think?

Retold By: Jan Knappert



1. Deaf and Blind: Two men lived together in a house. One deaf, the other was blind. Over the years they learned to communicate with each other. One night Blind woke is companion. He had heard war drum and knew it was time they fled into the forest. Led by deaf, who knew his way, they escaped the onslaught of a terrible enemy.

In the forest, Blind heard coughing. So he signaled to his companion Deaf. “Go and find the woman that I hear coughing, not far in that direction,” he directed, pointing to where he had heard the cough.

So deaf found the woman. After he brought her back, both men decided that they wanted to marry he woman. Deaf argued; “If I had not been able to find my way anywhere in the forest, we would have been lost and never found this woman. I may marry her.”

Is he right?



2. Doctor, driver, and messenger: A man had a daughter who was gravely ill. Indeed, she was dying. He said: “The one who saves her may marry her.”

A messenger went to the doctor. He ran all night, for the doctor lived far away, and told the doctor about the dying girl. A driver was found who could drive the doctor in his car to the patient. They arrived just in time. The doctor applied his medicine, and the girl was saved from the jaws of death.

She was a very beautiful woman. Each of the three men- the doctor, the driver, and the messenger- wanted to marry her. Each claimed that without his



3. Ifambe and his wives: Ifambe had two wives. The first wife hoed a plot of land and planted sugarcane, which grew abundantly. The second wife also wanted her own garden. She cut down the undergrowth not far from their villages. She then asked their husband to do the heavy cutting for her.

So, one morning he took his ax and went to her plot to chop down the big trees. Now this young wife brought his neither food nor even a pot of beer for his lunch. So, after working for several hours in the hot sun, he decided to go and cut some sugarcane on the plantation of his first wife. As he was approaching the canes, he surprised a poor man who was stealing some of the crop.

The owner raised his machete, ready to kill the intruder. “Don not kill me! I will be your slave!” cried the thief.

So Ifambe took him prisoner and brought him home. But Ifambe’s first wife claimed the man as her property, saying: “He must be my slave. He was found on my land and stealing my crops. Ifambe went to eat my sugarcane because no one brought him food and that is how he came

“Not so,” said the second wife. “Ifambe was working for me at the time. He would not have been there at all if I had not asked him to do that job for me. So the slave belongs to me.”

So Ifambe brought the matter before the council of elders. Who do you think wins the case?



4. The ring: A man had three servants. He also had a ring of great value. One day the man was deceived by his wife; she made him drunk and ran away with the ring to her own village. The first servant, Rat, followed her and bit her finger. He got the ring of, swallowed it, and ran away. But Rat was killed on the way home.

The second servant, Hawk, went in search of Rat and found him. He carried Rat’s body as far as the river, but, as he was making his crossing, the river’s strong current carried Rat’s corpse downstream. There it was eaten by fish.

Many days later the third servant, went to fish in the river. He caught a fish, brought it home, and cut it open to prepare it for cooking. There in the stomach of the fish, was his master’s ring!

Of course the ring’s was very happy. They all lived on for many years until eventually the owner died. He had no children, so his servants were to inherit from him. Hawk and Cat disputed with each other over the possession of the ring, each claiming that without his efforts the ring would have been lost. Who should win?



5. The disputed pig: There was once a man who had three wives. One day he went out into the forest to hint. He speared a wild boar, but it did not die immediately. Instead it charged and wounded him. Both hunter and hunted lay dying.

At that same time- it was during the heat of the day- the first wife had a dream. In it, she saw her husband lying dead. She woke up and told her two co wives to come and find their husband, great misfortune must have happened.

The second wife was an expert at trail finding. She could detect from the minutest of traces- a broken twig, a crumpled leaf- if man or beast had passed through the forest. She led her co wives straight to the spot where their husband lay dying from the wounds caused by the boar’s tusks.

Now the third wife was an expert at medicines. She bandaged his wounds and rubbed the powder of life into his nose. He sneezed, woke up, and felt himself healthy again. He immediately finished off the boar.

The three wives disputed with each other the right to the boar’s meat. Each wife claimed that, without her help, their husband would now be dead. Which wife has the greatest claim?





6. The three wives: A certain man had three wives. Together, they went into the forest to pick fruits. They found a tree, and the man climbed into it. Alas! A branch snapped and he fell, breaking an arm. There he lay, as if dead. One wife said: “Now that he is dead I must go back to our village and look after our children.”

The second wife said: “I don’t want to live without our husband. I am going to drown myself in the river.” Away she went, mad with grief.

The third wife said: “I don’t want to go anywhere. I will stay with our husband until I die.”

On her way to the river the second wife met a merchant who said: “What’s the matter, why are you crying?”

She told what had happened. He said: “I am a doctor. I will cure your husband. But I will have one of you as my wife.”

He went with her and treated the husband. When the latter was cured, the doctor demanded one of his wives. Which of his three wives should the man give to the doctor?



7. Njela the murderer: Njela was employed by a man had a very beautiful daughter. Njela fell in love with her, but she refused him. He was furious and killed her. He then fled to his mother and asked one of his friends what to do. The friend said: “Behave like a madman.”

So Njela went back to his employer, but instead of working he giggled, cried, and rolled in the mud. His employer said: “This man does not know what he is doing.”

So, instead of accusing Njela of murder, the employer sent him to a doctor. The doctor “cured” Njela, and the murderer went back to his mother’s house. Then his friend paid a call. “If it had not been for me,” said the friend, “you would now be in prison therefore, pay me for my useful advice.”

“No,” said Njela. “I helped myself. If I had not killed someone, you would not have had that wisdom. You spoke only a few words. I rescued myself.”

Who is right?



8. The arrow: A certain man had three wives. The first wife went to see her parents and came back with an iron-tipped arrow as a present for her husband. Some days later the second wife went to see her parents. She came back with a well-carved bow as a present. The third wife went home to her parents and returned with a tough, flexible bowstring.

The husband fitted the bowstring to the bow, took the arrow, and went out into the forest to hunt. He saw an antelope, took aim carefully, and shot it through the heart. When he brought it home, his first wife said: “That animal is for me. Without my arrow you could never have shot it.”

The second wife said: “That animal is for me. Without my bow it would still be alive.”

The third wife said: “Without my bowstring the arrow could not have flown. The game belongs to me.”

Who is right?



9. Who may marry Etona: Three young men wooed Etona. When the first one arrived at her house, she gave his a chair to sit on. Nothing else. There he sat until it was time to go. Soon, the second suitor arrived. Etona cooked a meal for him, but he had to eat it standing up, for she gave him no chair on which to sit. When he had finished eating, it was time to go. Then the third young man arrived. By the time the sun had set, so Etona showed him to a bed where he could sleep. There he lay down, comfortable but alone and hungry.

Which of the three men will Etona marry?



10. Lomboto’s two sons: A man called Lomboto, the mayor of a village, married a woman called Bolumbu. They had no children. So after several years, Lomboto married a second wife called Mbongela.

Within a year, Mbongela gave birth to a son whom they called Ilondo. A year later Bolumbu also had a son, whom they called Inongo. They boys grew up and became men.

Their father grew old and finally died. After the funeral, the people came to Ilondo to pay him homage as the next chief. Inongo argued that he was the son of the senior wife, and therefore he should succeed his father.

Who is right?



11. To cross a river: Our final puzzle is a dilemma that reminds us that the Nkundo do live in a world dominated not only by the forest and its animals but by a great river, the Congo.

A man wished to cross a river by boat. He brought a cabbage and a goat for his wife. He also had a leopard that he caught sleeping. Now the boat was so small that he could not take more than one thing on board for the crossing. If he takes the cabbage first and leaves the two animals behind, the leopard will eat the goat. If he takes the leopard first, the goat will eat the cabbage. How will he cross the river?