Visimu vya mukatikati—dilemma tales and ‘arithmetical puzzles’ collected among the Valuchazi

Abstract

Dilemma tales are among some of the lesser known genres of oral literature in Africa. Working with taxonomies elicited from Luchazi—one of the languages of the so-called Ngangela cluster—dilemma tales are discussed on the basis of recordings and cinematographic documentation of narrative performances from eastern Angola and northwestern Zambia. In the oral literature of the Valuchazi use is sometimes made of explanatory visual symbols, or ideographs, drawn in the sand. This is exemplified by Chindamba Ngunga's dilemma tale, comprehensively transcribed and analysed in this article.