Research source

We had a man named Kanga with us in 1883, which name seems to have been bestowed on him by some Islamised…

Date of account: Published 1914
Source: My Dark Companions and Their Strange Stories
Reference: My Dark Companions and Their Strange Stories · selected passage 18
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-25

Record summary

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

We had a man named Kanga with us in 1883, which name seems to have been bestowed on him by some Islamised resident of Nyangwe by reason of some fancied suggestion made by some of his facial marks to the spots on a guinea-fowl. Kanga had not spoken as yet by the evening fire, but had been an amused listener. When the other tale-tellers were seen sporting their gay robes on the Sunday, it may have inspired him to make an effort to gain one for himself; anyhow, he surprised us one night by saying that he knew of a tale which perhaps we would like to hear. As Kanga's tribe was the Wasongora-Meno on the right bank of the Lualaba, between Nyangwe and Stanley Falls, the mere mention of a tale from that region was sufficient to kindle my interest.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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