Ualalapi

by Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa

Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa first published Ualalapi: Fragments from the End of Empire in Portuguese in 1987. Named one of Africa’s hundred best books of the twentieth century, it reflects on Mozambique’s past and present through interconnected narratives related to the last ruler of the Gaza Empire, Ngungunhane. Defeated by the Portuguese in 1895, Ngungunhane was reclaimed for propaganda purposes by Mozambique’s post-independence government as a national and nationalist hero. The regime celebrated his resistance to the colonial occupation of southern Mozambique as a precursor to the twentieth-century struggle for independence. In Ualalapi, Ungulani challenges that ideological celebration and portrays Ngungunhane as a despot, highlighting the violence and tyranny that were hallmarks of the Gaza Empire. This fresh look at the history of late nineteenth-century southeast Africa provides a prism through which to examine the machinations of those in power in Mozambique during the 1980s.

Genres: African Literature, Fiction, Mozambique, Africa, Historical Fiction, 20th Century, The World

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Francisco Esaú Cossa (pseudonym Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa, also spelled as Ungulani ba ka Khosa) is a Mozambican writer born August 1, 1957, in Inhaminga, Sofala Province. Khosa completed elementary school in Sofala, and high school in Zambezia. In Maputo he attended Eduardo Mondlane University, receiving a bachelor's degree in History and Geography. He then worked as a high school teacher.

In 1982, Khosa worked for the Ministry of Education for over a year. Six months after leaving the Ministry of Education, he was invited to work for the Writer’s Association. He initiated his career as a writer with the publication of several short stories and was one of the founders of the magazine Charrua of the Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos (AEMO). It was his experiences in Niassa and Cabo Delgado, where poorly organized reeducation camps were located, that gave him the urge to write and expose this reality.

Reviews

[Jujuba · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3,5)

[Hester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of the #invisiblecitiesproject where we're reading translated fiction from three countries a month.

It's a novella that explores the period of Mozambique history which Mia Couto later expanded on in his trilogy and I'm planing to read the first book in that series Women of the Ashes .

There's a really helpful introduction explaining the historical context and the politics of post independence Mozambique . The novella was written as a critique of the Marxist rule of the charismatic leader Samora Machal in the nineteen eighties. He had valourised the last ruler of the Gaza Empire, Ngungunhane, whose fight against colonial Portugal in the late nineteenth century mirrored the victory of FRELIMO in the war of independence some eighty years later .

The novella is beautifully written from several POV , including the dry and sparse dispatches of the Portuguese officers as they engage with resistance. It's a brief tale of power and tyranny and it's consequences , lightened by lyrical prose and threaded with a very real sense of mystery and the very temporal nature of human existence . I could smell the decay .

[K's Bognoter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ualalapi er en historisk og litteært fascinerende roman af den mozambiqanske forfatter Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa (f. 1957). Om en historisk spændende periode i Mozambiques historie. Og litterært set fortalt i en for læseren ganske udfordrende, men også interessant form.
Læs min anmeldelse på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter.dk/2023/05/12/ungula...

[Laura Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written / translated book set during the turbulent and violent time of Portuguese colonization of Mozambique.

[Arthur Duarte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obra de estreia do moçambicano Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa, esse curto livro traz diversas narrativas que giram em torno de uma figura de grande importância para a história de Moçambique, durante um período convulsionado da mesma.

Tendo como âncora o fim do Império de Gaza e a derrocada de seu último líder, Ngungunhane, Khosa apresenta diversas histórias que se passam nos últimos dias antes da tomada do território pelo "povo da cor de cabrito esfolado". Acompanhando desde um general das tropas do hosi ('imperador' em tsonga), até membros da família de Ngungunhane, o leão de Gaza, e os intercalando com pedaços de relatos portugueses da época, a obra revela os fragmentos do fim, não só de Gaza, mas também de toda uma história e cultura dos povos originais daquele espaço. Finalizando a obra com um premonitório último discurso do imperador cativo Ngungunhane, é de se pensar até que ponto o livro volta ao passado para compreender o Moçambique contemporâneo, ou lutar por um futuro dessa terra.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ualalapi by Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa is a stark and violent novella depicting the fall of Mozambican Gaza. It highlights the inevitability of death in a remarkably lyrical manner. The foreword was invaluable in elucidating the historical context and political nuances, although at times it was somewhat challenging to fully grasp. Nevertheless, I believe I have gained a deeper understanding of part of history neglected in white Europe.

[Africa BookChallenge]

The latest entry for The Africa Book Challenge, Ualalapi: Fragments from the End of Empire by Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa for Mozambique has been posted.

Click on the URL on the profile page to learn more about this portrait of a nineteenth-century Mozambican ruler.