Storytelling Week 7: The Happy Twin Brothers

The Happy Twin Brothers

A pregnant woman lived in the jungles of Africa and was about to give birth to he child. To her surprise, she actually had twin boys. These were not ordinary children though, as they were miraculously born almost fully-grown. She named the twins Luemba and Mavungu. Shortly after birth, the brothers set out to live their own lives and become independent men.

First comes the tale of Mavungu. He learns of the daughter of Nzambi, who is the most beautiful woman in all of Africa. Upon hearing of the woman, he instantly sets out to make her his wife. To that point, she had refused every man that had come to win her heart, regardless of his status or wealth. Since Nzambi refused to see her daughter unhappy, she promises to never marry her off unless it is to a man that she approves of. After a very long journey through many towns, Mavungu arrives at the town of Nzambi. The first thing that he sees when he enters the town is a gorgeous woman working in the garden outside of her hut. The woman’s beauty made Mavungu forget why he had traveled this far in the first place and he began to talk her. After just a few minutes, the two acted as though they had known each other for years. Suddenly, the woman told Mavungu that she must be going. Before he could even ask her where he could see her again, she disappeared.

Remembering why he had journeyed in first place, Mavungu went to the house of Nzambi and asked to meet her daughter. Nzambi warns him that her daughter has rejected every man she has seen so far, but calls for her anyways. Much to Mavungu’s surprise, the woman who appears from a doorway is the very woman he had met previously in the garden. The woman smiles and rushes to Mavungu, hugging him. Nzambi can’t believe her eyes and her daughter says that she has found her husband. A great feast and party is thrown, then the couple gets married and get escorted into a hut of their own to spend the night in.

In the hut, Mavungu notices there is a circle of mirrors, each of which shows the reflection of a different town. There is only one town that Mavungu does not recognize and he tells his new wife that he wants to adventure there. She becomes extremely sad and tells him not to go because nobody has every gone there before and lived to tell the tale. Ignoring his wife’s pleas, Mavungu sets out on his adventure to the mysterious town.

Now fore the tale of Luemba, the brothers had not seen each other since the day of their birth, but Luemba finds himself in much of the same situation as Mavungu. Luemba is happily married to a wife of his own, but has recently heard of a mysterious town. After weeks of traveling, Luemba finally sees the town. He also sees a man about to enter the town and as he gets closer he realizes it’s his twin brother!

They meet just outside the town and begin to catch up with each other for a while, when they meet another curious traveler. The third man steps onto the path that runs through the town and immediately disappears. After seeing this, the brothers decide to halt their adventure and return to their wives. They move into the same town together and stay friends until their deaths.

House of Mirrors.

Author’s Note:

This is a retelling of The Twin Brothers, from the Congo Unit. Most of the original story has been changed because the ending of the original story was pretty depressing. In the readings, Mavungu dies when he enters the town because an old woman kills him. Luemba then seeks out his brother and kills the old woman. Luemba revives Mavungu along with all the other people that have died there. There is then a big fight about who should own the revived people and Mavungu kills Luemba. After being revived, Luemba then kills Mavungu.

Bibliography:

The Twin Brothers from Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort, by Richard Edward Dennett (1898).

Image Info: House of Mirrors in Czech Republic. Web Source: Wikipedia.