True Stories
ries
by
Mozambican Writers
edited by Ingrid Schechter
Copyright 2014 Mozambican Writers
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Acknowledgements
The editor of this collection had the privilege of working at Universidade Pedagógica Sagrada Família in Mozambique for a year as a volunteer with CUSO/VSO. She wishes to thank Padre Ezio Bono and all at UniSaf for their support and encouragement.
Contents
"Goodbye"
The Story of Bonguiane
The Sadness of Guila and Khudzi
Two Brothers
The Polygamous Man
The Cruel Teacher
Matusse and his Mother-in-Law
Randziwane
Five Minutes
The Craziness of Love
How Cumbana's Wife Bewitched Him
About the Authors
In the Classroom
“Goodbye”
by
Daniel Magaia
Telvino Américo Manuel
Cristina Luis Guiamba
Once there were two brothers called Nkunyululu and Guila. The second one, Guila, was involved with a woman called Nyankwavi and they had a son.
Now Nyankwavi knew somebody called Xitine, who came from South Africa. This man wanted to have a relationship with her. During this relationship Xitine told Nyankwavi she must kill her husband and her son because they were poor, and Xitine would help her to be rich if she would marry him and travel to South Africa. And she did it!
During the journey he told her that in South Africa he was called, “Goodbye.”
When they arrived at the border, they left the car at the border. The man went to the border control and the girl was walking around near the border. Then when he got through that control, he just walked away into South Africa alone, because he was afraid about Nyankwavi´s behaviour, what she had done at her home.
When she saw the car leaving the border, she shouted his name, “Goodbye, Goodbye…” but when the people saw Nyankwavi shouting they thought that she was just saying farewell!
She didn’t come back home for two years afterwards, because she was afraid, but even then she was arrested.
After she was arrested she told Nkunyululu what had happened during her relationship with Guila. When Nkunyululu knew that Xitine had influenced Nyankwavi to kill his brother, Nkunyululu invited his friend Beto to go to South Africa to look for Xitine, because he also should be arrested.
They had trouble because they didn’t have passports and they didn’t go by the border control. During their journey in the bush they found two ways to go and they didn’t know the right way to get into South Africa.
In the bush they began to argue, but Nkunyululu chose one of the two routes. They found an abandoned bar and in this bar they found a full bag of money. Nkunyululu took some of this money and gave it to Beto his friend to search for another bar and buy beer because they were tired.
But when Beto was on his way, he thought to kill his friend Nkunyululu, because he wanted all the money himself. After he bought the beer he also bought poison and put it into the beer. But at the same time Nkunyululu thought of the same idea, to kill his friend Beto for the same objective, to get the money.
When Beto came back to the abandoned bar where Nkunyululu his friend was, Nkunyululu beat Beto until he died. After Beto died, Nkunyululu thought he would drink the beer to relax.
But this beer was poisoned, and he also died. That’s why until now Xitine was never found.
Think about it, it is true. . .
The Story of Bonguiane
by
Ramadane Mamudo Madane Amade
Virgínia Andre Bauque
Sélcia J. Filimone
Reginaldo Vicente Manhice
Once upon a time, Bonguiane had a first girlfriend called Randziwane. Bonguiane was twenty-three and Randziwane was sixteen. They began to love each other two years ago. One day Bonguiane decided to invite his girlfriend to his house, but she didn’t agree to go. One weekend later, Bonguiane invited her again to his house. She didn’t accept again, but he insisted.
He said, “Why don’t you come to my house? You aren't sure that I love you?”
Randziwane answered, “Honey, I know that you love me, but I’m not prepared to come to your home yet.”
Then Bonguiane said, “Okay, what do you want me to do?”
She said, “Please, I know it’s not easy for you, but hold on until I will be grown up.”
Bonguiane said, “If you come to my house it doesn’t mean that you will do things that you don’t want to, because I respect you so much, and I love you for who you are and not for what you have.”
Then she hugged her boyfriend and she went with him to his house. There Bonguiane had prepared a birthday party for his girlfriend. Bonguiane and Randziwane had a happy night together. But his girlfriend got pregnant.
After three weeks she told her boyfriend, but he didn’t accept the pregnancy. The things he said made the girl very disappointed with him. When she arrived home she wrote a letter saying, “I have suffered so much for you but now I feel dead, I can’t feel the same, and that must be an example for all other relationships. If somebody loves you, don’t joke with their feelings.”
Next day Bonguiane decided to see his girlfriend and ask forgiveness, but the mother noticed and handed the letter to the boy. Bonguiane read the letter and cried a lot. Since that day his life changed. He carried this message in his mind all his life:
“Respect those who love you.”
The Sadness of Nguila and Khudzi
by
Sélcia J. Filimone
Eduardo Sabine Ndinguinduane
Once upon a time Khudzi was living with Nguila.
They were living as a couple, but she had cancer. One day she decided to go to hospital and the doctor said that she has only a few hours to live. In other words it means that she will die.
When she arrived home she gave a challenge to her husband, to live one day without her, with no communication at all. She said if he passed this, she will love him forever. The husband agreed. He went away and he never texted or called his girlfriend, who has only twenty-four hours left because she is dying of cancer.
After a day he excitedly went to his wife, “I did it, baby.”
But tears fell as he saw his wife lying in a coffin with a note, “You did it, baby… please do it every day… I love you.”
Two Brothers
by
Amade Francisco Mauae
Chadreque Eluzane Bene
Francelino Salomão Mussoho
Once upon a time two brothers, Mavulajoni and Chicambanyane, were living with their father. Their father was working as a farmer to support them.
They grew up together. The older brother, Mavulajoni, got a job as a delivery man in Maputo. When he started to work he didn’t support his younger brother, so Chicambanyane started to be a street seller to support himself.
Two years ago the younger brother, Chicambanyane, decided to leave home for South Africa to work as a mine worker. When he got his first salary he bought clothes and food for his older brother to show him that he never forgot him because of money.
When he came back to his country (Mozambique), his family were very happy for the young brother that was working in South Africa. Then the young brother invited all the family to have a party. The party showed his love for his older brother.
After that he started to live together with his older brother, and when he wanted to go back to South Africa he took
his older brother with him. And he asked for a job for him. The younger brother found a job and the older brother started to work as a mine worker too. When he got his first salary he gave five thousand Rand to his younger brother as a way of recognizing him for what he did for him.
Then they started to live together and help each other in all situations.
The Polygamous Man
by
David Joalina Zava
Benedito Ángela Rafael Ponguane
Nelson Mufaraca Mazive
Once upon a time one man had two wives and he loved them very much. The first one was called Ranziwane, the second one was called Thandi, and the husband was called Makanze. If he would like to buy something for Ranziwane, then he thought that he has another wife too, because he loved them in the same way. He used to divide the days to stay with them too, two nights or days for each one.
The first wife was one that cared about the house and all the things of the house, like cleaning the house, washing the clothes for their husband. She was a very good wife. But the second one was a very dangerous and cruel wife. She had bad behaviour; she wasn’t like her rival, because she thought of herself as a queen in the house.
She was working and she earned monthly in order to acquire everything that she wanted for herself. That is why she was very proud of herself. She thought in her mind that a good wife is only one who has gone to school and received a high training and has a lot of money. That is why she was thinking in her mind that Makanze should have just her as a wife rather than Ranziwane too, because she thought that Ranziwane was a stupid wife. She tried every way to change Makanze’s heart and love of Ranziwane.
One day, while Makanze was at his job, Thandi tried to kill her rival by poisoning the food which Ranziwane was going to eat, but she did