Ungulani Ba Ka Khossa (Pseudónym of Francisco Esaú Cossa)

He cuted out at 1st Augusto 1957 in Inhaminga, Mozambique. Actually he has 66 years old.
Khossa frequentes the primary school in Sofala and secundary, in Lourenço Marques and
parte of it in Zambézia. In Maputo he got a bachelor’s degree in history and geography at the
faculty of education at Eduardo Mondlane university and exercised the function of secundary
school teacher.
In 1982 worked to the education ministery during one and a half years. Six months after
leaving the ministry of education he was invited to work at Mozambicans writer’s association
(AEMO). Of which he is a member.
He started his career such as writer, whit the publication of several short stories and
participated in the “Charrua magazine” of AEMO, It was the lived reality in Niassa and Cabo
delgado, where there was the field areas of re-educatiom that were poorly organize, wich
made him lean more towards literature and, thats Why he felt the need to write, to talk and
expose this reality to People.
Ungulani Ba Ka Khossa, was the winer of the 2007 José Craveirinha literature prize, with the
book “The survivors of the nigth”.
In 2002 Ualalapi was considered one of the undred best African romance from the 20th
century.
In 1990 won the big prize for Mozambican narrative fiction with Ualalapi.

Ualalapi is the name of a Nguni warrior who was assigned the mission of killing Mafemane,
Mudungazi's brother (later called Ngungunhane-Gungunhana). This warrior gives the title to
the account, fictionalized by Ba Ka Khosa, of the life and times of the hosi (king, emperor, in
Tsonga language) Ngungunhane, famous for the resistance he put up against the Portuguese
at the end of the century. XIX. But as the narrative progresses, the picture that unfolds before
our eyes is quite different. In fast, strong, dense, violent, raw, shocking writing at times, using
almost brutal metaphors, permeated with aphorisms and an undisguised anger that the
author's powerful visual imagination reinforces, Ngungunhane is revealed to us as a cruel
man, bloodthirsty, violent, a true tyrant to his people - his designation as emperor or king is
purposely anarchic -, to the same extent that the Portuguese colonizers were towards that
same people (see if the transcribed testimonies, in an obvious proportion with what will be
read next). One and others cause the destruction of the Gaza empire, leaving a trail of misery,
hunger, cruelty, suffering and humiliation. A “history”-fiction of blood, war, arbitrariness,
death. But undoubtedly as disturbing as it is fascinating
«I'm scared, Ualalapi. I am scared. I see a lot of blood, blood that comes from our
grandparents who entered these lands killing and their children and grandchildren continue to
kill too. Blood, Ualalapi, blood! We live off the blood of these innocents. Why, Ualalapi?...»
(p. 21)

I always wanted to read Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa and his “Ualalapi”, which is considered one
of the hundred best African books of the 20th century. And by the way, this is Ba Ka Khosa's
debut book, originally published in 1987 by the Mozambican Writers Association - AEMO,
being the first historical fiction novel in Mozambique that focuses on the figure of
Ngungunhane. “Ualalapi” was distinguished, in 1990, with the Grand Prize for Narrative
Fiction.
In “Ualalapi”, Ba Ka Khosa fictionalizes the reign of the Emperor of Gaza, Ngungunhane,
one of the most important figures in the History of Mozambique, in a brutal and bloody
narrative. Ngungunhane, considered a national hero here in Mozambique for his resistance to
Portuguese colonial occupation, is reimagined as a bloodthirsty and power-hungry hosi
(emperor), not very different from the colonizers of the time.

“Ualalapi” begins with the ascension of Mudungazi to the throne of the Gaza Empire, after
the death of his father, Muzila. Muzila, on his deathbed, named Mudungazi king, but the
funny thing is that Mudungazi is not the firstborn. It is Mafemane who is, and he, by law, has
the right to the throne.

Mudungazi, now king calling himself Ngungunhane, fearing a possible claim to the throne by
his brother Mafemane, orders Ualalapi, one of the fiercest warriors in the empire, to kill
Mafemane. But Mafemane's death will be just one of many that will occur in this empire, at
the same time that Portuguese colonists try to enter and destabilize the kingdom of Gaza.

“Ualalapi” is about Ngungunhane, his reign and the people who surrounded him, his aunt
Damboia, his women and children, highlighting the Manua who symbolizes the assimilated
black man, his warriors, from Ualalapi to Maguiguane, his people and of course the
Portuguese.
Ngungunhane's last speech, prophetic I must mention, is the most intriguing part of all. His
speech highlights the socio-cultural consequences of colonization. Something very, very
interesting. A speech that continues to this day:
"These men the color of skinned goats that you applaud today will enter your villages with
the noise of their weapons and the whip as long as a boa constrictor. They will call person by
person, recording you on papers that... will imprison you. The names they see of your
forgotten ancestors will die forever and ever, because they will give you whatever names they
please, calling you shit and you thanking them. They will demand papers from you even in
the toilet, as if the word, the word that comes from our ancestors, the word that imposed order
in these orderless lands, the word that took children from the wombs of your mothers and
women. The paper with scribbles will guide your life and your death, children of darkness.
(…)
Outside of bars, your grandchildren will forget the language of their ancestors, they will
insult their parents and be ashamed of their barefoot mothers and hide their homes from their
friends. Our history and our habits will be despised in schools under the watchful eyes of men
in women's clothing who will force children to talk about my death and call me a criminal
and a cannibal. Children will laugh at this shame that old people without an audience will try
to redeem by giving a version that no one will listen to.
(…)
When victory arrives, you will have a black man on the throne of these lands. (…) But you
will not have reached the time of your happiness yet, you dogs, because the curse that
embraced these lands will last for centuries and centuries. And in the illusion of your victory,
they will invade houses that you built and change the order of things, starting to shit where
they should eat and eat where they should shit.” (We can find this passage on pages 89 – 94).

The History teacher at Ba Ka Khosa helps him a lot in shaping this narrative, truth and fiction
mix in such a way that it is impossible not to believe what you read. The reader only knows
that it is fiction by knowing this fact beforehand, otherwise verisimilitude will lead him to
believe what is narrated as real facts. Speaking of narration, some readers may find the
reading a little boring due to long sentences and abrupt changes of scenery or from
heterodiegetic to homodiegetic narrator at some point in the narrative or the same narrative
that focuses on many characters, which leads us to ask why the work was not titled “The
Empire of Gaza” or “Ngungunhane”, titles that would sound better because the warrior who
gives the book its title only appears in the first pages and disappears inexplicably. Added to
this is the speed with which the story flows, which isn't a bad thing at first but leaves the
feeling that the author wrote everything in a hurry. However, the intricate plot overshadows
any flaws. Because the truth is, this is a story about Ngungunhane, his rise, his reign and
subsequent decline. Points for Ba Ka Khosa. And the most interesting thing is the
predominance of mysticism present throughout the plot. It's a believable thing to read.
It's not one of the best books I've read but it's captivating, intriguing and memorable.

....
In this article, I proposed looking at the work Ualalapi, by Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa, as a product of the
context that the author
witnessed the time in which the text was produced, a context that
contributed to building. Our reflections led to conclusions
which we consider quite rich, perhaps innovative. We notice that the
text by Ualalapi, when representing Ngungunhane as a tyrant
authoritarian, metaphor/metonymy of Samora Machel, and when portraying the
alliance between the Portuguese and Tsonga armies against the Nguni forces,
symbolic representations of Renamo and Frelimo, constitutes a
example of speech alien to the Frelimist perspective of history
Mozambican. Therefore, it seems accurate to interpret Ualalapi