The inciting episode sillcdd 29.

2a. Maimyo ala apaingondo ni ingondo ailá itandi Story this of.time.war it.is war that first 2b. itandéke akuno ku Moshambiki yavyaka kumi. that.happened here in Mozambique of.years ten. I want to tell a story about something that happened during the war. This story took place at the time of the first war here in Mozambique—the ten-year war. 3 In the example below from 08 Archbishop, the author presentation in 01 gives the time, and the place comes immediately afterwards—‘here’, i.e., the location of which the narrator is when speaking— in the first clause of sentence 02. The relative, in 1a, stresses the eyewitness aspect of the narrative. Sentence 02 has been analyzed here as part of the orientation section, but it shares some features with the inciting episode which starts properly in 03, such as a use of the default narrative and the verb ‘came’ see 1.2 below, and could be viewed as bridging the two episodes. 08 Archbishop true story showing author presentation, time, place and relative clause 1a. Nangu ngulota kuvalanganga shinu I I.want to.tell thing 1b. shangugwéne mumwaka elfu mbili na saba. that.I.saw in.year thousand two and seven. 2a. Nangolo bispo Luis Simão kwida akuno Old.one bishop Luis Simão came here, I want to tell you about something that I saw myself in 2007. The Archbishop Luis Simão came here… In many ways the true-story conclusions reflect their orientation sections see section 1.6 below.

1.2 The inciting episode

The inciting episode in Makonde narratives shows many of the same features that have been observed in other Bantu languages. The key feature, which occurs in almost all texts, is the connective Napanelo ‘Nowthen’ right at the beginning of the section. This is usually followed immediately by a temporal point of departure see section 2.1 which in most texts is muliduva limo ‘on one day’, or a variant of this such as liduva lyavaleke, ‘the day that they came’. In the example below from 05 Fisherman, there is the classic combination Napanelo muliduva limo: 3 This was the War of Independence from the Portuguese. The second war was the Civil War. 05 Fisherman ‘Napanelo muliduva limo’ opening the inciting episode 8a. Napanelo muliduva limo nae àvele mwingalava yake Now on.day one he being in.boat his 8b. kutwala kwaloka DEF NARR shuni S then came bird 8c. naikala pashanya mulingoti apalá and.sat up.above on.mast there. Then one day he was in his boat when a bird came and settled above him up on the mast. Equally frequent, there is a change in the verb form with the default narrative being introduced see examples above and below. It is only in texts with informally structured orientations that this tense appears before the inciting episode. This is used from then on as the default tense, although many other tenses are used for specific purposes in this and later sections for more detail, see section 5.1. Note that the use of the -ka- consecutive below gives prominence to the default narrative speech introducer that follows it see section 5.1.6. 03 Hyena and Pied Crow use of default narrative starting in the inciting episode 2a. Muliduva alyo --- vakaikala -KA-CONSECUTIVE pamo On.day that they.sat together 2b. --- kumwaulila DEF NARR doni: told.him thus, 2c. Nyaa wako namu nangu twadana vila. “friend you with me we.follow.each.other only. So one day as they were sitting together, Pied Crow told his friend, “Listen, there’s a problem with us being friends, you and me… In other Bantu languages it has been noted that there are frequently verbs of movement employed in the inciting episode. 4 This is true also in Makonde narratives, but it seems that they often come in at the end of the episode rather than the beginning, as can be seen in clause 8b in 05 Fisherman above, with the verb of motion kwaloka ‘to come’, as the bird comes and settles on the mast. Another example is from 08 Archbishop below, which has the same verb kwaloka ‘to come’, together with kugwilila ‘to land’, this time referring to an aeroplane coming and landing. 08 Archbishop use of verbs of motion ‘kwaloka’ and ‘kugwilila’ in the inciting episode 3a. Napanelo liduva lyavaleke vaaleke mundege vila So day that.they.came, they.had.come in.aeroplane only 3b. mpaka ndagwilila mushiwanja akulá. until and.landed on.airstrip there. So they came by plane, and after a long journey landed over there on the airstrip. 4 Nicolle, S. 2011, section 1.3.2. The inciting episode in 04 Elephant and Nightjar opens and closes with verbs of motion; these refer to Elephant’s relentless progress as he eats his way through the bush which is the point of conflict, since he is about to step on Nightjar’s eggs; the danger caused by his motion is reinforced by the parallel structure ending in …tu ‘just’ ...tu ‘just’. 04 Elephant and Nightjar inciting episode opening with verb of motion 4a. Napanelo muliduva limo Nnembo aju ashinapita Now on.day one Elephant this he.was.passing 4b. alya mumwitu amu he.eating in.bush this. Now one day Elephant was going along in the bush, eating. 04 Elephant and Nightjar inciting episode closing with verb of motion 6a. Bai Nnembo ankwida tu So Elephant he.is.coming just 6b. --- ankulya tu he.is.eating just. So Elephant keeps on coming, and keeps on eating. In other Bantu languages it has also been observed that a major participant in a story usually performs the first action on the event line. 5 In Makonde narratives it is helpful to distinguish between two major participants, the protagonist and the antagonist. The protagonist is the main participant, the hero or heroine of the tale, while the antagonist is a major participant who acts as a foil to the protagonist, often being the one who creates the conflict or problem situation. In our text corpus it is sometimes the protagonist who takes the initiative. Equally or more frequently, however, it is the antagonist who performs the first action while the protagonist is simply carrying on his daily business. The commonest scenario in this text corpus is that the orientation episode introduces the protagonist and gives his setting. In the inciting episode he is then described as continuing in this situation, at which point the action begins with the antagonist performing an action affecting him, or with some event happening to him. For an example of the protagonist performing the first action on the event line, see the example from 03 Hyena and Pied Crow 02, above, where the Pied Crow challenges his friend Hyena about the relative strengths of his feelings of friendship and of his carnivorous tendencies. The example from 05 Fisherman 08 above, shows the antagonist, the magic bird, taking the initiative in the action, coming out of the blue to settle on the fisherman’s mast. The example below from 02 Lion and Hamerkop shows an event happening to the protagonist, precipitating the action. In this case the event is a bone getting stuck in the lion’s throat. 5 Nicolle, S. 2011, section 1.3.2. 02 Lion and hamerkop event happens to the protagonist precipitating action of story 3a. Napanelo muliduva limo nae amamena inyama yake Now on.day one he eating meat his 3b. [AFTER VERB] linímwikala ligwangwa S pangulo. stuck.him bone at.throat. Now one day, while he was eating his meat, a bone got stuck in his throat. In only one text in the text corpus, 07 Mother and child, does a minor character perform the first action in the narrative: this is when Portuguese soldiers invade the village, which precipitates the crisis resolved in the story. This could alternatively be interpreted, as above, as an event happening to the protagonist, the mother, rather than a minor participant starting the story line. The other feature which occurs almost invariably in the inciting episode of Makonde narratives is the repetition of key ideas. Whether this is a verb, a relative clause relating to participants, or a noun phrase does not seem to be significant. What is significant is that by the end of the inciting episode, this thematic piece of information has been taken on board by the audience. In the example below from 01 Horned Animals, the repetition is of the key phrase uti avalá vavénavo dimembe ‘all those horned animals’ and …uti vavénavo dimembe avalá ‘all those horned animals’ in 4a–b and 5. This is key information, as the reason Rabbit meets his end is because, as a non-horned animal, he has gatecrashed the horned animals’ party. 01 Horned Animals repetition in full of key idea: all those horned animals 4a. Kuvalalika uti avalá Invited.them all those 4b. vavénavo dimembe they.who.have horns 4c. vauke they.should.go 4d. vakapite shikukulu asho. they.should.pass feast this. 5. Mwiu uti vavénavo dimembe avalá ni kupanganikanga mwanda akulá kushikukulu. True all who.have horns those it.is to.prepare journey to.that to.feast. He invited every animal that had horns to come to this party. And indeed all those horned animals began to get ready to go to the party. In the example below, the key idea is lingwanga pang’ulo, the bone that has got stuck in Lion’s throat. This phrase is placed in the sentence-final focal position in two successive sentences for maximum impact. 02 Lion and hamerkop repetition in full of key idea: the bone stuck in Lion’s throat 3a. Napanelo muliduva limo nae amamena inyama yake Now on.day one he eating meat his 3b. [AFTER VERB] linímwikala ligwangwa S pangulo. stuck.him bone at.throat. 4a. Nangolo pashinu apalá --- andílaga maduva oe namene Elder at.place that had.suffered days many very 4b. --- ashanga mwakulota wondering how.to.want 4c. --- kuumila ligwangwa pangulo apa. to.remove bone at.throat this. Now one day, while he was eating his meat, a bone got stuck in his throat. Old Lion was there in awful pain for many days, at a complete loss as to how to get the bone out of his throat.

1.3 Developmental episodes