09 Ákalimanya topic frame immediately following formulaic introduction of protagonist
4. Ákalimanya aju nae,
shimadengo shake shishiva
kulumbata. Ákalimanya this he
work his it.was.being
to.hunt. Now Ákalimanya was a hunter by trade.
In general, the shorter the formulaic introduction, the more likely it is to be followed by a topic frame description giving salient information; in some stories a topic frame takes the place of a formulaic
introduction. In 03 Hyena and Pied Crow below, the names Litunu namu Nashove ‘Hyena and Pied Crow’ open the whole narrative:
03 Hyena and Pied Crow topic frame substituting for a formulaic introduction
1a. Litunu namu Nashove vanu ava
kudyavalananga Hyena and Pied Crow
people these were.friends
Hyena and Pied Crow were great friends…
4.1.2 Introduction into an existing mental representation
The introduction of a major participant into an existing representation is where the setting has been presented to the listener, but the participant has not yet come on stage. In Makonde, this usually
involves one or two but not all of the above features. This is frequently the case for the antagonist and occasionally for more minor participants, but can also be true for the protagonist when the stage has
already been set. In 05 Fisherman below, the feature used is a post-verbal subject.
05 Fisherman introduction of antagonist bird into existing representation using a post-verbal subject
8a. Napanelo
muliduva limo nae àvele
mwingalava yake Now
on.day one he
being in.boat his
8b. kutwala
kwaloka 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. In 07 Mother and child below, we see the introduction of a minor participant acting as a group the
Portuguese into an existing representation. The feature shown is a topic frame, ingondo ailá ‘that war’. The second example from the same text gives the unusually late introduction of the protagonist into an
existing representation in developmental episode 2; and the feature shown is the numeral jumo.
07 Mother and child introduction of minor participant using topic frame
3a. Ingondo ailá
vajungu vashindauma
po pa Mweda apa War that
white.people they.were.leaving
here at Mueda here During that war, the Portuguese would make sorties from right here in Mueda….
07 Mother and child introduction of protagonist using numeral ‘jumo’
7a. Napanelo
mama jumo auke
kwatukutidíle
Now mother one
went where.fled
7b. kutwala
kunkumbukila mwanagwe.
then remembered.him
child.her. But one mother, after fleeing, stopped and remembered her child.
4.1.3 Introduction of participants that can be assumed within an existing representation
Participants that can be inferred within an existing representation are not introduced using any of the formulaic features. Examples are relatives of the protagonist and antagonist—wives in most tales,
children in several—and villagers and village elders, where the village has already been mentioned. Participants in true stories, where the participants are known to both speaker and audience, are handled
in the same way.
In general, these participants are simply introduced by a noun phrase; and they frequently appear first as the object of a verb before acting as the subject of a sentence.
In 09 Ákalimanya, for example, the village where the event takes place is given a formulaic introduction in the orientation. As a result, the villagers living in that village—the group antagonist of
the story—and the elders of the village, who are minor participants, can later be introduced straight into the narrative.
09 Ákalimanya formulaic introduction of village Lishee in orientation showing use of verb ‘kupagwa’,
use of numeral ‘limo’ and relative clause 2a.
Mumwaka wasamanini au
nangu nindípagwa
likaja limo In.year of.eighty this
I I.was
village one 2b.
lyavashema Lishee.
of.they.calling Lishee.
In 1980, I was in a village called Lishee.
09 Ákalimanya introduction of village elders in speech introducer with no formal introductory features
37a. Vanangolo
kupakanila Old.ones
agreed.together 37b.
kushidoni said. thus,
37c. mene
nneke
“no, leave.him
But the elders got together and said, “No, leave him alone…”
4.2 Reference to participants within narratives
