Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa

Ungulani Ba Ka Khosa (also spelled as Ungulani ba ka Khosa) is a Mozambican writer. He published two books - a novel "Ualalapi" in 1987 (it won the Grand Prize of Mozambican Fiction in 1990) and collection of short stories "Orgy of the Deranged" in 1990. He is almost finished with his next work "The Kingdom of the Vultures."

Ualalapi is the name of a warrior nguni who is destined to kill Mafemane, brother of Mudungazi (later called Ngungunhane). This fictional story describes the life of hosi (king, emperor, in the Tsonga language) Ngungunhane, celebrity of the resistance to the Portuguese at the end of 19th century. However, an oral tradition describes the emperor as a tyrant rather than a hero. The author tracks his rise to power over his murdered rivals and his eventual decline. The story is a disguised warning against tyranny. It is a collection of six loosely related episodes. The book is not yet translated to English. It is available only in Portuguese.In 2002 "Ualalapi" was announced by the panel of judges in Accra, Ghana as one of the Africa's 100 best books of the 20th century.

In 2007 Khosa won the José Craveirinha Award for his book Os Sobreviventes da Noite.

Published works

*"Ualalapi: contos" (1987)
*"Orgia dos loucos" (1990)
*"Histórias de amor e espanto" (1999)
*"No reino dos abutres" (2002)
*"Os sobreviventes da noite" (2005)

External links

* [http://www.africanreviewofbooks.com/100best/100bestsamples/khosa.html A short excerpt from "Ualalapi" in English]
* [http://homepage.oniduo.pt/chacmalissimo/Mozambique/html/ungulani_-_from_the_orgy_of_th.html One story from "Orgy of the Deranged" in English]