University of Wisconsin, Madison AFRICAN 210 AF210 Paper Week 6.Manni Mendiratta
AF210: The African Storyteller
Week6
Fake Hero
According to the storyteller, Liongo is not a hero because he does nothing to contribute to
the people of Shanga besides chaos and destruction. All of Liongo’s actions had an evil purpose
behind them, and were only meant to better his own situation, not of the entire society. A hero, as
defined by Scheub, is “one who is able to lead the people from the one (the past) to the other (the
future)”. He contains the same energies that the trickster does but releases them in ways that
adapt to and redefine the society’s future. Liongo’s character does nothing of the sort in this
Swahili epic hero.
In the story, Liongo has no driving force that makes him separate from his current society.
He doesn’t experience the typical negative context that leads to separation from his home that
other stories have shown. Within the peaceful and flourishing city, Liongo is a menace and goes
around harassing and oppressing the citizens of Shanga. He brings the negativity upon himself,