Nzingha Warrior Queen of Matamba Author:Patrick McKissack First Month of Mbangala: — The Season When the Grass is Burned — So here I am in the garden, writing...if these words have magic, then I will use them to plot and plan a way to drive the Portuguese from our land. And maybe one day my pages will tell others that I, Mzingha, First Daughter of Kiluanji, was a Mbundu, one of a poewrful people who are ... more »free and unafriad to fight for our beloved homeland of Mdongo in the Kwanza River Valley.
Later the Same Evening
My sisters have found me. Kifunji cannot resist teasing. She gives a big laugh. "Writing is good for you, sister. To see you sitting quietly is such a rare pleasure. Isn't it better than hurling a spear, or wrestling some boy to the ground?"...I am accused of being independent. It is true, I suppose, for I would rather be kept in an open basket than a lukata - a box.« less