Does Wakanda really exist?

By Edward Mitole

The movie the Black Panther swept the world with so much excitement. The movie grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide, and became the second-highest-grossing film of 2018, the third-highest-grossing film ever in the United States, the ninth-highest-grossing film of all time, and the highest-grossing film by a black director.

I guess many people want to know where and what is Wakanda, the settlement of the Black Panther and his people. According to Marvel, publisher of the Black Panther comics, Wakanda is:

A fictional African nation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the most prominent of several native African nations and home to the superhero Black Panther. Wakanda first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966), and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

However in Africa, Wakanda was not just an artistic creation. Actually, Wakanda was a true and ancient tribe in Africa, known as Wakambi. Wow! The resemblance is uncanny. The writers of the Black Panther story had a good grasp of the social, economic, political and cultural aspects of Wakambi society. The norms ethics and traditions of the people are more or less appropriately represented and depicted.

Wakambi, children of Odu and Amarava

In Indaba, My Children, Credo Vusamazulu Mutwa writes beautiful and fascinating tales of Wakambi based on folklores from parts of Africa. Wakambi was the tribe formed by a group of people led by Zumangwe and Marimba; all comprised of children and their descendants of Odu, father of the second people(current humanity) and Amarava, mother of the second people. Detailed stories about how Odu, artificially made hideous looking ape-man and Amarava, beautiful last survivor of the first people came to be the parents of present humans are told in the same book, Book One The Bud Slowly Opens.

How Wakambi was formed

After much trial and tribulation and life’s drama, Odu and Amarava happily lived together in equatorial region of Africa, and gave birth to 5,000 children through 100,000 years of their immortal lives. But some thousands of years ago, Odu committed suicide at Mt. Kilimanjaro. Having sensed his death, Amarava followed him. Trying to stop her intention of suicide, a group of 80,000 people led by Zumangwe and Marimba followed the mother of the second people. Along the Congo River, they traveled East. A dramatic turn made Amarava disappear when they finally reached present day Tanzania region. And this is where the group of the pursuers established the settlement of Wakambi, the first human village in the region. More research is needed exactly which tribes share this ancestral place. In Indaba, My Children Nguni which includes present Zulu, Xhosa and Ndebele regards Wakambi as their roots.

Wakambi society

As the story of the Wakambi unfolds you will be shown its society system, laws, life style, origin of instruments and people’s emotional journeys. You will realize how disciplined Wakambi people were, following orders that enabled the society to live with surrounding nature harmoniously. Wakambi society even banned the invention of anything that may have progressed their livelihood in a way of industrialism. Such strict rules were applied to prevent emergence of villains and tyrants who tend to destroy earth and humanity. Tales of Wakambi are mostly found in Book One: The Bud Slowly Opens – The Spawn of the Dragon. We will introduce you the stories of Wakambi society and their adventures in later posts.

It’s the beginning…

Already many are wondering: Who are the first people? Who are Odu and Amarava, father and mother of present humanity? How did they come to be our parents? What happened to Zumangwe and Marimba in the village of Wakambi? We will introduce the stories mostly following the book’s chapters. And it starts with the very beginning…self creation of the universe.

Enjoy reading!