Kimamuenho — Rural Intellectual 1913-1922

According to José Pereira do Nascimento’s Portuguese–Kimbundu Dictionary (1906), as well as António Assis Júnior’s Kimbundu–Portuguese Dictionary, kima means a strange thing or an unknown end—a mystery—while muenho means “soul”, “spiritual” force, existence, or life. Kimamuenho would therefore mean “mysterious soul” or “strange soul”. It was one of the pseudonyms chosen by Custódio Dias Bento de Azevedo to sign his writings between 1918 and 1922, particularly during the wave of hoarding in the Dande region, in Luanda’s hinterland, between 28 June and December 1920.

He explained that the expression was intended to symbolise the idea that “to build, one must have life”. The texts signed under this pseudonym were those which, in his role as a “public writer”, he considered among those he had most enjoyed producing.

Author: Eugénio Monteiro Ferreira

Publisher: Perfil Criativo – Edições

Publication date: February 2025 – 1st edition

ISBN: 978-989-9209-09-1

Number of pages: 222

Language: Portuguese