Ngola Mbandi and the possibility of a depressive situation in Ancient Angola

Abstract

Ngola Mbandi was one of the sovereigns of the Kingdom of Ndongo during the initial period of portuguese domination in Angola. The monarch played an important role in maintaining the sovereignty of his kingdom, although he did not lead a long-lived government. In the socio-historical context in which he was regent, Mbandi accumulated some defeats, a fact that allowed, to a certain extent, the advance of invading troops. The present work seeks, through a comparative perspective between literature and history, to analyze the possibility of Ngola Mbandi having been affected by a disease that was not yet known in the 17th century, depression. In the view of the lost government, this may have been a trigger for Mbandi's psychological destabilization. History and literature present many versions of the sovereign's cause of death, such as poisoning, suicide, and sadness. It is known that the most widespread version is death by poisoning, however, in this work, we will keep the focus on the possibility of death due to a depressive condition, since literature and history also give scope for this version. The possibility that Mbandi committed suicide can also be understood as a depressive trait, as well as his possible isolation on Ilha Kindonga after repeated defeats in battles against the Portuguese. This investigation is justified by seeking to understand the government and the death of Ngola Mbandi and, with this aims to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge about Ancient Angola through the possibilities provided by literature and history.