Ngambika: Studies of Women in African Literature

“Ngambika is a Tshiluba (Central Africa) phrase whose closest English rendition is ‘Help Me To Balance This Load’. An African woman who has to carry a heavy load, often asks another woman to help her lift it onto her head while she finds the correct posture and balance to shoulder the weight herself. In most cases, the load is within her capability so she balances it herself without assistance. This balancing process is the symbolic representation of the balance between woman's emancipation and commitment to total African liberation that is at the core of this book.”