Amandla, son of Ukulwa, was an arrogant and precocious god. He took what he pleased and abused everything in his power. He asked his father one day for a boon, anything he desired, so long as he could slay any creature Ukulwa put before him.
To humor his son, Ukulwa sent only jackals. Amandla defeated them with ease. Yet, when Ukulwa offered his boon, Amandla demanded a woman who could rival his own power and strength, then asked for Umpendi’s hand in marriage.
Offended, Ukulwa honored his son’s first demand; using a sickle, he sliced Amandla’s left thumb off. From the bleeding stump formed a beautiful woman. She was Buyisela, Amandla’s daughter. Enraged at being outwitted, Amandla forcefully took his own daughter and forced her to have his child.
When night fell, Buyisela fled from her father-husband. Inyanga embraced her, hiding her away from Amandla, for sixteen moon cycles. When the babe was born, Buyisela named him Ngengozi.
Knowing that she was now unable to find a proper husband, Buyisela began to plot her revenge. She raised her son in secrecy, taken in by Ukufihla and Inyanga, until he was old enough to know the truth of his birth. Horrified at the unholy union, Ngengozi vowed to kill his father and then himself.
During this time, Amandla had forgotten his daughter and their child, and had continued his pursuit of Umpendi. They had a single son together, Umkhandi, who hated his father just as his sister did. Together, they plotted in secrecy to kill Amandla.
When the time was right, Buyisela employed the help of Okubi, Amandla’s half-brother who despised his favored brother. Using his trickery, they disguised Buyisela as a beautiful maiden and Ngengozi as her husband. Amandla, enraptured by her beauty, demanded Ngengozi hand over the disguised Buyisela.
The disguised Ngengozi said he only would if Amandla could break his sword. Amandla laughed at the challenge and demanded the sword immediately. However, when he touched it, he felt his body begin to wither away. The sword was crafted by Umkhandi and cursed by Okubi to drain the life force of prideful creatures, and none was more prideful than Amandla.
Within seconds, Amandla had withered away to an ancient, dying man. However, Ukulwa loved his son still, and came to his rescue. Casting away the cursed sword, he sent his sacred cranes, who took his son to an oasis and let him recover. To the angry family, he offered a boon to each:
To Umkhandi, he gave the secret of steel and diamond, to forge into his weapons.
To Okubi, his unfavored son, he gave the secrets of caltrops and traps.
To Buyisela, he gave the secrets of deadly assassination and vengeful attacks.
And to Ngengozi, he gave nothing, as he deemed him unholy. Yet, it was Okubi, his uncle, who gave him the power to curse those he hated with unimaginable misfortune.
Ngengozi, ashamed that he was unable to complete his vow, came to Indoda and asked for the king of gods to kill him. Indoda, touched by Ngengozi’s mournful story, instead cleansed his bloodline to be pure once more.