The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

by

William Kamkwamba

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Mangolomara Term Analysis

A magic ritual, supposed to grant superhuman strength, which involves cutting one’s knuckles and smearing the cut with a paste made of leopard and lion bones.

Mangolomara Quotes in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind quotes below are all either spoken by Mangolomara or refer to Mangolomara. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Rebirth, Recycling, and Reinvention Theme Icon
).
Chapter 2 Quotes

My first and only experience with magic had left me with a sore eye and hands that throbbed from bad medicine. With my luck, I thought, they'll probably become infected and fall off.

Related Characters: William Kamkwamba (speaker), Shabani
Page Number: 48
Explanation and Analysis:
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Mangolomara Term Timeline in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

The timeline below shows where the term Mangolomara appears in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
The Business of Survival Theme Icon
Science vs. Superstition and Magic Theme Icon
...during the planting and harvesting seasons. Phiri has incredible strength from a magic ritual called mangolomera, where a paste of leopard and lion bones is rubbed into cuts in a man’s... (full context)
Malawian Culture and African Community Theme Icon
Science vs. Superstition and Magic Theme Icon
...the commotion and goes to watch. Phiri starts punching James, and William knows that Phiri’s mangolomera will soon beat James to death. Trywell comes to break up the noise, and Phiri... (full context)
Science vs. Superstition and Magic Theme Icon
...has a nephew named Shabani who boasts that he is a sing’anga who can perform mangolomera. William and Gilbert don’t believe Shabani, but they cannot be sure. When William is nine,... (full context)
Science vs. Superstition and Magic Theme Icon
...and cuts the knuckles. When William flinches, Shabani tells William not to cry or the mangolomera won’t work. Shabani cuts each of William’s knuckles and rubs the ash paste onto the... (full context)
Science vs. Superstition and Magic Theme Icon
William spends the next three days at his grandparents’ house in Dowa, waiting for his mangolomera to develop and doing odd jobs for his grandmother. On the fourth morning, William feels... (full context)
Science vs. Superstition and Magic Theme Icon
...twice his size. Humiliated, William goes home and confronts Shabani about the failure of the mangolomera. Shabani asks if William bathed the day of the mangolomera ritual. When William says yes,... (full context)
Chapter 11
Science vs. Superstition and Magic Theme Icon
...real tower. Gathering wood from the same blue gum grove where William had tried the mangolomera magic ritual, the boys cut down three trees for the tower. They carry the trunks... (full context)