The influence of folk-tales in Ndebele narratives is much greater than most critics of Ndebele literature acknowledge. To those who are familiar with Ndebele literature, the influence is not hard to see when one examines the plots and actions of the main characters in the narratives. The folk-tale of Chakijana and the Cannibals, for example, is made use of by Amos Mzilethi in his novel Uyokhula Umfana while N.S. Sigogo's Gudlindlu Mntanami exhibits well-known themes of an innocent victim which feature in many Ndebele folk-tales. It is important, therefore, that any analysis of these narratives should assess the extent to which the narrative may be better understood by examining the theme or plot of the folk-tale around which it is built. If this is not done, it may result in having a limited view of the narrative that is being analysed.
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