Iyangura is the sister of the chief Shemwindo and thus the paternal aunt of Mwindo, given in marriage to the water-serpent Mukiti and living in his river domain. When the newborn Mwindo, cast adrift, travels the waters seeking her, she recognises and receives him, and thereafter serves as his indispensable ally: sheltering him, tempering his rashness, and accompanying him through the perilous stages of his journey. Her position bridging the human village of Tubondo and the aquatic world of Mukiti makes her the pivotal kinswoman of the epic.