e legendary monsters series continues with
some scary stories from Africa. There are so
many nations and discrete communities in Africa
that the problem here was not finding the
legendary stories, but whittling down the list to a
manageable number.
1. Grootslang
Grootslang is an Afrikaans word meaning "great
snake." The monster of that name lives in a cave
called the Wonder Hole in the Richtersveld area of
South Africa. The story is that the original
Grootslang was found to be too powerful, so the
gods subdivided the animal into two species: the
elephant and the snake. However, a Grootslang or
two escaped this fate and reproduced. The
monster can grow up to 60 feet long. Supposedly,
its cave is full of diamonds, but no one knows for
sure because the Grootslang guards it well. The
Grootslang pictured was featured on the Cartoon
Network series The Secret Saturdays.
2. Inkanyamba
The Inkanyamba is a huge carnivorous eel-like
animal in the legends of the Zulu and Xhosa
people of South Africa. The ancient legends say
Inkanyambas can control the weather. They are
said to have fins and/or flippers and grow to
tremendous size. There are actually freshwater
eels abundant in South Africa that grow to around
six feet long, but that pales in comparison to the
stories of the Inkanyamba.
3. Kongamato
A flying monster called Kongamato in Zambia,
Angola, and Congo is described as a flying reptile
we may recognize as a pterosaur. It was first
described in English by explorer Frank Welland in
1932, although local legend goes back much
further. This cryptid lives in rivers and swamps
and has a huge wingspan, but no feathers. A
similar creature goes by other names in other
parts of Africa. Theories on Kongomato sightings
range from bad lighting to the possibility that an
unknown species may exist in inaccessible places.
Of course, the image is familiar to us thanks to
Hollywood.
4. Impundulu
The Impundulu or Lightning Bird is a supernatural
bird from Pondo, Zulu, and Xhosa folklore. The
South African bird is as big as a human and can
summon lightning and storms, hence the name.
The bird is sometimes a shape shifter that can
appear as a human, and sometimes said to be a
supernatural familiar that guards a witch or witch
doctor. It will attack people and drink their blood.
However, parts of the Impundulu or its eggs have
medicinal powers.
5. Adze
The Adze is a vampire in the legends of the Ewe
people of Ghana and Togo. It takes the form of a
firefly, but if you capture one, it will revert to
human appearance. This can be dangerous in
itself, because in its human form the adze may
attack and eat your organs, but it can be
defeated. However, in the insect form, the adze
will suck your blood while you sleep and spread
disease, which is a possible explanation for
malarial outbreaks. Its preferred victims are young
children. The victim of an adze becomes a witch
who is possessed by the adze’s spirit.
6. Bili Ape
There are plenty of legends of mysterious
unknown ape species in Africa. Many of these
cryptids are described as something between a
chimpanzee and a gorilla. A ghost ape fitting this
description is called Ufiti in Malawi. In other
areas it became known as the Bondo Mystery
Ape, leading to speculation that there was an
unknown species waiting to be discovered.
Reports led researchers to believe it was a large
chimpanzee species that behaved more like
gorillas. Various expeditions tried to find this
species in Central Africa since skulls were found
near the village of Bili in 1908 . In the 21st
century, evidence of a large subspecies of
chimpanzee was found and the apes were later
observed in the Bili forest of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. Now called the Bili Ape,
they are classified as a subspecies of chimp.
7. Gbahali
The Gbahali is a reptilian creature of Liberia,
resembling a crocodile. It grows to 30 feet long,
has a snout shorter than a croc's, and somewhat
longer legs. Although this species is not
confirmed by science, it is not considered a
legendary monster among Liberian hunters, but a
real creature they have caught and eaten. It is
possible, however, that descriptions are
exaggerated. Witnesses were shown a picture of
the extinct animal Postosuchus , and they
recognized it as the Gbahali.
8. Ninki Nanka
Ninki Nanka is a monster that lives in the Gambia
River in Gambia. It is a dragon-like creature with
the body of a crocodile, the head of a horse (with
horns) and a long neck like a giraffe. And it's
huge - 30 to 50 feet long! An expedition in 2006
yielded an object said to be a scale from the
monster, but it turned out to be non-biological -
possibly a piece of celluloid film.
9. Popobawa
The Popobawa is a fairly recent manifestation
reported in Zanzibar and Tanzania. The creature
is a demon who appears as a normal human by
day, and a one-eyed, bat-winged monster at
night. The Popobawa attacks and sodomizes both
men and women in the dark of night, and is
particularly vicious to those who don't believe in
him. Attacks were first reported in 1965 on the
island of Pemba. Reports of attacks come every
few years, with a large number in 1995 attributed
to mass hysteria. Some think that the attacks of
the Popobawa can be traced to "waking dreams"
or "night terrors," in which the person experiences
hallucinations somewhere in between lucidity and
sleep. The name Popobawa in Swahili translates
to "bat wing."
10. Mokèlé-mbèmbé
The Mokèlé-mbèmbé is a cryptid resembling a
dinosaur from the Congo River region. The name
means "one who stops the flow of rivers" referring
to its size. Dozens of expeditions have sought to
find this huge creature, but come back with only
secondhand accounts and mysterious footprints.
The 1995 1985 Disney film Baby is based on the
legend of the Mokèlé-mbèmbé.
11. Tikoloshe
A Tikoloshe (or Tokoloshe) is an evil-spirited
gremlin in Zulu mythology. A shaman may send a
Tikoloshe to vex his enemies, causing anything
from harmless fright to illness or death.
Tikoloshes are described as short hairy humanoid
figures that can render themselves invisible by
swallowing a pebble - all the better to sneak up
on their victims.
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