From the Hippopotamus being a goddess, to creepy little Tokoloshe, here are 11 Monsters and Legends from Africa. \r
\r
Subscribe to Crypto Queen \r
\r
\r
4 - The Hippopotamus\r
This African mammal is sometimes featured as a Goddess in certain folklore from select regions. Ancient Egyptians once worshipped Tawaret, a protective and caring Goddess in the shape of a Hippo whose charge was fertility and childbirth. The Ronga peoples tell similar legends, one story tells of a queen mother who left her child with Mother Hippo for safe keeping as the childs life was in danger from an envious rival attempting to steal the throne. Male Hippopotamuses, however, are rumoured to not be so nice. The story of the hero called Fara Maka tells of one such enraged beast eating all of the crops in the fields, out of anger at the humans who lived there. The hero threw all of his spears at the beast, even sending his black hounds against it, but in the end, the monster continued to consume. The people feared they would starve if the monsters appetite wasnt clenched, and so the heros wife came forward, admitted to being a white witch and cast a spell, slaying the beast once and for all. \r
\r
3 - The Zambezi River God\r
Also called the Nyami Nyami, this snake spirit is believed to be a humongous serpent with the body of a snake and head of a fish who resides in the Zambezi River and controls the life in and near his home, stories say the water stains red when he swims past. In 1956 the Kariba Dam project began, despite pleas from village elders that this would anger the river God, as the dam would separate him from his Goddess wife. Undaunted, work began, and immediately disaster struck, many workers lost their lives in aof mysterious terrible accidents, including a severe flood one year after construction began. For three days, there were no signs of the slaughtered workers, not one bone was recovered. Finally, to appease the angered deity the village elder sacrificed a calf and placed its remains in the river water, the next day, the bodies of the fallen workers were discovered in its place.\r
\r
\r
\r
\r
2 - Kalunga\r
This Angolan legend deals with the kingdom of the dead, Kalunga. Heartbroken after the death of his favorite wife Muhungu, Chief Kitamam fell into despair and forbade his people from speaking or eating until she was returned to him. The village witch doctor went in search of the deceased queen, straight into Kalunga, the underworld. Following a dark road, the brave medicine man soon encountered the queen of the world of the dead. The queen of death brought him before Kalunga-Ngombe, the lord of the underworld, but explained he devours everyone in the end. A shadow figure cloaked in chains appeared to his left, he recognised this shade as his Chief Kitamam, who was destined to soon rejoin his wife. Knowing it was not yet his time, the queen of death sent the witch doctor back to the world of the living with a funerary bracelet and a warning to not eat any food in her realm, warn Chief Kitamam of his impending demise or ever return before his time. Once safely back in his village, he presented the chief with the recovered bracelet and the chief confirmed that it had belonged to Muhungu. After this, the chief and his people accepted death in all of his forms. \r
\r
1 - Tokoloshe\r
These dwarf sized creatures are covered in thin fur, have long talons, red eyes, an elongated bony spine and smell of decay. Malicious people summon these treacherous gremlins to inflict harm on their enemies, in which case a witch doctor should be called immediately to exorcise the venomous creature. Legends say these evil beasts are born from dark witch doctors who steal a corpse, gouge out the eyes and tongue while shoving a red hot poker through the crown of their skull, afterwards a magic potion is breathed into their lungs and an ageless supernatural servant who causes mischief and illness is born, the price includes the death of a relative within one year. To ward away these demons, who are quite fond of biting off toes whilst their victim slumbers, place bricks under each leg of your bed. Legend has it a beautiful girl once bathed in a river in the Manica province, when a Tokoloshe fell in love with her and proposed marriage, the girl shrieked and ran, her boyfriend, not to be outdone proposed to her that same night and gifted her nine bracelets. The next day while bathing, the Tokoloshe saw the bracelets of proposal and became enraged, ripping off her arm and killing the maiden. In early 1940, prospector Captain Valentine found the remains of a human arm and nine bangle bracelets buried in the sand on a riverbank, find them today in the Harare Museum. Beliefs linger, in new, this twisted goblin-like body was found in Plettenberg Bay, th
