Lightning bird
Country | South Africa |
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The lightning bird or impundulu or thekwane (or izulu,[1] inyoni yezulu[2]) is a creature in the folklore of the Zulu tribe.[1][2][3]
The impundulu (which translates as "lightning bird") takes the form of a black and white bird, the size of a person, which is said to summon
The bird
Among certain African tribes the
Powers
The fat of the bird is believed to be of significance either as the fuel that the bird sets on fire when it throws down a lightning strike or as a component in valuable traditional medicine. The fat is believed to be procured by catching the bird at the moment when the lightning strikes the ground, or by digging the bird up from an underground cavity at the spot. The bird is furthermore believed to lay a large egg underground at the location of the lightning strike. This may be a good or bad omen that may require digging to procure or dispose of the eggs. This creature has another similarity to vampires, it is said that the lightning bird is immortal, because it outlives its masters. Legend recounts that the bird is passed down in a witch's family from mother to daughter, doing the bidding of its owner, and the impundulu has only one known weakness. The lightning bird is impervious to gunshots or stabbing, it cannot be poisoned or drowned, but it is said that the creature can be destroyed by fire.
Cultural significance
In most instances the tribe's witch doctor plays the essential role in dealing with the lightning bird. A supposed extract from the bird's flesh may for instance be prepared into a remedy for tracing thieves. In this way the witch doctors may exert control over the minds of both law-abiding and criminal members of their society. The impundulu is known to be a confidant of witches, it's sometimes spotted riding on the back of a hyena, because witches can turn themselves into a hyena. The lightning bird is widely feared as a witch's familiar. It is considered an evil creature because it does the bidding of witches; if a witch doctor dispatches an impundulu it can cause illness and bad luck to a person.
Popular culture
An impundulu serves as a major antagonist in the Dark Star trilogy by Marlon James and appears in both books Black Leopard, Red Wolf and Moon Witch, Spider King.
Other vampire birds
Legend has it that the lightning bird is a vampire who feeds off blood, in human form it will feed off humans, but in animal form it will feed off other birds. This is similar to the
In 2005, a South African man was convicted of culpable homicide after killing a two-year-old child he believed to be an impundulu.[4]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 90-04-05243-7.
- ^ ISBN 0-903983-48-6.
- ISBN 0-7146-1735-0.
- ^ a b Blatch, Nicky (2005-11-07). "Killer's belief in omens, spirits led to attack on toddler". The Herald. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
- ISBN 0-949956-16-3.
- ISBN 1-77007-050-8.
- ^ ISBN 1-56414-807-6.
- Myths and Legends of the Bantu, Alice Werner, 1933
- Bird-Lore of the Eastern Cape Province, Rev. Robert Godfrey MA, Witwatersrand University Press, 1941
- Lightning Bird: An African Adventure, Lyall Watson, 1982. Description of Adrian Boshier's adventures