The focus of today’s article stemmed from, as usual, our love for all things strange and mysterious. However, that was not the only driving force for this one. Being South Africans, we (the hosts of The Odd Topic Podcast) take great pleasure in finding topics that are fairly close to home. You’ll find that the vast majority of popular myths and legends stem from elsewhere in the world, but here in Africa, we too have our own fair share of stories to tell.
This brings me to the topic of the article, another god-like creature of the depths, the Nyami Nyami – aka the Zambezi River God.
Location:
Now before I delve in to the legend itself, let’s set the stage a bit. The Zambezi river can easily be described as one of Africa’s great rivers, the fourth largest in all of Africa, in fact. Beginning in Zambia, the river flows out through Angola, enters Zambia again and cuts down to the border, where it flows along the border that joins Zambia to Namibia, then Botswana, and then Zimbabwe, where it then cuts through Mozambique, and exits into the Indian Ocean.
In terms of geographical location its actually really cool, there’s even a junction where Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia all meet at the river. The Zambezi river is also home to the famous Victoria Falls, one of the world’s largest waterfalls.
Side note: The Victoria Falls has an awesome name in the language of the “Lozi” people, native to the region, which is “Mosi-oa-Tunya”, or “The Smoke that Thunders”, which is just an amazing descriptive name for the powerful waterfall. This whole region just exemplifies the beauty of the country, with its vast plains and flora.
So if you couldn’t tell by now, the Zambezi river is incredibly vast, and therefore the reason why the Nyami Nyami that makes the river its home. The expanse of the river, and it being a part of many countries, is what makes the Nyami Nyami an “African” legend, as opposed to belonging to just one area. All of the intersecting countries have their own stories to tell about the River God, and all take pride in its legend.
Physical Appearance:
The mighty Nyami Nyami takes on a few forms in various fables/stories. Whilst being primarily described as a massive serpent-like creature, it has also been described as having a fish head, a dragon’s head, being a full dragon, or sometimes even just being a giant whirlpool. I guess the most well-known depiction is a combination of all of these, being that of a snake with a serpentine or dragon head, large fangs, and its body twisted in a downward spiral like that of a whirlpool.
When I was younger, I did a lot of travelling in Africa with my family, and the regions bordering the river, there were many intricate carvings, necklaces, and walking sticks depict this beast. It’s very cool how the legend is so intertwined with the culture of the area.
History:
Despite the some-what scary appearance, the Nyami Nyami is actually believed to be a God of good fortune, and a protector of the people.
Whilst the legend of the Nyami Nyami predates the story that made the it a popular myth, it gained popularity after a certain event in the 1950’s.
In the Zambezi valley, in a place known as Kariba Gorge, the Tonga people (who lay claim to the legend), lived a peaceful life away from the rest of the world. They built houses along the banks of the river and relied on it for their survival, by providing a drinking source and a food supply. However, colonialism took place, and construction of a hydro-electric dam was started, this damn would be known as the Kariba dam. This hydroelectric dam was to tap in to the great flowing river, and the valley had to be evacuated as a part of the dam’s construction. The Tonga people were forcibly removed from their homes, as the damn would cover their houses and farms. This damn also encompassed what the Tonga people believed to be the Nyami Nyami’s resting place – a huge rock jutting out of the gorge where the dam was to be built. This particular area was infamous due to the dangerous waters around it, which took the lives of many people, who were said to have joined the Nyami Nyami below for eternity.
During the construction of the damn, the Nyami Nyami, who was angered by the disturbance, struck. A huge flood occurred on the Zambezi river, destroying the partly-constructed dam, washing away heavy construction equipment, and killing many of the workers. The locals believed this to be retribution from the great Nyami Nyami, for forcing him, and the people, out of their homes.
This didn’t stop construction however, and the project started up again.
Scientists described this as a freak flood, who’s occurrence was not to be expected again for another 1000 years. Despite the predictions, a flood occurred again the very next year, destroying the damn once again. Yet again, the locals linked the flood to the wrath of the Nyami Nyami. However, that was the last time a flood like that occurred, and in 1960, the Kariba dam was completed.
Legend:
So, I’ve written a brief version of the actual historical events above, but let’s move further in to the less factual, and more mythical side of the story. The events hereafter are from stories told throughout the years, and should obviously be taken with a pinch of salt, as no evidence exists for this.
Interestingly enough, its claimed that after the first incident, many of the workers who had lost their lives, also mysteriously vanished – i.e. no bodies turned up at all on the river banks, or in the water. The families of the deceased came to seek the bodies, but were told by locals that the Nyami Nyami had taken them, and after consulting some Tonga Elders, it was said that in order to get the bodies back, Nyami Nyami would require a sacrifice – as the beast believes in equivalent exchange.
As an offering to the Nyami Nyami, a black calf was to be slaughtered and floated along the river. The day after the sacrifice, the calf had disappeared, and allegedly the bodies of the missing workers had now appeared along the river bank.
The truth of the matter is that calf disappearing is hardly a strange phenomenon, as the waters are known to be infested with crocodiles, but to this day there is no explanation for how the bodies returned (assuming that the tales are to be believed).
Conclusion:
The Nyami Nyami is rooted very deeply in the cultures of the area, however it is pretty clear that the physical serpent-like God does not physically exist in this world. It appears to be more of a spiritual being, who’s existence was thought-up purely an explanation for the events surrounding the river, and perhaps a story told to children to keep them out of the dangerous waters. Though to be honest, the freak floods were a little strange…