Vampire Folklore Series: 4 African Vampire Myths

In this series, we’re looking at vampire myths and legends from around the world. Today, we’re going to Africa to explore some vampire folklore from the continent.

The folklore and mythology of supernatural African beings are similar to the stories found in South America and Asia. Many of the vampiric beings in African folklore are part vampire, part demon and seek to feed from the life source of another, be that blood or soul.

Want to know more about South American vampire folklore? Click here.

The Sasabonsam

The first creature on our list is the Asanbosam, or as it is more commonly referred to, the Sasabonsam. It’s a ghoulish creature emanating from the Akan people's culture and mythology. The Akan hail from Ghana, CoteD’Ivoire, and Togo regions of Africa.

The Sasabonsam are reputed to have iron teeth, pink skin, long red hair, and iron hooks for feet. They are a forest-dwelling vampire that hangs from tree branches and looks to entangle unwary travellers in their vicious, hooked feet.

From their forest lair, they feed on those foolish enough to wander through their territory. Still, unlike many other vampire myths, they appear to attack more from a territorial standpoint than a desire to feed on the living, which does set them apart from many of the other legends surrounding the vampire.

The Sasabonsam is humanoid, bringing it more in line with European vampire folklore, but it’s said to have large, bat-like wings that can stretch to nearly 20 feet. Wood carvings from the early 20th century are in the British Museum.

The Adze

Hailing from the Ewe people of Togo and Ghana (a similar region to the Sasabonsam,) the Adze can be found in the folklore. The Adze is most commonly found as a firefly, but upon capture, it will transform into the shape of a human. When it’s in its human form, the Adze can possess humans and those possessed by one are viewed as witches.

Those around the Adze (family, friends, etc.) are said to suffer adversely, such as the deaths of the young when the elders live on. This type of withering is fairly common within the vampire mythology.

In its firefly form, the Adze can enter homes through keyholes, cracks in walls, or under doors or windows and once in a house, it feeds on the victims, draining them of blood. Those who had been fed on fall sick, wither, and die.

The mythology of the Adze likely arose as a way to explain the effects of Malaria that was spread by mosquitoes.

The Tikoloshe

Our next fiend on the list of African vampire folklore is the Tikoloshe, a creature found in the folklore of the Xhosa people of Lesotho. The Tikoloshe is part vampire, part demon, and closely associated with witches or sorcerers.

It is said to be a demon taking the form of a baboon and is often found near water. It can be seen during the day and the night, moving its stocky body and swinging its arms like an ape.

The Tikoloshe has many powers, including the ability to transform its shape, often using a human form to trick victims, or the form of a big black bird with a skull head - a form it uses to fly overhead looking for victims.

The Tikoloshe is known for its sexual appetites, and, as a result, its victims are usually female. However, the creature does not feed on the blood of the village women but instead their life force. The creatures often return to feed, but if they do so too many times, the victim will wither away and die.

It prefers to feed by taking a human form and attempting to trick village women with niceties before overpowering them with great speed and feeding off their life force.

It is also said that the Tikoloshe will work with sorcerers in exchange for food or favour, and in its bird form, it can spread disease in the form of a lingering sickness. They can supposedly be lured by blood and milk and can be trapped, allowing a witch doctor to destroy the creature or its powers.

The Impundulu

Hailing from the eastern Cape region of Africa, our next vampire is the impundulu, a ravenous, blood-drinking creature that is usually a witch’s servant or helper. They are owned by the witch, usually female, and passed on through generations. The daughters of witches rarely marry because of this.

The withes kept the Impundulu in the form of a handsome man, who was often their lover as well as servant. But when it displeased the witch, the Impundulu would be sent out to cause suffering and death to others, and it was an insatiable, merciless killer.

The impundulu thirsts for the blood of humans or cattle and will stop at nothing to slake that hunger, so it was always in the witch’s best interest to make sure the Impundulu was well fed.

Entire families, villages, or herds of cattle could be felled by the creature if it downed enough of their blood, but if it did not completely drain the victims, they would waste away or leave the women infertile. If the impundulu was not handed down directly from witch to daughter, it would become an ownerless monster, acting on unsatiable free will and wreaking havoc on the land.

Final Thoughts

African vampire folklore holds more similarities with European folklore than some other continents, such as Asia. The vampire lore here seems more humanoid, even possibly bordering on the charismatic characters we know now in popular culture.

This could be explained by more European colonisation of Africa and less preservation of the older mythology other cultures may have. It is interesting to see that much like European folklore, African folklore looked to the vampire myth to try to explain the spread of disease and the randomness of death at times.

The African vampire mythology also seems to include a sexual nature, more so than some other cultures, much like many of the more popular pop culture vampires of today.

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