Inkanyamba, noun
- Forms:
- Also Inkhanyamba.
- Origin:
- IsiXhosa, isiZuluShow more IsiXhosa and isiZulu.
In Xhosa and Zulu mythology: the deity of tornadoes, taking the form of a black snake.
1984 Drum Jan. 62Other elders, those who survived the tornado..looked up into space and one by one agreed the Inkanyamba — Black Snake — had come at last in search of blood and would come again...While the belief still existed among both Zulus and Xhosas, educated people no longer feared the Inkanyamba ‘because it did not exist and was pure fiction.’
1990 J. Knappert Aquarian Guide to Afr. Mythology 243The tornado, a terrible revolving storm, was regarded as a god in many parts of Africa where it occured. In southern Africa it is represented in the shape of a long snake because that is what it looks like, a snake reaching from heaven to earth. The Zulu name for this deity is Inkanyamba.
the deity of tornadoes, taking the form of a black snake.
Chrome
Firefox
Internet Explorer
Safari