According to the Huron, the Angont is the source of death, disease, and all the misfortunes of the world. It is a monstrous snake that lives in a number of dark and secluded areas, including lakes, rivers, deep woods, under rocks, and in caves.
When sorcerers wish to kill someone, they rub items – hair, splinters, animal claws, wheat leaves, and so on – with angont flesh. Any such object becomes malevolent, penetrating deep into a victim’s vitals down to bone marrow, and bringing with it agonizing pain and sickness that eventually consumes and kills its host. Only the discovery and removal of the cursed object can prevent and cure this.
References
Vimont, B. (1858) Relations des Jésuites, v. II. Augustin Coté, Quebec.
The Ilomba
is one of several familiar spirits associated with sorcerers and witchcraft in
Zambia. Malomba appear as snakes with human heads and share the features and
emotions of their owners. As malomba are obtained through deliberate sorcery in
order to kill enemies or steal food, anyone suspected of having an ilomba is up
to no good. That said, powerful chiefs and hunters are said to have their own
malomba to protect them from witchcraft. Owners of malomba are usually male.
Evil
sorcerers can make malomba in a number of ways. Most commonly, a mixture of
certain medicines and water is made and placed on a piece of bark. Five duiker
horns are placed next to this. A plait of luwamba
or mbamba (spiky grass) is made to
about 15-18 inches long and 0.5-1 inch wide; the duiker horns are placed at one
end of this plait. Fingernail parings from the client are put in the horns, and
blood taken from the client’s forehead and chest are mixed with the medicine.
Some of the concoction is drunk by the client, while the rest is sprinkled onto
the plait with a second luwamba
plait. After the first sprinkling, the plait turns ash-white. The second
sprinkling turns it into a snake. The third gives it a head and shoulders that
resemble the client in miniature, including any jewelry present. The shoulders
soon fade away to leave only the head.
The ilomba
then addresses its master. “You know and recognize me, you see that our faces
are similar?” When the client answers both questions in the affirmative, then
they are given their ilomba.
Once
obtained, an ilomba will live wherever the owner desires it to, but usually
this is in riverside reeds. Soon it makes its first demand for the life of a
person. The owner can then designate the chosen target, and the ilomba kills
the victim. It kills by eating its victim’s life, by consuming their shadow, or
by simply feasting on their flesh or swallowing them whole. Then it returns and
crawls over its owner, licking them. People who keep mulomba become sleek and
fat and clean, are possessed of long life, and will not die until all their
relatives are dead. This comes at a steep price, however, as the ilomba will hunger
again, and continue eating lives. If it is not allowed to feed itself, its
owner will grow weak and ill until the ilomba feeds again.
Soon the
unnatural death toll will be noticed, and a sorcerer is called in to divine the
hiding place of the ilomba. To kill an ilomba, a sorcerer will sprinkle nsompu medicine around its suspected
lair. This causes the water level to rise and the ground to rumble. First fish,
then crabs, and finally the ilomba itself appear. The snake is promptly shot
with a poisoned arrow – and its owner feels its pain. They die at the same
time.
References
Melland, F.
H. (1923) In Witch-bound Africa. J.
B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia.
Turner, V.
(1975) Revelation and Divination in
Ndembu Ritual. Cornell University Press, Ithaca.
White, C. M. N. (1948) Witchcraft, Divination and Magic among the
Balovale Tribes. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute,
18(2), pp. 81-104.
The Onniont is a huge serpent of Huron folklore that looks like an armored fish. When it travels, it breaks through everything in its path. Rocks, trees, and bears are all grist to its mill. An onniont is unstoppable. Any small part of it would make a potent talisman.
Nobody ever saw an onniont. According to Jesuit missionaries, however, neighboring Algonquin merchants claimed to sell pieces of onniont, and publicized the legend themselves.
References
Vimont, B. (1858) Relations des Jésuites, v. II. Augustin Coté, Quebec.
The Velachif is a giant and hideous snake found above the lake of Tenochtitlan. It is amphibious like a crocodile, and extremely venomous; death is virtually certain if bitten by one. A velachif has a rounded head, a parrot-like beak, and a colorful, predominantly red body.
The inhabitants of Mexico frequently hunt it. Its flesh is of excellent quality.
References
Thevet, A. (1575) La Cosmographie Universelle. Guillaume Chaudiere, Paris.
The Zoureg is a snake, one foot in length, that lives in the Arabian desert. When it moves it goes through everything in its path like a hot knife through butter; rocks, trees, walls and human bodies are all equally powerless to stop it. Anyone who a zoureg goes through dies instantly. It can only be killed by decapitating it in its sleep.
It has proven difficult to locate de Plancy’s sources for this purported Arabian legend, considering that “zoureg” is an oddly transliterated word with multiple possible spellings in Arabic.
References
de Plancy, J. C. (1863) Dictionnaire Infernal. Henri Plon, Paris.
The Nguluka or Siani can be found in Malawi’s Chitipa district, specifically in the Mafinga Ridge and the Matipa Forest in the Misuku Hills. Anyone who sees it dies.
A nguluka is a flying snake that looks like a guineafowl, complete with feathers and wings. In fact, only its fanged head is that of a snake. It makes a crowing call that sounds like “yiio, yiio”.
Ngulukas live in caves and tree branches in the deep forest. Their lairs are strewn with the bones of their victims. These snakes feed on figs and like to roost in fig trees. They are most active at night, especially on moonlit nights when the figs ripen.
References
Hargreaves, B. J. (1984) Mythical and Real Snakes of Chitipa District. The Society of Malawi Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 40-52.
The Mazacoatl, “deer snake”, is a great serpent that lives in caves on steep mountains and cliffs. It has antlers on its head and a rattle on its tail. It never leaves its lair, as it can draw in with its breath rabbits, deer, and humans alike.
References
Nuttall, Z. (1895) A Note on Ancient Mexican Folk-lore. The Journal of American Folklore, v. 8, no. 29, pp. 117-129.
The Chimalcoatl, “shield snake”, is a long, thick Mexican snake. It earns its name from the fleshy, colorful shield on its back. Its appearance is an omen of death or prosperity and fortune in war, depending on the occasion.
References
Nuttall, Z. (1895) A Note on Ancient Mexican Folk-lore. The Journal of American Folklore, v. 8, no. 29, pp. 117-129.
A Book of Creatures 