In South Africa we have a folklore tale which is known in all South African cultures. This is the story of the Tokoloshi (Tokolosh or Tokoloshe).
My first encounter with the story of the Tokoloshi came from our domestic worker. In South Africa the domestic workers (or cleaning ladies, cooks, nannies etc) often live in separate flats or rooms on their employers’ property. Our one domestic worker, Anna, always raised her bed from the ground by putting several bricks underneath the legs of the bed. Upon asking her why she does this, she says it’s to keep the Tokoloshi from biting off her toes when she sleeps. She told me that the tokoloshi is a small, evil spirit that helps around the house of witches or shamans. The word “witches” in the African sense is often misinterpreted. When I think of witches I think of the three witches of Macbeth, the children-eating witch of Hansel and Gretel or even the tealeaf-reading, crystal ball-staring women in children’s literature. But, correct me if I’m wrong, they are women who claim to be able to communicate with ancestral spirits and often control them. The Tokoloshi is created by breathing life into a corpse and the Tokolosh will be submissive to its creator.
Some people say the Tokoloshi is a small, hairy brown man other say it is a naked, zombie-like creature. Sometimes it wears a cloak. But most often it is invisible thanks to the invisibility pebble it keeps in its mouth.
I really don’t know where the story of the Tokoloshi truly comes from. But a disturbing characteristic of the Tokoloshi is that he is well-endowed and often rapes women. This often makes headlines of newspapers such as The Daily Sun (with headlines such as “Tokolosh raped GoGo (grandma)”, “Hunt for Tokoloshi” etc.
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| Photo from of www.2oceansvibe.com |
Still, even today, many people truly believe in the existence of a Tokoloshi, even so much that it makes newspaper headlines! I don’t believe in superstitions but I can understand that it has become so part of many African cultures that it is difficult to part from it. I do think that perhaps this story was told just to scare children (and even mischievous adults) but it has become so part of the culture that any unexplainable or strange phenomenon has been blamed on the Tokoloshi. Either way, as long as it does no harm, I think this story is so unique to the African culture that I just had to share it!
Have you ever seen the Tokoloshi? Maybe your culture has some folklore or belief similar to this? Please share if you do!
P.S Here is an article about the Tokoloshi! Rather funny!http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2011/03/01/petition-against-thieving-tokoloshes-submitted/
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