The Impundulu, the Lightning Bird
In southern African tradition, a giant black-and-white bird summons thunder with its wings and strikes the ground as lightning.
What was reported
Among the Zulu, Xhosa and Mpondo peoples, the impundulu is a bird the size of a person, its feathers black and white, which beats its wings to make thunder and dives from the clouds as lightning. Where lightning strikes, it's said to lay an egg in the ground.
Healers would dig at the spot to find the egg, said to bring luck, or burn it to prevent further strikes.
Explanations offered
The legend reflects the very high rate of lightning strikes in this part of South Africa, among the highest in the world. Scientists note that lightning strikes can fuse sand and soil into glassy tubes called fulgurites, which may be the 'eggs'.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Witnesses
- Zulu, Xhosa and Mpondo tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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