Nyami Nyami, the River God
The Tonga people say a great serpent spirit lives in the Zambezi. When the river was dammed, they said Nyami Nyami was angry.
What was reported
The Tonga people of the Zambezi valley tell of Nyami Nyami, a river spirit with the body of a snake and the head of a fish, who protects them and the river. Stories say Nyami Nyami and his wife were separated when a dam was built across the river.
In the 1950s, the Kariba Dam was built across the Zambezi, flooding the valley and moving tens of thousands of Tonga people from their homes. During construction, unusually large floods damaged the works twice, and many local people saw this as Nyami Nyami's anger.
Explanations offered
Engineers put the floods down to exceptionally heavy rains in the river's catchment area. Nyami Nyami remains an important figure in Tonga culture, and carved walking sticks and pendants of the river god are popular across Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- When
- Told for generations
- Where
- Lake Kariba, Zambezi River, Zambia–Zimbabwe
- Witnesses
- The Tonga people of the Zambezi valley
- 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.