157:. The fat is believed to be procured by catching the bird at the moment when the lightning strikes the ground, or by digging the bird up from an underground cavity at the spot. The bird is furthermore believed to lay a large egg underground at the location of the lightning strike. This may be a good or bad omen that may require digging to procure or dispose of the eggs. This creature has another similarity to vampires, it is said that the lightning bird is immortal, because it outlives its masters. Legend recounts that the bird is passed down in a witch's family from mother to daughter, doing the bidding of its owner, and the impundulu has only one known weakness. The lightning bird is impervious to gunshots or stabbing, it cannot be poisoned or drowned, but it is said that the creature can be destroyed by fire.
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black rooster-like bird that ran up her hoe and left claw marks on her body before it flew back to the clouds. In other instances it is described as having iridescent feathers like a peacock's or a fiery red tail, bill and legs. Most supposed sightings describe the lightning bird as a winged creature with the size of a person; when needed it can indeed masquerade as a human, but usually it's a huge black and white bird of prey.
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is known to be a confidant of witches, it's sometimes spotted riding on the back of a hyena, because witches can turn themselves into a hyena. The lightning bird is widely feared as a witch's familiar. It is considered an evil creature because it does the bidding of witches; if a witch doctor dispatches an impundulu it can cause illness and bad luck to a person.
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plays the essential role in dealing with the lightning bird. A supposed extract from the bird's flesh may for instance be prepared into a remedy for tracing thieves. In this way the witch doctors may exert control over the minds of both law-abiding and criminal members of their society. The impundulu
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is believed to be the lightning bird. Among others the lightning bird is believed to manifest itself only through lightning, except to women, to whom it reveals itself as a bird. In these instances the bird is of imaginary nature and may take several forms. In one instance a village girl described a
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Legend has it that the lightning bird is a vampire who feeds off blood, in human form it will feed off humans, but in animal form it will feed off other birds. This is similar to the
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The fat of the bird is believed to be of significance either as the fuel that the bird sets on fire when it throws down a lightning strike or as a component in valuable
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The impundulu (which translates as "lightning bird") takes the form of a black and white bird, the size of a person, which is said to summon
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after killing a two-year-old child he believed to be an impundulu.
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Legendary creature in the folklore of the tribes of South Africa
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Vampires: A Field Guide To The
Creatures That Stalk The Night
363:"Killer's belief in omens, spirits led to attack on toddler"
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Maverick: Extraordinary Women from South Africa's Past
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500:Myths and Legends of the Bantu, Alice Werner, 1933
489:, 1982. Description of Adrian Boshier's adventures
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112:and lightning with its wings and talons. It is a
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270:Jȩdrej, M. Charles; Rosalind Shaw (1992).
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520:South African legendary creatures
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330:Myths and Legends of the Bantu
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361:Blatch, Nicky (2005-11-07).
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415:Beukes, Lauren (2004).
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192:Moon Witch, Spider King
188:Black Leopard, Red Wolf
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367:The Herald
252:References
118:witchcraft
103:Zulu tribe
535:Familiars
335:Routledge
241:Tikoloshe
180:Dark Star
142:hammerkop
87:impundulu
18:Impundulu
231:Chonchon
225:See also
136:The bird
122:familiar
114:vampiric
91:thekwane
54:Grouping
46:hamerkop
390:(ed.).
236:Shtriga
110:thunder
72:Country
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149:Powers
130:blood
95:izulu
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