Nyami Nyami – The River God

Zimbabwean Legend Stories: The River God

Rich in culture and legend, Zimbabwe is a hotbed of African mythology. Travel down to Lake Kariba, translated as the “trap”, and you may well find Nyami Nyami – the River God.

A serpent-like creature, he is said to be three meters wide, but nobody dares to guess his length. Legend has it that the water stains red when he swims past. But, before you make assumptions about this snake spirit, just know he is a lost soul that longs for love. The Tonga people believe that he is married, but the building of the Kariba Dam cruelly separated him from his wife.

Word of advice… do not agitate a mythical serpent creature. As white men entered the country and construction of the dam began in earnest, a cyclone from the Indian Ocean swept up the valley. Such a devastating event had never been seen before in a landlocked land. In the aftermath, the putrefying bodies of antelopes and other animals were seen hanging from the tops of trees. The survey team had perished in the landslide.

Whenever progress would be made on the dam, the River God would retaliate, sending unprecedented floods to wash away any foundations. Three floods were seen over the span of eight years, floods that would normally be expected to occur every 10,000 years.

In December 1958, the dam was finally erected but its construction had tragically claimed eighty lives. The villagers and workers felt ashamed, having brought about the humiliation of this mysterious and primeval river.

Today, minor earth tremors are felt around Kariba. Some say it’s Nyami Nyami, seeking his wife, now ruthlessly cut off from her by the dam wall. He turns around with such fury that the earth shakes.