
The Inkanyamba is a legendary creature said to live in the bottom of the deepest bodies of water, typically where there are waterfalls. It is a giant serpent with an equine head. Across the country, when big storms are brewing, children are still told across Nguni cultures that it is the Inkanyamba taking flight. Most active in the summer months, it is believed that the Inkanyamba’s frustrated search for a mate causes the seasonal storms. A similar creature, Mmamogashoa, features in Sesotho/Setswana mythology. In the case of Mmamogashoa, it’s temperamental flights are said to be in search of its child, normally kidnapped by witch doctors, who abduct these beings for muti.
Mixed media on Museum Etching
370 x 295 mm
(original artwork is framed in one-off vintage frame with bronze plaque as per image)
Prints are on German Etching 310 gsm | 319 x 244 mm | Edition of 15 | hand-signed, dated and numbered
Source image provided by Iziko Museums (William Fehr Collection)

Artist: Henry Clifford de Meillon
Name: “The Castle from Parade”
Date: 1825 – 1830