Kishi (folklore)

A kishi (plural: makishi) is a man-eating, many-headed creature with long, tangled hair that falls over its face, recorded in the folklore of the Ambundu people in Angola. ^{[1] [2] [3]} According to one legend, there was a kishi chief who had the ability to regrow his head as soon as it is cut off. ^[4] Makishi appear in the legend of Sudika-mbambi, where they destroyed Kimanaueze's village and massacred the people. ^{[5] [6]}

The word kishi, nkishi, or mukisi means "spirit" in several Bantu languages spoken in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, northern Angola, and parts of western Zambia. ^[7]

References

1. Chatelain, Héli (1894). Folk-tales of Angola: Fifty Tales, with Ki-mbundu Text, Literal English Translation, Introduction, and Notes. Boston and New York: American Folk-Lore Society. p. 97. ISBN   0524007098.
2. Chatelain, Héli (1894). Folk-tales of Angola: Fifty Tales, with Ki-mbundu Text, Literal English Translation, Introduction, and Notes. Boston and New York: American Folk-Lore Society. p. 269. ISBN   0524007098.
3. "Sudika-Mbambi Descends to Earth". Oxford Reference.
4. Chatelain, Héli (1894). Folk-tales of Angola: Fifty Tales, with Ki-mbundu Text, Literal English Translation, Introduction, and Notes. Boston and New York: American Folk-Lore Society. p. 113. ISBN   0524007098.
5. "Sudika-Mbambi Descends to Earth". Oxford Reference.
6. Werner, Alice (1933). Myths And Legends Of The Bantu. Library of Alexandria. p. 120. ISBN   1465517049.
7. Knappert, Jan (1977). Bantu Myths and Other Tales. Brill Archive. ISBN   978-90-04-05423-3.