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Illustration of Umkhovu
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Umkhovu

E boetse e bitswa: imikhovu, esemkofu, esimkovu

The umkhovu is the Zulu form of the witch's zombie: a body taken from the grave, revived by magic and kept as a familiar. Its tongue is removed so that it cannot speak. Colonial-era writers recorded the belief in the 1870s, half a century before The Magic Island popularised the Haitian zombi. It belongs to the same family as the zombie beliefs reported from South Africa in the late 20th century.1

Di lwantshe
E ngotswe ka lekgetlo la pele
1875
Described in D. Leslie's Among the Zulus (1875)
Tshimoloho
Zulu
Afrika Borwa
Se e bakang
Boloi
A witch or wizard digs up a corpse and brings it back to life as a familiar.
Kamoo o fetohang e nngwe ya tsona kateng
A dead person exhumed and revived by a witch.
Bohlale
Ha e na kelello

E hlahile neng ka lekgetlo la pele?

Described in D. Leslie's Among the Zulus (1875)

dinoutu tsa patlisiso

Seo mehlodi e se buang

1

The Zulu word means an exhumed corpse revived as a witch's servant1

2

The witch cuts out its tongue, so that it can only make a wailing sound1

3

English writers of the 19th century rendered the plural as 'Esemkofu'1

4

H. Rider Haggard used them in his Zulu novel Nada (1895), haunting a 'Ghost Mountain'1

5

The Dictionary of South African English records the term from 1875 to 19251

Mehlodi

  1. Esemkofu - Dictionary of South African English

Ntlha e nngwe le e nngwe leqepheng lena e tswa mehloding ena, e ngotswe ka mantswe a rona. O bone phoso? Re bolelle ho [email protected].

Fepa letshwele. Ha ho dipapatso, ha ho disebedisi tsa ho latela, e lefellwa ke motho a le mong. Tjhelete ya teboho e e boloka inthaneteng.Fana ka tjhelete ya teboho

Ditshomo tsa dinaha tseo

Mehla e tshwanang: 1500 ho isa 1899

Fepa letshweleFana ka tjhelete ya teboho