The Lightning bird or Impundulu or Thekwane (or izulu, inyoni yezulu) is a mythological creature in the folklore of the tribes of South Africa including the Pondo, the Zulu and the Xhosa. The impundulu (which translates as "lightning bird") takes the form of a black and white bird, the size of a human, which is said to summon thunder and lightning with its wings and talons. It is a vampiric creature associated with witchcraft which was often the servant or familiar of a witch or witch doctor, attacking the witch's enemies. It is said to have an insatiable appetite for blood. It is said to sometimes take the form of a beautiful young man and seduce women.
Read more about Lightning Bird: The Bird, Its Powers, Cultural Significance
Famous quotes containing the words lightning and/or bird:
“Would not some lightning flash of vision sear people’s consciousness into life again? What was the good of stopping the war if armies continued?”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)
“Nor bird nor beast
Could make me wish for anything this day,
Being old, but that the old alone might die,
And that would be against God’s Providence.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)