Bear Ghost of Shona
In Shona tradition from Zimbabwe and Mozambique, the bear ghost exists within the framework of ancestral spirit beliefs rather than representing actual bears, which are not native to southern Africa. The bear ghost is a spirit entity that visits human communities in bear-like form, associated with the mhondoro tradition of powerful ancestral guardians. These spirits are believed to be the ghosts of chiefs and warriors whose power manifests in the form of large animals. The bear-like ghost is considered a foreign spirit that arrived through trade and migration routes connecting the Shona to oth