Chiruwi

forest-spirit · Malawi · Southern Africa

Chiruwi is a duel-challenging creature of Central African folklore: a one-sided being said to confront passers-by in combat. A traveller who wins earns the Chiruwi's mercy and a gift of great medical knowledge, becoming a successful medicine man; one who loses is killed. The figure tests strength and courage and appears in obscure folklore collections, sometimes placed in Malawi.

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