Funkwe (Giant Water Snake)
The Funkwe is a giant hybrid water snake of Lamba tradition in Zambia, guardian of the lakes Nakamwale, Kashiba and Namulolobwe and of their mistress the Chitapo, a female lake spirit sometimes shown as a mermaid or as a diamond the serpent holds in its mouth. It protects treasure, governs rainfall and fertility, and some scholars read it and the Chitapo as a single myth that later diverged.