Tikoloshe (or Tokoloshe)
The Tokoloshe (Tikoloshe) is a Zulu and Xhosa water spirit — a dwarf-like, hairy creature that becomes invisible by swallowing a stone or drinking water. Created by witch doctors to harm enemies, it causes illness, death, and bites sleepers' toes. Protection involves raising beds on bricks. Documented in Nguni ethnography and contemporary South African belief.