Mamlambo: The River Goddess Who Brings Wealth and Death
Mamlambo is a shapeshifting water deity of the Zulu and Xhosa peoples, often depicted as a giant serpent with a horse's head or a beautiful woman who lures men to their doom. She controls the waters, causing floods when angered and droughts when she withdraws. Those who seek her out for wealth must make terrible sacrifices, and the riches she grants always come with ruin, illness, and death. In 1997 the Mamlambo gained notoriety when nine deaths near the Mzintlava River were attributed to her, with victims found with their brains sucked out, earning her the name 'brain sucker.' She represents