A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Ujojo Sosibo recalls hearing men describe a fiery serpent while he was a boy, around the arrival of Dutch settlers. It leaves water and moves so quickly that a person on foot cannot escape, though mounted riders can outdistance it. Some Amangwane ambush a serpent as it emerges, cut off its head and see its body return to the pool. The pool then dries and ceases to discharge water. They describe a fiery head and a soft stone found in it.

The narration next attributes an explanation to Dutchmen: killing a solitary serpent dries the pool, whereas killing one of a pair does not. They also caution against using unfamiliar remains medicinally. This dialogue is part of Sosibo’s reported story, rather than a verified rule of hydrology or a medicinal recommendation. The later mounted party watches the pool at night. Two serpents emerge, one above and one below; a blaze accompanies the lower one. Repeated shots initially fail to kill it, and it chases the riders.

The party separates along the river, and the serpent singles out two horses. One finds concealment and a rider finally shoots the creature. The men reunite through gun reports, return to the place where fire burned and find smoke and a large carcass leaking fat. Its girth is compared with a man; its extraordinary length is conveyed through a local distance comparison, which Callaway’s note 45 glosses as more than 500 yards. They plan to fetch a wagon to remove it. The account does not supply an independently measured length.

Callaway frames the story as a recent myth of observation and proposes an ordinary water animal and firearms as a possible basis. His introduction also records a question about whether the animal was a river-dwelling rainbow. Neither conjecture establishes a scientific identity or makes the serpent and the separately described sheep-like rainbow one creature.

Fiery headWater emergenceFast pursuitDrying-pool associationPaired emergenceFatal gunshot
01

Origins & earliest records

The selected account credits Ujojo Sosibo. Callaway supplies the English translation and commentary; personal recollection, hearsay and editorial explanation are separated below.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected account read: The Great Fiery Serpent, pp. 290–293; closing contributor credit p. 293.

In the literature

“it had a fiery head.”
Ujojo Sosibo · Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus
The Great Fiery Serpent, printed p.290 · Henry Callaway

Reported hunters describe the serpent within Ujojo’s childhood-hearsay account.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus, in Their Own Words, volume I

    Ujojo Sosibo; Henry Callaway, translator and editor · 1868

    The Great Fiery Serpent, pp. 290–293; closing contributor credit p. 293

  2. 02

    Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus — The Great Fiery Serpent

    Ujojo Sosibo; Henry Callaway, translator/editor · 1868

    HenryCallaway, Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus, VolumeI, Springvale,Natal:JohnA.Blair1868; bilingual Princeton scan. Complete selected English290–295/318–320 read; original290/293/295/320 visually inspected. Individual attributed accounts distinguished from editorial speculation and adjacent signatures.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Located primary passages

Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.

Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus, in Their Own Words, volume I

HenryCallaway, Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus, VolumeI, Springvale,Natal:JohnA.Blair1868; bilingual Princeton scan. Complete selected English290–295/318–320 read; original290/293/295/320 visually inspected. Individual attributed accounts distinguished from editorial speculation and adjacent signatures.

  1. Ujojo recounts hearing a fiery water serpent story as a boy around the Dutch arrival. Men sever its head and the pool dries; Dutch characters warn against killing a solitary serpent. Later horsemen shoot unsuccessfully at a paired emergence and a blazing pursuer. After retreat, further firing and reunion, they find the huge dead snake smoking and plan wagon transport. The editorial opening separately conjectures a water-snake-or-eel and firearms basis, noting the narrator had wondered about a rainbow connection.

    The Great Fiery Serpent, complete printed pp.290–293; signature293; editorial opening/notes42–45

Ujojo explicitly introduces childhood hearsay, not a personally witnessed serpent. Callaway’s naturalising explanation, approximate huge distance and comparative sources are editorial interpretations rather than verified biology or an exact origin date.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Attributed primary account with translation; digitized bilingual editionCallaway bilingual edition — The Great Fiery Serpent, pp. 290–293; closing contributor credit p. 293Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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