Isitwalangcengce

The Isitwalangcengce is a mythical creature from Zulu legends in South Africa. It was described as being shaped like a hyena with a very broad head that functioned as a basket. During times of famine, it moved closer to villages seeking humans to consume. It waits for children carrying pieces of meat and pulls both the meat and the child into its basket head. In the modern day, the Isitwalangcengce is used as a bogeyman figure, with parents saying it will carry off misbehaving children. It didn’t consume the entire human, but broke their heads open with rocks and consumed their spilled brains. There is a story of a man being taken by the Isitwalangcengce and asking where he was being taken. Realizing he was being taken to his death, the man waited until they neared some brush and filled the basket with sticks. Because of this, the Isitwalangcengce didn’t realize when the man grabbed a branch, pulled himself free, and then ran back to his village. In the future, others taken by the Isitwalangcengce were advised to suggest the brush path so they could free themselves.

Citations:

Callaway, Canon. Nursery Tales, Traditions, and Histories of the Zulus, in their own words, with a Translation into English, and Notes: I. United Kingdom, John A. Blair, Trübner, 1868.