Page 89 - Heritage Streets of KwaMashu 2025

uChakide – “uchakide uhlolile imamba yelukile”, it is regarded as the most clever animal which is also found in many Zulu African tales of intelligence. Uchakide means “Mongoose/Weasel”. It is said that uchakide passes in front of you in your journey, and that journey will be a great success. (some information analyzed from Zulu References for Interpreters and Students (CFaye, 1923)
Ndlondlo Road - the mythical feathered black mamba is called iNdlondlo in isiZulu (ayinalo uphaphe kodwa kusuke kuyiqhuzu – bathi ihlanyiswa yilo iqhuzu/uphonjwana lolo – and sometimes ayibizwa ngegama kuthiwa “uhlanya” – sometimes you will hear people shouting a warning “ungahambi lapho kuno”hlanya”!). In Zulu culture, there is a mamba called Ndlondlo. It has a “feather/horn” on its head, moves so fast through bush that it makes a whistling sound, and it will often hide in bush while crying like a baby, and if you enter the bush to investigate the cries, it will attack. At other times it supposedly crows like a rooster. Indlondlo therefore is an old black mamba with the head consisting of a protruding small horn (feather-like) on top, hence the saying, “Indlondlo enophaph’ ekhanda”. The black mamba is, without a doubt, the most feared venomous snake in the world. It has a reputation for being extremely aggressive, quick to attack, and supposedly can kill a man within seconds. The deadly mamba, generally, ranks as one of the most venomous snakes in the world and is also one of the fastest-moving, said to be able to reach speeds of up to 20km/h, although it averages around 13km/h. Some say when it rises high up its head resembles a horn. Monster mambas are often sighted in KZN, some supposedly measuring between 5-6m in length. In Zulu mythology and fairytales there are endless stories of mambas attacking unprovoked – including the black mamba that hung from a tree and killed six cattle as they passed beneath it – until one day a brave woman carrying a clay pot on her head with boiling porridge went straight to where it hung – the indlondlo whistles as it
came to struck the head of the woman only to be burned badly and died instantly. Biologically the truth is that the black mamba is extremely venomous and has a potent fast-acting neurotoxic venom. Following a serious bite, victims soon have pins and needles in their lips, a metallic taste in the mouth, the eyes become droopy, and the pupils dilate, and as the victim weakens, breathing is affected. In serious untreated cases,
victims may die within 1-7 hours, or even well within one hour. Deaths within half an hour, though not common, have been recorded. A large black mamba has around 300mg of venom and needs about 15mg to kill an adult. It is potentially the quickest snakebite death in the world. Zulus have their izibiba (a concoction powdered mixture of carefully selected herbs) to counter even the poison of the mamba.
HERITAGE STREETS OF KWA-MASHU 85