Mantindane

(MAN-tin-dane)

Variations: Chitauli, TIKOLOSHE

The people of Kenya tell of a vampiric creature that stands two or three feet tall called a mantindane ("fairy man" or "star monkey"). Its very wide body is covered with brown-orange fur. It has a narrow head, pointed ears, and dark, slitted eyes. Because it never wears any clothes, we also know that it has a long, serpentine penis.

Often bound to a witch and used as her familiar, the mantindane is well suited for this purpose. It knows how to use magic, as well as the secret to brewing its own type of poison. Often asked to kill the witch's enemies, the mantindane will make a batch of its special poison and sneak into a person's home completely undetected, as it also knows how to turn invisible. Its poison is carried through the air and soon enough will kill everyone inside. Just a few drops of the toxin in the local water supply will kill anyone who drinks from it.

Mantindanes drink the blood they need to survive mostly from cattle. They have a compulsion to drink milk directly from the animal, so when they look for a cave near water to live in, preferably right along the riverbank, they like to be sure that cows frequent the area. Otherwise, if opportunity presents itself, and there is no danger or risk in doing so, the mantindane will feed off a sleeping child or woman. Fortunately, for cows and humans alike, it can easily be warded off with iron.

Mantindane are often blamed for spreading a mysterious sickness in a community, and because of this, a witch doctor is often employed to make a magical trap to capture the vampire, paralyze it, and remove all of its powers. However, one can never point at one of these traps and say, "Look, it's captured!" or something similar, as that will break the spell, free the mantindane, and restore its powers.

It is advised that women should sleep in an elevated bed so as not to attract the attention of a mantindane, should one sneak into the home invisibly and wander around looking for some mischief to cause. There is a growing belief that the mantindane is not a vampire at all, but rather an alien that is trying to use the women of Africa to perpetuate its own species.

Source: Chidester, Religion, Politics, and Identity, 80;

Connor, Shamans of the World, 136 ­37; Jacobs, UFOs and Abductions, 225