#WackyWednesday: South African legends; the stuff movies are made of

Every country has its own unique set of myths and legends, yet as South Africa is cultural pot of diversity, our legends are somewhat more creative than others.

Here are five South African legends you might not have known about.

1. The Flying Dutchman

Hold onto your seats all Pirates of the Caribbean fans, you read that right. The legendary Flying Dutchman is not a fictional pirate ship created for the cinematic screen. This iconic ship’s legend stems from South Africa.

Story has it the ghostly vessel spirited into being when it sank in 1641 while under the command of Captain Hendrick van der Decken (the Dutchman), not Davy Jones.

According to legend, a storm of epic proportions broke out when the ship was headed to the Cape of Good Hope, and Captain van der Decken refused to port a few kilometres from his destination.

Instead, he challenged God’s wrath and pushed his crew to continue sailing until they could port in the Cape of Good Hope. Because of his brazen attitude towards God, and killing a crewman who wanted to stop the ship, the captain was cursed to sail the seas for all eternity.

2. Jan van Hunks and the devil

Not many countries can brag that one of their country men met the devil himself and lived to tell the tale. According to South African mythology, Jan van Hunks, a Dutch pirate in the early 18th century, retired from his life at sea to live on the slopes of Devil’s Peak, Table Mountain.

To escape from his wife’s razor sharp tongue, he often walked up the mountain to smoke his pipe in peace. One day a stranger approached him and asked to borrow some tobacco.

Men being men, a bit of bragging was done and soon a pipe smoking contest ensued, with the winner’s prize a ship full of gold. After several days, Van Hunks finally defeated the stranger, who unfortunately turned out to be the devil.

Thunder roared, the clouds closed in and Van Hunks disappeared, leaving behind only a scorched patch of ground. Legend has it that the cloud of tobacco smoke they left became the “table-cloth” – the famous white cloud that spills over Table Mountain when the south-easter blows in summer.

When that happens, it is believed the two are smoking up a storm again.

3. Tokoloshe

What list of South African legends would be complete without the infamous tokoloshe?

The tokoloshe is a short, hairy creature from Bantu mythology. Apparently, the being is a mischievous and evil spirit who can become invisible by swallowing a pebble.

It is said the creature is usually called upon by malevolent people to cause trouble for others, while its power extends to causing illness and even death upon the victim.

In order to get rid of a tokoloshe, one needs to visit a n’anga or sangoma, who will know how to banish the impish rascal from the area.

4. Highway Sheila

Every country needs a ghost that lurks on a highway to scare people and South Africa is no different. Highway Sheila is said to haunt Higginson Highway in Durban.

According to some, Sheila was a young girl who was killed in a car accident on the highway, and took to haunting the highway as an act of revenge of the motorist who killed her. While numerous stories are linked to her demise and her haunting, she is described as a beautiful, young Indian woman with long hair, who is said to hitchhike on the highway.

People, often captivated by her beauty, upon seeing her, stop to give her a lift. Once the motorist starts driving, she will mysteriously vanish.

While some legends claim she is not murderous, other stories link her to collisions on highway. Either way, be careful of mysterious women hitchhiking in the Higginson Highway area.

5. N11’s ghostly motorists

Durban is not the only city in South Africa with haunted roads. The N11 passing through Newcastle is apparently home to two ghostly entities.

Allegedly, during the 1970’s a man was test driving a car he wanted to purchase from a car dealership. It is believed the man attempted to do a U-turn, when a truck collided with the vehicle, killing the motorist and the car dealership agent.

Legend has it the two men can be seen standing alongside the road on certain nights, possibly looking for the help that never came…