Kariba Dam – Nyaminyami

Mashonaland West · Zimbabwe · Natural site

The river god Nyaminyami, parted from his wife by the dam wall, is still said to shake the ground at Kariba in his fury.

When construction of the Kariba Dam across the Zambezi began in 1956, the Tonga people warned of Nyaminyami, the serpent-like god of the river. The following year, the worst flood in living memory smashed the half-built dam and killed many workers; several bodies could not be found until the elders sacrificed a black calf to the river – and the next morning bodies lay where the calf had floated. More than 85 people lost their lives before the dam was completed in 1959. The Tonga tell that the wall separated Nyaminyami from his wife, that the earth tremors in the area are his attempts to reach her – and that one day he will destroy the dam.

FAQ

Hvor ligger Kariba Dam – Nyaminyami?

Kariba Dam – Nyaminyami ligger i Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe.