INTRO:
Hello and welcome to Myth Monsters, my name is Ryan and I’ll be your introductory host for these little snack bite size podcasts on folklore and mythical monsters from around the world.
These podcasts focus on the actual cryptids, folklore and mythic monsters from global mythology, rather than focusing on full stories of heroes and their big adventures.
We’ll also be dropping in some references that they have to recent culture and where you can see these represented in modern day content so you can learn more, and get as obsessed as Erin is about these absolute legends of the mythological world.
Today we’re heading down to my home in South Africa, and looking at the mysterious Grootslang from African mythology - I’ve personally never heard of this monster, but I’m from the north of South Africa, in Pretoria - it’s not something that was commonly talked about as we are taught more about the Tokoloshe, which is a myth monster we’ll cover on the podcast soon - but I’ll let Erin take it away, sit tight and enjoy!
DESCRIPTION:
Thanks Ryan! Ryan’s one of my lovely colleagues who is obviously South African. He now lives in the UK, but still very much has the accent and cultural background. He entertains me at work by over exaggerating his accent and it’s very satisfying to listen to.
Without further ado, let’s get into today’s monster!
Today, as Ryan said, we're going to be looking at the shifty Grootslang from South Africa. Grootslang is described as a serpentine elephant - yes I bet you never thought you’d hear those two words in a sentence together. It’s very literally half snake, half elephant. They are absolutely massive, bigger than a normal African elephant - reaching sizes of up to 40ft long!
Grootslang are said to have greenish-gray and scaly skin, ears that are a combination of elephant ears and cobra hood, venomous elephant tusks, a forked tongue, an elephant-like head and front legs, a snake-like tail for a back half, and an elephant-like trunk that has a non-living, snake head-shaped end, complete with venomous fangs.
Now, there are some depictions of the Grootslang that are of snake bodies, with an elephant head - others of the opposite. Some have gemstones for eyes too which is quite cool. However, my personal favourite is that of the full sized elephant but with loads of snakes as trunks! There’s a very cool artist's rendition of this that I posted on twitter this week.
They’re a primordial monster, and actually considered a cryptid to be honest - but it does make them older than the world itself. Much like in Greek mythology - the Titans are primordial for example. However, natives say that the Grootslang is a spirit snake, and anyone who encounters it is overcome by a sense of evil.
They live in a cave called the Wonder Hole or the Bottomless Pit - depending on how much you love Wonder hole because it’s my new favourite nickname for an orifice. This is found in the Richtersveld area of South Africa - which is on the border of Namibia, and the nearest city is Cape Town which is a 7 and a half hour drive, so not really somewhere a usual tourist will go visit. This cave is apparently linked to the sea by the Orange River, and it’s debated whether the Grootslang can live underwater like some sea snakes. This cave is apparently full of diamonds, precious gemstones and metals.
Lastly, they absolutely adore anything shiny. Like dragons, they love wealth in any shape, way or form. Their favourite thing is diamonds - and that leads us nicely onto our next point.
How would you escape a Grootslang if you decided to go hopping around in the Wonder Hole?
Well apparently the cave is full of diamonds, which is why people think it’s down there, as a guardian of South Africa’s biggest gemstone deposit - however, if it slithers or charges up to you, you can offer it a diamond and actually, it might decide to spare you.
Although, if not they have a horrific reputation for having a real lust for torturing and slowly killing people who dare to disturb its nest. However, they have more of a penchant for eating elephants, which they lure to the cave, crushing them, and swallowing them whole.
ORIGIN:
Ahh, my favourite part - etymology. The word Grootslang is Afrikaans and Dutch, as if you didn’t know Afrikaans’ roots are within the Dutch language from the conquest of it in 1652 - that’s a story for another day when it’s relevant. The word Grootslang means big snake - which definitely suits the magnitude of this creature’s size.
So the tale of the creation of the Grootslang is that long ago, when the planet had just been born - the Gods, which were called the Immortals, were new to creating things and so were just kind of playing about. I don’t know what compelled them to put a little hissing danger noodle and a giant stomping elephant together, but when in Rome, or Cape Town, I guess.
They realised as soon as it was released that this was a huge mistake - and that they had given it too many powers, as they also made it incredibly strong, cunning and bloody clever. They put their heads together and decided to split the animal in two - creating the first snakes and the first elephants.
However, the original Grootslang escaped and hid in the Wonder Hole - with all subsequent Grootslang owing their lives to this one escapee of the Gods panic. It’s lived there ever since, and ever since is a very vague term - but legitimately, there is very little information on this beastie.
Now this original Grootslang still lives in the Wonder Cave, but some natives of Congo say that multiple Grootslangs live hidden in the cave systems - guarding any deposits of gemstones and precious metals. Although I can see that this would also be a really good way of keeping colonizers away from their pockets of wealth and away from them.
Speaking of which, sparking off of that one - a cool fact is that they are thought of to be very much like elephants when it comes to pack mentality. The male Grootslang stick together in bachelor packs, whilst the females and calves stay together in matriarchal groups. Also, the escapee and original Grootslang was in fact, female and apparently leads the herd as matriarch. They also lay eggs, and they do so in the cave systems - keeping them from potential predators - not sure what they are but sure. Crocodiles and lions ain’t got nothing on these beasties. Although, if you are lucky enough to find a stray baby Grootslang, you can, according to legend, tame it and form a rider’s bond. Cool right?
Now have there ever been any sightings?
Yes and no - they’ve appeared in South African newspapers, which have confirmed that they’re around 40ft long and apparently one party of prospectors followed one's tracks for miles before it disappeared into the Orange River.
Only one person is said to have tried to explore the Wonder Hole. He used a winch and cable to reach a ledge below the cave, there were tunnels leading off the ledge and a very strong smell of sulphur. He dropped his electric torch when bats flew in his face and he was brought back to the surface. He never tried again.
Another cool sighting, well not really sighting - but report is that of Peter Grayson. He was a businessman from England back in 1917, didn't really know what he was doing looking for a titanic beast, instead of fighting in WW1, but sure. But he disappeared after his party were all attacked by lions - and he was never seen again. People say that the Grootslang killed him, but to be honest with ourselves here - it was probably the lions.
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:
For cultural things this week - we’re a bit sparse I’m afraid.
For art, have a look at the independent art around them - some of them are really freaky, others just unbelievably cool.
For TV - A Grootslang was featured in The Secret Saturdays, which I talked about a few weeks ago. There’s an episode with the Grootslang, and it’s shown as a four-tusked green-skinned elephant with horns and a snake tail. The Saturdays had to relocate a Grootslang away from settlements by baiting it with a large piece of pork - sounds delicious.
The Grootslang was featured in the Lumberjanes comic book series, vol. 3 when it was creating a snowstorm - which is a bit weird for a South African myth monster - although South Africa does have penguins, which I think is weird.
For games, there’s two! In Kingdom Rush: Origins, which is a mobile tower defense game, there’s a stage called The Crystal Lake where a Grootslang appears in the crystal river. It uses its breath to crystalize towers and help beat you basically. And they’re a boss in Final Fantasy 15 - which is kind of cool.
My book recommendation this week is maybe a bit controversial because of the author - but honestly have a look at Nelson Mandela’s book Favourite African Folktales. It’s got brilliant reviews and you can feel how much he loves where he comes from which is just so lovely.
DO I THINK THEY EXISTED?
Now it’s time for, do I think they existed? I mean, no. Not really. The concept of them is terrifying, but like nah. Although like the Manananggal from last week, locals are convinced this exists - so I totally get it.
My thoughts are one of two things; one - they saw a massive, massive snake that they might have thought was just too big to be real. I mean the longest snake ever recorded - called Medusa by the way (brilliant) was a whopping 25ft and 2in long - which was recorded in 2011. So it’s not 100% unbelievable, there are also loaaaads of reports of giant snakes around the Orange River that people think are Grootslang - so maybe that’s a sign of them, maybe it’s the opposite.
My second thought is that maybe that idea of creating a reason to stop colonisers and realistically, thieves, from stealing their livelihoods would probably help too. I think if I were finding that people were going underground to steal my diamonds, I think I’d try and scare them off too. Considering the history of South Africa and gem mining - it’s too big a coincidence for me really.
OUTRO:
You know what this was another one that I was kind of putting off, and I really enjoyed learning about it. I do really enjoy snakes and elephants separately, and I live safe in the knowledge that South Africa is really far away and I don’t ever have to worry about getting eaten whole by one - because I certainly don’t have any diamonds (hint hint to partner here).
Next week we’re heading back over to the British Isles because I missed home. We’re going to look at the terrifying Banshee from Irish and Celtic mythology. Join us for a scream next week to find out more about this ghostly lady.
For now thank you so much for listening, it’s been an absolute pleasure. If you enjoyed this podcast, please give it a rating on the service you’re listening on - I’ve got the twitter for any questions, or suggestions on what monsters to cover next and I’d love to hear from you. The social media handles for Tiktok and Instagram are mythmonsterspodcast, and twitter is mythmonsterspod. But all of our content can be found at mythmonsters.co.uk - the shiny new website!
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But for now, stay spooky and I’ll see you later babes.