African folklore

thumb|Artist's interpretation of 16th century Vazimba village in highland Madagascar (1978) The Vazimba (Malagasy ), according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the average person, leading some scientists to speculate that they may have been a pygmy people (and therefore a separate Malagasy ethnic group) who migrated from the islands that constitute modern-day Indonesia and settled in Madagascar over the course of the period b

various fables, including Aesop's

civilization that flourished between 6th century BC to the 16th century AD in the area of modern Cameroon and Chad

mythology of the Malagasy people

British folklorist and philologist (1834-1914)

Ethiopian and Eritrean folklore

An Obambou, also Obambo or Obamba, is a supernatural being belonging to tribes of Central Africa. It is depicted as evil, possessing the power to do evil and to do good if it chooses, having the ability to possess and cause sickness, or to want a home built for them. In some African tribes, an Obambou is referred to as a devil, or as the spirit of someone who was not buried correctly.

American artist (1890-1973)

The Kalanoro is a humanoid cryptid, who are believed to live as spirits on the island of Madagascar. Tradition states that they used to live corporeally in the rainforests, but habitat destruction cause their corporeal forms to go extinct.

The dingonek is a creature said to have been seen near Lake Victoria in 1907 by big game hunter John Alfred Jordan and members of his hunting party, as recounted by fellow big-game hunter Edgar Beecher Bronson in his 1910 memoir In Closed Territory. This account was followed by an article published in 1913 in the East Africa Natural History Society by Charles William Hobley, in which he claims to have encountered further accounts of similarly described creatures. In 1918, an article published by ''MacLean's'' declared that the beast was a newly discovered animal species.

Djadjaemankh is the name of a fictitious ancient Egyptian magician appearing in the third chapter of a story told in the legendary Westcar Papyrus. He is said to have worked wonders during the reign of king (pharaoh) Sneferu (4th Dynasty).

American children's writer (1911–2000)

book by Richard Hamilton

According to some versions of the genealogy of the Merina people of the central Highlands of Madagascar, Andriandravindravina is the name of the first sovereign of the Highlands. He was not Merina but rather a vazimba, the mysterious first inhabitants of Madagascar that successive waves of settlers encountered upon arrival there. The Tantara ny Andriana eto Madagasikara, the famed genealogy of the Merina aristocracy, states that Andriandravindravina ("Prince of the Leaves", an allusion to the eastern forests he would have needed to traverse to reach the central plateau) ruled over Ambohitsitak