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Z is for Zimbabwe, Zaire, and

April 30, 2016 Claire Annette Noland 6 Comments

Welcome! We’ve come to the end of the alphabet on this year’s A to Z April Blog Challenge.

Z

 

The Zambezi River forms the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. This is where you can see the spectacular Victoria Falls. You might even find the Chitapo who are definitely not beautiful mermaids. Rather they are evil spirits that trick people into the water and then swallow them. They aren’t picky – they’ll take any man or woman.Not only that, they’ll take pots, pans, baskets and whatever else isn’t being used and float them on the water. When people try to retrieve the items, the Chitapo will grab them They don’t even need to touch the victim. They can capture people’s shadows and then their bodies will follow. But, they do have a redeeming quality – they will rescue children from the rapids.

Zimbabwe mermaid

 

If you are interested in learning more about the Chitapo, head over to the Global Table Adventure. You’ll even find a recipe for a traditional Zambian breakfast bowl made with pumpkin, peanuts, and oatmeal which looks quite yummy.

The Chitapo mermaids  continue to cast fear into the hearts of people in Zimbabwe in present times. Recently work on two reservoirs in Zimbabwe were halted because of mermaid sightings. Supposedly, the mermaids were terrorizing the workers.

Samuel Nkomo,the Zimbabwe Water Resource Minister, said that the only way to deal with the problem was to bring in healers to conduct traditional beer making rituals to rid the reservoirs of mermaids. It must have worked because work resumed.

And finally,

Z is for Zoolander. I’ll leave you with this zany quote from the merman played by Ben Stiller.

zoolander

 

Thanks for Living in a Mermaid World with me this month! Post a comment if you’d like a chance to win some mermaid goodies.

Also, I am a member of Pam’s Unconventional Alliance for the A to Z Blog. Stop by and say “hello” to the other members of the team:

You can find Pam at An Unconventional Librarian

Shalini blogs at Something’s Cooking  and Tale of Two Tomatoes. 

Rajlakshmi blogs at The Twinkle Eyed Traveler, The Poetry Wagon, and Destiny’s Child

Parul blogs at Happiness and Food.

Filed Under: Blogging A to Z, Mermaids, Places Tagged With: Chitapo Mermaids, Mermaids in Zambia, Mermaids in Zimbabwe, Zoolander

Previous Post: « Y is for Yawk Yawk and You!
Next Post: Field Notes – the Mermaid Edition »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pam says

    April 30, 2016 at 9:36 am

    Wow. Beer to rid yourself of evil mermaids? I dunno but I sure don’t want to find out.
    GREAT CHALLENGE CLAIRE!! Thanks for all the mermaid knowledge!

    Reply
  2. Gail M Baugniet says

    April 30, 2016 at 9:52 am

    Wetness is the essense of beauty; I like that!
    Thanks for helping to make this AtoZChallenge an interesting journey!

    Gail’s 2016 April A to Z Challenge

    Reply
  3. evelyne holingue says

    May 1, 2016 at 1:45 am

    Bravo for completing the challenge, Claire. How many countries have you covered over this month with the legends of the mermaids?

    Reply
  4. Trine Grillo says

    May 1, 2016 at 11:11 pm

    Loved travelling along with you during this challenge.

    Reply
  5. JazzFeathers says

    May 2, 2016 at 7:42 am

    Loved to learn about the Zimbabwe mermaid. They sound like… intersting creatures.

    And congratulation on completing the challenge. I really enjoyed lerning about mermaid around the world. It’s so intersting how many similarities there are in stories abotu mermaids around the world even in parts very far away from each other.

    Thanks so much for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  6. Cynthia says

    May 12, 2016 at 8:05 am

    Mermaids that trick people into the water and then eat them sound scary. I wonder if that’s retaliation in some way for the way people use bait fish to trick fish into being caught and then eaten by people.

    Reply

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Hello. I’m Claire Annette - reader, writer, teacher, and field trip planner extraordinaire. Here at A Field Trip Life you will find ideas for adventures large and small and the kids’ books that inspire them. Sign your permission slip. Let's go!

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