Sasabonsam

Region: Africa
Location:Ashanti (Akan regions of Ghana)

Sasabonsam is a fearsome forest being from Ashanti folklore, described as a tall, red-skinned humanoid with long, rope-like hair and legs that end in iron hooks instead of feet. He lives high in the canopy of deep forests, waiting for hunters or travelers who pass beneath. Some stories say he dangles his long legs down like vines, catching people as they walk by. Other accounts describe him swooping down like a monstrous bat. His iron-hook legs are sometimes said to clang against branches as he moves — a sound that warns attentive travelers.
  Unlike many Akan spirits who can be bargained with or appeased, Sasabonsam is almost always predatory. The forests where he resides are described as “unreturning places,” emphasizing both physical danger and spiritual taboo. The creature represents the fear of becoming lost or taken by the deep wilderness — an embodiment of the danger that lies beyond cultivated, communal land. Hunters tell stories of spotting shapes in treetops or hearing the metallic scraping of hooks on bark, interpreting these as signs of Sasabonsam’s presence.
  In Ashanti cosmology, Sasabonsam exists alongside the Asanbosam — a slightly different but related being who also dwells in trees. Oral tradition often blurs the two, but Sasabonsam is typically the larger and more menacing version. The being reinforces the need for ritual preparation before entering the forest, respect for sacred groves, and caution during hunts. In many ways, Sasabonsam symbolizes both the literal and spiritual dangers of the untamed forest — a place where the boundary between the human world and the hidden one becomes perilously thin.

World
Koina
Owner
kaixabu
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5
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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