Tradition / Region: Angolan Mythology
Also Known As: Quianda
Category: Mermaid, Spirit
The Myth
Kianda is a powerful water spirit from Angolan folklore, associated with rivers, lagoons, and the underwater world. In many stories, Kianda appears as a supernatural being connected to hidden wealth, mysterious underwater cities, and dangerous encounters with humans.
One Angolan tale tells of a woman with two daughters who encountered a strange skull-like being that wished to marry one of the girls. The mother refused to give either daughter away. The younger daughter then secretly took ashes and covered the skull’s holes with them before throwing it into a lagoon.
The next morning, the waters had transformed, and the being beneath the surface had become Kianda. The spirit returned and demanded the younger daughter as his bride. He dragged her beneath the water into his underwater realm, where she was dressed in fine ornaments and necklaces. Whenever she returned from beneath the waters, she brought wealth, cloth, wine, and valuable goods back with her.
The woman eventually married Kianda and lived between the human world and the spirit world beneath the water. In the story, Kianda is portrayed as both dangerous and supernatural, yet also capable of granting riches and prosperity to those connected to him.
Sources
Chatelain, H. (1894). Folk-tales of Angola; fifty tales with Kimbundu text, liberal English translation, introduction, and notes. Boston: American Folk-lore Society.