Groot Slang
Mythical Monsters, Critters, and Cryptids
Today I turn my eye to my own home country South Africa to talk about a mythical creature known as Groot Slang.
Creature: Groot Slang, a snake of giant proportions that is said to live in the Orange River, specifically a cave under the King George Cataract (waterfall), in Richtersveld, Northern Cape, South Africa.
What is it?
Legends tell of a time that a primeval creature was creature by the gods before they turned their attention to creating the world. However, the gods were new at creating things and quickly learned that the creature they created, the Groot Slang, was too strong, too cunning, and too intelligent. Instead of using its talents for good, it used them for evil.
Trying to fix their mistake, the gods started to break the Groot Slang into many pieces to distribute its powers better. Each piece the creature was broken into would become a different animal. Some legends say that the creature was what gave rise to the snakes and elephants we have today. However, one particularly large piece managed to escape, and this is what gave rise to other Groot Slangs.
Groot Slang is Dutch for big or great snake. The original depictions of this creature were a massive snake with a length of up to 40 feet with a width of 1 ½ to 3 feet. Where its eyes are meant to be at gems that are often described as orange. Later legends described a massive snake with a head of a bull elephant, though many people believe this hybridisation was due to the legends that the creature gave rise to the snake and elephant populations around the world.
This creature is greedy and legends state that the cave it lives in is the source of diamonds that South Africa is so well known for. Occasionally these diamonds would fall through a crack, enter the Orange River, and then be washed out to sea. The Goot Slang has a massive appetite and is known to take large prey (cattle, giraffes, and even elephants) along the water’s edge, but it’s not above taking a human if it manages to stumble across one. However, due to its greed, if caught, a person could barter for their life with some precious gemstones.
Historical significance
There are two main stories when it comes to the Groot Slang. The first is Peter Grayson, and the other is of the prospector.
Peter Grayson was an English businessman in 1917 who came to the Northern Cape to make it rich on the diamonds in the area. The stories of his disappearance are numerous, ranging from his men getting sick, them being attacked by lions, or simply getting cold feet. Whatever the story, Peter refused to give up his search for diamonds and was abandoned by his men. He was never seen again, and it was believed that he was devoured by the Groot Slang.
The tale of the prospector tells of a man who lowered himself into the cave that the Groot Slang supposedly rested in. However, he never reached the bottom and found himself resting on a ledge looking down into darkness. Using a torch to try and see the bottom, he found that the cave was far deeper than he had first thought. As he was considering going deeper, a cloud of noxious, sulfurous odour reached him. He assumed that this was the Groot Slang’s toxic breath. As if that wasn’t enough to scare a normal person off, suddenly a swam of monstrous bat-like creatures flew up towards him, making him drop his torch. Surrounded by the dark with strange creatures, the man lost his nerve and decided to leave the cave.
Sitings
Sitings of the Groot Slang have occurred a few times. The first was in 1867 by Hans Sauer. He stated that he saw a massive snake in the Orange rives in Aliwal North, in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Another siting occurred in 1899. G. A. Kinnear saw a large snake in Upington, Northern Cape, South Africa as he was crossing the Orange River. He stated that the snake was able to lift itself out of the water by 10 feet.
The final siting was by Frederick C. Cornell and Kammerer who were swimming in a pool in Augrabies Valle in the Northern Cape. Kammerer noted what he described as a larger serpentine creature that was able to rise 12 feet out of the water.
Possible Creatures
When settlers came to South Africa, they were not used to the sheer size of the snakes that lived in these lands. While there is a lot of doubt over the existence of the Groot Slang, there are many examples of massive snakes.
The South African Rock Python (Python natalensis) can grow to a massive 20 feet in length and be up to 50 kg. This isn’t even the largest of the pythons we get! The Central African Python (Python sebae) can grow bigger the 20 feet, easily.
As for a creature that appears larger underwater and may create a serpentine-like shape when swimming is the Cape Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus), which can grow to massive proportions of 350 kg.
There is even the possibility that large monitor lizards, such as the Nile monitor lizard (Varanus niloticus) and the rock monitor lizard (Varanus albigularis), may also have played a role in the legends.
And that is the tale of the Groot Slang. It was nice to do a little research about a creature from where I’m from. Next week, we move onto letter H. We’re spoiled for choice here, and I’m looking at Hell Hounds, the Hidebehind, and the Hantu Pocong (aka Pocong). See you all next week.
Resources:
Didymus, J. T. (2023, December 7). Grootslang. Fairy Tales and Myths. https://www.fairytalesandmyths.com/grootslang/
Grootslang. (n.d.-a). A Book of Creatures. https://abookofcreatures.com/2021/05/21/grootslang/
Grootslang. (n.d.-b). Cryptid Wiki. https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Grootslang
Johnson, A. (2020, August 30). Mythical creature from South Africa: Grootslang, the great snake. Auden Johnson. https://audenjohnson.com/2020/08/mythical-creature-from-south-africa-grootslang-the-great-snake.html
Further viewing:
Previous Monsters
Aswang
Bunyip
Church Grim
Drop Bears
Enfield Horror
Futakuchi-Onna
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I have heard of the Grootslang before! I did not know about the stories of the siting though! Very cool!
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Most of those sitings were highly likely one of our huge python species.
Indeed! That is likely!
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Oh wow! This is a local one I had never heard of. Sounds like something we should have been taught in history instead of calabashes and oxwagens... 😜
I learned about this critter when I read a book called South African Myths and Legends.
It's amazing.
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