The Sasabonsam is a vampire-like folkloric being from the Akan people. It belongs to the folklore of the Akan of southern Ghana, as well as Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and 18th century Jamaica from enslaved Akan. It is said to have iron teeth and long hair and lives in trees, attacking from above. In the forests of West Africa, there were rules of renewal, and the Sasabonsam would enforce these rules. They take up territory in the trees in the forests, where they live and feed on people that wander into their home. It becomes a territorial aspect for them. While being humanoid, these creatures have bat-like features, including wings which can be nearly 20 feet wide… In mythology, it is usually portrayed as an archetypical ogre; according to A Dictionary of World Mythology: “the hairy Sasabonsam has large blood-shot eyes, long legs, and feet pointing both ways. Its favourite trick is to sit on the high branches of a tree and dangle its legs so as to entangle the unwary hunter”. Both the ogre and vampire versions have iron teeth.
Appearance List Ashanti (1923) by Robert Sutherland Rattray; Religion and Art in Ashanti (1927, 1969) by Robert Sutherland Rattray [Internet Archive]; Akan-Ashanti Folk-Tales (1930) by Robert Sutherland Rattray [Internet Archive]; Dahomean Narrative: A Cross-Cultural Analysis (1958) by Melville J. Herskovits & Frances S. Herskovits — Study of Fon/Ewe narrative traditions and supernatural folklore; The Vampire: His Kith and Kin (1969) by Montague Summers — Includes African vampire traditions and comparative folklore relevant to Adze traditions; The Vampire in Legend, Fact and Art (1972) by Basil Copper; The Vampire Book (1976) by J. Gordon Melton.
Description The Sasabonsam is a vampire-like folkloric being from the Akan people. It belongs to the folklore of the Akan of southern Ghana, as well as Côte d’Ivoire, Togo and 18th century Jamaica from enslaved Akan. It is said to have iron teeth and long hair and lives in trees, attacking from above. In the forests of West Africa, there were rules of renewal, and the Sasabonsam would enforce these rules. They take up territory in the trees in the forests, where they live and feed on people that wander into their home. It becomes a territorial aspect for them. While being humanoid, these creatures have bat-like features, including wings which can be nearly 20 feet wide… In mythology, it is usually portrayed as an archetypical ogre; according to A Dictionary of World Mythology: “the hairy Sasabonsam has large blood-shot eyes, long legs, and feet pointing both ways. Its favourite trick is to sit on the high branches of a tree and dangle its legs so as to entangle the unwary hunter”. Both the ogre and vampire versions have iron teeth.
