A Ninki Nanka (a.k.a. Ningiri (in Guinea), Niniganne, Rainseou (Portuguese Creole)) is a legendary freshwater monster in West African folklore. Length, 30 feet. Crocodile-like body. Horselike head. Three horns, one in the middle of its head. Long neck.According to tradition, the Ninki Nanka lives in the swamps of West Africa. The animal is said to be extremely large and very dangerous. It is said that when children get too confident and feel they can disobey their parents and go into the swamp they will be taken by the Ninki Nanka. This creature's tales were never recorded in any sort of non-modern text but the story of it has spread from tribe to tribe all over Africa. There is a song called "Ninki Nanka" on the album Casamance au clair de lune (1984) by the Senegalese music group Touré Kunda. Behavior is nocturnal. Spends much of its time submerged in mud. Said to take the form of a giant snake. Has a ravenous hunger.
Significant sightings[]
- Thomas H. Dalrymple was on the bank of the Gambia River one night in 1935 when he noticed the local people getting excited about something in the river. The next day, they told him a Ninki nanka had been seen. According to them, it resembled the creature in a photo they had seen depicting a model dinosaur in a New York park.
- A group of "dragon hunters" from the Centre for Fortean Zoology (CFZ) went to Gambia in the summer of 2006 to investigate the Ninki Nanka and take testimony from those who have claimed to have seen the mythical creature. One interviewee who claimed to have had an encounter with a Ninki Nanka said it looked similar to an image of a Chinese dragon. The expedition, known as the "J. T. Downes Memorial Gambia Expedition 2006", received a fair amount of media attention, including coverage in a BBC Online article.
