The Sasabonsam, or sometimes Asanbosam, is a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

-like folkloric being from the

Akan people The Akan () people are a kwa languages, Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano languages, Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano la ...

. It belongs to the folklore of the Akan of southern

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

, as well as

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

and 18th century

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

from enslaved Akan. It is said to have

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

teeth, pink skin, long red hair and iron hooks for feet 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. A good representation can be seen from The British Museum with the Sasabonsam figure they have in their collection. It is carved out of wood and estimated to have been made in 1935. 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.

Popular culture

Sasabonsam are featured in the 2021 fantasy novel '' Skin of the Sea'' by Natasha Bowen. Two characters, Asanbosam and Sasabonsam, brothers, appear in Marlon James's 2019 novel '' Black Leopard Red Wolf''. They are "monstrous eaters of human flesh." One of the brothers, Sasabonsam, has wings.

References

West African legendary creatures Culture of Ghana Culture of Ivory Coast Culture of Togo Vampires Akan culture {{Africa-myth-stub