Case file · Folklore / legend
Chirorodziva, the pool of the fallen
The deep blue Sleeping Pool in Zimbabwe's Chinhoyi Caves is called Chirorodziva, 'pool of the fallen', after people said to have been thrown into it during 19th-century raids.
1830 CE · -17.35, 30.13 · status: legend
The account
Stories also say the pool cannot be hit with a stone thrown from above, and that the caves sheltered Chief Chinhoyi's people from attack. The caves became a national park in 1955. The year is an approximate date for the raids of the legend.
The sceptical view
The pool's dimensions and the stone-throwing effect have physical explanations; the raid story is oral history.