Case file · Folklore / legend
Bowdich hears of the sasabonsam
The British envoy Thomas Bowdich, who reached Kumasi in 1817, recorded Asante beliefs about a forest being, the sasabonsam, in his 1819 account of the mission.
1819 CE · 6.69, -1.62 · status: legend
The account
Akan tradition describes it as a long-limbed, iron-toothed creature that hangs from tall trees and hooks passing hunters with its feet, working with witches. Carved figures of it are known from Asante shrines.
The sceptical view
The sasabonsam is a spirit being of Akan religion rather than a reported animal; cryptozoologists have linked it to giant bats or apes with no evidence.