His eyes are narrow and black and he has small ears. His hands and feet are like a monkeys. He also has a long penis that looks like a tail.

The tokoloshi can be found living in crevices and holes amongst the stones near a river and in small caves on mountain sides. He is very shy and scared of people and stays away from them. He has a bad reputation and has a lot of enemies.

His one friend is the lizard who will help him clean his house and they dance together.

The Tokoloshi is a mischievous creature and gets up to many tricks. If things get broken or sweets stolen in a homestead then it is blamed on the Tokoloshi! The danger lies in witches or wizards getting hold of him because they turn him into their slave and use him for their evil deeds.

The Tokoloshi can make himself invisible and they will send him into huts to harm people in their sleep or put poison in their food. Some witches will kill the tokoloshi and sell his body fat as a protective medicine.

Many people put their bed on bricks so that the tokoloshi can't catch them in their sleep. It might be a good idea when you check into your hotel in Swaziland to ask if they can give you 4 bricks...just to be safe!
Tokoloshi likes children though, they are the ones he can trust and he will appear before them and entice them to come play with him. He will prepare a delicious feast and they will all have a party.

If any adults sneak up though then he will put a magic stone into his mouth and disappear! He is also very scared of dogs, mousetraps and chameleons.

Cow and goats milk, fresh from the udder is his favourite food and he will try to sneak into a cattle kraal to drink some. When a farmer realises his cows are running out of milk he will know it is the tokoloshis fault and summon a sangoma.

A spell will be cast and if the tokoloshi walks into it he will become paralysed and visible. But if you shout "hey, I see the tokoloshi!" then the spell will be broken and he becomes invisible again.

When you are visiting Swaziland keep a sharp look out when you sit on a stone near the river that you haven't disturbed a tokoloshis home..and remember the advice about the bricks!
Regards Aleta