User blog:Battlefan237/The horror from the bottom of the pond : Kappa (Japanese Folklore)vs. Tikoloshe( Zulu Myth)

Kappa


A kappa (河童, river child) is an amphibious demon or imp found in traditional Japanese folklores. They are typically depicted as green, human-like beings with webbed hands and feet, with a turtle shell like carapace on its back. A depression on its head called its "dish" (sara) retains water, and if this is damaged or its liquid is spilled the kappa is severely weakened. As the name goes, a Kappa's size is similar to a child's size, with no more than one meter in terms of height.

The kappa are known to steal food from nearby villages and love to engage in sumo wretling. Their activities range from attacking poultry to assaulting and even murdering humans that trepasses their habitat. They are often accused of assaulting humans in water and removing a mythical organ called the shirikodama from their victim's anus.

According to most depictions, a Kappa is usually equipped with the following weapons and ablities:
 * Webbed Claws and teeth : Being an aquatic creature, kappa is equipped with webbed claws, which it use to help itself swim, as well as slash or gut preys. It is also packed with sharp teeth, allowing it to chew raw food.
 * Carapace: Kappa has a turtle shell like carapace on its back to provide limited protection.
 * Above-average strength : An adult kappa is depicted to be capable of dragging a dead large animal, such as horse, cow or even human with relative ease.
 * Swimming Skills : As its name suggested, the Kappa is a master of swimming and travelling underwater.

Tikoloshe


Tikoloshe, Tokoloshe or Hili is a dwarf-like water sprite. It is considered an evil spirit that can become invisible by drinking water, revealing themselves when assaulting.

Created by South African shamans who have been offended by someone out of dead meat or other wacky stuff. The tokoloshe may also wander, causing mischief wherever it goes, particularly to schoolchildren. Other details include its gremlin-like appearance and gouged out eyes.

According to the legends, the best way to  keep the Tokoloshe away at night is to put a brick beneath each leg of one's bed. However, this will not protect anything but the person whose bed it is along with the bed itself, as it may instead break all the other furniture placed around the victim's residence.

They are usually equipped with the following weapons and abilities :
 * Sharp Nails : As with most gremlins, they have razor-sharp nails. But due to a Tikoloshe's reanimated nature, a small number of these nails might be brittle.
 * Improvised weapons : It's within a Tikoloshe's nature to mess around in human households. In many of its depictions and encounters, they're said to be equipped with improvised weapons made out of human household items, such as sticks, clubs or small knives,
 * Magical Senses: Although blind, a Tikoloshe is usually helped by its magical hearing and smelling capabilities, allowing it to locate its targets with ease.
 * Invisibility : By drinking water, Tikoloshes can temporarily become invisible. However, once they come down to attacking their targets or enter the target's household physically, the invisibility mysteriously wears off.