baloyi

Witches among the Thonga of South Africa. The mysterious lights known as will-o'-the-wisps, also called witch-fires, are believed to be either the witches themselves or sent by them to terrify wrong-doers. If one of these lights is seen, an attempt is made to locate the wrong-doer and extract a confession from him or her.

References

Source

  • Leach, Maria, ed. (1984). Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. New York: HarperCollins.