Meanings
- South AfricaA mythical animal that features in Xhosa folk tales. It is often described as a jackal-like creature with a multi-coloured coat.
In a short time, the coney fell asleep, when the inkalimeva (a fabulous animal) went in and ate all the fat.
1907, George McCall Theal, History and Ethnography of Africa South of the Zambesi: From the Settlement of the Portuguese at Sofala in September 1505 to the Conquest of the Cape Colony by the British in September 1795, volume 1, page 1431 more example
Various animals are tricked by a fabulous creature, an inkalimeva. They are meant to guard a pool created by the animals. With its musical instrument, an inkingi, a stringed instrument, it lulls the guards into a deep sleep, and then the inkalimeva drinks the water. Finally, a tortoise turns the tables on the inkalimeva.
2006, Nongenile Masithathu Zenani, Ndumiso Bhotomane, South African Voices: A Long Time Passed, volume 1, page 139
Cite this entry
inkalimeva. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inkalimeva
“inkalimeva.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inkalimeva. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inkalimeva,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inkalimeva.
Source: inkalimeva on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.