THE “Valelisa” legend is spreading through the midlands, sparking terror among children and parents alike and prompting frightened residents to call meetings to discuss their possible defences.
Valelisa is said to be a car that drives around filled with bush-knife wielding villains who lure women and children inside the vehicle, abduct them, chop them up and then use their body parts for muthi.
The legend, which emerged some weeks ago, has not died down despite vehement denials by police that Valelisa exists.
The effect of the urban legend is extreme — in Mpophomeni near Howick a 12-year-old child who allegedly stabbed 13-year-old Nkosinathi Dlamini (13) to death two weeks ago, said that he carried the knife he used in the murder to protect himself from Valelisa.
According to people who spoke to Weekend Witness, Valelisa — chillingly translated as “You must say good-bye” — takes many different forms. It has been described alternatively as a black BMW, a red Golf, a green Mazda and even a hearse.
Valelisa has allegedly been sighted in Edendale, including Imbali, and also at Curry’s Post, where resident Moses Mweli, a security manager, said that although he had not seen the dreaded vehicle with his own eyes, he is convinced it’s real. “It has been seen driving around Curry’s Post and three weeks ago five children were found dead in the plantations. Their necks were cut with a big knife.”
The work of Valelisa? Definitely not, according to police who have denied that any children were killed there.
Mweli said that the community is fearful. “I have warned my 12-year-old child about Valelisa even though he lives outside the area. They want children for muthi. Everyone here is talking about it.”
He said that in Curry’s Post Valelisa manifests as a red Golf with a sticker bearing the word Valelisa on it.
Msunduzi council Speaker Alpha Shelembe said that he was told about Valelisa by his community, who were concerned about the threat the car and its inhabitants posed.
“When I asked for evidence of these threats no one came forward. The story of Valelisa cannot be confirmed until there is hard evidence.” He said terrified communities should “take it easy”.
“This should be treated as a rumour until we get proof. Spreading fear in the community serves no purpose and achieves nothing.”
While Valelisa seems to be thriving as an urban legend among township people, urbanites have now found their own version of the legendary vehicle.
This week an e-mail doing the rounds presented the image of a black BMW with a Durban registration. This time, the sinister occupants are after women drivers with children. The modus operandi is similar to a hijacking, warn the writers. Exactly what this is, is not expanded on, but hints are made at “black magic”. According to the e-mail, a friend of the writer was almost taken in the Polly Shortts area.
“So guys, please be careful and let the police know of anything,” the mail ends.
But what is it about the human psyche that perpetuates urban legends? And why are we so interested in
hearing about the latest horror and spreading the message of terror to our friends and loved ones? Do we realise at the back of our minds that the stories are far-fetched and unbelievable, even as we shiver in anticipation of being the next victim of the threat?
Psychologist and lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Ishara Maharaj, said the first thing that strikes her about urban legends is their close links to traditional folklore, characterised by oral tradition.
“Cultures with a strong oral tradition have a susceptibility to the urban legend phenomenon.
“Contextually, South African society is steeped in the mass hysteria of fear invoked by the vicissitudes of violence and crime that touch our lives either directly through personal experience or symbolically through the media.”
These tales, which are hard to prove or disprove, resonate with our personal fears and experiences, and serve as moral lessons or cautionary warnings, Maharaj said.
“A reaction may be that parents begin to be more protective of their children or the family unit becomes more cohesive. In other words, the fear of harm results in society accessing the traditional values of cohesion and caring that seem to have been eroded in capitalist society.”
Some theorists also believe that people simply get a kick out of eliciting a strong emotion like fear or disgust in others, and that’s why an urban legend with a horror ending will be retold over and over.
The final word from the police is that despite investigations, no evidence of Valelisa exists. No children have died or disappeared in circumstances that could be linked to the vehicle, and no one was attacked by men in a black BMW near Polly Shortts either.
Police spokeman Senior Superintendent Henry Budhram said the Valelisa legend is simply that — a legend that cannot be proved.
Another legend, which many will swear is true, is that of domestic workers being offered large amounts of money for their employers’ children. A case is being investigated in Durban at present in regard to this.
Another is that children are being abducted from schools to be trained up as prostitutes for the 2010 World Cup event.
Other recent legends include one that warns those driving alone in the wee hours of the activities of a certain gang who drive around in cars with their lights off.
The first person to flash their lights at them becomes their victim and they run you off the road just for the hell of it, the legend goes.
