But now Danger himself had arrived, dressed in leopard skins, with necklaces of snake-bone, ostrich-plumes bundled on his head and rattles round his legs, with an axe in his hand, and his bag full of mysterious things. (from newspaper Aftonbladet 28/12 1949)
The Swedish scientist and explorer Gustaf Bolinder and his wife Esther were, during one of their expeditions, in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Near the mission station in Mnene, a man named Danger - a n'anga or practitioner of traditional medicine and a fortune teller – showed them how he diagnosed and cured diseases. Among the Karanga people, drums, dancing, and large dice (hakata) with symbols were key to establishing a diagnosis and the origin of a disease. Among the many symbols on the dice were found, for example, those for "older woman", "younger man", "crocodile" and "leopard". With the help of these, the healer could interpret the patient's social relationships, and so find the causes of illness or accident.
The leopard symbolized power, heroism, and victory in this context. The fact that Danger wore a leopard skin as part of his ritual costume emphasised his spiritual strength and the correctness of his predictions. This dappled, mysterious hunter has been found close to religious leaders at all times and in all parts of Africa - either through its skin, bones, teeth, or symbols - as a link to the world of the spirits and divine power.