Intulo, the lizard or blue-headed gecko, is the counterpart of the chameleon Unwabu in the origin-of-death myth inherited by the Zimbabwean Ndebele from their Nguni forebears. When the chameleon delayed on its errand of everlasting life, Unkulunkulu sent the lizard with the opposite word, that people must die; it ran swiftly, spoke first, and its message could not be recalled. In Nguni-speaking communities, including the Ndebele, the intulo is consequently regarded with hostility and often killed on sight as the creature that brought death into the world.