The abantu bomlambo, the 'people of the river', are aquatic human-like beings of Xhosa cosmology who dwell beneath the water and are closely bound up with the ancestral shades, 'river people' serving as a respectful euphemism (intlonipho) for the ancestors themselves. Those who drown are said not merely to die but to be taken into the household of the river-people, and their displeasure is felt as umsolo, an itching rash breaking out on one who passes a muddy pool, draws water at night, or crosses a river carelessly. They are central to the making of a diviner: a person called to the calling may be drawn under the water and, meeting there an old woman who stands for the paternal ancestors, is taught the igqirha's art before being returned to the living. Their realm is shared with the great river serpent uMamlambo.