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| Saci-pererê. Author: ASCOM Prefeitura de Votuporanga |
How do you do folks? I thought I would gather and show some of the
creatures found on South American folklores.
The whole list has 105 creatures, so I'm dividing it in four parts.
Please note that such myths have
several iterations which may not be here. I also plan to later make
D&D5E stats for a few of these creatures. Previous parts here, here and here.
81) Pururauca - Incan legend. It speaks of a massive
battle where the Incas saw themselves outnumbered against a terrifying
enemy, but invoked their greatest deity, asking for help. The god
Viracocha responded to their call by turning rocks into soldiers,
helping the Inca defend their city.
82) Roraima - The mother of Makonaima and Pia, which
are either monsterslayer heroes or gods. They leave their mother on top
of the tepui (which means "house of the gods") thus called Roraima. She
cries due to this, and her tears are so many that they create torrential
streams gushing down the mountainsides. It is also said that the tops
of the tepuis Roraima and Kukenam have seas filled with fish and
dolphins, and that giant white eagles act as watchmen, seemingly
preventing people from climbing these mountains. Other tale says that
the tepui Roraima is guarded by an anaconda so huge that it could
crush a hundred people at once, and demons can be found there as well.
83) Romŝiwamnari - They are forest and cave demons
which look like large birds with flabby, flightless bat’s wings, armed
with beaks like scissors. Romŝiwamnari’ not only prey upon the living,
but also ambush and consume the souls of the dead. A sufficiently
powerful shaman can kill them while in the realm of death, but other
souls are greedily devoured.
84) Saci-pererê - A one-legged black or mulatto
youngster, who smokes a pipe and wears a magical red cap that enables
him to disappear and reappear wherever he wishes (usually in the middle
of a dust devil). Considered an annoying prankster in most parts of
Brazil, and a potentially dangerous and malicious creature in others, he
nevertheless grants wishes to anyone who manages to trap him or steal
his magic cap. However, his cap is often depicted as having a bad smell.
Most people who claimed to have stolen this cap say they can never wash
the smell away. The legend says that a person can trap a Saci inside a
bottle when he is in the form of a dust devil.
85) Sachamama (“Mother of the Forest”) - She is about
forty meters long and two meters wide, with an iguana-like head and
scales like stone plates. There is whole grove in her back, with tress, fungi, herbs and more. She doesn't need to move, because she can hypnotize any animal which passes by so it comes to her and she eats it. Sachamama can also summon storms, rain and lightining strikes, as well as causing fevers and headaches on whoever invades her domain. Many of the the plants on her back have medicinal uses. There is even a "thunder tree", whose bark, once eaten, allows one to invoke and end storms.
86) Sapo Fuerzo ("Strong Toad") - It can be easily
distinguished from regular toads by its hard, turtle-like shell. It is
phosphorescent, and glows in the dark like a firefly. It earns its name
from its supernatural powers and its incredible resilience. A sapo
fuerzo is capable of attracting or repelling anything within its reach
by the sheer power of its gaze. It can also regenerate and recover from
virtually any injury, and the only way to kill one is burn it and reduce
it completely to ashes.
87) Stone-adzes - A tribe of stone people. It seems
they can't move, and were turned to stone due to being punished by
something or someone. Other tribes come to where the stone-adzes are
because they are excellent raw material for making stone adzes and axes.
88) Supay - Both the god of death and ruler of the Ukhu
Pacha, the Incan underworld, as well as a race of demons. Supay is
associated with miners' rituals. After the spanish conquest, it was
associated with the devil.
89) Taquatu - Invisible giant which has an equally
invisible canoe that can fly. It kidnaps people and takes to places from
no one has returned. They say it has a cave full of human remains atop a
mountain which can't be reached.
90) Teju Jagua - The first son of Tau and Kerana and
one of the seven legendary monsters of Guaraní mythology. A huge lizard
with seven dog-heads and eyes that shoot out fire. His seven dog-heads
make any movement difficult. Some versions of the story say Teju Jagua
has only one giant dog-head. But all versions agree that he has a
limited ability to move around. His appearance was the most horrid of
all the seven brothers. However, his ferocity was tempered by choice of
Tupã. He was left calm and harmless. Still he was feared for his fiery
gaze. He feeds on fruit and his brother Yasy Yateré gives him honey, his
favorite food. He is considered the lord of the caves and protector of
fruits. He is also mentioned as a protector of buried treasure.
Its skin became shiny after rolling around in the gold and precious
stones of Itapé.
91) Tigtitig - A giant bird which tries to eat the soul
of the newly dead as they fly away towards a western paradise land. The
soul must then fight it with bravery to avoid such fate. This bird can
also cause deformities in newly-born children. A similar tale talks of
the souls going into certain lakes where they are eaten by monstrous
snakes which then take them towards a paradise of dancing and drinking.
I'm now thinking of both creatures fighting each other for the souls of
the fallen.
92) Trauco - A goblin who lives in the deep forests. It
has an ugly face, and legs without feet. It has a powerful magnetism
that attracts young and middle-aged women. According to myth, the
Trauco's wife is the wicked and ugly Fiura. The trauco carries a small
stone-headed hatchet that he uses to strike trees in the forest to
symbolize his sexual potency. Whomever the Trauco chooses will go to
him, even if she is sleeping, and fall enraptured at his feet. No woman
can resist his magical attraction; all have sexual intercourse with him.
Some men of Chiloé fear the Trauco, as his gaze can be deadly. When a
single woman is pregnant and no one steps forward as the father, people
assume that the Trauco is the father. Because the Trauco is
irresistible, the woman is considered blameless. The Trauco is sometimes
invoked to explain sudden or unwanted pregnancies, especially in
unmarried women.
93) Trempulcahue - Four old women turn themselves into
whales to carry the souls of the dead to the "Ngill chenmaywe" every
night. There, the alhue (spirits) can start the long travel. No living
thing can see the Trempulcahue. The whales were paid in llancas,
turquoise stones.
94) Uakti - According to the legend, the creature had
holes in his body such that they would produce sound when he ran or the
wind blew through him. This music seduced the women of the tribe and so
the other men burned and buried his body. The myth holds that out of
Uakti's remains grew the palm trees from which the Tukanos' flutes are
made. The women of the Tukano Indians are thus not allowed to play
flutes.
95) Homem do Saco ("Bag Man") - In Brazil, o Homem do Saco is portrayed as a tall and imposing adult male, usually in the form
of a vagrant, who carries a sack on his back. He throws children into the sack, making buttons and soap out of them. In Chile, Argentina and particularly in the
Southern and Austral Zones, he is mostly known as "El Viejo del Saco" ("The
old man with the bag") who walks around the neighborhood every day
around supper time. This character is not considered or perceived as a
mythical or fantastic creature by children. Instead, he is recognized as
an insane psychotic murderer that somehow has been accepted by society
which allows him to take a child that has been given to him willingly by
disappointed parents or any child that is not home by sundown or supper
time. In Honduras and Mexico, misbehaving children fear "El Roba
Chicos", or child-snatcher, which is very similar to "Hombre del Saco".
96) Warracaba Tigers* - Small and ferocious tigers
which hunt in packs with up to a hundred animals. They don't fear fire
but do fear the barking of dogs. They also have an aversion to water.
They may vary in size and color. Said to live in the mountains, going to
the lowlands when hungry.
97) Water-mámmas - a sort of spirit which seems to
assume multiple forms. On the Demerara River, they become huge scarlet
macaws which come out of the river and drag canoes underwater, people
and all.
98) Water Tiger* - This is a four legged creature
similar to a "demonic monkey" or an otter, painted like a tiger, which
lives in water and wraps its "very big tail" around the legs of people
which pass through the water. The people drown. The water tiger doesn't
eat them though, it seems to do this just because it's evil.
99) Yaguareté-abá - Also called capiango. It is a
shaman which turned into a large leopard. It eats cattle and horses,
animals brought by the colonizers. It also eats human flesh. To kill it,
one must use bullets or blades blessed by a priest. After slain, it
must be beheaded. Then the creature becomes a headless human again. In
other version of the legend, a capiango is a leopard possessed by the
soul of a murdered good and just man, which may then hunt the one which
killed him. It will be as intelligent as a person, but incapable of
speaking.
100) Yaguarón - A giant green fish with saber-like
teeth. It can dig tunnels under the earth alongside the river margins,
causing landfalls which cause people and animals to fall into the water.
The Yaguarón then devours their lungs.
101) Yakumama (“Mother of the Waters”) - She appears as
a gigantic anaconda with blue scales and eyes glowing like the
headlights of a boat. She is capable of entrancing prey into immobility
with her gaze. When happy, she
blesses people with plentiful rain and abundant fish. When angry, she summons storms, fogs, and
whirlpools in addition to putting her enormous bulk to destructive use.
Sometimes Yakumama swallows all the fish and prevents fishermen from
catching them, or flies into the sky and causes downpours that ruin
crops. Offerings of food and spirits can placate her.
102) Yayá - A jaguar which can shapeshift into a woman.
She lives inside a great cave called Olho d'Água ("Eye of the Water").
Her presence is made obvious due to her singing and the whirlwinds that
appear in the area. She doesn't accept the presence of foreigners,
making this clear with a whistle heard by all, and may either leave the
region or attack the stranger. Only shamans can calm her down. She
attacks cattle. Local leaders seek her counsel for personal and communal
matters. She might also say things about the past, present and future.
Every cave she has lived on becomes sacred.
103) Yerupoho - Okay, these creatures have a complex
lore, so bear with me. In primordial times, there was only darkness. Two
types of beings lived upon the land: the yerupoho and humans, the
latter hidden inside termite hives. In a certain day, the yerupoho found
out that the human cultural heroes would make the sun appear. This
sudden cosmic change frightened the yerupoho, which started to create
"armors" with all haste: clothing, masks and body painting which would
protect them from the sun. These "armors" were based off things as
varied as plants, everyday items such as pots, all kinds of animals,
etc. Upon wearing such "armor", the yerupoho assumed the identities that
such protections gave them, becoming the apapaatai. The latter became
owners/masters/protectors of the things that their "armor" was based on.
For example, the yerupoho which made vulture masks became vulture
monsters such as two-headed buzzards. Other examples of apapaatai are:
boat-snakes, flute-fishes, underwater macaws, celestial jaguars, etc.
Countless mixes and variations are possible. The monsters are very
intelligent, sentient, dangerous, creative, malicious and many of them
know magic. Some eat people. To further complicate things, a yerupoho
may wear more then one "armor", acquiring different traits according to
what it is wearing.
I wrote above that a certain yerupoho is
owner/master/protector of the thing his "apapaatai armor" is based on.
That means that, for example, using a certain wood for a boat or eating a
certain type of crab means trespassing upon the domains of a yerupoho.
When that happens, the latter answers with spells that cause disease in
the trespasser. Or maybe it eats the trespasser's soul. The practical
consequences is that there are many taboos related to what one may use
or eat out of the jungle. When someone is sick or has his soul eaten,
the shaman is responsible for curing the disease or recovering said
soul.
Although present everywhere, they can be seen only in
dreams, trances, when one is sick or when one is dying. Masks, ritual
drawings and flutes made by the Amerindians allow one to see them outside of
such moments, because then, the Amerindians become apapaatai-like. Shamans
might be able to convince apapaatai to serve them. That requires that
the shaman gets sick on purpose, resisting the magic that made him sick
and incorporating it. Having apapaatai allies gives one a series of
powers, such as divination. This process seems necessary for one to
become a shaman in the first place. Removing a sickness or recovering a
soul seems to require secret songs that only shamans know.
I'm sorry if this is confusing, but I tried to
summarize what is essentially an unique cosmology. One personal
interpretation of mine, for rpg purposes, is that the yerupohos are
spirits made out of darkness which were forced to create bodies
(constructs made out of organic/natural materials like leaves, bones and
clay?), the said apapaatai, so they wouldn't be destroyed by the sun.
And they dispute with humans the control over certain plants, animals
and objects from which the materials are harvested, creating an eternal
conflict. The shamans are like supernatural ambassadors in this context.
104) Xiriminja - Fishfolk, but it seems that the only
trait distinguishing them from normal humans is the membranes between
the fingers. They live at the bottom of the rivers and taught the Kinja Amerindians how to have sex and get married, weaving baskets, singing,
dancing and how to farm.
105) Zaori - Not really a monster, but a sort of blessed person. Zaoris
look like common people, except that their eyes shine. They can see
through rocks, earth, whole mountains, thus locating hidden treasures.
Silver and gold, crystals, rare weapons, nothing escapes the zaori's
gaze. There's a catch: a zaori can't use its gift to benefit himself,
like becoming rich, only other people.
*It seems like a term that means any large felines, as there are no tigers in South America.
