South American Bestiary - Part 3 of 4

Headless Mule.

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 and here.

54) Kurupi - One of the seven monstrous children of Tau and Kerana. Said to be short, ugly, and hairy. He makes his home in the wild forests of the region, and was considered to be the lord of the forests and protector of wild animals. Kurupi's most distinctive feature, however, was an humongous penis that was ordinarily wound several times around his waist like a belt. Due to this feature, he was at one time revered by the Guarani as the spirit of fertility. Kurupi is often blamed for unexpected or unwanted pregnancies. His penis is said to be prehensile, and owing to its length he is supposed to be able to extend it through doors, windows, or other openings in a home and impregnate a sleeping woman without even having to enter the house. Together with the Pombero, Kurupi was a scapegoat used by adulterous women to avoid the wrath of their husbands, or by single women to explain their pregnancies. Children fathered by the Kurupi were expected to be small, ugly and hairy much like their father, and if male to inherit something of their father's virility. In some cases, Kurupi is blamed with the disappearance of young women.

55) Lafquén Trilque - It is said to be a dark mass whose shape resembles the stretched skin of a cow. It moves silently through rivers and lakes searching for animals or persons standing next to the shores. Once it founds the preys it swallows them and made them completely disappear leaving behind no trace of the bodies.

56) Lakúma - These water spirits have been known to tip canoes over, pull their occupants out, and drag them under to consume, leaving their entrails to float to the surface. They can also create huge waves, summon whirlpools, and whip up storms to damage larger vessels. Lakúma have been compared to whales, squids, and giant worms, making their exact appearance hard to pin down. What is known is that they like to flatten themselves out on the water’s surface, letting their back protrude like a small island. Their broad and flat backs are covered with encrustations of unusually large mussels. Sometimes there are so many lakúma in one spot that they can be used as stepping-stones.

57) Lluhay - A one-meter long silver lizard that feeds on potato flowers. It is hard to catch but whoever manages to gains good fortune. The lluhay is immortal and rare. Certain families would take care of one generation after generation, like if it was a treasure.

58) Lucerna - A ghost ship. Its interior is so huge that a person would take a lifetime to cross it from bow to stern. Its duty is to transport warlocks and the souls of the dead, as well as the phases of the moon.

59) Luison - In the original version of the myth, Luison was the seventh and last child of Tau and Kerana, and thus was the most accursed of the bunch. He was of vaguely human appearance, but said to be extremely ugly, even horrendous looking. Luison had long, dirty hair that fell down to cover most of his form, pale and sickly looking skin and eyes, and accompanied by the constant, fetid odor of death and decay. So frightening and repulsive was his appearance that his mere presence would instill terror in any unfortunate enough to encounter the beast. Luison was said to be the lord of the night and was associated with death. His habitat was limited exclusively to cemeteries and burial grounds, where he would feed upon rotting flesh. Som say that if Luison passes through a person's legs, the person turns into Luison.

60) Mallki ("mummy") - The Inca civilization mummified many of their dead and buried them with valuable materials. Considered a link between the living and the gods, these mummies could also be taken from their resting place and 'consulted' on important occasions so that their knowledge might serve the living community. Given places of honor and offered food and drink, mummies were involved in such ceremonies as marriages, sowing, and harvesting, or when long journeys had to be undertaken by individuals within the community. Incas believed that the dead ruler remained the owner of the property he had accumulated in life, so a necropolis could include whole palaces filled with treasure. Each had a dedicated attendant who interpreted their wishes and stood by with a fly whisk. Just add a little fantasy and have such mummies be intelligent undead which advise the current ruler.

61) Mapinguari - This monster is like a huge, hairy humanoid. It has powerful claws which can rip off parts of their prey to put inside the large vertical mouth that it has in the chest. The mapinguari has a strong, nauseous smell. Some say that his skin is like that of a crocodile, and equally impervious to bullets.

62) Maricoxi - General term for several large ape-like creatures that have allegedly been seen in many parts of the jungle regions of South America. Percy Fawcett claimed an encounter with a group in 1914. They allegedly were extremely hairy, lived in villages and used bows and arrows. He claimed that they spoke in grunts and lived to the northeast of a tribe called the Maxubi.

63) Mayantu - Goblin-like creature with the face of a frog that lives in the Amazon Rainforest. According to the Iquitos legend, the Mayantu is said to be found living high in canopy of giant trees, such as the Kapok tree. Unlike many other magical inhabitants of the jungle, the Mayantu is not evil, and even is known to come to the aid of humans when they are in trouble and need assistance. Therefore, the Mayantu is often referred to by the people of Iquitos as “the good god of the rainforest.”  However, the Mayantu will not help those who come to the rainforest to destroy it or harm its inhabitants.  It possesses the knowledge of the medicinal plants of the rainforest and can use these plants to cure.

64) Mbói Tu'i - One of the seven legendary monsters of Guarani mythology. He is the second son of Tau and Kerana. His form is of an enormous serpent with a huge parrot head and a huge beak. He also has a red, forked tongue the color of blood. His skin is scaly and streaked. Feathers cover his head. He has a harmful look that frightens everyone who has the bad luck to be found with him. He patrols the swamps and protects amphibian life. He enjoys the humidity and flowers. He lets out an incredible powerful and terrible squawk which can be heard from very far off and which instills terror in all who hear it. He is considered the protector of aquatic animals and the wetlands.

65) Minhocão ("giant earthworm") - Described as a huge subterranean serpentine creature with hard black scales and horns, which causes much destruction by its tunneling. It is also said to be amphibious, living in water, and in at least one account wallowing in mud. Heuvelmans describes it "overturning trees like blades of grass, shifting the courses of rivers, and turning dry land into fathomless marshes" through its tunneling. It may not be an earthworm, but an enormous lungfish or caecilian.

66) Moñái - Third son of Tau and Kerana and one of the seven legendary monsters of Guaraní mythology. This creature has an enormous serpent-like body with two straight, colorful horns over his head, which serve as antennae. His dominions are the open fields. He can climb trees with ease and slide down to hunt the birds on whom he feeds and dominates with the hypnotic power of his antennas. Because of this he is called "the lord of the air". Moñái is fond of stealing and hiding the products of his misdeeds in a cave. His continuous robbing and raiding in the villages provoked great discord among the people as they all accuse each other for the robberies and mysterious "disappearances" of their belongings.

67) Motelo Mama - A turtle of such proportions that her shell holes a grove of the rainforest. When she moves the ground trembles, but this is rare, as she can stay still for centuries. The mother of all turtles. A few say that she has always existed, and will continue to do so.


68) Muki - A goblin-like creature, two feet tall. They are known to be miners which live underground. They are a small brawny creatures with a disproportionate body. Their voices are deep and husky, not matching their appearance; the long hair is bright blonde; the face is hairy and reddish, with a long white beard. The muki's look is deep, aggressive and hypnotic and his eyes reflects the light as if they were made of metal. In some mining traditions, he has two horns that are used to break the rocks and point at the mineral veins. His skin is very pale and he carries a mining lantern. Sometimes he is described as having pointy ears. Elders advise that when dealing with the muki, one should use one's belt to battle him without succumbing to fear. The muki can be by himself or in groups, but they are known to prefer living on their own. They live in a timeless world of eternal darkness and they don’t age, as if they were not affected by the pass of time. He can also make the metal veins appear and disappear, sense the moods and emotions of the miners, help with the miner’s work by softening or hardening the metal veins, etc. He is known to sometimes to make pacts with miners. He gravitates towards discreet and honest people, who will fulfill their promises and keep the pact a secret.

69) Mula sem Cabeça ("Headless Mule") - A woman cursed for having sexual relations with a catholic priest. The myth has several variations concerning the sin that turned the cursed woman into the monster: necrophagy, infanticide, sacrilege against the church, fornication, etc. She becomes a mule with a fire coming out of the hole where its head should be. It has silver (or iron) horseshoes that might be razor-sharp, and that produce a hideous trotting, louder than any horse is capable of producing. A removal of the curse can be achieved by removing the bridle, in which case the woman will not shape shift again while the benefactor is alive. Tying the bridle back to the woman's mouth will return the curse. Removal of the curse is a great relief for the woman because the curse includes many trials, so the grateful woman will usually repent her sins and marry the benefactor. In any case, when the mule changes back to human form the accursed woman will be completely naked, sweated, and smelling of sulfur. There are those who say it is actually a Headless Horse, but the mule remains the more popular version.

70) Negrinho do Pastoreio ("Black Boy of the Herd") - The tale goes like this: an orphan black boy was the slave of an evil master which didn't even give him a name. He lost a horse and was beaten by his owner. He then went to find it. He did and tried to lass it, but the rope snapped. When he came back without the horse, his master beat him again and tied he up, naked, atop an ant nest, to die. Said master waited until the ants covered the body of the black boy before leaving. He came back three days later. He was scared, for the boy was there, untied and without any marks or wounds, the lost horse near him. Since then, many have seen a black boy riding a horse and guiding many others. And whoever loses something, must light up a candle under a tree and pray for the Negrinho. He finds all lost things, but will only deliver them back for those that lit the candle.

71) Negro d'Água ("Water-Black") - If you're in a boat along the São Francisco river, you might hear someone laughing. The same voice will ask you to give it a fish. If you refuse, it will then capsize your boat. Some fishermen might have a bottle of cachaça (brazilian spirit) that they'll throw into the water instead of fish. The creatures responsible for this are dark humanoids with bald heads and scale-covered bodies, whose hands and feet are like duck feet. They also like to make holes in nets, scare people near the water and so on. Some versions of the legend include claws, and if you manage to cut off one of them, the Negro has to do something for you so it can have it back.

72) Nguruvilu - An aquatic, fox-like animal with a long tail which ends on fingernails that it uses like a claw. They live in and are the cause of dangerous whirlpools which kill people who try to cross rivers. The creatures make the water shallow on either ford, to encourage people to try to cross it making it seem safe. However, the only safe way of crossing a river with a nguruvilu is by boat. The only way to get rid of a nguruvilu is through the offices of a shaman or a good witch.Both require gifts in exchange for this service.

73) Okpe - It looks like a huge pig made of rock, without any soft spots or weaknesses. Okpe preys on children, luring them with cooked meat before carrying them off in a device on his back. Children captured by Okpe are taken into the jungle and devoured. It is considered unstoppable because it's impervious to common weapons.

74) Omars - Water spirits with bodies of giant crabs and fishes. They eat rotten wood, but drag down boats due to mistaking them for floating logs. The tale also says that a peaiman (shaman or sorcerer) carefully wrapped up two pieces of the wood rubbed to make fires, so that they wouldn't become damp. Then he let himself be swallowed by an omar. He found a great amount of wood inside its belly, which he set fire to. The omar felt great pain, rose to the surface, belched out the peaiman and died.

75) Onça Celeste - A tribe believes that eclipses are caused by a blue-colored jaguar eating the sun and the moon. At the end of the world, it shall descend upon the land and eat the people. Until this time comes, it rests below the hammock of Nhanderuvuçu, the supreme god.

76) Oroli - A giant serpent which stretches between trees like a living bridge. It causes pieces of its flesh to fall down to the ground, where they take the form of dry firewood. Whoever passes by and gathers it up would be pounced upon by the Oroli. When a warband killed it with blowguns and poisoned arrows, they set fire to the carcass. The ashes became covered in plants from which binas (charms) can be extracted from. Said binas can be used to attract all kinds of animals, thunder, rain and even lightning.

77) Pai-do-Mato - A humanoid beast which seems to protect animals from people. Taller than the trees, very long hair, ten meter-long nails. Its roar echoes throughout the forest. At night, it laughs. Will swallow people whole. Can't be killed by blades or bullets unless one targets the area around its bellybutton. Its piss is blue, which may a way to track it down.

78) Peuchen - It has often been described as gigantic flying snake which produced strange whistling sounds, while its gaze could paralyse its prey so it could suck the blood.

79) Peuquen - Gnomes that are clothed in avellano leaves. They also have a hat made from bark and an axe whose handle is of avellano wood. Those who come across them face a nasty fate, their heads are turned around for the rest of their lives. Peuquen like to have sex with women. If a child is born of these trysts, his or her skin is like the bark of an avellano.

80) Pishtaco - An evil monster-like man — often a stranger and often a white man — who seeks out unsuspecting Amerindians to kill them and abuse them in many ways. The legend dates back to the Spanish conquest of South America. The belief is that the Pishtaco steals one's body fat and sells the meat as fried chicharrones. Pishtaco derives from the local Quechua-language word "pishtay" which means to "behead, cut the throat, or cut into slices".

Part four here.