South American Bestiary - Part 4 of 4

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.