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| A tumi sacrificial knife. Attribution: Sean Pathasema/Birmingham Museum of Art |
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. First part here.
27) Curupira - “Curu” = boy and “pira”, body, meaning “with the body of a boy”. According to the legends,
this creature has bright red hair, resembles a man or a
dwarf, but its feet are turned backwards. Curupira lives in the forests
of Brazil and uses its backward feet to create footprints that lead to
its starting point, thus making hunters and travelers confused. Besides
that, it can also create illusions and produce a sound that's like a
high pitched whistle, in order to scare and drive its victim to madness.
A Curupira will prey on poachers and hunters that take more than they
need of the forest, and he also attacks people who hunt animals that
were taking care of their offspring. In some versions, he has a wife
called Yatacy or Tatámanha and they have children. May carry a wooden
axe.
28) Cupendiepes - a tribe of man-bats which raid nearby
villages at night, using spears and axes to kill people. The best way
to fight them back is to find the cave in which they hide by day while
they sleep, and block its entrance.
29) Curinqueãs - Tribe of black giants. Their lips and
noses have golden piercings. They're few in number, but most amerindians
seem to fear and respect them.
30) Decapitator god (we don't know his real name) - From
the Moche civilization. Half-man, half-jaguar, often represented
holding a vicious looking sacrificial knife (tumi) in one hand and the
severed head of a sacrificial victim in the other. The god may also be
depicted as a gigantic spider figure ready to suck the life-blood from
his victims.
31) Devil's Garden - The ant Myrmelachista schumanni
creates devil's gardens by systematically poisoning all plants in the
vicinity except D. hirsuta, the tree in which it nests. The ant poisons
the plants by injecting formic acid into the base of the leaf. By
killing other plants, the ant promotes the growth and reproduction of D.
hirsuta, which has hollow stems that provide nest sites for the ants; a
single ant colony might have more than 3 million workers and 15,000
queens, and may persist for more than 800 years. Devil's gardens got
their name because locals believed that an evil forest spirit Chullachak
lived in them. He is said to persuade his victims to follow him deep
into the jungle where even experienced trackers cannot find their way
back. He does this by taking the form of a family member or a loved one
long not seen, or disguising himself as a prey animal. His uncanny
ability to replicate others makes him impossible to tell apart, except
for his mismatched feet.
32) Dog - Dogs were sometimes believed to be able of
moving between life and death and also see the souls of the dead. In
addition, the Inca believed that unhappy dead souls could visit people
in the form of black dogs.The Aymara people of Bolivia were reported to
believe that dogs were associated with death and incest. They believed
that those who die must cross an ocean to the afterlife in the ear of,
or on the nose of, a black dog.
33) Eintykára - These are stingless bees whose honey can produce hallucinations, because of a fungus living in the plants visited by the bees. But the real fantastic ability they have is to unite and shapeshift into a man, of milky white skin and hair as golden as honey. The legend says that one hive actually married a woman and had children with her. The whole village came to admire him, for he was intelligent, worked hard and, when going into the forest, he would turn back into the swarm and gather nectar. His body then produced wax and honey, which he would distribute among the villagers.
34) Ehéie - A beautiful woman with poisonous snakes in
her womb which bite the penis of whoever has sexual relations with her.
It seems the snakes also suck the blood, so the Ehéie is a vampire.
35) Ewaipanoma - South american blemmyes. They're
described as a "nation", which most likely means that they're a distinct
tribe. Their eyes are on their shoulders and their mouth are on their
chests. A long train of hair grows backward between their shoulders.
Blemmyes also appear on the Piri Reis map as bearded and red-haired.
36) Furufuhue - There is a myth which explains the
bitter Patagonian winds as being created by an enormous and mysterious
creature resembling a cross between an eagle and a fish. This bird is
the size of a Mapuche hut and its body is covered with shiny scales
instead of feathers. Furufuhue is seldom seen, but its song is heard at a
great distance “even in the whole world”.
37) Goshg-e - A quadruped monster which kidnaps
children at night and devours stray hunters. It was arrow-proof due to
its armadillo-like shell. It seems the myth was made up based on the
shells of glyptodons.
38) Huaca - The Incas believed that gods, spirits, and
long-dead ancestors could be manifested on earth in the form of natural
features such as mountain peaks (apu), rivers, springs, caves, rocky
outcrops, and even peculiar shaped stones. These places were sometimes
modified to accentuate unusual features and were treated as shrines with
special power to influence reality. They were known as huacas (wak'a)
and, in the case of stones, were taken for safe-keeping in palaces and
tombs, on occasion, even transported on military expeditions. People
left offerings at huacas, especially sea shells, textiles, coca,
precious goods, clay figurines, and sacrifices were made, most commonly
of llamas and guinea pigs. The Quechua people traditionally believed
every object has a physical presence and two camaquen (spirits), one to
create it and another to animate it. They would invoke its spirits for
the object to function. The incas also believed that the tenth inca
ruler, Túpac Yupanqui, could talk with the huacas and thus know past and
future events.
39) Huancahui - Called the "laughing falcon" because
his cry sounds somewhat like someone laughing. He possesses magical
powers and is even able to catch fierce snakes, upon which he is said to
feed. According to this Iquitos legend, if an Amazonian shaman is able
to learn the song or icaro of the Huancahui, he can also dominate snakes
just like the Huancahui does. However, if he fails to chant the song
perfectly, he will be besieged by snakes and die. Properly sung by the
shaman, his icaro will stunt a snake and defeat it, leaving it impotent
and unable to bite.
40) Huayramama (“Mother of the Wind”) - One of the
three ancient snake mothers of the Peruvian Amazon. She is believed to
be an enormous boa with an old woman’s face and very long hair that
tangles in the clouds – in comparison, her counterparts the Sachamama
and the Yakumama are the boa constrictor and the anaconda, respectively.
The guardian of the air and the daughter of the red huayracaspi or
“wind tree”, she is herself the mother of all the good and evil winds.
Huayramama also grants power to deserving healers and shamans, giving
them control over the weather.
41) Iara - A beautiful mermaid with green hair
decorated by red flowers, copper-colored skin and brown eyes. Some say
she is half-dolphin or half-manatee instead of half-fish. She would sit
on a rock by the river combing her hair or dozing under the sun. When
she felt a man around she would start to sing gently to lure him. Once
under the spell of the Iara a man would leave anything to live with her
underwater forever, which was not necessarily a bad thing, as she was
pretty and would cater for all needs of her lover for the rest of his
life.
42) Icamiabas - The woman warriors found by Orellana
near the river which he then named "Amazon". It is said that numerous
tribes paid tributes of bird feathers to them. The Icamiabas were worth
ten men in battle, using bows and arrows. If their indian thralls tried
to run away from the battle, they would kill the deserter with clubs.
Tall and of fair skin, very long hair which was braided around the head.
Naked save for their genitals. The Icamiabas lived in seventy walled
towns built with stone. Their queen was called Coñori, their lands were
rich with gold and silver, as well as five temples, called caranaí,
dedicated to the sun, whose internal surfaces were gold-plated. Men
could come inside said cities, but they should leave before it was dark.
The green amulets called Muiraquitãs were said to be gifts of the
Icamiabas to all those Indians who annually visited their camp at the
river Nhamundá. Once a year, during a ceremony dedicated to the moon,
the Icamiaba received the Guacaris warriors with whom they mated. At
midnight, they dived into the river and brought up a greenish clay in
their hands, which they molded into various forms: frogs, turtles or
other animals, and presented these to their loved ones. Some versions
say that this ritual would take place in an enchanted lake named Jaci
uaruá ("mirror moon" in Old Tupi: îasy arugûá). Retrieved from the
bottom of the river and shaped by the women, the still soft clay
hardened in contact with the elements. These objects were then strung on
the strands of hair of their brides and used as amulets by their male
warriors. To date, this amulet is considered a sacred object, believed
to bring happiness and luck and also to cure almost all diseases.
43) Ihuaivilu - When a group of calcus (shamans) choose
a cave for their reunions, they perform a large ritual to summon a
Ihuaivilu to guard it. This monster is a dragon with a snake-like neck.
It flies by using strong winds and has a fire breath which can put
aflame whole fields or groves. It roars like thunder and its passage
throught the air leaves a green trail.
44) Inkarri - It's said that the last Inca king was
supposedly beheaded. But his head, buried somewhere, is either
regenerating his body or waiting to be reunited with it. When this is
done, he shall rise and rebuild the Inca Empire. Other versions say that
it is the body which is regrowing a head, because the original head was
taken to Spain. Further tales say that his return heralds Judgement
Day.
45) Inulpamahuida ("mountain climber") - A tree without roots. But it has many clawed branches which it uses to climb the mountains.
46) Ipupiara - An aquatic man-eating mermen. It had
hair all over its body and whiskers, so think of it as half man, half
sea lion. 3.30 meters long. It kills people by hugging them until they
suffocate. Female ipupiaras had long hair and were "fair to look at".
47) Irapuru - A magic red bird, symbol of happiness. It
was a young indian cursed by a chief due to being in love with the
latter's daughter. It begun a beautiful song. The chief heard it and
went inside the woods to capture the bird, becoming lost forever in the
process. The Irapuru still sings to this day, hoping that the girl he
loves will recognize him. Whoever finds this bird may have a wish come
true.
48) Jasy Jatere - One of the seven cursed children of
Tau and Kerana. He is usually described as being a small man or perhaps a
child, with light blonde hair and sometimes blue eyes. He is fair in
appearance, sometimes described as even beautiful or enchanting, and
carries with him a magical wand or staff, sometimes described as a
golden cane, although what clothing he wears, if any at all, does not
seem to be an important part of the legend. Like most of his brothers he
dwells in the wild, he is considered to be the protector of the yerba
mate plant. Sometimes he is also viewed as a protector of hidden
treasures. It is said that Jasy Jatere's power stems from the magical
staff that he carries, and if one is able to take it from him, he breaks
down and cries like a little child. In this state, one may ask him for
the treasures that he is protecting in return for the staff, not unlike a
captured leprechaun who must reward his captor with a pot of gold.
49) Kaalimatu - A small waspman who served as a
messenger for Made-from-Bone, a trickster deity. He helped the latter to
defeat Sickness itself by plugging up its blowgun.
50) Kanaíma - An evil spirit which possesses people and
makes them go into a murderous rage. Said people might or might not
turn into animals as well. Assassins and people seeking revenge
sometimes called upon this spirit through drugs and magic rituals. The
usual method of killing the target is with stealth and a poisoned arrow.
So it's like a berserker ninja shapeshifter. Further lore talks about a
certain tree whose sap, once rubbed in one's skin, makes one go mad and
turn himself into an animal, usually a tiger** or a snake. Throwing
this sap at people seems to cause the same effect. Some tribes believe
that either the spirit, or the person possessed by it, can use an
invisible poisoned arrow, practically a magic projectile of some sort,
and that said arrow leaves a blue spot somewhere in the target's body.
Even if the kanaíma manages to kill his target, he has to visit the
corpse three days later and lick off a bit of its blood. This can be
thought of as an offering to the kanaíma spirit so that it leaves his
body. If he can't do so, he can't return to his tribe, remaining an
outlaw that must be killed in sight even by his family. He also further
sinks into madness until death, for the spirit isn't pleased. There is a
large-leaf plant, the caladium, which serves as a sort of magical
proximity detector of kanaíma spirits. When one of the latter comes
close, the plant emits a long low whistle and somehow shakes the
target's hammock to wake him up.
51) Kawtcho - Nocturnal spirit described as resembling a
very tall man, with hard and straight hair covering its head, "a
gigantic brawny body and sharp claws," and a smell so putrid that it
could awaken dogs. It was said to "walk under the ground" during the
day, coming out at night to prowl the beaches, attacking people from
behind to tear out their eyes and kill them. Out of fear of attracting
the kawtcho, the Alakaluf refrained from lighting fires in the open
during the night.
52) Kiantô - A giant snake colored as the rainbow. It rules a "realm of the waters" with its own people and animals.
53) Kori - It has the appearance of a giant anteater, except far larger,
and it lives underwater in the rivers. It uses its large claws to dig
under riverbanks, causing their collapse, and that is why this is such a
common occurrence in the rainforest. A kori can also cause strong gales
to destroy constructions, and can turn soil into water to drown people.
Part three here.
Part three here.
