Ciguapa

Last updated

A Ciguapa (pronounced see-GWAH-pah)[ citation needed ] is a mythological creature of Dominican Republic folklore. They are commonly described as having human female form with brown or dark blue skin, backward facing feet, and very long manes of smooth, glossy hair that covers their bodies. They supposedly inhabit the high mountains of the Dominican Republic.

Contents

Overview

These creatures have nocturnal habits. Also, due to the position of their feet, one can never quite tell which direction the beings are moving by looking at their footprints. Some people believe that they bring death, and it is said that one should not look them in the eye, otherwise the person is at risk of being bewitched permanently. [1] The only vocalization made by ciguapas is said to be a kind of whine or chirping.

Ciguapas are considered to be magical beings, beautiful in appearance to some, yet horrendous to others. All sources agree that they are wild creatures. They are compared in many cases to mermaids: beautiful yet cruel, and far from innocent. Deceitful and ready to capture the wayward traveler, it is said that they are so beautiful that they can lure men into the forest to make love with them, only to kill them afterward. Legends have suggested that some are benevolent and wish not to kill trespassers, though not much evidence supports this claim. Even today, one can still find inhabitants who confirm having sighted a ciguapa. Some also state that she is hard to find and locate due to her backwards feet, so she is almost impossible to track unless you know to follow the feet backwards.

Lore states that the only way to capture a ciguapa is by tracking them at night, during a full moon, with a black and white polydactylic dog (called a cinqueño dog). [2]

Though many believe that the myth of the ciguapa is of Taino origin, it has been argued that it is probably of more recent concoction because the Ciguapa myth has many characteristics in common with the ancient European mermaids. No known Taino artifacts or lore make reference to any creature even remotely similar to it. [3] Also, the legend may have originated from other myths, as distant as the Guaraní Curupí or the Hindu Churel, which was described by Rudyard Kipling in My Own True Ghost Story as having traits similar to those of the ciguapa. The Hindu hypothesis may be far-fetched since there is no way to ascertain how this story got to the Dominican Republic during the nineteenth century when no cultural exchange occurred between these nations.

A Dominican Republic film called El Mito de la Ciguapa (The Myth of the Ciguapa) was released in 2009.

A children's picture book was created by Julia Alvarez called The Secret of the Footprints in 2002, that features ciguapas.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mermaid</span> Legendary aquatic creature with an upper body in human female form

In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The Tupi-Guarani mythology is the set of narratives about the gods and spirits of the different Tupi-Guarani peoples, ancient and current. Together with the cosmogonies, anthropogonies and rituals, they form part of the religion of these peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merrow</span> Mermaid or merman in Irish folklore

Merrow is a mermaid or merman in Irish folklore. The term is anglicised from the Irish word murúch.

Folklore in Hawaii in modern times is a mixture of various aspects of Hawaiian mythology and various urban legends that have been passed on regarding various places in the Hawaiian islands. The following is a partial list of some of these legends.

The Curupira is a mythological creature present in the Tupi-Guarani myths in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil.

A kumiho or gumiho is a creature that appears in the folktales on East Asia and legends of Korea. It is similar to the Chinese huli jing, the Japanese kitsune and the Vietnamese hồ ly tinh. It can freely transform into a beautiful woman often set out to seduce men, and eat their liver or heart. There are numerous tales in which the kumiho appears, several of which can be found in the encyclopedic Compendium of Korean Oral Literature.

At the time of first contact between Europe and the Americas, the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean included the Taíno of the northern Lesser Antilles, most of the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas, the Kalinago of the Lesser Antilles, the Ciguayo and Macorix of parts of Hispaniola, and the Guanahatabey of western Cuba. The Kalinago have maintained an identity as an Indigenous people, with a reserved territory in Dominica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pichal Peri</span>

Pichal peri or pichhal pairī, also called churel/chuṛail/chudail is a monster or supernatural creature popularly appearing in ghost stories of South and Central Asia. Pichal peris usually appear female with long hair covering the face and feet pointing backward.

A jumbee, jumbie, mendo or chongo in Colombia and Venezuela is a type of mythological spirit or demon in the folklore of some Caribbean countries. Jumbee is the generic name given to all malevolent entities. There are numerous kinds of jumbees, reflecting the Caribbean's complex history and ethnic makeup, drawing on African, Amerindian, East Indian, Dutch, English, and even Chinese mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patasola</span>

The Patasola or "single leg" is one of many legends in South American folklore about female monsters from the jungle, appearing to male hunters or loggers in the middle of the wilderness when they think about women. The Patasola appears in the form of a beautiful and seductive woman, often in the likeness of a loved one, who lures a man away from his companions deep into the jungle. There, the Patasola reveals her true, hideous appearance as a one-legged creature with ferocious vampire-like lust for human flesh and blood, attacking and devouring the flesh or sucking the blood of her victims.

The Chilote mythology or Chilota mythology is formed by the myths, legends and beliefs of the people who live in the Chiloé Archipelago, in the south of Chile. This mythology reflects the importance of the sea in the life of Chilotes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iara (mythology)</span> Figure from Brazilian mythology

Iara, also spelled Uiara, Yara or Hiara or Mãe das Águas, is a figure from Brazilian mythology based on the ancient Tupi and Guaraní mythology. The word derives from Old Tupi yîara = y ("water") + îara = "lady of the lake". Depending on the oral tradition and the context of the story, she can be seen either as a water nymph, a siren, or a beautiful mermaid that lives in the Amazon River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mermaids in popular culture</span>

Mermaids, like many other creatures of mythology and folklore, are regularly depicted in literature, film, music, and popular culture. In the folklore of some modern cultures, the concept of the siren has been assimilated to that of the mermaid. For example, the French word for mermaid is sirène, Italian sirena, and similarly in certain other European languages. This usage existed by the Middle Ages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colombian folklore</span>

Colombian folklore are beliefs, customs and cultural traditions in Colombia.

Mythic humanoids are legendary, folkloric, or mythological creatures that are part human, or that resemble humans through appearance or character. Each culture has different mythical creatures that come from many different origins, and many of these creatures are humanoids. They are often able to talk and in many stories they guide the hero on their journey.

A bhoota or bhuta is a supernatural creature, usually the ghost of a deceased person, in the popular culture, literature and some ancient texts of the Indian subcontinent. Interpretations of how bhootas come into existence vary by region and community, but they are usually considered to be perturbed and restless due to some factor that prevents them from moving on. This could be a violent death, unsettled matters in their lives, or simply the failure of their survivors to perform proper funerals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamia (Basque mythology)</span>

The lamia is a siren or nereid-like creature in Basque mythology. Lamiak are typically portrayed as living in and around rivers. They are depicted as beautiful, long-haired women with webbed duck feet, usually found at the river shore brushing their hair with a golden comb and seducing men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnival in the Dominican Republic</span>

The Carnival in the Dominican Republic is a Dominican celebration that takes place throughout February, and sometimes during Holy Week in March. Dominican Carnival is celebrated in most cities and towns in the main streets. The carnival season in the Dominican Republic kicks off with a carnival gala held indoors in Santiago de los Caballeros, as opposed to every other carnival event held outdoors throughout the month of February. Among its main characteristics are its flashy costumes and loud music. The one held in La Vega, which is one of the biggest in the country, and the national parade in Santo Domingo, were the first Carnivals held in the Americas.

Gwragedd Annwn, alternatively known as Dames of the Lower Region, Dames of Elfin Land, or Wives of the Lower World, are beautiful female fairies who live beneath lakes and rivers found in Welsh folklore. They are counted among the Tylwyth Teg or Welsh fairy folk.The mythological narrative of Gwragedd Annwn is intertwined with the origin of the Welsh black cattle. Some legends hold that the existence of the Gwragedd Annwn was owed to the famed Saint Patrick. Occasionally, the fairies were said to ascend into the upper world, and be visible to ordinary people.

References

  1. Liza Phoenix (2007-03-05). "Ciguapa". lizaphoenix. Archived from the original on 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2007-10-20.
  2. "La Ciguapa". 18 October 2020.
  3. "La Ciguapa". 18 October 2020.