Grouping | Legendary creature |
---|---|
Sub grouping | Vampire |
Folklore | Australian Aboriginal |
Country | Australia |
Details | Fig trees |
The Yara-ma-yha-who is a legendary vampiric monster found in Southeastern Australian Aboriginal mythology. [1] [2] The legend is recounted by David Unaipon. [3] According to legend, the creature resembles a little red frog-like man with a very big head, a large mouth with no teeth and suckers on the ends of its hands and feet.[ citation needed ]
The Yara-ma-yha-who is said to live in fig trees. Instead of hunting for food, it is described as waiting for an unsuspecting traveller to rest under the tree. The creature then drops down and uses its suckers to drain the victim's blood. After that, it swallows the person, drinks some water, and then takes a nap. When the Yara-ma-yha-who awakens, it regurgitates the victim, leaving them shorter than before. The victim's skin also has a reddish tint to it that it didn't have before. If this process is repeated, the victim becomes a Yara-ma-yha-who themselves. [1] [4]
According to legend, the Yara-ma-yha-who is only active during the day and only targets living prey. "Playing dead" until sunset (it is said to only hunt during the day) is offered as a ploy to avoid attack.[ citation needed ] Stories of this creature were reportedly told to misbehaving children. [1] [2]
The origin of this creature is believed to be the tarsier; it is probable the story was brought to Australia by Malay settlers. [5]
The bunyip is a creature from the aboriginal mythology of southeastern Australia, said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods which they inhabited while they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 19th century.
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David Ngunaitponi, known as David Unaipon, was an Aboriginal Australian preacher, inventor, and author. A Ngarrindjeri man, his contribution to Australian society helped to break many stereotypes of Aboriginal people, and he is featured on the Australian $50 note in commemoration of his work. He was the son of preacher and writer James Unaipon.
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Yara may refer to:
Colombian folklore are beliefs, customs and cultural traditions in Colombia.
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The drop bear is a hoax in contemporary Australian folklore featuring a predatory, carnivorous version of the koala. This imaginary animal is commonly spoken about in tall tales designed to scare tourists. While koalas are typically docile herbivores, drop bears are described as unusually large and vicious marsupials that inhabit treetops and attack unsuspecting people that walk beneath them by dropping onto their heads from above.
Stephen Muecke is an Australian ethnographer. He is an Emeritus Professor of Ethnography at the University of New South Wales, Australia and adjunct professor at the Nulungu Institute, University of Notre Dame, Broome. He studied linguistics and semiotics, completing his PhD on storytelling techniques among Aboriginal people in Broome, Western Australia.
Garkain is a legendary creature in Australian Aboriginal mythology said to haunt the dense jungle along the Liverpool River in the Northern Territory, Australia. Should an unwary traveller enter his domain, Garkain swoops down from the trees on his leathery wings and envelops them. It is a story parents tell to their children to tell them to not use physical violence as a way to solve problems.