Ancient Tamil literature has a wide variety of terms for ghosts and demons: Oozhi, Paasam, Yaadam, Savam, and Veri being a few of them. But there is not much to say about these beings by way of description. If the words ever referred to specific types of spirits, those shades of meaning are now mostly lost to the mists of time.
Another ancient term is Anangu. This word occurs in the Tholkappiyam, the oldest surviving work of Tamil literature, and is still used today. Its meaning has varied widely over the centuries, making the Anangu a rather difficult spirit to characterize.
But we shall hazard a try.
The most common understanding seems to be that an Anangu is a demoness of hysterical grief — an embodiment of the rage stemming from women’s oppression.
The Anangu has been described as a preternaturally beautiful celestial damsel, an attacking deity from the mountains who wears bright flowers in her long flowing hair; but also as a shapeshifter, or as a formless entity. Some poems paint her as a succubus or Mohini — a temptress who feeds on the souls of weak men drawn to her by lust. Others say that she is the demon unleashed by a woman with disruptive sexuality: a married slut, an unchaste widow. But the Anangu’s activities are driven by a thirst for vengeance rather than by physical desire.
In the ancient Tamil epic Silappathikaram, or “The Anklet Story”, when Kannagi learns that her husband has been wrongly executed, she is described as an Anangu. The term has also been connected to Suparnakha — the Rakshasi of the Ramayana who was humiliated and disfigured for the crime of desiring the wrong man — and to the folkloric character Neeli.
In the folklore of the Atong people of Meghalaya — a subgroup of the Garo tribe — Ambi Jakbyryt is a ghostly hand, with no body attached.
When people walk on jungle paths on dark and moonless nights, the Ambi Jakbyryt will begin to follow them, floating silently behind in mid-air. When they least expect it, it reaches forward and claws their back.
When the person turns around, yelping in pain and alarm, they see the disembodied hand flying into the shadows.
В фольклоре народности атонг, подгруппы племен гаро из Мегхалаи, амби джакбэрет — призрачная рука, у которой нет тела.
Когда люди тёмными безлунными ночами идут по тропам в джунглях, за ними начинает следовать амби джакбэрет, бесшумно паря в воздухе позади. И когда люди меньше всего этого ожидают, она тянется вперёд и вцепляется в спину.
Тогда, оборачиваясь с криком боли и испуга, человек видит бестелесную руку, что улетает в глубину теней.
This name is used in Goa and other parts of Western India for the ghost of a woman who died in childbirth, but whose child survived. In some communities, it can also be used for a woman who died just before she was about to be married.
These spirits are incorporeal and invisible, and usually don’t bother the living. They never haunt strangers. Alvantins only cause trouble to members of their own family, and even then only if someone is about to experience the major life event which fate denied to the deceased.
Suppose a woman dies in childbirth. When her widower remarries, the ghost of the dead woman might become envious at the idea of a different woman mothering her child. The Alvantin may then possess the new wife and harass and torment her.
Or suppose a woman dies the night before her wedding. Then, when a younger sister or a niece gets married, the Alvantin may return to haunt the bride.
An Alvantin may haunt a family for centuries, over many generations, even after the name of the deceased is long forgotten and the house she lived in has crumbled to dust. But the ghost only troubles women — that too, only those women fathered by, or married to, members of the male line of descent from her father or her husband. For example, the dead woman’s brother’s daughters, or her brother’s sons’ wives, are at risk; but her sister’s descendants are immune.
A woman exorcist is required to drive an Alvantin out of a possessed person. Male exorcists are ineffectual against this spirit.
Alha and Udal were two legendary generals in the army of Raja Parimardi of Chandela who warred against the king Prithviraj Chauhan in the year 1182. Ballads about the exploits of these two heroes have been sung for centuries in different Central Indian dialects, especially Bundeli. The epic poem Alha-Khand gives descriptions of fifty-two different wars in which the two brothers fought side by side.
Not only are Alha and Udal said to have been the best swordsmen of their time, they were also skilled in the art of kushti (traditional mud wrestling). They lived in Maihar, now in Madhya Pradesh. They were great devotees of Sharda Mata, the deity whose temple sits at the top of a hill outside town.
Today, the ghosts of these warriors are said to visit the temple every day in the wee hours of the morning to worship the goddess. Entry to the temple building is strictly prohibited between the hours of 2 and 5 a.m. to ensure the spirits are undisturbed. Alha arrives riding on the ghost of his elephant, whose name is Pachsawad, while Udal rides on a ghostly pegasus named Bendil.
It is believed that the goddess will not accept worship from others before the two ghosts arrive, and that anyone foolish enough to defy the rule will die.
Ref.: 16. Bachaspatimayum, Mary. (2008). Religion and Society of the Kuki Tribes in Manipur. [Doctorate dissertation, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]. Shodhganga; 131. Hiltebeitel Alf. (2009). Rethinking India’s Oral and Classical Epics: Draupadi among Rajputs, Muslims, and Dalits. University of Chicago Press; 400. Waterfield, William (1923). The Lay Of Alha: A Saga of Rajput Chivalry as Sung by Minstrels of Northern India. Oxford University Press.
Reports of unexplained ghostly lights that flicker and move about in the dark are common the world over. The Latin name for these radiances is ignis fatuus, meaning “fool’s fire”. Scientists say they are photon emissions caused by the oxidation of methane and other gases released into the air by rotting organic matter.
But many witnesses refuse to accept this explanation, insisting instead that the lights are supernatural in origin.
In Bengali, they are known as Atoshi Bhoot or Aleya. They are most often seen over marshy areas and water bodies. Some say they are the ghosts of women who were burnt to death; others say they are the spectres of those who passed away with unfulfilled desires. Fishermen out late at night can get transfixed by the Aleya and follow them into muddy overgrown bogs, where their boats get stuck. The lucky ones manage to wade their way out onto solid earth. The unlucky ones are drawn further into the swamp to drown.
A brave person who keeps his wits about him can sometimes manage to catch an Aleya and chop it up into pieces. This is thought to be a merciful act, since it releases the spirit from torment.
In Kumaon, the phantom light is called Tola, and he is said to be the ghost of a bachelor. He is seen only on lonely hills, for the other ghosts refuse to associate with him.
In Kashmir, mysterious lights in the hills are thought to be the flaming eyes of the Bram Bram Chok.
Согласно эстонскому фольклору, Вилисуу — монстр, подстерегающий непослушных детей, которые гуляют по ночам. Эстонские родители предостерегает своих непослушных отпрысков такими словами: «Ага mine oue, vilisuu tuleb!» — «Не выходи на двор, Вилисуу идет!» (1579: с.123)
Культурно-географическая классификация существ:Культурна-геаграфічная класіфікацыя істот:Kulturalno-geograficzna klasyfikacja istot:Культурно-географічна класифікація істот:Cultural and geographical classification of creatures:
Кэммун — волосатый водный и древесный дух с островов Амами в южной Японии. Они выглядят как нечто среднее между каппой и обезьяной. И очень напоминают своих окинавских родичей — кидзимуна. Их тела покрыты тёмно-рыжими или чёрными волосами, а руки и ноги длинные и тонкие. По размеру они немногим больше человеческого ребенка. У них заострённые, клювообразные рты, а на верхней части головы углубление, похожее на блюдце, в котором есть небольшое количество масла или воды. Их тела пахнут ямсом, а слюна ужасно воняет.
Кэммуны делают свои жилища на баньяновых деревьях и проводят дни, играя семейными группами в горах или у воды. Особенно им нравится борьба сумо, в которой они очень искусны. Когда сменяются времена года, они мигрируют с гор к морю и обратно.
Культурно-географическая классификация существ:Культурна-геаграфічная класіфікацыя істот:Kulturalno-geograficzna klasyfikacja istot:Культурно-географічна класифікація істот:Cultural and geographical classification of creatures:
Биндас — мифический персонаж, некий банный дух, которым пугали детей на Лепельщине (Лепельский район Витебской области Беларуси), чтобы те не заходили в помещение бани без взрослых. Говорили, там биндас сидит, непослушных детей горячей водой обрызгивает, да веником из крапивы сечет:
Cогласо фольклору восточно-индийского народа гаро, Аджаджу — разновидность монстра-людоеда с холмов Гаро в штате Мегхалае. У этих причудливо устроенных существ головы гигантских хамелеонов (по другой версии — человекоподобные), руки и тело обезьян, а ноги похожи на бамбуковые палки — длинные, прямые, жёсткие и тонкие. Эти ноги не могут сгибаться, потому что коленей у них нет.
Из-за этого всем аджаджу очень трудно передвигаться по открытой местности. Однако в лесистых местностях они могут передвигаться достаточно быстро, перебрасывая себя с ветки на ветку.
Прыгая по лесу, аджаджу пронзительно кричит: «Ва-о, ва-о!» Если кто-нибудь примет этот крик за человеческий голос и откликнется, аджаджу будет подходить к нему всё ближе и ближе, пока не окажется достаточно близко, чтобы напасть.
Культурно-географическая классификация существ:Культурна-геаграфічная класіфікацыя істот:Kulturalno-geograficzna klasyfikacja istot:Культурно-географічна класифікація істот:Cultural and geographical classification of creatures:
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