In many cultures throughout the world and in history legends have appeared about fantastic beings, half man, half wolf.Werewolves or lycanthropes have known each other since ancient times and in Mysterious we tell you about the origin of the word «lycanthrope» in the post: Do you know who was Licaon, the king who gave name to LICANTROPIA ?, In this Greek myth we see Zeus turn a man into a wolf, but the stories about these characters are not European heritage and this time we want tell you about the legend of the Lobizon, the werewolf Guarani .
The Guarani people live in a region that includes areas of Paraguay, Northeast Argentina, eastern Bolivia and the Southwestern Brazil.Before the arrival of the colonizers, the Guarani people had their own beliefs and mythology that were mostly absorbed by Christianity in their syncretizing process or forgotten since they were not written and transmitted orally. One of the myths that e have remained the Lobizon or werewolf of Guarani mythology .
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The legend of Lobizon, the Guarani werewolf
Lobizon, Luison, Luisõ or Lobison is the name of a monstrous creature similar to a European werewolf.The legend explains that Marangatu, the second son of the first pair of humans, had a beautiful daughter named Kerana.abducted by Tau, who was the personification of the evil spirit.Angatupyry, the spirit of good, cursed the couple and condemned them to have only monstrous children.
The seventh male son, from a chain of male children, of this couple was Lobizon.The most cursed of all.Monstruous as his brothers, he had the average human and half dog appearance or wolf.The name of Lobizon or Luison was taken by the Guarani people borrowed in the manner in which Argentina and Uruguay called the werewolves that is also lobizon and from the Brazilian word that originated it: lobisomem.The original Guarani name for this Seventh cursed son has not been preserved, because as we have said there was only oral transmission and this character was increasingly resembling the European werewolf.
However, if we know how Guarani mythology described it, it was an absolutely monstrous being, horribly ugly, with long and dirty hair that practically covered it completely. He also had both eyes and the skin of a very pale tone and sickly appearance.In its wake there was a fetid and foul smell that foreshadowed the presence of a being related to death.For all those unfortunate who encountered him, the impact was terrifying.it related to night, death and cemeteries and was believed to feed exclusively on dead and rotten human flesh. The legend of Lobizon or Luizon also explained that if the monster passed between the legs of a person , this also became a Luizon and if it touched someone, it meant that he would soon die.
Over time, the legend of the Lobizon and that of the European werewolf were similar and the Guarani also went hunting On full moon nights, hunting for food and if it bites someone, it also becomes a Luizon.So entrenched was this legend in some social groups that it was believed that the seventh son in chain was destined to become Luizon, and In many cases, the families got rid of him.In Paraguay and the Northeast of Argentina, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the president of the nation sponsored the seventh son (without any female in between), so that he was murdered.From 1973 the sponsorship became official and the sponsored person enjoyed the privilege of having a scholarship.
Galicia and the legend of the lobishome very similar to the legend of the lobizon
In Galicia-a region that is very worth visiting-there was also the legend of the «lobishome» very similar to the legend of the lobizon .When a family had a Seventh son was followed, there was the possibility that he was a lobishome.To check it out, you should look at the palate of the newborn.If he had the image of a cross or a wheel of St.Catherine, he would not become a lobishome, but if he did not have one Yes, in order to prevent this terrifying event from happening, he should be immediately sponsored in baptism and confirmation by one of his older brothers who had already turned 16 and had been baptized and confirmed before.If this possibility did not exist, the child would become in a lobishome if he was not named when baptized the name "Bieito", which means "blessed" in Galician.
In this tradition, the lobizon went hunting on Fridays and took off his clothes becoming a werewolf.His custom was to visit seven villages or small towns and in each of them dressing a skin.To return to his human form he could burn one of the skins he had stolen in the villages he visited or simply bleed him.
Fortunately, the legend of the lobizon and similar ones such as that of the Galician lobishome have gone down in history and have forgotten times like the Illustration in which lycanthropy was firmly believed as a real disease resulting from syphilis , rabies or epilepsy for example.Currently, if you consider a mental pathology known as clinical lycanthropy, one of whose most documented cases we speak in Mysterious: Manuel Blanco Romasanta | 13 murders of a clinical lycanthrope.
Did you know the legend of Lobizon , the werewolf Guarani? Do you have more information about this spooky mythical figure? Share them with us! We will be happy to add you to this post.
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