Soucouyant

Description

Old woman who sheds skin and becomes fireball to suck blood

Origin & Background

Soucouyants belong to a type of spirit known as 'jumbies.' Some believe that soucouyants were transmitted to the Caribbean from European countries in the form of French vampire mythology. This belief was mixed with the faith of Africans who were brought over as slaves. In the French West Indies, particularly on the islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, as well as in Suriname, there exists a being known as Soukougnan or Soukounian, who can shed their skin and transform into a fireball in vampire form. Generally, these figures can exist regardless of gender or age. The term 'Loogaroo' is also sometimes used to describe soucouyants, possibly derived from the French word for werewolf, loup-garou. In Haiti, werewolves are referred to as jé-rouges (red eyes). Over time, due to changes in the stories, soucouyants are no longer depicted solely as old women.

The Legend

Soucouyant is a folkloric character that appears as a reclusive old woman (or old man) during the day. At night, they shed their wrinkled skin and place it in a mortar. They fly through the dark sky in a fireball form, searching for victims. Soucouyants can enter a victim's home through cracks or keyholes. While the victim is asleep, they suck blood from the arms, neck, legs, and other soft areas, leaving black and blue marks on the body by morning. If a soucouyant sucks too much blood, it is believed that the victim will either become a soucouyant or die completely. Additionally, soucouyants practice black magic and trade the victim's blood with the demon Bazil, who resides in the silk cotton tree, for evil powers. To reveal a soucouyant, rice must be piled at the crossroads of a house or village, causing the creature to be forced to act and collect the rice grain by grain, thus getting caught. To destroy a soucouyant, rough salt must be placed in the mortar along with the shed skin, so that she dies and cannot wear her skin again. The skin of a soucouyant is considered valuable and is used in black magic rituals.

Variants

This spirit is known by various names in different regions: Ol' Higue or Ole Haig in Guyana, Belize, and Jamaica; Asema in Suriname; Hag in the Bahamas and Barbados; Soucouyant or soucriant in Saint Lucia, Louisiana, and Trinidad; and Soukouyan in Grenada.

In Popular Culture

In some Caribbean islands such as Guyana, Suriname, Saint Lucia, Dominica, Haiti, and Trinidad, beliefs in soucouyants are still somewhat preserved. Many Caribbean islands have plays about soucouyants and other folkloric characters. These plays are performed in places like Trinidad, Grenada, and Barbados.

Genres

More creatures from this country · Haiti

Similar creature types · Witch