Reeri Yakseya

DemonSri Lanka · South AsiaLegendFear 8/10

Description

A demon from the folklore of Sri Lanka. Reeri Yakseya (Sinhala: රීරි යක්ෂයා) or Riri Yaka is a demon in Sinhalese folklore, believed to be…

The Legend

Reeri Yakseya (Sinhalese: රීරි යක්ෂයා) or Riri Yaka is a demon from Sinhalese folklore, considered one of the most cruel and powerful beings, known to be second only to Mahasona (Ritigala Jayasena or Ritigala Jayasinha). He is depicted as having the body of a human with the head of a monkey, and his skin is a burning red color. It is also said that he rides a red bull. Reeri Yakseya has the ability to cause various diseases in humans, particularly associated with bleeding and blood disorders. It is believed that Reeri Yakseya appears when a person is close to death, manifesting in the form of a dwarf standing beside the dying person, holding a rooster in one hand and a club in the other, with a man's corpse in his mouth. This appearance is known as 'Maru Avatar'. In addition to his original form, Reeri Yakseya can take on 18 different forms, known by the following names: Reeri Yakseya (original form), Ree Rajja, Agu Rajja, Pulutajja, Reeri Gopalla, Reeri Buddia, Reeri WatMaru Avatar Yakseya. A lesser-known belief claims that these are not illusions of the same demon but rather 18 individual demons working together.

This article is based on the Wikipedia article "Reeri Yakseya" (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikipedia