Soucouyant

A soucouyant is in Trinidad and Tobago a mythological , blood-sucking creatures.

She appears in the form of a woman who transforms into a fireball at night and flies in this form to the house of her victims. The soucouyant knocks on the victim's door and asks for salt or matches. If you give her what she wants, she gains power over the person concerned. If there is a Christian cross on the window of the house, this should protect against the influence of the Soucouyant. According to legend, in order to drink the blood of its victims, the soucouyant has to shed its skin.

The Legend of you can also protect against the following soucouyant:

• If you throw a handful of rice or other small pieces in front of the door or window, the soucouyant allegedly cannot leave the place until she has counted all the pieces. If this counting continues until morning, she will die in the sunlight without her skin.
• If you know where the soucouyant leaves its skin overnight, you can sprinkle it with salt and pepper. When the soucouyant returns, the skin has contracted and it no longer fits.

The legend goes back to immigrants of French origin who, at the invitation of the Spanish crown, settled in large numbers in Trinidad from 1783. The vampire belief of the French-born immigrants mixed with the superstition of their slaves from sub-Saharan Africa, which u. a. led to the development of the belief in the Soucouyant.

Web links

Wiktionary: Soucouyant  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Anthony: Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago . Scarecrow Press, London 1997, ISBN 0-8108-3173-2 .
2. ^ Gérard A. Besson: Folklore and Legends of Trinidad and Tobago . international edition. Paria Publishing, Port of Spain 2007, ISBN 976-8054-47-6 , pp. 22 .