Yara-ma-yha-who
The Yara-ma-yha-who is a mythical creature of the Australian Aborigines . It is a humanoid being less than a meter tall. It has red skin and short red fur, a round, bulging belly and a large head with bright red eyes. The mouth is oversized. It has no teeth and swallows its prey whole or, like a vampire, sucks its blood out of it. Suction cups on the fingers are used to hold on.
According to legend, the Yara-ma-yha-who lives in fig trees and should let themselves fall from these on their victims, mostly stray children who rest under the trees. So much blood should be taken from the victim that it should pass out, but not die, and only later should it be swallowed whole. Afterwards the being should take a lot of water. A child who does not fight back should have the chance to be spat out again and so on to live, a child who does not fight back should be swallowed again. People who are swallowed several times are supposed to transform themselves into a Yara-ma-yha-who, getting hairier and smaller every time.
Web links
literature
- Melton, J. Gordon. The Vampire Book. Visibile Inc Press: Framington Hills, MI; 1999.
- Sith, W. Ramsey. Myths and Legends of the Australian Aboriginals. Farrar & Rinehart, n.d .: New York.