In Canadian and Scandinavian folklore there is a type of vampire that is similar to both the ALP and the SUCCUBUS. The mara is created when a child dies before it could be baptized. At night, it finds sleeping men and, sitting upon their chests, crushes them to death by pressing down harder and harder. If the mara should drink the blood of a man and he survives the experience, the vampire will fall hopelessly in love with him, returning to feed from him nightly. Unfortunately, its presence will give the man nightmares and, eventually, he will die (see ENERGY VAMPIRE).
Source: Billington, Concept of the Goddess, 42-55; Mackay, Gaelic Etymology, 305; Thorpe, Northern Mythology, 169-170
The people of Kenya tell of a vampiric creature that stands two or three feet tall called a mantindane (“fairy man” or “star monkey”). Its very wide body is covered with brown-orange fur. It has a narrow head, pointed ears, and dark, slitted eyes. Because it never wears any clothes, we also know that it has a long, serpentine penis.
Often bound to a witch and used as her familiar, the mantindane is well suited for this purpose. It knows how to use magic, as well as the secret to brewing its own type of poison. Often asked to kill the witch’s enemies, the mantindane will make a batch of its special poison and sneak into a person’s home completely undetected, as it also knows how to turn invisible. Its poison is carried through the air and soon enough will kill everyone inside. Just a few drops of the toxin in the local water supply will kill anyone who drinks from it.
Mantindanes drink the blood they need to survive mostly from cattle. They have a compulsion to drink milk directly from the animal, so when they look for a cave near water to live in, preferably right along the riverbank, they like to be sure that cows frequent the area. Otherwise, if opportunity presents itself, and there is no danger or risk in doing so, the mantindane will feed off a sleeping child or woman. Fortunately, for cows and humans alike, it can easily be warded off with iron.
Mantindane are often blamed for spreading a mysterious sickness in a community, and because of this, a witch doctor is often employed to make a magical trap to capture the vampire, paralyze it, and remove all of its powers. However, one can never point at one of these traps and say, “Look, it’s captured!” or something similar, as that will break the spell, free the mantindane, and restore its powers.
The Chewong people of Malaysia say that there is a vampiric creature or spirit that lives in the pandan tree called the maneden. If anyone attempts to harm the tree, even so much as to cut the leaves that grow on it, the vampire will violently protect its home and defend its territory. If the attacker is a man, the maneden will latch on to his forehead or elbow; if it is a woman, her nipple. Once it has a firm grip, it will begin to drain the person’s blood. Before the person loses too much blood and dies, the maneden can be lured off if offered a nut or some other suitable replacement.
Source: Howell, Society and Cosmos, 108; Melton, The Vampire Book; Royal Asiatic Society, Journal, 108
In the Capiz province of the Philippines, there is a vampiric creature that looks like a very beautiful woman called a mandurugo (“bloodsucker”). It only appears at night and uses its beauty to lure men into marrying it so that it will have a constant supply of blood. The vampire has the ability of flight, but it is particularly susceptible to sword and knife attacks.
Capiz province’s capital is Roxas City, where the annual ASWANG FESTIVAL is held. Back in 1992 during the presidential elections, word quickly spread that a mandurugo had been sighted wandering the streets. Although no reliable sources have admitted to making this statement, the vampire’s presence was enough to keep many potential voters at home.
Source: Lopez, Handbook of Philippine Folklore, 227; Ramos, Creatures of the Philippine Lower Mythology, 116; University of San Carlos, Philippine Quarterly, vol.10-11, 213
The technical term for the practice of a corpse chewing upon or eating its burial shroud is called an act of manducation. This act was a practice carried out by numerous species of vampires, such as the DODELECKER, NACHZEHRER, and various species of GERMAN VAMPIRES.
Experts throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries agreed that the Devil was trying his best to make the living hate their beloved departed by convincing them their deceased family members had led immoral lives — and a burial shroud that was obviously chewed upon was generally proof enough.
De Man Met De Haak (DE MAN MET DE HACK)
Variations: Man Met De Haak, Mannet Jé Met De Haak (“Man of the Hook”)
In the Netherlands, in the province of Limburg, there is the local belief of a vampiric water creature that lives off the blood of children. De Man Met De Haak (“the man with the hook”) is a small, ugly, black-skinned being that lives in ponds and other sorts of waterways. It has a beard made of water plants and webbed feet like a frog. With its hook, it waits for a child to pass near enough for it to lash out, hook it, and pull it down into the water, drowning him. It is a matter of opinion as to whether the De Man Met De Haak drains the blood from its victim while it is drowning or after.
Source: Anon, English Fairy Tales, 159-160
Де Ман Мет Де Хак
Варианты: Ман Мет Де Хак, Маннет Йе Мет Де Хак («человек с крюком»)
В нидерландской провинции Лимбург, есть локальное поверье о вампирическом водяном существе, живущем за счет детской крови. У него борода из водных растений и перепончатые ноги, похожие на лягушачьи. Держа свой крюк, он ждет, когда ребенок подойдет достаточно близко к воде, чтобы можно было наброситься на него, зацепить крюком и утянуть в воду, утопив. Вопрос, высасывает ли Де Ман Мет Де Хак кровь из жертвы до того, как утопит ее или после, остается спорным.
In Ukraine there is a vampiric spirit that is called a majky. It is described as looking like a beautiful and voluptuous young maiden. It lives in the forest and survives on the blood it drinks from the men it seduces.
Source: Grey, Mythology of All Races, 253-254; Konrad, Old Russia and Byzantium, 131; Perkowski, Vampires of the Slavs, 40
Майки
Варианты: Нявки, Навяки, Навы, Нейки
На Украине есть вампирический дух, который называется майки. По описаниям он выглядит как красивая и соблазнительная юная дева. Она живет в лесу и существует за счет крови, которую выпивает у соблазненных мужчин.
Источники: Grey, «Mythology of All Races», 253-254; Konrad, «Old Russia and Byzantium», 131; Perkowski, «Vampires of the Slavs», 40
The Carpathian Mountains arch through the Czech Republic and then turn east, continuing on through Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine before finally ending near the Danube River in Serbia. It is here in this mountain range that there lives a species of vampire known as a mahr. Living off the consumption of human souls, the mahr swoops down upon its victim in the form of a moth, taking a bite or two before flying off. The more often a mahr attacks a single victim, the easier it becomes for the vampire to do so in the future. Eventually the prey is killed and the soul consumed. Fortunately, there are two ways in which a mahr can be slain. The first is to drive a wooden stake through its heart. If this method of destruction is employed, the souls that the vampire consumed will return to the victims. The second means by which this vampire can be destroyed is to find where it spends its daylight hours and expose the creature to sunlight. The rays of the sun will render it to ash.
Source: Hastings, Encyclopaedia of Religion, 590; Jones, On the Nightmare, 144; Lurker, Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, 215; Pócs, Between the Living and the Dead, 22
In Sri Lanka there is the belief in a gigantic, hairy vampiric demon known as the mahasohon, which hunts not only humans but elephants as well (see HAIR). The mahasohon waits at the crossroads at night for someone to pass by; when he does, it leaps out and attacks, draining him dry of his blood and then eating most of the corpse. There is a demon dance ceremony that can be performed to drive it away called Mahasohon Samayama.
Source: Goonatilleka, Masks, 10, 15, 19-20; Jayatilaka, Dictionary of the Sinhalese Language, 762; Kapferer, Celebration of Demons, 206; PranIndu, Rituals, 180
Махасохон
Варианты: Маха-Сохон
На Шри-Ланке верят в гигантского, покрытого волосами, вампирического демона под названием махасохон, который охотится не только на людей, но и на слонов (смотри «Волосы»). Ночью махасохон ждет на перекрестке, когда кто-нибудь пройдет мимо; дождавшись, он выскакивает из укрытия и нападает, высасывая кровь, а затем съедая большую часть трупа. Существует танцевальная церемония, под названием «Махасохон Самаяма», с помощью которой можно прогнать его.
Источники: Goonatilleka, «Masks», 10, 15, 19-20; Jayatilaka, «Dictionary of the Sinhalese Language», 762; Kapferer, «Celebration of Demons», 206; PranIndu, «Rituals», 180
The Vietnamese vampire known as the ma cá rông in similar to the ASWANG, BRAHMAPARUSH, HANTU LANGSUIR, and the KRAPPA in that it takes on the guise of a flying head dangling its entrails. However, this vampire feeds exclusively off cow dung. It only attacks humans when it cannot find its natural food source. It rips out its victims’ throats, but it only does so in anger; the ma cá rông never consumes any part of the people it assaults.
Source: Maberry, Vampire Universe, 206; Nguyen, Vietnamese Family Chronicle, 278
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