bipedal
Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' 'double' ...
humanoid
A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
cryptid
Cryptids are animals that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but are not believed to exist by mainstream science. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience, which primarily looks at anecdotal stories, and other claims rejected by ...
which allegedly inhabits the mountainous region of northern
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. Shepherds living in the mountains have reported sightings.
The Barmanou is the Pakistani equivalent of the
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...
. The term ''Barmanou'' originating in
Khowar
Khowar () or Chitrali, is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken in Chitral and surrounding areas in Pakistan.
Khowar is the lingua franca of Chitral, and it is also spoken in the Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, as ...
, but now used in several Pakistani languages including
Shina
Shina may refer to:
* Shina language, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
* Shina people, a Dardic ethnic group in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan
People named Shina
* Shina Matsudo (born 1973), Japanese freestyle swimmer
* ...
,
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
and
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
. In addition to the name ''Barmanou'' there are a few local variant names as well.
The proposed range of the Barmanou covers the
Chitral
Chitral ( khw, , lit=field, translit=ćhitrār; ur, , translit=ćitrāl) is situated on the Chitral River in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It serves as the capital of the Chitral District and before that as the capital of Chitral ...
Pamirs
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range between Central Asia and Pakistan. It is located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among the world' ...
and the Himalaya. This places the Barmanou between the ranges of two more-famous cryptids, the Almas of Central Asia and the
Yeti
The Yeti ()"Yeti" ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...
of the Himalayas.
The Barmanou allegedly possesses both human and apelike characteristics and has a reputation for abducting women and attempting to mate with them. It is also reported to wear animal skins upon its back and head. The Barmanou appears in the folklore of the Northern Regions of Pakistan and depending on where the stories come from it tends to be either described as an ape or a wild man.
The first search in Pakistan for Bipedal Humanoid man was carried out by a Spanish
zoologist
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
living in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, Jordi Magraner, from 1987 to 1990. He wrote a paper, ''Les Hominidés reliques d'Asie Centrale'',
on the Pakistani cryptid – the wild man.
He later researched the Barmanou extensively in the 1990s, but was murdered in Afghanistan in 2002. Loren Coleman wrote that he "collected more than fifty firsthand sighting accounts, and all eyewitnesses recognized the reconstruction of Heuvelman's ''homo pongoides'' apelike man"--i.e., a living Neanderthal. They picked out ''homo pongoides'' as their match to ''Barmanu'' from Magraner's ID kit of drawings of apes, fossil men, aboriginals, monkeys, and the
Minnesota Iceman
The Minnesota Iceman is a sideshow exhibit and elaborate hoax that depicts a fake man-like creature frozen in a block of ice. It was displayed at shopping malls, state fairs, and carnivals in the United States and Canada in the 1960s and early 1970 ...
."
In May 1994, during a search in Shishi Kuh valley, Chitral, cryptologist Jordi Margraner, Anne Mallasseand and another associate reported that once during a late evening they heard unusual guttural sounds which only a primitive voice-box could have produced. No further progress could be made.
See also
*
Amomongo
In Philippine folklore, the Amomongo is a creature described as a hairy, man-sized ape with long nails. The name is probably derived from the Hiligaynon word ''amó'', which translates "ape" or "monkey". Residents of La Castellana in Negros Occ ...
– Philippines
*
Daeva
A daeva (Avestan: 𐬛𐬀𐬉𐬎𐬎𐬀 ''daēuua'') is a Zoroastrian supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics. In the Gathas, the oldest texts of the Zoroastrian canon, the ''daeva''s are "gods that are (to be) rejected". Thi ...
or Div – Tajikistan, Iran
*
Yeti
The Yeti ()"Yeti" ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...
– Siberia
*
Am Fear Liath Mòr
In Scottish folklore, Am Fear Liath Mòr (; ; also known as the Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui or simply the Greyman) is the name for a presence or creature which is said to haunt the summit and passes of Ben Macdui, the highest peak of the Cairngor ...
– Scotland, United Kingdom
*
Fouke Monster
In Arkansas folklore, the Fouke Monster , also known as the Boggy Creek Monster and the Swamp Stalker, is purported to be an ape-like creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, that was allegedly sighted in the rural town of Fouke, Arkansas, F ...
– United States
*
Bigfoot
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...
– United States
*
Hibagon
The or is the Japanese equivalent of the North American Bigfoot or the Himalayan Yeti. Sightings have been reported since the 1970s around Mount Hiba in the Hiroshima Prefecture.
History of the Hibagon
The Hibagon is described as a "black cr ...
– Japan
*
Yeren
The yeren (, "wild man") is a cryptid apeman reported to inhabit remote, mountainous regions of China, most famously in the Shennongjia Forestry District in the Hubei Province. Sightings of "hairy men" have remained constant since the Warring S ...
– China
*
Mapinguari
Mpinguari or Mpinguary, (also called the ''Juma'') are monsterous jungle-dwelling spirits from Brazilian folklore.
Description
There are two major depictions of it. Some described them as a hairy humanoid cyclops. This version is often said t ...
Momo the Monster
Momo the Monster, also known as the Missouri Monster (''Momo''), is a purported ape-like creature, similar to descriptions of Bigfoot, that was allegedly sighted by numerous people in rural Louisiana, Missouri in 1971 and 1972. Unlike some othe ...
– United States
*
Orang Mawas In Malaysian folklore, the Orang Mawas or Mawas (also known as the Orang Dalam) is an entity reported to inhabit the jungle of Johor in Malaysia. It is described as being about 10 ft (2.4–3 m) tall, bipedal and covered in black fur, and has b ...