Germakochi is a forest man who appears in the mythology of the

Laz people The Laz people, or Lazi ( lzz, ლაზი ''Lazi''; ka, ლაზი, ''lazi''; or ჭანი, ''ch'ani''; tr, Laz), are an indigenous ethnic group who mainly live in Black Sea coastal regions of Black Sea Region, Turkey and Georgia (countr ...

. Ochokochi of Georgian mythology considered equivalent to Germakochi. In ancient times, Laz people would leave their villages if they feel that Germakochi is in the village.

Description

Germakochi is a tall and hairy figure who lives in the forests. It looks like something between a monkey and a human. Germakochi is a curious character and likes to interact with humans. The way to escape from Germakochi is to make a fire. Germakochi takes the fire and burns instantly. Then, he would run to

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

and jumps into it. Figure is also similar to

Kallikantzaros The ''kallikantzaros'' ( el, καλικάντζαρος; bg, караконджул; sr-Cyrl-Latn, караконџула, separator=" / ", karakondžula; tr, karakoncolos), or ''kallikantzaroi'' in plural is a malevolent goblin in Southea ...

of Anatolian folklore.

Etymology

Laz language The Laz language (; ka, ლაზური ენა/ჭანური ენა, tr; tr, Lazca, tr) is a Kartvelian language spoken by the Laz people on the southeastern shore of the Black Sea. In 2007, it was estimated that there were arou ...

, germa means "mountain" and kochi means "man". Therefore, meaning of Germakochi is "man of the mountain".

Özhan Öztürk Özhan Öztürk (born 1968) is a Turkish writer and researcher. He wrote a Turkish Folklore Encyclopaedia and an encyclopaedic dictionary of the culture and folklore of the peoples of the Black Sea region of Turkey. Works * ''Karadeniz Ans ...

Karadeniz Ansiklopedik Sözlük
2005. İstanbul. ss. 417-18

References

Laz mythology Mythological creatures Kallikantzaros {{Europe-myth-stub