Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

culture, the hupia (also ''opia'', ''opi'a'', ''op'a'', ''operi'to'') is the spirit of a person who has died. In Taíno spiritual beliefs, hupias (ghost spirits of those who had died) were contrasted with goeiza, spirits of the living. While a living ''goieza'' had definite form, after passing away the spirit was released as a ''hupia'' and went to live in a remote earthly paradise called Coaybay. Hupias were believed to be able to assume many forms, sometimes appearing as faceless people or taking the form of a deceased loved one. Hupias in human form could always be distinguished by their lack of a navel. Hupias were also associated with

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s and said to hide or sleep during the day and come out at night to eat

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

fruit. Hupias, as ghost spirits of those who died and the night, were feared and said to seduce women and kidnap people who ventured outside after dark.

Concept of the Hupias or Ghost Spirits

On the matter of what the Tainos believed as to the Hupia (Ghost Spirit). The Taino people never believed in the concept and or idea of Death, as they believed in passing on of the human spirit and an Hereafter life. The Spanish historians and writers of the time however gave their own bias religious interpretation based upon their own Catholic and Christian ideas and or concepts of Death and as to the soul of the humans going to some place they call Heaven and the soul awaiting a day of judgement by their God.

Literary references

In the novel ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...

'' by

Michael Crichton John Michael Crichton (; October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author and filmmaker. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and over a dozen have been adapted into films. His literary works heavily feature tech ...

, hupia are suspected of an attack on an 18-year-old boy working on construction for Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar. The culprit is later described as a ''

Velociraptor ''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the pa ...

''. Hupia are also accused of a rash of attacks on infants and other people in rural

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. They were described as "faceless night ghosts who kidnapped small children". Later events showed that the real culprits were ''

Procompsognathus ''Procompsognathus'' is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 210 million years ago during the later part of the Triassic Period, in what is now Germany. ''Procompsognathus'' was a small-sized, lightly built ...

'' that had escaped from Isla Nublar.

References

{{Reflist Supernatural legends Taíno mythology Ghosts Undead Caribbean legendary creatures

Concept of the Hupias or Ghost Spirits

Literary references

See also

References