Belief in the bloodsucker Tlahuelpuchi is prominent in the Mexican state of
Tlaxcala
Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...
, with deep roots amongst the indigenous Nahua culture of the region.
Etymology
The word ''tlahuelpuchi'' derives from the Nahuatl ''tlāhuihpochtli'' (plural ''tlātlāhuihpochtin''), a compound of ''tlāhuia'', "to light up or illuminate" and ''pōchtli'', which can mean "haze", "left", "southern" or "youth" (as in compounds like ''tēlpōchtli'', young man). As a result, ''tlahuelpuchi'' may mean ''glowing haze'' or ''illuminated youth''.
Description
The tlahuelpuchi is a type of
vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...
or
witch
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
that lives with its human family. It is able to
shape shift
In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...
and sucks the blood of infants at night. It has a kind of glowing aura when shape shifted. Tlahuelpuchi are born with their curse and cannot avoid it. They first learn of what they are sometime around
puberty
Puberty is the process of physical changes through which a child's body matures into an adult body capable of sexual reproduction. It is initiated by hormonal signals from the brain to the gonads: the ovaries in a girl, the testes in a boy. ...
. Most tlahuelpuchi are female and the female tlahuelpuchi are more powerful than males. The tlahuelpuchi have a form of society. Typically they each have their own territories. They also have a pact with
shamans
Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...
and other supernatural creatures; a shaman won't turn in a suspected tlahuelpuchi. The typical sign that a victim was killed by the tlahuelpuchi are bruises on their upper body. The Tlahuelpuchi largely feeds on children, though it can kill others.
Powers
Tlahuelpuchi are able to change form by detaching their body from their legs (which are left in the house of the witch). They then go hunting, usually in the form of some bird like a
turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
or a
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
. The tlahuelpuchi has to perform a
ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...
before she can enter the house of a victim. The tlahuelpuchi must fly over the house in the shape of a cross from north to south, east to west.
[Bowles (2012)]
Weaknesses
Tlahuelpuchi must feast on blood at least once a month or they die. Their victim of choice is an infant. There is no way to detect a tlahuelpuchi except by catching them in the act. Their family protects them out of shame and because if a family member is responsible for the death of a tlahuelpuchi the curse will be passed down to them. The curse cannot be lifted, and if a tlahuelpuchi is identified, they must be killed on the spot. Garlic, onions and metal repel the tlahuelpuchi.
See also
*
Abyzou
In the myth and folklore of the Near East and Europe, Abyzou is the name of a female demon. Abyzou was blamed for miscarriages and infant mortality and was said to be motivated by envy ( el, φθόνος ''phthonos''), as she herself was infertile. ...
*
Chonchon
The Chonchon ( es, chonchón from arn, chonchon) is a mythical bird from Mapuche religion also present in Chilean and southern Argentine folk myth.
Legend
The Chonchon is the magical transformation of a kalku (Mapuche sorcerer). It is said onl ...
*
Huay Chivo
The Huay Chivo () is a legendary Maya beast. It is a half-man, half-beast creature, with burning red eyes, and is specific to the Yucatán Peninsula. It is reputed to be an evil sorcerer who can transform himself into a supernatural animal, usually ...
*
Lamashtu
In Mesopotamian mythology, Lamashtu (; Akkadian language, Akkadian dingir, d''La-maš-tu''; Sumerian language, Sumerian ''Dimme'' dingir, d''Dim3-me'' or ''Kamadme'') was a female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced wom ...
*
Lamia
LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...
*
Lilin
Lilin () were hostile night spirits that attacked men in ancient Mesopotamian religion and Jewish folklore.
Judaism
In Jewish mythology, ''Lilin'' is a term for night spirits.
Biblical apocrypha
In the Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, ''lilin'' ...
*
Nagual
In Mesoamerican folk religion, a nagual (pronounced a'wal is a human being who has the power to shapeshift into their tonal animal counterpart. Nagualism is tied to the belief one can access power and spiritual insight by connecting with the ...
*
Skin-walker
In Navajo culture, a skin-walker ( nv, yee naaldlooshii) is a type of harmful witch who has the ability to turn into, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal. The term is never used for healers.
Background
In the Navajo language, ' transl ...
*
Soucouyant
The soucouyant or soucriant in Dominica, St. Lucian, Trinidadian, Guadeloupean folklore (also known as Loogaroo or Lougarou) in Haiti, Louisiana, Grenada and elsewhere in the Caribbean or Ole-Higue (also Ole Haig) in Guyana, Belize and Jamaica o ...
*
Manananggal
The ''manananggal'' is a mythical creature in the Philippines that separates from their lower part of its body and their fangs and wings give it a vampire-like appearance.
Mythology
The ''manananggal'' is described as scary, often hideous, u ...
*
Penanggalan
The ''penanggal'' or ''penanggalan'' is a nocturnal vampiric entity from Malay ghost myths. Its name comes from the word ''tanggal'' meaning to remove or take off, because its form is that of a floating disembodied woman's head with its trailin ...
References
{{Reflist
* Bowles, David (2012). ''Mexican Bestiary.'' Donna, TX: VAO Publishing
* Fragoso, Temoltzin Bárbara (2007)- "¡Se lo chupó la bruja! Luminiscencias nocturnas en fuga de las arcaicas resonancias conceptuales; una aproximación simbólica a la Tlahuelpuchi y su vínculo con la figura del vampiro" Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia, México, D.F.
* Martínez González, Roberto (2006)- "Le nahualli-tlahuipuchtli dans le monde nahuatl." ''Journal de la société des américanistes''
n line
N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...
92-1 et 2 , 2006, uploaded January 2012. http://jsa.revues.org/3127
* Nutini, Hugo G., and John M. Roberts (1993) - ''Bloodsucking Witchcraft: An Epistemological Study of Anthropomorphic Supernaturalism in Rural Tlaxcala.'' The University of Arizona Press, Tucson.
Mexican mythology
Mythological hematophages
Indigenous Mesoamerican legendary creatures
Shapeshifting
Vampires
Tlaxcala