Central to the legends and mythology of the Guarani people are the severn monsters that were bought into being shortly after the creation of the first people.
The tale of how they came to be is as follows.
One of the first people had a daughter called Kerana. She was beautiful but prone to daydreaming and wandering off alone into the forest.
While doing this she was spotted by Tau the spirit of evil who decided he must have her for his own.
He watched her for many days before following her back to her village. There Tau took hold of Kerana so that he might drag her away into the forest.
Angatupyry the spirit of good saw what was happening and rushed to help Kerana. He was though defeated in combat and Tau was able to escape with his prize.
The moon goddess Araci had seen what had happened. She was unable save Kerana and sought instead to ensure that Tau gained no benefit from the forced union.
To that end Araci laid a curse upon all the children born of Tau and Kerana.
The curse was that they would have seven children and that those seven would all be monsters cursed in different ways.
In addition she gave the children seven griefs. Fear, pain, despair, hunger, thirst, disease and death.
And seven vices. Envy, laziness, green, avarice, drunkeness, hate and anger.
Then finally seven afflictions. Theft, injustice, unhappiness, famine, flood, fire and war.
The children were then to wander the earth as monsters and as manifesations of those griefs, vices and afflictions.
Teju-Jagua
Teju-Jagua was the first of the children of Tau and Kerana.
He was given the shape of a giant lizard with seven dogs heads on snake like necks. From the eyes of those seven heads Teju-Jagua could shoot fire.
Fierce as he may look he is timid and slow moving preferring to hide away out of sight.
This draws him towards dark caves which in addition to buried treasure he guards.
Mbio-Tui
The second born child was Mbio-Tui.
In shape he has been given the form of a large snake with the head of a giant parrot. From his mouth extends a blood red forked tongue.
The gaze of Mbio-Tui brings bad luck to all that it falls upon and his squawk fills all who hear it with fear.
Mbio-Tui is to be found in swamps and other such damp dark places.
Living there he guards the wetlands and all aquatic life that lives in them.
Monai
The next of the children was Monai.
He was given the form of a giant snake with two colourful straight horns that act as antennae.
Monai is to be found in open fields as well as swamps and estuaries. He is able to climb trees to hunt prey such as birds using his antennae to hypnotize them.
He was the only one of the monsters to be destroyed as he also liked to steal from villages and hide what he took in caves.
Doing so he saw a woman named Porasy and fell in love with her.
Monai wanted to marry Porasy but she tricked him saying that she would but first she wanted to see inside the cave.
This was agreed to the night before the wedding and once Monai and Porasy were inside the cave the other villagers blocked it with a great stone and set it on fire.
For her sacrifice Araci turned the spirit of Porasy into a bright point of light that would shine at night for all to see.
Jasy-Jatere
The next child was Jasy-Jatere whos name means piece of the moon.
He is the only one to have been given a fully human form. He is a small blond haired child, naked but always carrying a wand or staff.
Jasy-Jatere lives in amongst the trees near villages and settlements.
Normally invisible he guards hidden treasure and the yerba mate plants.
He is also Lord of the Siesta.
Coming into a village Jasy-Jatere will make himself visible to childern who are playing outside during the siesta. Any he finds he kidnapps and takes back to his forest home.
There they are fed on fruit and honey and become his playthings until he sends them back to their homes foolish and empty headed. Some are otherswise unharmed, but some have their eyes picked out.
For fear of Jasy-Jatere all children are taught by their mothers that the siesta is a time for sleeping and being indoors.
Kurupi
The fifth child was Kurupi.
His form is that of a short, ugly man covered from head to toe in thick, dirty hair.
The most noticable feature of Kurupi is his giant penis. It is so large he winds it around his body three times like a belt.
This giant penis is also prehensile, able to unwind and extend through doors and windows to impregnate women sleeping inside their houses.
Due to this Kurupi is used to explain away unexpected pregnancies.
It has made this short ugly creature a symbol of fertility and sexuality.
To try an ensure that he is not just blamed for bad things Kurupi also is the guardian of all the forest animals, protecting and watching over them.
Ao-Ao
The sixth child of Tau and Kerana is a much wilder beast.
Ao-Ao has the form of a giant wild boar. He has long fangs and sharp claws.
His only food is human flesh which he actively hunts.
If someone is being hunted by Ao-Ao the only escape is to climb a high palm tree.
Any other tree he will circle howling before knocking down and then devouring whoever had been hidding in it.
He is the the guardian of the hills and mountains over which he roams.
Luison
The last of the childern is Luision who is the most fearsom of them all.
His form is that of a wolfman. Half wolf, half man.
He lives in cemeteries and burial grounds and will eat only dead and rotting flesh.
Invisibility is one of his powers and if Luison passes between someones legs they to will become Luison.
Darkness and death are his abodes and he is the Lord of Night and Death.
In a Paraguayan family a seventh son will also become Luison.
With the arrival of the Spanish Luison aquired many of the features of European werewolves such as biting his victims and an attraction to the moon, but these are recent additions to his character.
In Summary
These seven monsters endure as a central feature of the culture and mythology of Paraguay.
No one in Paraguay is unaware of their stories and in many ways they remain as real as any of the other creatures that roam the countryside.
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