Mapinguari

Mpinguari or Mpinguary, (also called the Juma) are monsterous jungle-dwelling spirits from Brazilian folklore.

For the orchid genus, see Mapinguari (plant).
Mapinguari statue, Parque Ambiental Chico Mendes, Rio Branco, Brazil

Description

There are two major depictions of it. Some described them as a hairy humanoid cyclops. This version is often said to have a gaping mouth on its abdomen.[1] Others claim that it is a modern day sighting of the giant ground sloth, an animal estimated to have gone extinct during the early holocene.[1][2] Skeptics point out that there haven't been any fossil records of ground sloths for thousands of years[3]

Terminology

According to Felipe Ferreira Vander Velden, its name is a combination of the Tupi-Guarani words "mbaé", "pi", and "guari", meaning "a thing that has a bent [or] crooked foot [or] paw".[4] Other names by which they are referred to include the Karitiana kida harara,[4] and the Machiguenga segamai.[1][2]

See also

References
  1. Rohter, Larry (2007-07-08). "A Huge Amazon Monster Is Only a Myth. Or Is It?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  2. Oren, David C. "Does the Endangered Xenarthran Fauna of Amazonia Include Remnant Ground Sloths?", Edentata (June 2001) p. 2-5
  3. Martin, Paul S. (2005). Twilight of the mammoths : ice age extinctions and the rewilding of America. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-94110-6. OCLC 62860983.
  4. Felipe Ferreira Vander Velden "Sobre caes e indios: domesticidade, classificacao zoologica e relacao humano-animal entre os Karitiana", Revista de Antropología 15 (2009) p. 125-143

Sources
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