Re: Naming Mythical creatures

Steg Belsky <draqonfayir@...> wrote:
>>> The _gøñi_ (plural of _goña_) are one sort of those lesser spirits
>>>  Another kind of evil beings are the "husks",
>>> beings with human body but no soul.
>
>> Greater/Lesser Spirits too. "Husks"-- what an interesting concept. I
>> haven't gotten to mythological creatures yet.
>
>Hmm, didn't notice this before.
>Are these "husks" recognizeable as such?
>If they look and act exactly (or mostly) like humans, it opens up the
>possibility of people accusing each other (or accusing the Other) of
>being husks and not humans... a kind of demonization that could be
>dangerous.
>
Yes, the Xinkutlan /nuorikal/ ("darklings") are more or less equivalent;
it's thought that the soul cannot enter the body if the body is born in the
Dark Days outside the year, so they become possessed by demons who cannot
be exorcised (at least, by mortal humans; the High God could do it, and
possibly one of their lesser gods) because there is no soul in there to
cooperate with the exorcism.
The remedy is that either the shaman-priest binds the newborn body with
powerful magic to prevent demons entering it until the soul can enter with
the new year (a difficult proposition), or the body is killed to prevent it
becoming a danger to the community.
The thing is, if the shamanic magic fails, you might not necessarily know
immediately...

Geoff