GUYANESE

FOLKLORE

BACO
BACO
O
O
NAME: JASON KOYLASS
CLASS: FORM 3B
TEACHER: MS. JORDAN

OleHi
OleHi
gue
gue

MOON
MOON
GAZER
GAZER

FOLKLORE

What is Folklore?
Folklore is a term which refers to the collective oral
traditions and beliefs of a culture. It encompasses
myths, legends, jokes, proverbs, tall
tales,fairytales,superstition, and of course
folktales.
The term was coined in 1846 by William Thomas,
who wanted to come up with a generic term to
encompass the rich oral traditions of cultures
around the world. Folklore is a compound of
folk,- meaning Common People, and loremeaning Knowledge or Traditions.

THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD

The Supernatural World has a huge part to play in

the traditional beliefs of our culture. There are many
(supernatural) folklore characters in this world. But
today we are focussing mainly on these in Guyana.
Many beliefs of these pertaining to the existence of
them usually come from Nigeria or from stories from
many people from the old generations.
The Jumbee is a Guyanese Creolese name given to a
host of spirits and demons of Guyanese folklore.
Jumbee is actually the generic name given to all
malevolent entities.

TYPES OF JUMBEES

Names of these folklore characters [evil spirits] include:

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Bacoo
Bacoo
Ol
Ol Higue
Higue
Moongazer
Moongazer
Choorile
Choorile
Massacooramaan
Massacooramaan
Kanaima
Kanaima
Bush
Bush Dai
Dai Dai
Dai
Cumfa
Cumfa
Fairmaid
Fairmaid
Obeah
Obeah
Tocouyaha
Tocouyaha
Queh
Queh Queh
Queh
Makonaima
Makonaima

BACOO

Derived from a NigerianYorubaentity calledAbiku. The

Abiku is the spirit of a baby that has died before being
named. Usually represented by small wooden statues
in Yoruba homes.
Description: spirit of small stature that pelts stones at
houses and moves objects within a house. Guyanese
bacoos are short men with large eyes, long arms and
legs, and most conspicuously an absence of kneecaps.
Lives on banana and milk. Trapped in a corked bottle
unless released. When satisfied a bacoo usually
answers the wishes of its owner. Legend could have
come from Suriname.

BACOO(CHARACTERISTIC S)
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In conclusion to my research on the bacoo I can

infer many characteristics. To make my
demonstration much clearer, I have created a list of
words to describe it. These include:
Manipulative
Feared
Peculiar
Can behave in an unscrupulous manner
Satisfied and temporarily contented
While demanding; is also agressive.

MOON GAZER

Appears to be a tall muscular man or figure in

legend. It stands with its legs on either side of the
road, hands on hips habitually gazing at the moon.
May kill children. Unusually tall person at 100 feet
tall.
When someone stands between its legs, it would
usually close them in; crushing you. If one alerts it to
your presence it will suck out your brain through its
palm. Scares many people in the rural villages.

M O O N G A Z E R( C HA R AC T ERIST IC S)

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To make my presentation much more interesting, I

have decided to add a decription to this
character(the moon gazer). Some words include :
Feared by many
Tall and muscular
Has a habit at staring at the moon
Unperceived appearance

OLE HIGUE

Decription: .
Of DutchandAfro-Guyaneseheritage. Also of feminine gender.
Known as "Fire Rass" or Angeli. Guyaneseequivalent of
avampire, who sucks the blood of her unsuspecting victims as
they sleep. Her favourite victims are young children.
The Ole-Higue's distinguishing feature is the fact that during
the day she lives among otherGuyaneseas a somewhat
introverted and quiet old lady; she possibly lives at the edge of
your village.
At night this seemingly harmless old woman removes her skin,
places it gently in a calabash, and travels across the sky as a
ball of fire heading to the home of her intended victim. To enter
the home she shrinks herself and enters through the keyhole.

Ways of protection part 1

1.
1.

Against the olehigue :

to
to turn
turn the
the key
key while
while she
she is
is trying
trying to
to get
get through
through the
the keyhole.
keyhole.
ManyGuyaneselock
ManyGuyaneselock their
their doors
doors and
and then
then turn
turn their
their key
key to
to a
a
horizontal
horizontal position
position to
to allow
allow an
an Ole-Higue
Ole-Higue to
to make
make it
it partway
partway into
into the
the
hole.
hole. The
The rustling
rustling sound
sound should
should wake
wake the
the tenant
tenant who
who can
can then
then turn
turn
the
the key
key fully
fully and
and crush
crush the
the Ole-Higue.
Ole-Higue. The
The next
next morning
morning one
one should
should
see
see a
a pile
pile of
of bones
bones on
on the
the doorstep.
doorstep.
to
to find
find the
the skin
skin of
of the
the Ole-Higue
Ole-Higue in
in the
the Calabash
Calabash and
and put
put hot
hot peppers.
peppers.
If
If she
she wears
wears this
this skin
skin she
she will
will be
be burned
burned by
by the
the pepper
pepper and
and then
then sing
sing
a
a well
well known
known song
song Lawd
Lawd skin
skin yuh
yuh ing
ing kno
kno me?
me? why
why yuh
yuh bite
bite
me?
me?
since
since the
the Ole-Higue
Ole-Higue is
is ofDutch
ofDutch andAfro-Guyaneseheritage
andAfro-Guyaneseheritage the
the Dutch
Dutch
side
side makes
makes her
her miserly.
miserly. The
The easiest
easiest way
way to
to catch
catch her
her is
is to
to spill
spill rice
rice
grains
grains on
on the
the floor
floor in
in front
front of
of your
your front
front door.
door. When
When the
the homeowner
homeowner
awakes
awakes the
the next
next morning
morning he/she
he/she should
should find
find a
a very
very tired
tired and
and
incredibly
incredibly distressed
distressed Ole-Higue
Ole-Higue counting
counting rice.
rice. The
The homeowner
homeowner will
will
beat
beat the
the woman
woman to
to death
death with
with a
a special
special anti-OleHigue
anti-OleHigue broom.
broom.

Ways of Protection Part 2

Against all other spirits I advise anyone to follow the

Bible and pray everyday and none of these evil
spirits will harm you.
In conclusion in regard to your safety, I would
advise anyone that you should still be updated via
news or television,(etc.)

CONCLUSION

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In Conclusion to my research, I would like to say this

was a fun and beneficial project for me:
I got a chance to expand my knowledge on
Guyanese folklore
It helped me to be informed about how dangerous
they are.
It helped me in some aspect of the understanding of
a poem that I studied.