Ao Ao is the name of a monstrous creature from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

. As one of the cursed sons of

Tau Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or \boldsymbol\tau; el, ταυ ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300. The name in English ...

and Kerana, it is one of the central mythological creatures among Guarani-speaking cultures. The Ao Ao is often described as being a voracious

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

-like creature with a massive set of fangs. Alternatively, it is also described as being a large, carnivorous

peccary A peccary (also javelina or skunk pig) is a medium-sized, pig-like hoofed mammal of the family Tayassuidae (New World pigs). They are found throughout Central and South America, Trinidad in the Caribbean, and in the southwestern area of No ...

. Its name is derived from the sound that it makes, howling "Ao ao ao!" when it is pursuing its victims. The original Ao Ao is said to have profound reproductive powers and thus sometimes is identified as being the Guaraní spirit of

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Ferti ...

. Ao Ao produced many offspring who are cursed in the same manner, and collectively they served as lords and protectors of the hills and the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

. Ao Ao is said to have people as its sole source of food. Although the creature is clearly not

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

in description, it is at least half-human by birth, which accounts for its

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

. According to most versions of the myth, the Ao Ao, upon locating a victim for its next meal, will pursue the unfortunate person over any distance and over any terrain, not stopping until it has had its meal. If a person attempts to escape by climbing a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

, for example, the Ao Ao will circle the tree, howling incessantly and digging at the roots until the tree falls. In fact, according to the myth the only way to successfully escape from an Ao Ao is to seek shelter by climbing a

palm tree The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm tre ...

. The tree contained some unknown power against the Ao Ao, and if its intended victim did climb one, the creature would howl in defeat and leave in search of another meal. Ao Ao is also known for eating clothes. In some versions of the myth, the Ao Ao would feast upon disobedient children brought to it by his brother,

Jasy Jatere {{no footnotes, date=October 2016 Jasy Jatere is the name of an important figure in Guaraní mythology. One of the seven cursed children of Tau and Kerana, Jasy Jatere is one of the most important gods among the Guaraní speaking cultures of Sou ...

. In

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

adults scare the children by saying that Ao Ao will come after them.

References

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Bibliography

* COLMAN, Narciso R. (Rosicrán): ''Ñande Ypy Kuéra'' ("Nuestros antepasados"), 1929. * Mauricio Cardozo Ocampo, MUNDO FOLKLORICO PARAGUAYO 2a Parte: De la tradición oral. Mitos Leyendas y Cuentos Paraguayos,1989, 215 pgs. Guaraní legendary creatures Guaraní deities Legendary mammals Mythological hybrids