The Kalanoro is a

humanoid A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and '' -oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. By the 20th century, the term came to describe fossils which were morphologically similar, but not identical, to those of ...

cryptid Cryptids are animals or other beings whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology, the study of cryptids, is a pseudoscience claiming that such beings may exist somewhere in the wild; it has been widely cri ...

, who are believed to live as spirits on the island of

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

. Tradition states that they used to live corporeally in the rainforests, but

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

cause their corporeal forms to go extinct. Kalanoro are described as small and hairy humanoids with fangs. Their legs are said to be backwards, with backwards facing feet, and their eyes glow red. Their hair and fingernails are both long and unkempt. Living solitary lifestyles, they reportedly eat raw meat, and have a "whining voice" which scares dogs. Stories of the kalanoro vary. They can be painted as malevolent spirits who will steal children, kill people, or rob them. The kalanoro in recent times is also associated with alcoholism. However. they are also seen as loyal servants to their human companions and can take a paternalistic interest in humans. A

Sakalava The Sakalava are an ethnic group of Madagascar. They are primarily found on the western edge of Madagascar from Toliara in the south to the Sambirano River in the north. The Sakalava constitute about 6.2 percent of the total population, or abou ...

tale has the kalanoro kidnap children, but only due to perceived mistreatment by their parents. Once the kalanoro's demands were met, the children were returned. The cryptids were the subject of an episode of '' Destination Truth''.

Kalanoro in Religious and Contemporary Practice

Kalanoro are said to act as spirit servants to the living. They reportedly steal and act as

clairvoyants Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to h ...

for their human companions, who can also draw on them for healing. If a person wishes to purchase the services of a kalanoro, they traditionally visit the "owner's" establishment at night, and only interact with them through a wall or closed door. It is said that when the human's voice becomes nasal and high-pitched, the kalanoro is speaking through them. Kalanoro are also said to impart

taboos A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

to people via their dreams or via visions. It has also been suggested that the

Vazimba The Vazimba (Malagasy ), according to popular belief, were the first inhabitants of Madagascar. While beliefs about the physical appearance of the Vazimba reflect regional variation, they are generally described as smaller in stature than the aver ...

are the ghosts of the kalanoro.

References

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Kalanoro in Religious and Contemporary Practice

References

See also