The lobisomem is a creature in the
folklore
Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...
of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
. In
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, it is usually thought to be a
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
but in some versions is a ball of fire, or an unusually large pig.
In human form, it is said to look like a normal person except for slightly pointed ears and yellowish pale skin. In werewolf form it has no difference whatsoever from other cultures' descriptions.
Creation
There are a variety of ways that one can become a lobisomem:
1. Being bit by a lobisomem;
2. Coming into contact with a lobisomem's blood;
3. Being a family's seventh son, in which case the son can be saved by making one of his elder brothers his godfather;
4. Being the first male son of a couple with seven daughters. In which case the first transformation takes place on the said son's thirteenth birthday;
5. Punishment for incest, concubinage, or a woman having sexual relations with a priest;
Some say that a lobisomem transforms every day in which the
moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
is in its full phase, others say that the change only occurs on Fridays with such condition. Either way, in all versions it transforms at night, usually attacking travelers and animals on the road.
Etymology
The name is derived from
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''
lupus
Lupus, formally called systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Common ...
'' + ''
homo
''Homo'' () is a genus of great ape (family Hominidae) that emerged from the genus ''Australopithecus'' and encompasses only a single extant species, ''Homo sapiens'' (modern humans), along with a number of extinct species (collectively called ...
'', respectively ''lobo'' ("
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...
"), and ''homem'' ("
man
A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy.
Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...
") in
Portuguese.
In some parts of the Amazon the term ''Cumacanga'' is used, though it is unclear if this is the female version of lobisomem, or if this is a different but related story. The term ''cumacanga'' comes from ''Acanga'' ("Head") and ''cunhã'' ("Indian Woman"), so it can be interpreted as "Head of a woman."
See Also
*
Capelobo
*
Werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
References
{{reflist
Werewolves
Mythic humanoids
Mythological canines
Mythological hematophages
Supernatural legends
Therianthropy