Tau is the name of an

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

spirit in

South American 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 ...

Guaraní mythology The Tupi-Guarani mythology is the set of narratives about the gods and spirits of the different Tupi-Guarani peoples, ancient and current. Together with the cosmogonies, anthropogonies and rituals, they form part of the religion of these people ...

. Although Tau is not quite synonymous with the

Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

beliefs, for example, he was sometimes referred to as The Evil Spirit and as such may have been a

personification Personification is the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person, often as an embodiment or incarnation. In the arts, many things are commonly personified, including: places, especially cities, National personification, countries, an ...

of evil itself. Tau was created along with his opposite, Angatupyry, by the supreme god of the

Guaraní Guarani, Guaraní or Guarany may refer to Ethnography * Guaraní people, an indigenous people from South America's interior (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia) * Guarani language, or Paraguayan Guarani, an official language of Paraguay * G ...

creation myth A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Cre ...

, Tupã, and was left with humanity on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

Consort and children

Tau found himself enamored by a woman named Kerana, the daughter of Marangatu, who lived among the

tribe. Tau disguised himself as a handsome young man and wooed her for seven days before deciding to kidnap her, but his plot was foiled by Angatupyry, the spirit of goodness. Tau and Angatupyry fought each other for seven days and seven nights until he was at last defeated. Following his defeat, he was exiled from the land by Pytajovái, the god of

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

and valour. Tau would not be so easily defeated. In spite of his expulsion he was able to return and kidnap the beautiful Kerana. It is generally assumed that he raped her while keeping her in

captivity Captivity, or being held captive, is a state wherein humans or other animals are confined to a particular space and prevented from leaving or moving freely. An example in humans is imprisonment. Prisoners of war are usually held in captivity by a ...

, although the tale is often told differently because the Guaraní did not have a written

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

, and some accounts tell of Tau and Kerana being married. Whichever the case, the product of Tau and Kerana's intercourse was seven children who were

curse A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...

d by the

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

Arasy and born as

monsters A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

. Each of the seven were revered or feared, each possessing different abilities and traits, central to Guaraní lore. The seven children were, in order of birth: # Teju Jagua, a half-

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

, half-

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

creature considered lord of caverns #

Mbói Tu'ĩ Mbói Tu'ĩ is one of the seven legendary monsters of Guaraní mythology. He was the second son of Tau (mythology), Tau and Kerana. Name ''Mbói Tu'ĩ'' literally translates to "snake-parrot" which describes this creature's appearance. Myths M ...

, a giant

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

with the head of a

parrot Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...

Moñái Moñái is the third son of Tau and Kerana and one of the seven legendary monsters of Guaraní mythology. This creature has an enormous serpent-like body with two straight, colorful horns over his head, which serve as antennae. Myths and fu ...

, a giant horned snake said to be the lord and protector of the fields # Jasy Jatere, lord of the

siesta A siesta (from Spanish, pronounced and meaning "nap") is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those in warm-weather zones. The "si ...

Kurupi Curupi () or Kurupi is a figure in Guaraní mythology, known particularly for an elongated penis that can wind once or several turns around the waist or torso, or wrap around its arms, and feared as the abductor and rapist of women. He is one of ...

, god of

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

# Ao Ao, appeared as perhaps a monstrous

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal 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 d ...

peccary Peccaries (also javelinas or skunk pigs) are pig-like ungulates 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 North America. Peccari ...

# Luison, a dog-like human, lord of

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

''Academic Dictionary Of Mythology'' by Ramesh Chopra

Notes

{{Reflist Guaraní deities Chaos gods Evil gods