- Hupia
In
Taíno culture, the hupia (also "opia", "opi'a", "op'a", "operi'to") is the spirit of a dead person.In Taíno religious beliefs, hupias (spirits of the dead) were contrasted with
goeiza , spirits of the living. While a living "goieza" had definite form, after death the spirit was released as a "hupia" and went to live in a remote earthly paradise calledCoaybay [http://www.kislakfoundation.org/prize/200103.html#ref22 Maria Poviones-Bishop. "The Bat and the Guava: Life and Death in the Taíno Worldview.".] . Hupias were believed to be able to assume many forms, sometimes appearing as faceless people or taking the form of a deceased loved one. Hupias in human form could always be distinguished by their lack of a navel. Hupias were also associated withbat s and said to hide or sleep during the day and come out at night to eatguava fruit.Hupias, as spirits of the dead and the night, were feared and said to seduce women and kidnap people who ventured outside after dark.
Literary References
In the novel
Jurassic Park byMichael Crichton , hupia are suspected in a rash of attacks on infants and other people in ruralCosta Rica . They were described as "night ghosts, faceless vampires who kidnapped small children". Later events showed that the real culprits weredinosaur s (probably "compsognathids" or "Velociraptors ") that had escaped fromIsla Nublar .References
ee also
# [http://www.maskmaster.com/Dictionary.html Mask Master: Taino Dictionary]
# Crichton, Michael. 1991. "Jurassic Park", Random House, 1990: 8-10, 23-24. ISBN 0-345-37077-5.
# Dasrath, Sparky. [http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~sd65/carib_history/arawaks.htm The Arawaks]
# Deiros, Pablo. Fundación Kairós. [http://www.kairos.org.ar/articuloderevistaiym.php?ID=1516 Religiones indígenas del área caribeña]
# Guitar, Lynne. 2005. [http://www.centrelink.org/TainoCaves.html Taino Caves]
# Poviones-Bishop, Maria. The Kislak Foundation. [http://www.kislakfoundation.org/prize/200103.html The Bat and the Guava: Life and Death in the Taino Worldview]
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