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 called Coaybay [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 with bats and said to hide or sleep during the day and come out at night to eat guava 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 by Michael Crichton, hupia are suspected in a rash of attacks on infants and other people in rural Costa Rica. They were described as "night ghosts, faceless vampires who kidnapped small children". Later events showed that the real culprits were dinosaurs (probably "compsognathids" or "Velociraptors") that had escaped from Isla 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]