In Brazilian folklore, the mapinguari or mapinguary, also called the juma, is a monstrous entity said to live in the Amazon rainforest. Depictions of the mapinguari vary. Sometimes it is described as a hairy humanoid cyclops. Other people claim that it is based on a cultural memory of the giant ground sloth, a long-extinct animal that it is said to resemble. The creature is often said to have a gaping mouth on its abdomen. According to Felipe Ferreira Vander Velden, its name is a contraction of the Tupi-Guarani words “mbaé”, “pi”, and “guari”, meaning “a thing that has a bent [or] crooked foot [or] paw”. Other names which have been said to apply to the same being include the Karitiana kida harara, and the Machiguenga segamai.
Appearance List Les pétroglyphes de La Pedrera, Rio Caquetá (Colombie) (1922) by P. C. Tastevin — early scholarly mention; Dicionário do Folclore Brasileiro (1954) by Luís da Câmara Cascudo; Guide to Mysterious and Legendary Creatures (2003) by George M. Eberhart
Sample Read Guide to Mysterious and Legendary Creatures [Internet Archive]
Description In Brazilian folklore, the mapinguari or mapinguary, also called the juma, is a monstrous entity said to live in the Amazon rainforest. Depictions of the mapinguari vary. Sometimes it is described as a hairy humanoid cyclops. Other people claim that it is based on a cultural memory of the giant ground sloth, a long-extinct animal that it is said to resemble. The creature is often said to have a gaping mouth on its abdomen. According to Felipe Ferreira Vander Velden, its name is a contraction of the Tupi-Guarani words “mbaé”, “pi”, and “guari”, meaning “a thing that has a bent [or] crooked foot [or] paw”. Other names which have been said to apply to the same being include the Karitiana kida harara, and the Machiguenga segamai.
