Soucouyant
The Soucouyant (Sukuya), also called Old Hag, is a
supernatural being who has made a pact with the devil to be able to
change herself into all kinds of different forms. At night she sheds her
human skin and changes into a ball of fire or any kind of animal and
casts spells on people to turn them into animals also, but she has to
slip back into that skin before dawn breaks and the cock crows,
otherwise she will not be able to get back into it. So it may happen,
that, when people suspect that an old
woman neighbour of theirs is, in fact, a soucouyant, they may trick her
by going to her house at night and destroying the skin she left behind
by putting salt on it so that it will shrink and she will not be able to
get back into it and thus die. In Trinidad, if somebody walks around
with a "hicky" (soukie) on his neck, he may get remarks from his friends
like: " Eh, Eh, Soucoyant suck yuh or wha ? "
Old people talk: If you wish to discover who the Soucouyant in your
village is empty 100 lbs of rice at the village crossroads where she
will be compelled to pick them up.. One grain at a time..
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