LAGAHOO
allyShapeshifting, werewolf
The Lagahoo, also spelled Ligahoo, Lugarhou or Loogaroo, is a shapeshifting creature of the folklore of Trinidad and Tobago. Its name comes from the French loup-garou, transmitted by colonisation and then adapted into the local Creole. By day it looks like an ordinary man. By night, the best-known version describes it as a headless man carrying a wooden coffin on his shoulders, topped with three lit candles, with a heavy iron chain dragging behind him. It can change into a horse, a pig, a goat or a bull, and alter its size in an instant. It is said to be a drinker of blood, attacking cattle and humans alike, and it is sometimes associated with the obeahman, the sorcerer. To defeat it, tradition recommends striking it with a blessed stick for nine days of holy water and oil. Several Caribbean authors read in its iron chains and its coffin a memory of slavery.
Powers & Attributes
Role in the ROHO universe
A fragment of Onionkupón's Breath, bound to one of the five elements of the cosmic balance.
Sacred Mask
A mask carved of ancient energy — a symbol of the cosmic force proper to its pantheon.
Era
3,000–1,000 BCE — Cycle of Elemental Powers
Spiritual Lesson
To understand the nature of one's own balance and the wisdom hidden behind every trial.
Words of the Spirit
“Every transformation is a death and a rebirth.”
Frequently asked questions
Where does the name Lagahoo come from?
It derives from the French loup-garou, brought by colonisation and then adapted into Trinidadian Creole, whence the variants Ligahoo, Lugarhou or Loogaroo.
What does the Lagahoo look like?
By day it passes for an ordinary man. By night, the most widespread version describes it headless, carrying a coffin topped with three candles, an iron chain dragging behind it, and able to change into a horse, a bull or another beast.
What does the Lagahoo symbolise?
Beyond the tale of terror, several Caribbean authors see in it a memory of slavery, notably in its iron chains and its candle-lit coffin.
Related spirits
Sources and references
- Wikipedia (EN) : Lagahoo
- Wikidata : Q3216140