Caribbean legends and monsters : the transmogrification of Indigenous and African women in Caribbean folklore

Abstract

In the Caribbean, there exists an extensive archive of monstrous beings: from sensual mermaids to killer sea monsters; to zombies and jumbies; to cannibal Caribs and mestizo she-devils. Not all these monsters originated in the Caribbean, though some were born in the multi-cultural contact that occurred between Africans, Europeans, Asians, and the Indigenous population of the Americas during and after colonization. Some monsters were once not monsters at all, but beings both benevolent and malicious, who would be generationally transmogrified into terrible beings. Oral legends would be progressively removed from their historicity. Our research is concerned with the role women play in the conception of monstrous creatures in the Caribbean. Here, we explore several extraordinary tales wherein women and feminine figures are transformed to inspire fear, woe, and awe, as a result of the plastic effect that occurs when different cultures are brought into contact. Among these female figures are the Mami Wata, Watramama, Mamadjo, La Llorona, Maria Lionza, la Diablesse, and the Soucouyant.