Originally from Tlaxcala, Mexico, The Thlahuelpuchis are vampiric witches with lycanthropy powers. Her name comes from Nahuatl and means luminous incense burner. She is a type of vampire who lives with her human family, she sucks the blood of infants at night.
Features[]
The tlahuelpuchi corresponds to a female entity, although there are versions that claim that there are also male "tlahuelpuchies". The tlahuelpuchi has a kind of glowing halo. The tlahuelpuchi is the product of a curse and cannot avoid it. From the time of puberty they must feed at least once a month with blood, if they do not succeed they die. By feeding she kills the victim, which should preferably be an infant.
There is no way to detect a tlahuelpuchi except by surprising it in the act. If the members of a family are responsible for the death of a tlahuelpuchi the curse given to her will be passed on to a member of that family. The tlahuelpuchi can change shape by separating her body from her legs. It usually takes the form of some bird like a turkey or a vulture. This is due to the strange ritual that the tlahuelpuchi has to perform before she can enter a victim's house. The tlahuelpuchi must fly over his victim's house in the form of a cross from north to south, east to west.
In Puebla it is often said that animals glowing brightly from the attack of the tlahuelpuchi. The tlahuelpuchi have their own society and territories. They also have a kind of pact with shamans and other supernatural creatures. The typical sign that the tlahuelpuchi killed the victim is bruises on her neck. The victim of a tlahuelpuchi does not become another tlahuelpuchi, he just dies.
Weaknesses[]
- The tlahuelpuchi is rejected by garlic, onions and metal. Metal is sometimes represented by an open pair of scissors left near the bed, sometimes a mirror, or religious medallions affixed to the front and back of the shirt in the shape of a cross attached to undergarments.
Relationship with the myths about witches in Mexico[]
In Mexico, it is known by the inhabitants of rural areas that placing open scissors and religious stamps or medals and crosses in the cradles of unbaptized babies is an infallible remedy to scare away witches and prevent them from sucking their blood. the moyera area.
And, precisely, these are the weaknesses of the tlahuelpuchies (as detailed above). A feasible hypothesis is that, after the colonial era, most people stopped knowing them by this name and they were simply called witches and wizards, although the modus operandi is the same.
Differences with the Nahuales[]
The tlahuelpuchi is similar to the nahual in that both can transform into various animal forms. The nahual, however, learns his art and does not need to drink human blood.