The Darkangel Trilogy by Meredith Ann Pierce (1982, 1984, 1990) referred to the fully transformed "sons" of the White Witch as Incubi among many other names. In the Anne Bishop novel, Sebastian, the hero is an incubus. An incubus is later summoned to destroy him. In Incubus, a film starring William Shatner, the main character is tempted by a lusting succubus in order to corrupt his pure soul. They were among creatures of the White Witch present at the killing of Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Incubi have been part of modern popular culture in other ways. According to legend, the boto always wears a hat to disguise the breathing hole at the top of its head. It is said to be responsible for disappearances and unwanted pregnancies, and it can never be seen by daylight, because it metamorphoses into a kind of river dolphin during those hours. In Brazil, and the rain forests of the Amazon Basin, the Boto is a combination of siren and incubus, a very charming and beautiful man who seduces young women and takes them into the river. In Hungary, a Liderc can be a Satanic lover that flies at night. El Trauco is said to be responsible for unwanted pregnancies, especially in unmarried women. El Trauco, according to the traditional mythology of the Chiloé Province of Chile, is a hideous deformed dwarf who lulls nubile young women and seduces them. In Zanzibar, Popo Bawa primarily attacks men and generally behind closed doors. There are a number of variations on the incubus theme around the world. The half-human offspring of such a union is a Cambion.Īccording to the Malleus Maleficarum, exorcism is one of the five ways to overcome the attacks of incubi, the others being Sacramental Confession, the Sign of the Cross (or recital of the Angelic Salutation), moving the afflicted to another location, and by excommunication of the attacking entity, "which is perhaps the same as exorcism." On the other hand, the Franciscan friar Ludovico Sinistari stated that incubi "do not obey exorcists, have no dread of exorcisms, show no reverence for holy things, at the approach of which they are not in the least overawed." Regional variations Incubi were sometimes said to be able to conceive children. There are also numerous stories involving the attempted exorcism of incubi or succubi who have taken refuge in, respectively, the bodies of men or women. Though many tales claim that the incubus is bisexual, others indicate that it is strictly heterosexual and finds attacking a male victim either unpleasant or detrimental. Their offspring were thought to be supernatural in many cases, even if the actual genetic material originally came from humans. A succubus would be able to sleep with a man and collect his sperm, and then transform into an incubus and use that seed on women. Īccording to some sources, incubi and succubi were said not to be different genders but the same demons able to change their sex. These demons were originally storm demons, but they eventually became regarded as night demons due to mistaken etymology. Two other corresponding demons appear as well, Ardat lili, who visits men by night and begets ghostly children from them, and Irdu lili, who is known as a male counterpart to Ardat lili and visits women by night and begets from them. It is said that Lilu disturbs and seduces women in their sleep, while a similar demon, Lilitu, appears to men in their erotic dreams. 2400, where the hero, Gilgamesh's father, is listed as Lilu (Lila). One of the earliest mentions of an incubus comes from Mesopotamia on the Sumerians king's list, c. The victims and, in some cases the local clergy, may have found it easier to explain the attack as supernatural rather than confront the idea that the attack came from someone in a position of trust. A friend or relative may have assaulted the victim in her sleep. Rapists may have attributed the rapes of sleeping women to demons in order to escape punishment. Purported victims of incubi could have been the victims of sexual assault by a real person. Also, nocturnal arousal, orgasm, or nocturnal emission could be explained by the idea of creatures causing an otherwise guilt-producing and self-conscious behavior. Victims may have been experiencing waking dreams or sleep paralysis. They involve the Medieval preoccupation with sin, especially the sexual sins of women. Origins of incubi legendsĪ number of mundane explanations have been offered for the origin of the incubus legends. The word "Incubus" is derived from the Latin preposition in, which in this case means "on top of," and cubo, which is Latin for, "I lie." The word incubo translates into "I lie on top".
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |