Yara-ma-yha-who
Also called Yaramayhawho, Yara Ma Yha Who.
In Australian Aboriginal oral tradition, the Yara-ma-yha-who is a small, red-skinned, vampiric humanoid that drops from fig trees to drain and swallow travelers, regurgitating them alive but smaller and redder with each encounter.
At a glance
- Tradition
- Australian Aboriginal folklore
- Region
- Australia (place of origin)
- Trait family
- The False Hosts
- Symbols
- Frog
Near this figure
and 1 more
Symbols
Judged against the description by a model. Meanings are our own paraphrase.
- Frog is The frog denotes rain, lunar power, fertility, renewal, and primordial waters, though Christian imagery can invert it into sin, greed, or heresy.
why
The Yara-ma-yha-who is a being recorded across Australian Aboriginal oral tradition, most often described as a small, frog-like or man-shaped creature no taller than a child, with a large head, a wide mouth lacking teeth, and skin of a deep red color.
Traits
Read from the figure's description, which a model wrote. Open "why" for the sentence a trait came from.
Form
- Oversized head disproportionate to body
why
a small, frog-like or man-shaped creature no taller than a child, with a large head
- Unnaturally wide jaw swallows large prey
why
with a large head, a wide mouth lacking teeth
Behaviour
- Drops from trees onto passersby
why
accounts describe it lying in wait in the branches of native fig trees, dropping down onto travelers who pause to rest or shelter beneath them
- Swallows prey whole then regurgitates to re eat
why
then swallow the drained person whole, only to lie down afterward, sleep off the meal, and regurgitate the victim largely intact
- Slow clumsy on open ground
why
Other tellings describe the creature's weaknesses more practically, noting that it is a slow and clumsy runner over open ground, so that a victim's best defense is simply to flee once released rather than to linger nearby.
Offensive powers
- Blood drain
why
the Yara-ma-yha-who is said to fasten its sucker-tipped fingers and toes to a victim's body and drain their blood
- Devouring
why
then swallow the drained person whole, only to lie down afterward, sleep off the meal, and regurgitate the victim largely intact.
- Ambush predation
why
accounts describe it lying in wait in the branches of native fig trees, dropping down onto travelers who pause to rest or shelter beneath them
Roles
Judged from the works' own entries, not from the description. Carries: the figure holds the role. Meets: the role is in its stories, held by something it meets.
- Hero meets
2 citations
- Carol Rose, Giants, Monsters, and Dragons, s.v. "Yara-Ma-Yha-Who."
- George M. Eberhart, Mysterious Creatures: A Guide to Cryptozoology, s.v. "Yara-Ma-Yha-Who."