Churel
The churel is the dangerous dead woman of South Asian folklore, the returned form of someone who died in childbirth or through ill-treatment. She seduces and destroys men, beginning with her own male relatives. The precautions taken against her are aimed squarely at the corpse: it is pinned, bound, broken and buried face down under thorns and stones. Those measures closely match anti-revenant burial practice in Europe.1
- filling the grave with thorns and piling stones on top
- nailing or binding the fingers and toes with iron
- breaking the legs, sewing the eyes shut with thorns and burying the body face down
- sowing mustard seed along the funeral route
- carrying the body out through a side door
When did it first appear?
1880Described in colonial-era ethnography, including William Crooke's study of North Indian folklore (1894)
What the sources say
Described as a 'demonical revenant' with a physical, monstrous body1
Her feet point backwards1
She can appear as a beautiful woman, behind which is a pot belly, claws and fangs1
She drains men's vitality so that they return aged, or kills them, starting with the youngest males of her own family1
The belief travelled with Indian indentured labourers to Trinidad, Guyana and Suriname1
Could you outrun it?
Speed class from how the sources describe it (varies), not a measurement.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from these sources, written in our own words. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at hello@zombiewiki.app.
Vetala
Jiangshi
Zombi (Haitian)
Strigoi
Vampir (South Slavic)
Abhartach
Arnold Paole