Unsolved:Hupia

In Taíno culture, the hupia (also opia, opi'a, op'a, operi'to) is the spirit of a person who has died.

In Taíno spiritual beliefs, hupias (ghost spirits of those who had died) were contrasted with goeiza, spirits of the living. While a living goieza had definite form, after passing away the spirit was released as a hupia and went to live in a remote earthly paradise called Coaybay. Hupias were believed to be able to assume many forms, sometimes appearing as faceless people or taking the form of a deceased loved one. Hupias in human form could always be distinguished by their lack of a navel. Hupias were also associated with bats and said to hide or sleep during the day and come out at night to eat guava fruit.

In popular culture

In the novel Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, hupia are suspected of an attack on an 18-year-old boy working on construction for Jurassic Park on the fictional island of Isla Nublar. The culprit is later described as a Velociraptor. Hupia are also accused of a rash of attacks on infants and other people in rural Costa Rica. They are described as "faceless night ghosts who kidnapped small children". Later events show that the real culprits were Procompsognathus that had escaped from Isla Nublar.

See also

• Mask Master: Taino Dictionary (Link no longer working as of Oct. 25, 2024. No record in Internet Archive.)
• Dasrath, Sparky. The Arawaks
• Deiros, Pablo. Fundación Kairós. Religiones indígenas del área caribeña
• Guitar, Lynne. 2005. Taino Caves
• Poviones-Bishop, Maria. The Kislak Foundation. The Bat and the Guava: Life and Death in the Taino Worldview