The Douen is a spirit from Trinidad and Tobago folklore,
Description/Morphology
Neither male nor female, a douen looks like a naked child never growing more then two or three feet in height. They wear a large floppy straw hat and have an entirely undistinguished face with the exception of a small mouth. The one characteristic that allows them to be recognized as douens are their feet, which are turned backwards with the heel facing forward.
Habitat
Douens live in the forest, swamps and near rivers in Trinidad and Tobago
Origin
Douen (pronounced Dwen) are considered to be the ‘lost souls’ of children that were not baptized or christened before death. It is said that they are destined to wander the earth eternally while practicing their collection of pranks.
Behavior
Douens roam the land in the pursuit of children that are not yet baptized, or christened in anticipation of luring them away deep into the woods until they are lost. They charm the children when the moon is full and have a mesmerizing whooping sound. Children who play with a douen may consider them to be a regular child while the douen slowly but surely leads the child farther and farther away from the protection of home. Some children may be found the next morning in a precarious arrangement if they are found at all. Douens also have been known to come to people’s houses crying and whimpering for the love of a mother. They feed off cultivated gardens and seem to have a bizarre fondness for water crabs. Often thought to be evil spirits and malevolent modest creature’s douens do have a good natured side. They have been known to be of assistance to Papa Bois in the forest when an animal is trapped and injured by imitating animal calls to throw hunters off track.
Powers
To avert the douens from calling your children into the forest it is said that you should never call a child’s name in open places for the douens will then in turn call the child’s name to attract them away into the forest never to return.
References
- Julie Carthy. Folklore in the Oral Tradition, Fairytales, Fables and Folk-legend. Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute.
- Williams, Eric (1993). History of the People of Trinidad & Tobago, A&b Publishers Group
- Caribbean Folklore: A Handbook (Greenwood Folklore Handbooks ) 2007
- History of the People of Trinidad & Tobago (Trade Paperback) by Williams, Eric. A&b Publishers Group, 1993
- Folklore & Legends of Trinidad and Tobago (Trade Paperback) by Besson, Gerard. Paria Publishing Company Ltd., 2007