Ciguapa
Did you know that the 'cigua' is the national bird (cigua palmera), that 'ciguatera' is something we get from eating contaminated ('red tide' algae) fish?..The word 'cigua' is Taino but no reference to it in current dictionaries... Funny thing this about words, and how their meanings are derived from tacit consensus in a particular cultural/geographical melieu. 'Ciguapa' is a case in point, a universal magical being, beautiful in some traditions, horrendous in others, but a common element is it's deceitfulness, ready to ensnare the innocent and wayward traveller. The backward footedness is tell-tale, and is found in ancient traditions to signify death, 'the land of no return'. I can see myself as a Taino parent, telling the tale to my kids over a campfire, to scare them from venturing to far into the forest.