Case file · Folklore / legend
Jean de Léry and the spirit Aygnan
The Huguenot Jean de Léry lived with the Tupinambá at Guanabara Bay (Rio) in 1557–58. His 1578 book describes their fear of an evil spirit, Aygnan (Anhangá), that beat and tormented people at night.
1557 CE · -22.91, -43.16 · status: account
The account
Léry also described a night ceremony in which pajés chanted while women fell into trance. His book is a classic source for Brazilian ethnography and was admired by Claude Lévi-Strauss.