Inguma

Inguma (Mauma), the night-demon of nightmares and suffocation who enters sleeping houses to press the throats of sleepers — the Basque embodiment of sleep paralysis — repelled by a counting-charm invoking God and the Virgin. No genealogy is attested — see SOLITARY flag. Documented by Barandiarán (secondary).

Domains

• nightmares and sleep paralysis

Powers

• Sit on the sleeper's chest and squeeze the throat, bringing nightmares and sometimes death
• Be repelled by a counting-charm invoking God and the Virgin

Sources

• J. M. Barandiarán, Diccionario ilustrado de mitología vasca; Mitología vasca, s.v. Inguma / Mauma
• J. Caro Baroja, on Basque night-demons and protective charms