Baykok
Ojibwe legendary creature
The baykok (or pau'guk, paguk, baguck; bakaak in the Ojibwe language and pakàk in the Algonquin language) is a malevolent spirit from the mythology of the Ojibway nation.
In traditional culture
The Baykok is a character from the Anishinaabe aadizookaan (traditional stories). It is said to fly through the forests of the Great Lakes region. The cries of Baykok are also described as being shrill. Described as "Death" in The Song of Hiawatha, it is said to appear as an extremely emaciated skeleton-like figure, with thin translucent skin and glowing red points for eyes. The Baykok only preys upon warriors, but does so ruthlessly, using invisible arrows or beating its prey to death with a club. The Baykok, after paralyzing or killing its prey, then devours the liver of its victim. Baykok was also said to approach a sleeping hunter, gently cut an opening in the chest and remove a piece of the stomach, without waking the victim.
The word bakaak in the Anishinaabe language means "skeleton" in the sense of "bones draped in skin" rather than "bare-bones", such that it lends itself to words like bakaakadozo, meaning "to be thin/skinny/poor", and bakaakadwengwe, meaning "to have a lean/thin face". The name Bakaak occasionally appears as Bekaak (reflected in English as "Baykok"), which may be a shortening of bekaakadwaabewizid, meaning "an extremely thin being".
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