Curupira

The Curupira, Currupira or Korupira (Portuguese pronunciation: [kuɾuˈpiɾɐ]) is a forest spirit in the myth of the Tupí-Guaraní speaking areas in the Brazil, Paraguay and Guyanas. It is a guardian of the forests that punishes humans for overcutting. It looks like a backwards-footed, short-statured tapuio or caboclo (civilized indigene or one of mixed race), or like a bald but otherwise shaggy man (though the women have flowing hair). Some say it has blue or green teeth. The red-haired image has become fixture, perhaps due to conflation with the caipora. The Curupira according to early Jesuits in São Paulo was a feared being known to leave gruesomely scarred bodies, to be appeased by offerings. But it underwent a mutation via European influence, and was recast into more of a mischievous trickster type spirit, often bungling and letting humans outsmart it, though it could still cause misfortune and death.