Churel
The Churel,[a] also known as Petni and Shakchunni (Hindi: चुड़ैल cuṛail, Urdu: چڑیل, Bangla: চুড়েল cuṛēl / পেত্নী pētnī / শাকচুন্নী śakcunnī, Nepali: किचकन्या kichkanya / किचकण्डी kichkandi / किचकन्नी kichkanni), is a mythical or legendary creature resembling a woman, which may be a demoniacal revenant said to occur in South Asia and Southeast Asia, particularly popular in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.
[1] According to some legends, a woman who dies very cruely will come back as a revenant churel for revenge, particularly targeting the males in her family.
[9][10] The Korwas of Mirzapur say that if a woman dies in a lying room (the place where women give birth) she becomes a Churel.
[12] In western India especially Gujarat, any woman who dies an unnatural death is believed to turn into a Churel, also known as jakihn, jakhai, mukai, nagulai and alvantin.
[15][circular reference] The true form of a Churel is described as extremely ugly with saggy breasts, a black tongue, and thick rough lips although sometimes she is reported to have no mouth at all.
She can assume the form of a beautiful young woman, carrying a lantern with her head covered to charm any man she comes upon.
[1][18] According to the poem Lalla Radha and The Churel, she takes the form of a lovely woman with alluring eyes but her appearance is marred by her backward turned feet.
[19] The Petni/Shakchunni of West Bengal and Bangladesh wears traditional bangles made of shell (a sign of married women) and red and white sari.
[19] In The Female Element in Indian Culture, it says, "The Churel runs after and seeks to possess every man whom she meets, for, it is said, her carnal appetite remains unsatisfied in life".
[8] According to Persian legend, when travelers saw the tracks of a Churel in the dirt they would try to flee by heading in the opposite direction, but her reversed feet would inevitably lead them right into her grasp.
[10] In the guise of the enchantress, this femme fatale hunts for young men on highways and seduces the lone traveller to accompany her.
[17] Legend says that a churel will hold a young man captive until he is elderly, or else uses him sexually until he withers, dies, and joins the spirit.
[13] If a woman dies during childbirth or during her menstrual cycle, her "corpse is anointed with five different products of the cow and special texts are recited.
The reason behind this is that the mustard blossoms in the world of the dead, and the sweet smell pleases the spirit and keeps her content, so that she does not long to revisit her earthly home; secondly, the Churel rises from her grave at nightfall and seeks to return to her friends but when she sees the minute grains of the mustard scattered abroad and stoops to pick it up, and while she is engaged, the sun rises and she is unable to visit her home.
One way is to bury the body and fill the grave with thorns and pile heavy stones on top to stop the evil spirit from getting out.
They are then laid down in the grave with their faces downwards while a spirit doctor follows the body all the way to the graveyard scattering mustard seeds all over the place and reciting prayers.
The Gonds of Southern Mandla protect themselves from Churels "by tying down the corpse of a woman who dies in childbed with the child surviving".
[26] In the Indian Bengali horror film Putuler Protishod (1998), a girl who is murdered by her in-laws returns as a Churel to exact revenge.
