Mythology

Onça-Boi

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Tradition: Brazilian Mythology
Alternative names: Onça-Boi
Category: Cat, Cow

The Myth

The Onça-Boi is a creature of Amazonian folklore whose existence is said to have been reported by fishermen, hunters, and bushmen travelling through the forests.

The creature resembles a jaguar, but possesses the physical characteristics of cattle: hooves and horns.

Unlike ordinary jaguars, which generally hunt alone, Onças-Bois are said to always hunt in pairs. The two creatures work together to corner their prey, which is primarily made up of hunters who encounter them in the wilderness.

When pursued by a pair of Onças-Bois, a hunter’s best immediate chance of survival is to climb a tree. However, the creatures are patient hunters. They take turns watching their trapped victim, waiting beneath the tree until exhaustion, hunger, or sleep causes the hunter to fall.

According to the legend, there is only one reliable way to survive an encounter with a hungry pair: kill one of the Onças-Bois.

Once one of the creatures is killed, the surviving Onça-Boi immediately flees, abandoning the hunt.

Sources

“Onça-Boi.” Mythus Wiki. Fandom. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/On%C3%A7a-Boi

Old Bull

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Tradition: American Mythology
Alternative names: Old Bull
Category: Cow

The Myth

When Stone Boy was returning home, he had been trying to understand why so many buffalo had gathered near the home he shared with his uncles. He approached several groups of young buffalo, but each group fled as soon as it saw him. Stone Boy continued from one group to another, scattering them until he eventually became tired of their cowardice and began making his way home.

When he was about half a mile from home, he encountered an old, shaggy buffalo standing beside a large boulder. The old bull repeatedly rubbed one horn against the stone and then the other, apparently trying to sharpen them.

Stone Boy approached and discovered that the bull was extremely old and nearly blind. His horns were so blunt that he could have rubbed them against the boulder for an entire year without making them sharp enough to hurt anyone.

When Stone Boy asked what he was doing, the old bull explained that he was sharpening his horns for the coming war.

The bull revealed that the chief’s twins had been killed by Stone Boy, who had supposedly driven them over a cut bank deliberately. In response, the chief had ordered all of his buffalo to gather together. Once they had assembled, they intended to kill Stone Boy, his mother, and his uncles.

Stone Boy thanked the old bull for revealing the plan and offered to save him the trouble of continuing to sharpen his useless horns. He pointed out that the bull was too old to participate in such a war and might fall into a hole, stumble, and be trampled by the other buffalo.

The old bull, being nearly blind and unaware of what Stone Boy was doing, stood still, apparently believing that Stone Boy was helping him.

Stone Boy drew an arrow, pulled his bowstring back, and told the old bull that he would spare him the suffering of dying in the coming battle.

He then released the arrow.

The arrow struck the bull behind the foreleg with such force that it passed completely through his body and continued on until it embedded itself in a tree roughly two hundred feet away.

Sources

McLaughlin, Marie L. Myths and Legends of the Sioux. Bismarck, N.D.: Bismarck Tribune Co., 1916. Internet Archive

Ō-gyūnikukai

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Ō-gyūnikukai
Category: Cow

The Myth

During the Meiji era, an inn in Hirakawa-chō, Kojimachi Ward, Tokyo, became notorious for strange occurrences in its eight-mat room on the second floor. According to an 1898 report in the Miyako Shimbun, anyone who stayed there was said to experience terrifying nightmares in a state somewhere between dreaming and waking.

One guest dreamed that a giant was strangling him. Another experienced a beautiful young woman tormenting him. Two explorers who had returned from overseas decided to stay in the room themselves in order to discover the truth behind the phenomenon.

During the night, one of the explorers awoke from a nightmare in which a giant was strangling him. When he asked his companion what was happening, the other revealed that he too had experienced a strange dream.

His nightmare, however, concerned something much stranger: beef.

In the dream, an enormous piece of beef suddenly descended from the ceiling beams. As someone who considered himself a great eater of beef and horse meat, he initially believed that disposing of it should have been easy, whether by boiling or roasting it. Yet within the dream he found himself completely unable to get rid of the enormous mass of meat.

He tried various methods, but nothing worked. Eventually he became overwhelmed and helpless, suffering so intensely that he awoke covered in sweat.

At the same time, his companion was also suffering from his own nightmare about the giant monster.

The report offered several possible explanations for the strange experiences. Some suggested that animals such as martens living in the attic might emit a form of “animal electricity” that caused the disturbing dreams. Another explanation was more psychological: the first person to experience a nightmare in the room may have told others about it, causing subsequent guests to enter the room already frightened and consequently experience similar nightmares.

The Ō-gyūnikukai is therefore less a conventional monster than a strange Meiji-era account of a supernatural nightmare, in which an enormous piece of beef itself becomes the source of terror.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “大いなる牛肉塊 (Ō-gyūnikukai).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). April 29, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437884.html

Nunohikiushi

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Nunohiki-ushi
Category: Cow

The Myth

Long ago, in Shinano Province, there lived a wicked and unfaithful old woman in Chiisagata District.

One day, while she was drying a hand towel beneath the eaves of her house, a mysterious cow suddenly appeared. The animal caught the towel upon its horns and immediately ran away.

The old woman chased after it, determined to retrieve her towel. However, the cow continued running until she eventually found herself at the dining hall of Zenkoji Temple. By the time she arrived, the sun had set and darkness had fallen. The mysterious cow had disappeared.

Then something miraculous happened.

The Buddha of Zenkoji Temple suddenly emitted a radiant light, illuminating the trail of drool that the cow had left behind. When the old woman looked closely, she saw that the shining trail formed words. The message told her not to think of the incident as merely the work of a cow, but to understand that her own heart had guided her toward the path.

The old woman was deeply moved by the revelation. She immediately became devoted to Buddhism and spent the night before the Buddha chanting sutras.

When she returned home the following day, she visited a nearby Kannon hall. There, beside the statue of Kannon, she discovered the hand towel that the mysterious cow had taken.

She realized that the cow had actually been an incarnation of Kannon.

Her faith in the Buddha of Zenkoji consequently became even stronger, and she eventually attained rebirth in paradise.

According to the tradition, the Kannon who appeared in the form of the cow was the Nunobiki Kannon, whose statue is preserved at Nunobikiyama Shakusonji Temple in Komoro.

The story became the origin of the Japanese expression meaning to be “led to Zenkoji Temple by a cow”—being unexpectedly guided toward something good by an event whose purpose was not initially understood.

From the Edo period through the Meiji period, prints depicting the miraculous cow leading the old woman to Zenkoji Temple were repeatedly produced and sold around the temple.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “布引牛 (Nunohikiushi).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). June 27, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437882.html

Namedara-ushi

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Tradition: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Namedara-ushi, Namedarouun
Category: Cow

The Myth

Namedara-ushi is said to be the master of Aoike Pond in Gunmura, Masuzu County, in present-day Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture. The legend is recorded in the Suruga no Kuni Zasshi (Miscellaneous Records of Suruga Province).

It was said that whenever Namedara-ushi howled, rain would soon follow. At the bottom of Aoike Pond were believed to be seven water holes from which clear water continually gushed forth. Even during severe droughts, the water level of the pond was said never to decrease.

During times of drought, local farmers performed a rain-making ritual centered around the creature. They constructed a large cow from straw and placed it into the water holes while beating gongs and drums and dancing. According to the tradition, rain would always arrive within three days of performing the ritual.

The connection between the name and the ritual suggests that the “ushi” in Namedara-ushi means “cow.” The creature itself is therefore closely associated with the sacred waters of Aoike Pond and the ritual practices used to bring rain.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “なめだら牛 (Namedara Ushi).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). March 15, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437873.html

Namatonkanashi

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative names: Namatonukanashi, Namatonganashi, Namatouga Nashi
Category: Cow, Deity

The Myth

Namatonkanashi is an agricultural god from Amami Oshima, recorded in Nagoshi Sagenta’s Nanto Zatsuwa. The name is thought to be a phonetic transcription, while Kanashi or Ganashi is an honorific title used in Amami and the Ryukyu Islands for gods and nobles.

The deity is described as a bizarre and enormous cow, larger than an ordinary cow, with eight horns, eight tails, and sixteen legs—eight at the front and eight at the back. White star-like spots are said to cover its belly and thighs.

Namatonkanashi is a living god worshipped by the islanders. Its cry is compared to the sound of a chaumera, while another account describes its voice as so loud that it could deafen those who heard it.

During festivals, Namatonkanashi is said to wander through areas illuminated by bonfires. In particular, it appears during ceremonies in the Nishi-Magiri and Higashi-Magiri districts. The deity is said to strongly dislike people from mainland Japan approaching it.

When Namatonkanashi appears, the islanders traditionally bow with their heads touching the ground, meaning that they cannot actually see the deity’s complete form. Nagoshi Sagenta, a Satsuma samurai who had been exiled to Amami, did not follow this custom. He observed the supposed visiting deity and concluded that its strange appearance was entirely fabricated.

According to this interpretation, Namatonkanashi was not an actual monstrous cow but part of a ritual performance representing the arrival of a god. The islanders’ hostility toward mainland Japanese observers was therefore connected to their resentment of outsiders reducing their religious ceremonies to their superficial physical details.

A later account in Tonari Nanpo’s Amami Shidan (1933) describes Namatonkanashi as a gigantic ox with eight horns, eight legs, and eight tails. It appears during the welcoming festival on the second day of the second month and the sending-off festival on the fourth day of the fourth month, ceremonies associated with welcoming and sending away the gods of the sea and mountains. Its form can only be seen when illuminated by the festival bonfires.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “ナマトンカナシ (Namatonkanashi).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). July 25, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437910.html

Mungkorn Vihok

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Tradition: Thai Mythology
Alternative names: —
Category: Cow, Dragon

The Myth

The Mungkorn Vihok is a four-legged creature combining the physical characteristics of a dragon, a bird, and a cow.

Its head resembles that of a dragon, while its bovine-like body is covered in dark purple coloring. From its body grow two wings, and it possesses a bird-like tail, combining features of three different creatures into a single unusual beast.

No further myths, powers, or stories about the Mungkorn Vihok are given in the source.

Sources

“The Mythical Creatures in Thailand.” Explore Bangkok. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://www.explore-bangkok.com/mythical-creatures-in-thailand/

Monster of Lake Tota

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Tradition: Muisca mythology, Colombian Mythology
Alternative names: Devil Whale
Category: Whale, Cow

The Myth

Lake Tota, near Sogamoso in present-day Boyacá, Colombia, was considered sacred by the ancient Muisca people. According to their traditions, the lake was inhabited by a terrifying monster.

The creature was described as a huge black fish, said to be larger than a whale. It possessed the head of a bull, giving it a particularly strange and frightening appearance. Because of its enormous size and terrifying nature, the creature was also known as the “Devil Whale.”

The monster was believed to dwell within Lake Tota, a vast natural lake that was an important sacred place to the Muisca.

Sources

“Five Mystical Colombian Lakes.” Colombia.co. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://colombia.co/en/colombia-country/geography-and-environment/five-mystical-colombian-lakes

Mnevis

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Tradition: Egyptian mythology
Alternative names: Mer-wer, Nem-wer
Category: Deity, Cow

The Myth

Mnevis was a sacred bull god whose main centre of worship was at Heliopolis. Originally regarded as a separate deity, he was later associated with Atum-Ra and considered the physical manifestation of the god, as well as the ba of Ra.

Mnevis was usually represented as a black bull wearing a solar disk and uraeus. Like the Apis bull, his movements were believed to be guided by divine will, allowing him to function as an oracle. His priesthood even claimed that Mnevis was the father of the more famous Apis bull.

The Mnevis bull was associated with two sacred cows representing Hathor and Iusaaset. When a Mnevis bull died, it was embalmed and buried with great honours in a dedicated necropolis near the temple at Heliopolis. Another burial ground was reserved for the Mothers of Mnevis, who were considered manifestations of the cow-goddess Hesat.

Only one Mnevis bull was believed to exist at a time. After his death, a replacement was sought, usually a completely black bull.

The cult of Mnevis was one of the few religious cults tolerated during the reign of Akhenaten and the Amarna period, likely because of its strong connection with solar worship. Akhenaten even ordered a necropolis for Mnevis bulls to be constructed at Akhetaten, although the site has not been discovered.

Sources

“Mnevis.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnevis

Mōnen

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Tradition: Japanese mythology
Alternative names: —
Category: Cow

The Myth

Mōnen is a yokai depicted in Kikuya Kinji’s Shinshin Obake Nobanashi (New Ghost Tales), published in 1886.

It appears as a cow that has transformed into a ghost. The creature wears a kimono decorated with a wheel pattern and holds its hooves out in front of its body in the manner of a traditional Japanese ghost.

The name Mōnen is a wordplay on mōnen, meaning “delusion,” and mō, the sound associated with a cow’s moo.

Sources

Takahashi, Toshihiro. “もうねん (Mōnen).” 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑 (New TYZ Yokai Encyclopedia). April 5, 2021. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1078437875.html