Cow

Thorgeir’s Bull

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Tradition / Region: Icelandic Mythology
Alternative Name: –
Category: Cow

The Myth

Thorgeir’s Bull was a powerful magical creature created by the Icelandic sorcerer Thorgeir the Wizard. To make it, Thorgeir flayed the hide from a newborn calf while it was still alive. He then placed inside the hide the bones or essence of eight different creatures—a bird, a man, a dog, a cat, a mouse, and two kinds of sea beasts, together with the calf itself—giving the Bull the combined nature of nine beings. Because of this, it could travel on land, in the sea, or through the air, and could appear in whatever form suited it best.

Thorgeir intended the Bull to help him win a feud with a woman named Gudrun after she rejected him. The Bull relentlessly hunted her, making her life miserable. Even when she fled between farms with armed escorts, it continued to pursue her. It tormented her so severely that she eventually died, and afterward her ghost was said to haunt the place where she had suffered.

After Gudrun’s death, the Bull remained devoted to Thorgeir and carried out his commands. It was used to stampede other people’s cattle, scatter horses, and perform acts of destruction. However, it also became increasingly dangerous to its own master. Whenever Thorgeir ordered it to perform some task, it would later return and attack him in revenge. Even Thorgeir, despite his magical knowledge, struggled to defend himself from the creature.

One day the Bull tried to kill Thorgeir. He fled into his house while his wife held their infant child. Believing the Bull wanted a sacrifice, she begged him to offer one of their heifers instead. Thorgeir released the animal, and the Bull tore it to pieces, sparing the family.

The Bull could also change shape. It sometimes appeared as a man, a dog, a grey cat, or even a black puppy, but most often it took the form of a gigantic horned bull draped in a flayed hide. Its appearance was so terrifying that anyone who saw it was filled with fear.

According to tradition, the Bull remained with Thorgeir until his death, and some claimed it was seen crouching upon his chest as he lay dying before vanishing forever.

Sources

Simpson, J. (Comp.). (1972). Icelandic folktales and legends. University of California Press.

Nauthveli

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Tradition / Region: Icelandic Mythology
Alternative Name: –
Category: Whale, Cow

The Myth

The Nauthveli, also called the Ox-Whale, is one of Iceland’s feared illhveli (“evil whales”) and is said to be the second largest of these monstrous sea creatures. Like the other evil whales, it is considered inedible, and tradition warns that merely speaking its name aloud can summon it.

The Nauthveli is a massive toothed whale with a black-and-white body resembling a cow. Its enormous head resembles that of a bull, bearing two large nodules, while its long body narrows into a worm-like tail without fins.

Its most terrifying feature is its voice. When hungry, the Nauthveli lets out an immense bull-like bellow that echoes across the sea and coastline. The sound resembles the roar of enraged cattle and can be heard over great distances. Its vibrations shake the ground and are powerful enough to knock oars from sailors’ hands. Whenever its bellow is heard, people refuse to sail.

Like all evil whales, the Nauthveli attacks boats and delights in killing people, but it has a particular craving for cattle. Its supernatural bellow hypnotizes cows and bulls, compelling them to run over cliffs and plunge into the sea. Once they reach the water, the whale toys with them like a cat playing with a mouse before biting them in half and devouring them.

The creature is also drawn to cattle carried aboard ships. One legend tells of a Nauthveli that relentlessly pursued a vessel near Grímsey until the sailors released the single cow they were transporting. The animal immediately leapt into the sea, satisfying the monster.

After the Nauthveli has been heard, cattle are traditionally kept locked away for several days until its enchantment fades. In areas where the monster was believed to roam, herding cattle near the coast was discouraged. According to tradition, sacrificing a single bull or cow would appease the Nauthveli, making the sea safe once more.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Fylgja. In Wikipedia. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fylgja

Kolju-taat

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Tradition / Region: Estonian Mythology
Alternative names: Skull Grandfather
Category: Cow, Demon

The Myth

Kolju-taat is a guardian spirit of the sea from the coast of northern Estonia. He is especially associated with the waters near Keila-Joa and appears either as a huge bull rising from the sea or as a tall old man with a strangely shaped skull, traveling in a silver-white boat.

Although generally feared, Kolju-taat was not always hostile. He could both harm and help fishermen. It was believed that anyone who failed to offer him a sacrifice would be punished. Fish, alcohol, salt, and bread were commonly offered, often by throwing them directly into the sea. After returning home, fishermen also shared part of their catch with the poor, believing this would ensure a rich catch in the future.

Sources

Bestiary.us. (n.d.). Kolyu-taat. In New Bestiary: Encyclopedia of Imaginary Beings. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://www.bestiary.us/kolyu-taat

Mermaid Cow

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Tradition / Region: Estonian Mythology
Alternative names: Sea Cattle, Lake Cattle, River Cattle, Mermaid Cows (Näkilehmad)
Category: Cow

The Myth

According to Estonian folklore, herds of sea, lake, and river cattle live beneath the waters. These animals look exactly like ordinary cows, bulls, and horses rather than fish-like creatures. At certain times they emerge from the water to graze in meadows near the shore, but vanish beneath the surface as soon as anyone approaches.

These supernatural cattle were famed for producing extraordinary amounts of milk and butter. Some people attempted to capture them. One tale tells of a poor fisherman who hid beside a lake with a rope. When the herd emerged, led by a magnificent bull, he lassoed a beautiful cow before the others fled back into the water. The captured cow never returned to the lake, gave abundant milk, and made the man wealthy.

The herds are often accompanied by mysterious cowherds, sometimes a young woman, sometimes a young man, or several herders together. These beings may remain among humans for years, marry, raise children, or help fishermen before eventually returning to their true underwater home. Even after returning to the sea, some continue to visit their human families.

Many legends tell of a magical water cow that lives with a family for seven years, producing calves and endless milk. When the appointed time arrives, a supernatural call comes from the lake, and the cow returns to the water, often taking all of her offspring with her, leaving the family suddenly without its miraculous source of prosperity.

Sea cattle were regarded as peaceful and beneficial creatures that brought wealth and good fortune. Unlike many other supernatural beings, they possess no demonic nature, existing instead as the underwater counterparts of ordinary livestock in a hidden world beneath the waters.

Sources

Kõiva, M. (2023). Sea, Lake and River Cattle. In Estonian Mythological Folklore: Spirits, Fairies, and Mythical Creatures (pp. 585–603). Estonian Literary Museum. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://www.folklore.ee/rl/folkte/myte3/vh18.pdf

Suur Kärg

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Tradition / Region: Estonian Mythology
Alternative names: —
Category: Cow

The Myth

Suur Kärg is a gigantic supernatural ox of Estonian folklore. By night, it appears in its true form as an enormous beast of immense strength. During the day, however, it transforms into a swallow and flies through the sky like an ordinary bird.

The creature was considered almost impossible to kill. It was said that five hundred brave men were needed to bring it down, while a thousand strong men were required to skin it and cut its flesh into pieces.

Anyone who succeeded in killing Suur Kärg and tasted its flesh was believed to gain supernatural powers.

Sources

Bestiary.us. (n.d.). Suur Kärg. In New Bestiary: Encyclopedia of Imaginary Beings. Retrieved June 29, 2026, from https://www.bestiary.us/suur-kyarg.

Ushioni

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Tradition / Region: Japanese Mythology
Alternative names: Gyūki, Goki
Category: Spider, Cow

The Myth

The Ushioni is a terrifying yōkai that usually appears as a monstrous ox-like creature, although its appearance varies greatly between regions. Some traditions describe it as a giant ox, while others portray it with the face of an oni and the body of a huge spider, or as a two-legged beast with wing-like membranes. It is a violent predator feared for attacking both humans and animals.

The Ushioni is most commonly associated with dangerous places near water, including deep pools, rivers, waterfalls, marshes, and the seashore. Numerous locations throughout Japan bear names such as Ushioni Pool or Ushioni Waterfall, reflecting the belief that these monsters once haunted them.

Along the coasts of western Japan, the Ushioni often works together with other sea yōkai such as the Nure-onna and Iso-onna. It may first appear as a beautiful woman carrying a baby and ask a traveler to hold the child. As soon as the victim accepts, the infant becomes impossibly heavy, making escape impossible before the Ushioni reveals itself and attacks.

In the mountains of the Kumano region, the Ushioni was believed to kill without even touching its victims. It simply stared relentlessly at anyone it encountered until they gradually weakened, collapsed, and died. This mysterious affliction was known as having one’s shadow swallowed. People believed the only protection was to recite the strange charm: “Stones flow, leaves sink, cows neigh, and horses roar.”

Another tradition from Izumo says that during long periods of rain, a mysterious white light could cling to a person’s body. This phenomenon was called meeting a Ushioni and was believed to disappear only when exposed to fire.

One famous legend tells of an Ushioni that terrorized the region around Negoro-ji Temple in Kagawa Prefecture, killing people and livestock until it was finally slain by the master archer Yamada Kurōdo Takakiyo. The temple is said to preserve the monster’s horns as proof of its existence.

Across Japan, the Ushioni is remembered as one of the country’s most feared monsters—a savage ox demon that haunts lonely waters, deceives travelers, and brings death to anyone unfortunate enough to meet its gaze.

Sources

TYZ. (n.d.). Ushi Oni [牛鬼]. In 新版TYZ 妖怪図鑑. Retrieved June 28, 2026, from https://tyz-yokai.blog.jp/archives/1010653546.html

Qawqam

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Tradition / Region: Malta Mythology
Alternative names: Qawqam
Category: Cow

The Myth

The Qawqam is a mysterious supernatural ox from Maltese folklore that roams the rocky countryside, hills, and isolated roads of the island at night. It is described as an enormous wild ox with immense strength and long powerful horns rising high above its head. Golden in color, it appears both beautiful and frightening, standing apart from ordinary animals.

The creature moves silently through open fields, low brushlands, and abandoned paths, appearing suddenly out of darkness before disappearing again without warning. Villagers believed that encountering the Qawqam was extremely dangerous. People who crossed its path risked injury or death, and its mere appearance was enough to drive travelers indoors after sunset.

The Qawqam was said to travel not only across the surface of the land but also beneath it. Certain hills and rocky places were believed to contain hidden passages through which the beast entered the underworld and returned again. Because of this, the ox was considered a creature that moved between worlds, belonging partly to the realm of the living and partly to unseen places below the earth.

At times the Qawqam was seen grazing quietly in the wilderness, glowing gold beneath moonlight as though it were part of the land itself. Yet people believed it could never truly be captured, owned, or followed. It always vanished before anyone could approach too closely.

Farmers and herdsmen sometimes connected the creature to the fragile nature of wealth, labor, and possession. The Qawqam represented power that could not be controlled — something valuable yet untouchable, capable of disappearing without trace.

The Qawqam remains remembered as a horned night-beast of Malta: a golden ox wandering lonely hills, hidden tunnels, and dark roads between the visible world and the unseen depths beneath the island.

Sources

Mifsud, S. D. (2014). The Maltese bestiary: An illustrated guide to the mythical flora and fauna of the Maltese Islands (p. 28).

Hornless Lion Cattle

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Tradition / Region: Sudanese Mythology
Alternative names: Lion Cattle, Hornless Cattle of the Lions
Category: Lion, Cow

The Myth

Among the Dinka, hornless cattle were believed to be dangerous and unnatural animals closely connected to lions and wilderness spirits. Unlike ordinary cattle with horns, hornless cattle were feared for their aggression and strange behavior. Folktales claimed they did not truly belong to human beings at all, but to lions.

One famous story tells of two brothers both named Deng. One was born to a human mother, while the other was the son of a lioness who had raised both boys together as brothers. Although the lioness cared for them for many years, she eventually turned against the human Deng and attacked him out of jealousy and beastly hunger. After many struggles, the lioness was killed by her own son to protect his brother.

Later, the lioness’s relatives sought revenge. The two brothers traveled into the land of the lions to confront Miyar, the lion-chief and cousin of Deng of the lioness. After reaching the lion settlement, Deng challenged Miyar and killed him in combat.

The death of the lion chief caused panic throughout the camp. The lions fled into the wilderness, and with them fled the strange hornless cattle that belonged to them. According to the tale, these hornless cows transformed into lions and lionesses and disappeared into the forest alongside their masters.

Only the ordinary horned cattle remained behind for the human brothers to take home.

The story explains an old Dinka belief that hornless cattle possessed something wild and dangerous within them. They were thought to follow lions naturally, behave more fiercely than ordinary cattle, and even share a spiritual connection with predatory beasts. In folklore, hornless cattle were not fully separated from the world of lions, but stood somewhere between domesticated animal and supernatural creature.

Sources

Deng, F. M. (1974). Dinka folktales: African stories from the Sudan. New York: Africana Publishing Company.

Mantahungal

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Tradition / Region: Philippines Mythology
Alternative Name: –
Category: Cow

The Myth

The Mantahungal is a terrifying creature from the folklore of the Tagbanua people of Palawan in the Philippines. It is said to dwell deep within remote mountain forests at high altitudes, far from human settlements.

The creature is usually described as resembling a gigantic hornless cow covered in long shaggy hair that hangs almost to the ground. Despite its cattle-like appearance, the mantahungal possesses a monstrous mouth filled with huge fangs and tusk-like teeth, including massive upper and lower tusks used to tear apart its prey.

According to legend, the mantahungal is a violent predator that hunts humans and animals in the mountain wilderness. It chases down victims through the forest before ripping them apart with its enormous teeth.

Stories describe it as a hidden and feared creature of the highlands, rarely seen but associated with danger, disappearance, and death in isolated forest regions.

Sources

Cryptid Archives. (n.d.). Mantahungal. Retrieved May 10, 2026, from https://cryptidarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Mantahungal

Bestiary.us. (n.d.). Mantakhungal. Retrieved May 10, 2026, from https://www.bestiary.us/mantakhungal/en/

Tur

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Tradition / Region: Bosnian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Cow

The Myth

Tur is a colossal black bull believed to carry the weight of the Earth upon his back. He is not merely an animal, but a cosmic being whose existence sustains the balance of the world itself.

Described as immense beyond measure, Tur’s body stretches like a living foundation beneath the world. His dark coat shines like night, and his massive horns are said to reach into the sky, sometimes imagined as piercing the clouds.

According to legend, earthquakes and tremors occur when Tur shifts his horns. Even the smallest movement can shake mountains and disturb the land. Because of this, people believed that the stability of the world depended entirely on his stillness.

Tur is usually calm and unmoving, but this calm is what keeps existence intact. If he were ever to rise or fully move his body, it was said that the Earth would collapse—mountains would fall, seas would overflow, and the world would be destroyed.

For this reason, Tur was both feared and respected. People would offer prayers or small sacrifices to keep him at peace, hoping to prevent any movement that could bring catastrophe.

Tur represents a powerful mythological idea:
a world-bearing creature whose stability maintains reality, where even the slightest disturbance reminds humanity how fragile the order of the world truly is.

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Tur (Bosnian-Slavic mythology). In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tur_(Bosnian-Slavic_mythology)