Tradition: Ethiopian Mythology
Alternative Names: Bulgu, Bulguu
Category: Giant
The Myth
The Bulgu is a fearsome cannibalistic ogre in the folklore of the Guji Oromo people of Ethiopia. It has four eyes, a head shaped like an axe blade, arms resembling axe handles, and short, thick legs like pestles. Its frightening appearance reflects its monstrous nature and its appetite for human flesh.
In one tale, a brother and sister go to a river to fetch water, where they encounter a Bulgu. Before the children can react, the ogre seizes and devours the boy. After licking its lips, it threatens the surviving girl, warning that it will eat her and her entire family if she tells anyone what she has witnessed.
Terrified, the girl returns home in tears. When her father asks what happened to her brother, she claims that he wandered away into the brush. Unable to forget the boy’s death or the ogre’s threat, she refuses to eat for several days and grows dangerously weak. Eventually, she calls her father to her bedside and asks him to build nine tall, thick fences around their house. Once the nine palisades have been constructed from juniper, she finally reveals the truth. Enraged, her father builds a platform of branches above the hut to conceal her, takes his lance, and sets out to kill the Bulgu.
However, the Bulgu has overheard the girl’s confession. After the father leaves, the ogre approaches the house and mutters ten magical formulae, causing the nine gates and the door to burst open. It searches everywhere for the girl, who might have remained hidden if she had not broken wind in terror and revealed her position. When her parents return, they find that the Bulgu has devoured her, leaving behind only her middle finger.
Sources
“Bulgu.” A Book of Creatures, May 15, 2017. https://abookofcreatures.com/2017/05/15/bulgu/