Tradition / Region: Kazakhstan Mythology
Alternate Names: None Recorded
Category: Sheep
The Myth
In Kazakh folklore, Goatmen are wild goats with human heads that once roamed the wilderness and attacked hunters. They were feared for their strength and were said to kill people with powerful blows from their shoulders. Because of this danger, many hunters became too frightened to enter the mountains or hunt game.
One story tells of a poor hunter and his teenage son who decided to hunt despite the danger. After gathering a large amount of game, the father ordered his son to collect brushwood for a fire. Both wore clothing made from sheepskin. The old hunter cut fat from the animals they had killed and secretly smeared it inside their coats, instructing his son to do the same.
The Goatmen watched them from nearby and became curious. Wanting to imitate the hunters, they asked for fat and covered themselves with it as well. The old hunter then held fire against the inside of his sheepskin coat, which did not burn. Believing this was safe, the Goatmen moved close to the flames. Their grease-soaked wool quickly caught fire, and as they tried to extinguish the flames by rubbing against one another, the fire spread even more fiercely.
According to the tale, the Goatmen were burned to death, and the old hunter freed the land from the dangerous creatures.
Sources
Bestiary contributors. (n.d.). Козлолюди (Kozloljudi). In Bestiary, from https://www.bestiary.us/kozloljudi