Jeff Will Protect The With His Life

Old posts like this remind me that this place was around a long time and things like Twitter going to shit is what brought this site from the background to the limelight.

Tintin remembers what comes after 15.

On October 2nd, 2022, the 1st episode of Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch From Mercury aired!

HAPPY 2ND ANNIVERSARY, G-WITCH!

Blaze's Compendium Entry #6: Helmet is required to deal with the Muh Shubuu.

Warning: Faith and religion are important real life topics, that tackles the culture and way of life of millions of real life people. It is a cultural expression, and must be respected by all means. Here, we use a video-game series only to ignite the flame of learning about the matter, using its art when well depicted, but we do this with all due respect to the cultures we talk here, grounded by real life sources, cultures and people. And i mean this with respect. Hope you all enjoy.

Moh Shubuu, or Moh Shuvuu is a fantastical creature from the Buryati Folclore, nomadic people from Asia in a region between Siberia and Mongolia. Their are treated like a Mythological bird, that is born when a young girl or young woman dies by violent means, without knowing true love. (This can imply chastity, but it will vary in how explicit it says it). Normally, Moh Shubuu will attack man that she could seduce using her young girl looks, bringing the victim to isolated areas of the desert and killing them with a blow to their head, using their ominous sharp beak. Then she would proceed to suck and consume the brain matter out of the person.... Yikes.

According to sources (as always, will be in the boton) There are other ways for a Moh Shubuu to be born, we will explore those later.

This is one of those legends that, finding a single western source on it is way harder than actually understanding it. Not even Wikipedia is of any help here (That is, if it was of any help, any time). The only real English source i was able to locate was a book: ''Christian Demonology and Popular Mythology, Central European, 2006''. Although this book was a verifiable source, it was not from much help because of the biased view of the tale, from a Christian perspective. Which is not exactly wrong. There's whole fields of theology dedicated to this , but we gotta exercise the Methodological Agnosticism here, which means i can't analyze a culture going from other completely biased point of view, but rather try to see by the eyes of said people considering their time and space, which is also not a easy task by any means.

Moh Shubuu hides her beak with her hands, and sleeves.

The book offers little to no insight about more than what is commonly associated with the Moh Shubuu. The western internet is filled with texts and people talking about this legend, in the way i told above. But the creature name gets a bit confusing. Usually, in the west people call it Moh Shuvuu, but it seems this is a western way of spelling the name, which is actually Moh Shubuu or Moh Shubuun. This means literally somehting like ''Evil Bird'' According to most sources, but i was unable to independent verify this claim. So, take it with a bit of salt. I am sure though, that this could not be so much far away from what it really is.

Going by Muh Shubuun or Moh Shubuu makes it more easier to research it, in Russian the name is spelled like: Муу шубуун. In using this language, there is a good amount of sources going from sites that talk about mythology, to museum pages in general, to books. This did not surprised me, because Buryatia being part of Russian territory for centuries now, and Moh Shubuu being a relatively obscure, and oral folklore, makes it very niche to research indeed. Specially from a culture which is in high danger of disappearing. [2]

But by far, the most complete work in Buryatian culture research i was able to find, comes from a renowned Russian folklorist: Matvey Nikolaevich (1858-1918). His work is extensive and very detailed, he spent his life and career studying and documenting Buryati culture. Matvey was celebrated in his time by his expeditions to Buryati settlements to study their culture, and he was elected in 1888 as a member of the Russian Geographic Society. So much so, that a Museum in Buryatia is named after him, and display many of his belongings and researches there. (Linked source, and Museum)

If you happen to speak Russian, and is interested in learning more about Buryatian Folklore, culture and more i heavily suggests you to read more of Matvey books. As for me, i do not speak Russian, so i am relying in software translations. If you notice anything wrong, please let me know!

I can't go too deep in his work here, because our main goal here is to explore the Muh Shubuu lore. Luckily for us, Matvey catalogued this very tale (along with another multitude of Buryati folklore) in some of his work. Here, i will use as a basis his book:

‘’Хангалов М.Н. Собрание сочинений в 3 т. Т.3. / Под ред. Г.Н.Румянцева.-Улан-Удэ: Изд-во ОАО «Республиканская типография», 2004.- (Reprint)’’

Translated roughly as:

‘’Khangalov M.N. Collected works in 3 vols. T.3. / Ed. G.N. Rumyantsev.-Ulan-Ude: Publishing House of JSC "Republican Printing House", 2004. (Reprint)’’

This work was originally published between 1889 to 1903, in 3 volumes focusing on Buryati Folklore. Sadly, i could not locate this book anywhere on the web, at least not using software translation and all my power to do so, i could not locate a physical copy of easy access for me. But, luckily the book is partially transcribed in many web pages and that's how i guided myself.

So, about the Muh Shubuu!

There are some legends Matvey catalogued about this demon in Buryati folklore, but they vary a bit. This can be because of the nomadic nature of the Buryati people, and how the tale can evolve and change between groups and settlement. But nevertheless, the essence is still the same. Here are some tales that Matvey could comply about the Muh Shubuu:

There is, for instance the tale of a young couple, that went to live in the woods together. Sadly the man dies from illness shortly after, leaving his wife alone and depressed. The woman could not bear the loss of her husband, and was driven into madness. During this time, she decides it is a good idea to consume the dead decaying liver of her late husband. After that, she dies as well.

The woman's soul is back as a Mu Shubuun, because of her terrible act. Still according to this particular legend, this demon can change forms into different types of birds. (like some kind of warebird) But, when she transforms back to her more humanoid form, only the beak will remain. (Some times, this beak is described like her lips) The beak will always be visible, no matter how many times she transforms back.

Another tale tells about a hunter, who was hunting alone in the desert. (or woods, depending on the mood of my translation software) After taking a rest, a young woman approaches him. She starts to kick a conversation, cracking jokes, and getting along with the hunter. He noticed that the woman always tried to hid her lower face with her sleeves, and found it suspicious. He notices this is a Mu Shubuu, and asks her to get logs to the fire he is preparing. She goes, and while she's away, the hunter puts some branches and his stuff into his blanket to give the impression he is sleeping in it.

When the demon returns, she thinks the tired hunter was sleeping already, and she could finally attack. She jumped in the blanked with her beak, stabbing the branches and logs he put inside it, and it got stuck. That's when the hunter shoots the thing down with his gun. After that, he burns the remains in a fire.

This story is particularly interesting, because it involves guns, so it was probably not that old. At least this version, it could have changed with the years, with regular weapons becoming guns, once they were invented and got popular. Or... My translation software got something as an bow and arrow as a gun.

This tale also makes clear that the creature was about to kill the hunter, with her classical ''beak to the head'' and would probably consume his brain matter. But there is evidence Mu Shubuu diet consisted of more than just brains. like the woman in the first tale eating the liver of her husband.

This amazing artwork was made by NATZ they are amazing, and let us use it to illustrate this text. Go check them out! I am a big fan!

In another tale, there is also other person who win in a fight against this demon by getting her stuck in a tree. This seemed to be enough to the creature promise not to bother anyone anymore.

Matvey also complied the information that, some tales described that Mu Shubuu had two ''flints'' with them, usually in their armpits. The right one is a bright red flint, very good looking. The other one is a decayed and rotten tool. The disgusting one is the one to destroy, or take from the creature, because it is linked to her vital forces, it seems. During a fight, Mu Shubuu will try to convince you that the red one is better, but this is a trap. This flint will weaken you instead, making you the easiest prey to this demon.

Buryat knife with a suspension, a tube, a pouch, a flint. Silver, coral, malachite, mahogany, leather, hardened steel, corals, chasing, punching, forging. I dont know, but maybe this legends of a ''flint'' could be referring to the tools here.

There is also the implication that there are male Mu Shubuun as well! According to Matvey there was a tale about a forest where lots of Mu Shubuun inhabited, and they always caused mayhem in the region, attacking and eating people's brains.

One day, a warrior decided to go there, and was (surprise surprise) attacked by a Mu Shubuun. In this story, the flint version was accounted for, and the warrior win the fight taking the ugly looking flint from the demon. But, she ends up fleeing.

The man follows the creature trail up to a well, where he found not only the female Mu Shubuun that attacked him, but a male Mu Shubuun. It was the male that convinced the guy not to harm them, explaining that attacking humans was an habit of the female Mu Shubuun only. As a way to apologize, the couple of demons teach the man how to defend himself from their relatives, using magical phrases. I could not translate them very well using software, but in Russian it goes as:

‘’Хадалан долон - Хадалаевы семеро

Хамнагахи найман - Хамнагановы восьмеро’’

Female and (possible) male Mu Shubuun from the game Blood Brothers. I like this interpretation very much, because of the bloody beak.

This tales are interestng, because they are very small but they manage to convey a lot about this creature, which is sadly not very much available to western sources. It is evident that in Buryatia, this is a relatively known folkloric tale, and in Russia and Eurasia it was spread by books and the internet, much before the demon was explored in the Shin Megami Tensei series.

For instance, the Irkutsk City Museum, in Russia has a page dedicated to Buryati culture, and also shows some Mu Shubuun texts. Irkutsk is not in Buryatia, rather is a bit north, after the Baikal lake that separates Buryatia from the rest of Russia. But it is close enough to have some cultural connections.

(Again, i am not going too deep into the Buryati belief system as a whole. Not only because that's not the foccus here, but because it would need much more research. If you want me to talk about more of this culture in the future, let me know!)

Much is talked about the Buryatian Shamanism when talking about the Buryatian folklore. This was present in Matvey's work, as well in official government sources as the Irkutsk Museum. This Shamanistic culture often deals with lots of problematic spirits. Those are usually translated as bad spirits, ghosts, or even demons. This means our little devil bird girl is not alone in this pantheon. Just to be brief about some other Buryatian mystical creatures:

Ada: A spirit that manifests itself as a small crature with only one eye, and one teeth. Their mouth is on her lower jaw. Can appear as a dog, children or even inflate itself as a balloon. (This one is specifically creepy, and it is also cited by Matvey works)

Anakhai: Also spotted on the before told sources, this is a cyclop-like creature that attacks children.

Ezykhe: A spirit that causes harm to domestic animals. Usually it appears as a decaying old hag, that steals cow's milk. This can cause malnutrition to calfs, and even death of livestock.

The Buryati usually are practitioners of Tengrism. This is a belief system that is sustained by the relationship with the Earth, being protected by it and the ancient spirits. It is interesting that, in some sources the Tengrists believe that the skeleton is sacred, because it stores a part of the Soul. They went as far as to not damage animal bones during sacrificial rituals. So, since Mu Shubuun has to break open the skull to eat its prey's brain, i wonder if it is seen as a even more evil act by them. [sourced by Buryati Religion and Society’ from Lawrence Krader, 1954]

As is the case with any culture, we need to know a bit of the time and place to understand the collective consciousness that give birth to such myths. The Buryatia territory as a place and the way of life of the Buryati people is essential to this mixture. For instance, being nomadic people that relies a lot in livestock and surviving the harsh Eurasian deserts and the SIberian tundra, the worst fears would often be dictated by those essential pillars of their lifes.

A creature that can slowly kill your livestock? A predatory demon that kills you alone in the desert, sucking your brains? Those were real fears. It is hard to dive deeper into Buryati culture in this text, because it is just a crop honestly, but is also very important to remind ourselves that the Buryati are a diverse people, and some behaviors, tales and even words can change from place to place.

There is definitively a lot to learn from their culture, and a lot to preserve. Being endangered to disappear, it is always interesting to spread the word to more people that could study and preserve Buryati history.

If you are interested, i can recommend also the paper ‘’Buryati Religion and Society’ from Lawrence Krader, published originally in 1954. It is not perfect, and it is pretty old, but it is a good start! It is one of the few English sources about Buryatian culture out there.

Mu Shubuun is a very interesting case of a regional folklore making a trip from it's mother culture and ending up appearing in pop culture. Even with UN classifying the Buryati language to be highly in risk to be extinct, this predatory bird devil ended up in games and known in many parts of the world. In SMT for instance, she ranked 9th as the most popular demon in recent years, as well is a recurrent character in almost every franchise release since the 1990s.

Kazuma Kaneko's design is great for me, because it interprets the beak as disguised as the creature hair, or is it hair and just looks like a beak? That is the magic of his take on the creature. I am just curious on how he got to this specific folklore in the first place.

Kaneko took inspiration from Buryati female clothes when designing Mu Shubuun appearance! Very neat. SMT Moh Shubuu lacks the beak, but its hair its styled like a bird's beak, head and wings in a very cool nod to its nature.

It is fascinating to think this happened, but it got me thinking that Mu Shubuun was a product of a culture, and real people that lived by this for centuries. As the warning says in the start of the text, we can use popular media to spark a flame of interest in the matter, but this has to be done with all due respect.

The next paragraphs are based on my personal opinions upon studying this tale extensively. But you feel free to disagree with me, or even correct me!

In my personal belief, Mu Shubuun is one of those Folkloric cautionary tales. Not only not to wander alone in the desert, which could be fatal by very real means, but also that violence against the more vulnerable could have consequences. In the case of Young Woman, this could end up as a Muh shubuu coming to enact her revenge.

Another personal observation of mine: The creature carrying flints reminded me of the old Korean tradition of young virgin woman carrying daggers in her clothes (usually in their arms as well), so they could commit suicide if endangered to be sexually harassed. [1] This could be nothing related, but i thought about it immediately after noticing the flint trope with Moh Shubuu.

As why the bird connection, i really can't say for sure. Probably because raptor birds could be menacingly common, around. But i should study Buryati culture deeper in order to be more accurate about it. End of my personal opinions

Be any reason why this tale survived centuries and ended up here, in the internet, videogames, and other works, is a mystery to me. Maybe the idea of a vengeful spirit taking her grudge on male society is alluring to some, maybe it was because Kazuma Kaneko really did an amazing design, and maybe it is because there is something about regional tales, folklore and beliefs that really fascinate some of us. Some distortions may have occurred in the way, but it is also part of this process. To me, it is important that Buryati traditions and culture can be preserved, and for many, Mu Shubuun is the link to this cosmos. That is a very interesting thing, and i am quite fascinated by it as well.

Thank you for reading up until here!

Sources:

-Matvey, Collected works Volume 3, pages 25 to 26 (reprinted in 2004) - (Хангалов М.Н. Собрание сочинений в 3 т. Т.3. / Под ред. Г.Н.Румянцева.-Улан-Удэ: Изд-во ОАО «Республиканская типография», 2004.- С.25-26’’)

-Irkutsk City Museum

-Buryati Religion And Society, Lawrence Krader 1954. (Sadly paywall...)

[1] - Korean Perceptions of Chastity ceptions of Chastity, Gender Roles, and Libido; F , Gender Roles, and Libido; From Kisaengs to the Twenty First Century (This one is just to back my claim about similarities)

[2]- The troubled state of the Buryati language today, Dulma Batorova

Glad to finally know that this guy actually exists and isn’t just some random made up demon to be filler hoping nobody notices.

Don’t know if this is a stupid question, but with the Raidou remaster shown and older demons given new life, I’d like to ask, what is an Enku?

I know it’s a Preta, but I can’t find sources on Enku specifically, and I thought one of the guys that found the myths of obscure demons would find him.

Questions about demons are never stupid!

It is really difficult to find specific info on the Enku. This is about the best I could find in a reasonable timeframe that's also not just repeating SMT compendium info:

Kyoto National Museum

Kyoto National Museum

Welcome to the official website of the Kyoto National Museum. In addition to information about exhibitions, events, and access, the website

The sixth section tells how Ananda (J: Anan), another of Shakyamuni’s ten great disciples, heard about the suffering of a hungry ghost who continuously belched flame (engu gaki) and taught the ghost an incantation from Shakyamuni to achieve salvation. The seventh section recounts how Ananda passed on this method of salvation to the monks, who then began the ceremony of offering food and drink to the spirits of the dead (segaki).

The Enku's definition as a type of Preta that belches flame and exists in the Preta realm really seems to be about it. Essentially, it's a being that exists as a kind of punishment should you be wicked and end up reincarnating in the Preta realm. The idea/formula behind the enku gaki is, in sum:

you hear about the enku gaki

then get frightened of reincarnating as one

thus you become more devoted to following Buddhist teachings

That's how they get ya!

Enter Der Hungergeister:

religion-in-japan.univie.ac.at

Hungergeister – Religion-in-Japan

God it’s always funny to look at

Monster Hunter Wilds Spoilers below and in tags. You were warned.

Post made around March 2.

With the release of the game and it being out for a bit now, it shows that they were not very willing to hide a few more monsters from us in the trailers, though the few things that wasn’t shown makes a interesting case on fictional biology, with one monster in particular showing how secretly frightening adaption works in the Forbidden Lands.

The one I referred to aren’t the Wylk beasts or the final boss, but Nu Udra's smaller friend who hides much more underneath .

The guy's name is Xu Wu and there is a lot to go off here.

An eyeless octopus with what look to be teeth on its head, something resembling a ponytail behind the “teeth”, markings on it's “face” that either looks like a beard or teeth, tentacles that leak a yellowish fluid that hardens into blade-like crystals, and a mouth less like an octopus beak and more like a very toothy starfish.

It feels less like a monster and more like either a walking fungus, an alien, or something eldritch, something that I adore. I always loved the monsters at actually look like the word monsters and not just big animals like Gigi, Xeno, and Goss.

Even it’s name tells a tale, as while in English it does mean much especially as two words, put it together and you get a Chinese word 虚无 Xūwú (pronounced Shee Wu), which translates to nothingness, emptiness, or just void.

With how the monster is small, speedy, favors ambush and hit & run tactics, it seemingly considering most creatures, even humans in two cases(you & a villager) as prey, how it has a false face and a maw of teeth, and how the armor with a Middle East motif and weapons named after famous assassins, you have a monster that, when It’s in the area you pray it doesn’t “see” you before you do lest you vanish.

But the most weird thing is it’s diet and how it adapted to it’s prey.

For one thing, it’s s prey isn’t even natural, or shouldn’t even exist, though some people suggest that they are attracted to strong bioenergy carrying monsters.

The guardians are artificial monsters born of the living mass knows as the dragontorch, basically gene manipulation by the ancient civilization to create homunculi.

And these guys aren’t random monsters, they’re dangerous in their own ways, Doshaguma may be the easy to make grunts that could have a leader, Rathalos are the eyes in the sky, Ebony the patrolling sentry with speed and violence to act on, Fulgur the brute to deal with big problems, Arkveld the unpredictable due to monsters or problems having no defenses against an extinct monster, and Zoh Shia, who might as well be a man-made god of hate.

All of these guys (an argument for Doshaguma) are basically apex-elder tier threats. Something a foolish person thinks would work well for defense.

And Xu Wu basically wins every “turf war” with the guardians. Calling them turf wars feels wrong as 3/4 of them starts after Xu Wu knocks its prey over and starts eating them until they escape.

Ebony gets at least a fight, but ends up skewered and thrown away.

Arkveld might tie with a few hits from Xu Wu until the chains get him, and he isn’t elder level enough for Zoh Shia, but it’s still an interesting thought.

Think it this way: you are a scientist who created powerful artificial life forms to prove you are a god, but nature outdid you already with a creature that was born to prey on the strong, energy rich monster, which your creation fits the bill.

It then proceeds to turn your work into a snack with the only things that could win one of a kind monsters you aren’t willing to lose.

You tried to play god, but nature one upped you without effort. You can never surpass the natural world because it already found a biological version of what you thought of.

You lost a fight to the natural order before you even got started.

Here’s one more

I should keep drawing, these were the best ones, and even then they could use some work, mostly on the faces and limbs, but are fine.

I’m too lazy and tired to go outside to trick or treat so digital with have to do.

If you want you could stop here and I could give you whatever I could find

Happy Hollow's eve peeps!

He “thinks” he’s doing a good job hiding it, but he couldn’t be any more obvious about what he really is. I’m surprised he lived this long without someone staking him

He smiles too wide and shows his fangs, he always talks in a way that makes people to invite him despite the automatic door, bats seem to follow him around (he tries to shoo or hide them away), he’s more lethargic during the day (doesn’t catch fire but does sunburn easy), counts whatever small things fall on the ground, when rain fell and the streets became a makeshift river, he want the long way to avoid it (wasn’t even that deep and he wore rain boots that day), a regular showed her new silver cross necklace and he had a look the was a very forced smile, I once saw a blood bag in his backpack and forgot it was open until breaktime, not to mention the many times he walked past a mirror.

Many vampires wouldn’t make these mistakes, they would were thick clothing, hid their pale skin with certain oils, use glasses or masks to hide their face, they would go to places with designated greeters, ect.

But he doesn’t do any of that, in fact his hiding attempts were more like a kid playing pretend.

So why don’t we throw him out or stake him? After all vampires in recent times have been very aggressive?

Number one, he’s harmless, he cries easy, apologizes absurdly for small mistakes, is amused with ants or ladybugs, and it’s done in a way so absurd that you can tell he isn’t lying.

Number two, I think he might be an outcast or an exile, vampires tend to stay together, but he’s always by himself and any vampires that see him try to avoid him or ignore him if they couldn’t. Because of this, he doesn’t know much about the more unsavory parts of vampire society, which may be a good thing.

And number three, he’s not the only one badly hiding who they are. I’m not the only human here, but I am the only one who know what they are and what to do if they became hostile, though I don’t think I need to.

The one outside chasing out solicitors with a stick is a cat… yokai I think is the term. I think specifically a Kasha. She hides her ears with a beanie that move with certain emotions, sometimes forgets a contact lens, and her “belt” seems to move at times. She’s always near the graveyard, but the church grim always scares her off.

The one restocking magazines while looking out the window is a Dullahan who isn’t seemingly trying hard to hide who they are. His head is slightly unaligned and usually a bit green, with his smile being too wide and too toothy. Not to mention the horse that he tries to hide in the nearby forest that never seems to stay put. There are stories in this area of a horse man with a whip chasing noisy bikers and crooks, so he’s at least doing some good.

The guy playing guitar in the break room was the one I didn’t know what he was until recently and only then it’s a guess. He looks the most human, but then you approach him and feel a divine presence. Not an angel because his songs talk about gods, plural. Always in the forest singing because he “feels at home.” When I looked up his songs, they were Hindu in nature, so I assumed he’s a Gandharva.

The one kicking the vending machine because his sunflower seeds got stuck is something called a Bilwis. There always a breeze whenever he’s around, he looks as corn and wheat products intensely, the cutting of tall grass on the forest, and he always talks in that German accent about his time in the fields. There aren’t any fields around here, so there isn’t much he could do, though I’m keeping an eye on him.

The one at the door is clearly a dragon or snake of a kind, maybe a Vouivre with the scales, the thin tail, the small wings, she isn’t even trying at all to hide. She’s acts like she’s above all and gets a bit prissy when others don’t join in. She’s so proud of herself that she actively wears things like rings, pearls, jewelry, things that attract muggers, which did happen a few times. She’s a nuisance, but all bark, so she’s fine.

That’s not mentioning the drivers which are an elf with the ears and how plants react to them and a gremlin with his small, goblinilke size and stories how he worked on(taking apart) planes.

None of them are doing a good job at hiding who they are, which is saying something considering I was one of the worse liars in my profession. I’m praying for them that these guys aren’t that dense for their sakes.

I am a part of a community of hunters of the supernatural who was sent to this big city to investigate and deal with an influx of supernatural visitors and crimes, though I was sent here to deal with a dealing of some kind of substance, one of the lowest priority jobs given.

(Just say we don’t trust you with anything higher to my face, I’ll understand better than dancing around it.)

They want to know why so may creatures came to the city, son decided to look for a long live species for info, leading to the vampire.

I thought I’d get something, but he knows nothing.

All of them know nothing due to ignorance, avoidance, or being too far in nature to care. I assumed their lives hid something, so I followed, but they’re all clean.

In the end, I tried some other monster I found, but someone didn’t like that, as my apartment was broken into and was left a threatening message to “stop my search or suffer” amidst the broken furniture.

They forced me to inaction because they knew of our plans and are willing to deal with us if we ignored them, like maybe out who we are, which was bad because I didn’t go out dressed like Van Helsing telling people I kill monsters for a living.

I hope to find a way out of this as I don’t want to get my superiors caught… and because I don’t want to leave my coworkers for their sake.

I’ve grown used to them, knowing them personally, actually being friends… maybe a family and I don’t want them to fear me, or worse, targeted by someone.

All I can do at the moment is wait for an opportunity to free myself.

A vampire has worked at the local 7-11 for the past 5 decades. No one has the heart to slay them—partly because they're a good employee, but mostly because they think the vampire is doing a "great job" hiding their vampirism (they're really not).

Happy “Majin Tensei 2 protagonist arrives in the future” day.