Also Known As: Boe Muliache in Lula and Mamoiada, Voe Corros in Benetutti, Voe Mulinu in Ollolai, Voe Travianu in Orgosolo, Voe Corros de Attalzu (“the Steel-Horned Ox”)

Hailing from the island of Sardinia, west of Italy, comes the legend of the Erchitu. This tormented creature is a man who committed a severe wrong or sin and as a result, suffers a painful transformation into a huge white ox with large horns during the nights of the full moon.

There are a couple local stories of the discovery of an Erchitu when someone thought they had caught a wild or wandering white ox, bring it home to their barn and in the morning, when they come to check on their new cattle, find instead a man crying.

Description

During the nights of the full moon, the afflicted person transforms into a huge white ox with large steel horns. One feature to distinguish this white ox from others is their weeping human-like eyes.

Sometimes, the Erchitu can be found followed by devils or fairies who set two lit candles on the Erchitu’s horns as they prod it along with hot skewers.

Devils or not, the Erchitu can be found mindlessly roaming through towns and the countryside.

Werecows!

“It seemed so innocent when Bossy bite my hand…”

• Flippy T. Fishhead

While the Erchitu has a lot appearance-wise that’s similar to the cursed versions of werewolves and lycanthropes, the reality is that the Erchitu curses themselves when a man commits any grievous and serious deed. Usually, this crime is homicide.

Morality Tail

Much like the stories of werewolves, the stories of Erchitu are an allegory of the idea of guilt that isn’t governed by human laws. That a person becomes a beast as this straddles what separates humans from other animals. The ideas of instinct and reason, evil and good. That a human being will feel remorse and guilt, they will know that you don’t murder, cheat or break any of the social contracts with fellow humans. The person who does is little better than an animal and thus, an animal they become.

In Sardinian mythology, where the old Pagan beliefs have blended with Christian beliefs, the ox is a symbol of submission, and the yoke is symbolic of sin. So, when a person commits a grievous offense, an ox they become, driven by instinct and controlled by their sins.

Death Omen

When transformed, the Erchitu is known to roam the country of Sardinia. Where it would stop, notably in front of a house, the Erchitu will bellow three times, with this roar capable of being heard by everyone living in the country. The master of the house would then be fated to die within the year of the Erchitu’s bellowing.

Breaking The Curse!

There are a couple of different ways that an afflicted Erchitu can break free of their curse, but they must find someone who is brave and strong, who is capable of blowing out the candles in one breath. Or this person needs to be able to cut off the horns with a precise shot.

If you knew how heartless, greedy, and selfish a person is, it’s easy to say they brought this curse on themselves, so why break it?

Obviously, there are people far better than I am.

The other method that a person can do is to perform a ritual, called “imbrussinadura” where they roll all over the ground in front of three churches or they roll over the ground in front of a cemetery. At this point, the person returns to their human form and is unable to remember anything of their time as an Erchitu.

This method is thought to have strong roots in ancient pagan rituals that were used to free a person from possession, a ritual that involved precise protocols of making three turns, early morning, afternoon, and night. That this rolling over would reverse negative energy back to positive again.