Variations: Tcaridyi, Tharidi
Tçaridyi, “Hot” or “Burning” is one of the children of Ana, sired unnaturally by the King of the Loçolico as a spouse for Tçulo. As one of the Roma demons of disease, she torments humanity to this day.
Tçulo proved to be more troublesome than expected, persecuting even his own sister Lilyi. To distract him, Melalo told his father to conceive a wife for the little urchin. What the King used to induce Tçaridyi’s conception is unknown, but it probably involved worms of some kind.
Tçaridyi herself takes the form of a little hairy worm or caterpillar. She only infests women, slithering through their arteries and veins. The long hairs on her body detach as she moves, causing fever and inflammation, especially puerperal fever. Her union with Tçulo produced women’s diseases; otherwise, Tçulo and Tçaridyi torture humans but rarely kill them.
References
Clébert, J. P. (1976) Les Tziganes. Tchou, Paris.
Clébert, J. P.; Duff, C. trans. (1963) The Gypsies. Vista Books, London.
Meyers Brothers Druggist (1910) Demons of Disease. Meyers Brothers Druggist, v. 31, p. 141.
Pavelčík, N. and Pavelčík, J. (2001) Myths of the Czech Gypsies. Asian Folklore Studies, v. 60, pp. 21-30.
