Chagrin (or Cagrino)
Chagrin (or Cagrino)
An evil spirit believed in by European Gypsies. It was said to have the form of a hedgehog, to be yellow in color, and to be about a foot and a half in length. Heinrich von Wlislocki stated: "I am certain, that this creature is none other than the equally demoniac being called Harginn, still believed in by the inhabitants of Northwestern India. Horses were the special prey of the Chagrin, who rode them into a state of exhaustion, like the Guecubu of Chile."
When horses appeared to be sick and weary, with tangled manes and bathed in sweat, they were believed to have been attacked by chagrin during the night. When this was observed, they were tethered to a stake that had been rubbed with garlic juice, then a red thread was laid on the ground in the form of a cross, or else some of the hair of the animal was mixed with salt, meal, and the blood of a bat and cooked to bread, with which the hoof of the horse was smeared. The empty vessel containing the mixture was put in the trunk of a high tree while these words were uttered:
Tarry, pipkin, in this tree, Till such time as full ye be.