There is in the folklore of French Brittany the frightening spirit of Ankou (Anku - carrying Death), which is almost identical to Death itself. Anku is often mentioned in fairy tales originating from Cornwall and Wales in Great Britain and Ireland.
Anku - the harbinger of death, who collects the souls of the dead
A terrible and omnipotent spirit has the appearance of a person dressed in dark clothes or a shroud, with a very old hat on his head. Sometimes the mystical creature appears in the form of a dark shadow, standing on a black cart drawn by four black skeletons of horses.
The mysterious inhabitant of the other world is portrayed by legends as a tall skeleton of a figure emaciated for centuries with loose white hair. The head of the "harbinger of death" can be rotated at an angle of 360 degrees, thereby emphasizing its ability to see everything, everywhere. Ancient tales differ in the details of Anku's description, they are vague, but they assure one thing - where he is, there is death.
Anku, the harbinger of imminent death
One of the versions about the otherworldly descendant says: Anku is a headless horror behind a person, sometimes it is true that he takes the image of a skeleton. Another version complements the description of the mysterious figure with two craft assistants who help Anku collect the souls of the dead. An extremely dangerous creature is Death's helpers - even the creak of a cart heard in the night foreshadows imminent death.
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On the left is Ancu, depicted in the crypt of the chapel of St. Joseph in Brittany. On the right is the parish of La Roche-Maurice, northwest France.
The death conductor comes when the last person of the village dies at the end of the calendar year in order to take the dead souls and guide them to the afterlife. In another version, the otherworldly undead is the embodiment of a deceased person who was the first to be buried in a newly opened cemetery - this makes some sense: death makes him responsible for the place and delivery of the soul of the dead to destination.
As a rule, Anku appears at dusk, with a scythe in his hand, holding her up with a canvas, with white hair from under a black hat - within two years after this meeting, a person dies. If you meet a “black spirit” at midnight, then Death takes a person in the same month.
Legends about Anku are very old and some report that he was the first child of Adam and Eve. And it is also curious that the Celtic British, who had a strong sense of the near death of this spirit, were not afraid, because in their convictions they represented death as the beginning of a better life, a wonderful journey to a place where there is no fear, sadness, pain and loneliness.
Anku with a scythe on a cart goes for the souls of the dead
Nevertheless, people were afraid of the collector of the souls of dead people, which means sadness and oblivion, who is doomed to walk between two worlds forever. The mystical spirit bringing death is especially active and strong at the end of the year. Ancient people saw in him the personification of Death itself, perceiving the alien as a clear sign of imminent death.
Anku, Viceroy of Death in the cemetery
An old Irish proverb says: "When Anku comes, he will not leave empty …" Agree, it sounds extremely frightening. Each parish in Brittany had its own Anka, a kind of "King of the Dead", which visits the dying for his soul.
Anatole Le Braz, a 19th century writer and a great collector of ancient legends, told about the mystical essence to society. Here is what he wrote about Anku in his bestselling book The Legend of Death: Anku is a henchman of death (oberour ar Maro), serving as a guardian of the graves. He protects the graveyard and the souls around it, collecting lost souls in a protected area.
One of the legends tells about a noticeable story, where the strength and power of Anku are visible, however, justice and morality are also present. Once, one late evening, three drunken young people were returning home. At night, they had no one to try their valiant prowess, and when they met the lonely old man driving the cart, they immediately rushed to him.
And although one of them was against, the other two began to shout at the old man (and it was Anka), and threw stones at him. As a result, they broke the cart and fled. The third friend felt unwell and, wanting to help the old man, collected the branches and helped mend the cart, and even gave away his own laces, with which they had strengthened the cart.
The next morning, the two friends who threw stones at the harbinger of death were dead, and those who stayed to help and did not participate in the attack on the old man only got by with gray hair. The ghost is also known as a housewalker for the souls of deceased people, which, with the help of two ghostly companions, are folded into a basket.
Strange mystical entities inhabit the Earth, don't they?