Papa Bois, the Guardian of the Trinidadian Forest
Papa Bois (Father of the Woods) is the ancient protector spirit of Trinidad's forests, a figure of Afro-Trinidadian Creole folklore with roots in West African forest guardians. He appears as an impossibly old man with bark-like skin, a mossy beard tangled with vines, and deer-like legs ending in cloven hooves, with stag antlers crowning his head. He speaks the languages of all animals and blows a conch shell horn to warn poachers they are seen. For those who hunt with respect and take only what they need, Papa Bois guides them to game. For greedy hunters and wasteful destroyers, he makes fores