The word bacoo is almost recognizable by everyone in Guyana who hears it. For some, it brings a feeling of dread, especially those who live deep within the countryside; for others, just the idea is one of hilarity. Whatever it is and wherever it was derived, the bacoo is deep set in the wide arry f myths boasted by Guyanese.
It is described as a spirit of small stature that pelts stones at houses and moves objects within a house similar to a house troll spoken of in fairy tales. His diet is supposed to consist of banana and milk, in some stories he prefers spoiled milk. There are numerous stories about the existence of bacoos in Georgetown and other areas in Guyana. Some vary from location to location but they all keep one consistent aspect, the bacoo if treated good will fulfill your wishes to bring you wealth or help you to seek revenge and if treated poorly, he could torment you until you do as he bids. The bacoo tends to usually live in the rafter, ceiling and roof tops of houses and would be brought there by the owners either in a corked glass bottle or cow skin leather bag. Some say that it could be found in Suriname where the mystics there use it for a number of purposes, sometimes even selling them to tourists who need a little “help” in their life. Additionally, once a bacoo is brought to a house, it doesn’t leave until the owner dies or it is starved (which could mean dire consequences for the hosts). As such, even when the owner of the house dies and someone from his bloodline takes over, they automatically inherit the pixie like creature. Bacoos are active mainly at night, and it is said that a satisfied bacoo will always answer the wishes of its owner.
‘Baku’ in many West African languages means ‘little brother’ or ‘short man’ which is what persons who have claimed to have seen a bacco describes hims as; a short rugged man with claws on his fingers and toes as well as unkempt hair all over his body, sometime hairless with wrinkly skin.
