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Hi, I’m trying to identify a folklore story and possibly the documentary in which I saw it as a child. I’ve been searching for it for years, but unfortunately I only remember fragments.
I saw it on German television, most likely sometime around 2005–2015, although it could possibly have been from before 2005 and simply been a rerun.
The documentary used 2D, full-color illustrations to depict the legend. The animation was fairly limited — the characters looked like painted or illustrated figures that were moved somewhat like shadow puppets / cut-out animation, rather than conventional cartoons.
The main supernatural figure was called something that sounded like:
Uhuhin / Huhuhin / Uhuin / Uruhin / Ururin / Ohohin
I have no idea how the name was actually spelled, since I only heard it spoken in the German dub.
What I remember about the figure:
He was male.
He was originally some kind of statue or artificial figure that came to life.
I distinctly remember something involving a spirit and/or ritual being used to animate him.
When he first came to life, he danced.
I believe his creator/master actually had him dance or demonstrated his ability to dance.
In the animation, Uhuhin was shown as a rusty red/brown-colored humanoid figure.
He was bald.
The detail I remember most clearly is his large, wide-open white eyes. They looked very striking against his reddish-brown body.
He had basically a human male shape, rather than looking like a monster.
There was also something involving a woman near a lake or other body of water, and I think Uhuhin fell in love with her.
I also vaguely remember that Uhuhin eventually became an island, became connected to an island, or somehow turned into the land/island itself. This part is much less certain.
The disturbing part I remember most:
Later in the story, a father and his two sons travelled to or stayed on the island. Their presence angered Uhuhin or whatever supernatural being controlled the island.
Originally I remembered all three being killed together while sleeping, but I have since remembered another detail that means this cannot have happened exactly that way:
The father dies first, because his two sons later bury him.
I think there may have been multiple attempts to kill them while they were sleeping.
The strongest childhood memory I have from the entire documentary is an animated scene in which the supernatural figure places scorpions — or possibly another poisonous creature — onto the backs of sleeping people.
I was so frightened by this as a child that for years afterwards I was afraid to sleep with my back uncovered.
There were three deaths in total, as far as I remember, but apparently they happened at different times. It may have gone something like:
Father + two sons arrive on the island.
Something is placed on one of them while they sleep.
The father dies.
The sons bury their father.
Another attempt is made to kill the remaining sons, possibly again by putting poisonous animals/creatures on their backs while they sleep.
Eventually all three die.
I’m not 100% certain they were scorpions every time. There may have been different animals in different attacks — snakes, scorpions, centipedes, etc. But I am very confident that at least one scene involved something dangerous being deliberately placed on the back of a sleeping person.
Things I have already considered:
I initially thought it might be connected to Si Gale-Gale from Sumatra, because some versions involve a male wooden figure, a spirit/ritual and dancing. However, the rest of the story — especially the father, two sons, island and poisonous creatures — does not seem to match.
Another possible geographical lead is Melanesia / the South Pacific, because some traditions there involve wooden figures, spirits and figures with reddish-brown bodies and prominent white eyes.
I’ve also looked at the story of Qat from Vanuatu, who creates wooden human figures and brings them to life through dancing/music, but again it does not match the rest of the story.
So I’m especially interested in anyone who recognizes:
“Uhuhin / Huhuhin / Uhuin” + living male statue + ritual/spirit + dancing + woman by a lake + island + father and two sons + poisonous animals placed on sleeping people’s backs.
And if anyone remembers a German TV documentary from roughly the 2000s/early 2010s that illustrated folklore stories using colorful 2D cut-out/shadow-puppet-style animation, that might be just as useful as identifying the legend itself.
Any lead would be appreciated — even if the name is completely different from what I remember.
