Cetán

File:Cetan monster.jpg

Artist's illustration of the Cetán.

The Cetán, sometimes called the "Cetányo" and previously known as the "Sétábacan", is a horrifying sea monster in Inyurstan folklore. It is said to live in deep, murky waters with mucky bottoms and little or no wind activity.

Orgins

The Cetán legend comes from ancient Coacuendo myth of the Sétabacan. At some point during colonization, the beast's mythos was merged with the Greek/Western sea monster Cetus, and slowly became called the Cetán. Historians also believe early French and Spanish missionaries used the evil, hedonistic nature of the beast to compare it to Satan in order to help convert natives.

In both ancient and post-colonial Coacuendo lore, the Cetán is a Quja-Loa (demigod), permanently bound to the world of the mortal tribes and unable to enter the spirit realm. It is one of three children of Supaiu, the deity of the underworld; and mothered by the "Lusqua", a giant-squid like sea monster. The Cetán is considered to be wholly evil; although more apt to cause pain and death due to a blind, primal appetite than malicious intent.

Followers of the cult of Supaiu living in coastal areas believed that the Sétábacan must be appeased by offering seven virgin sacrifices a year (one for each month of the Coacuendo calendar) or else he would devour fishing villages whole.

According to Coacuendo mythology, the monster is arch-rivals with the Yacún-Borão, and that end of the world will be marked by a final battle between the two titans, which will cause the sky to shatter and fall to the earth as the land is engulfed by the raging seas.

As a symbol, the Sétábacan represents hunger, gluttony, sloth and insatiability.

Description

It is said that the Cetán has the skin of a sea slug, with at least three to five pairs of tentacles with the mouth of a leech and massive teeth protruding from its mouth. In some variations, it has teeth on its tentacles as well. It can reportedly lose and regrow its teeth. Historians suggest that whale and shark ribs found washed up on the beaches were possibly mistaken by locals for teeth of the beast.

Size estimates vary, with some wall paintings depicting the Sétábacan as large as a mountain, while a bead weave tapestry from the time of King Tucalaq shows the monster attacking a female sacrifice to be roughly twice the size of an extant Dosidicus squid.

Rendition of the Cetán preparing to devour a human sacrifice

Modern Usage

• In the fashion of labeling anti-ship weapons after sea monsters, the ASM-16 Cetán is named directly for the beast
• The low-budget B-rate movies "Cetán: Tentacles of the Deep" and "Cetán II: Killer Cruise" feature a CGI monster attacking first beach goers, then second a cruise ship full of female super models and male firefighters. A third chapter in the series: "Cetán vs Croc-Cyclone" will feature the beast battling a hurricane full of angry crocodiles while gobbling up bystanders and is set to be released direct to DVD in late 2019.
• An episode of "Soriyu: The Series" pits a modern version of the Cetán against Soriyu.
• The Mochi-Bête "Setas" is loosely based on the Cetán, likely deriving its special attack "Ocean Devour" from the legend.