Thought to live in portions of eastern Afghanistan as well as the Shishi Kuh Valley, located in the Chitral region of North Pakistan, the Barmanu, which translate into “The Hairy One”, is often thought to be related to early hominids and descriptions generally resemble the Neanderthal. As is the case with other sightings of man like hairy hominids, accounts of this creature are often accompanied by tales of a horrible stench, a trait which is attributed to the creature’s wilderness lifestyle and hair covered body. Legends of this creature have been told by the locals for centuries, but it was not until the early 1990’s that the legend would receive international attention.
During the early 1900’s several Spanish expeditions into the Shishi Kih Valley region of North Pakistan learned of the Barmanu through retelling of the legend by local people. The tales of the Barmanu eventually caught the ear of zoologist Jordi Magraner who traveled to the region with medical doctor Anne Mallasse and another team member. Between 1992 and 1994 Magraner and his team chronicaled not only eyewitness reports but personal experiences including grunting noise thought to have been made by a primitive voice box as well as discovering ape like foot prints. Sadly Jordi Magraner was assassinated by one of his Pakistani guides on August 2nd 2002, less than a month before he planned to return to Europe with his findings.
The expedition leaders would later tell reporters, “Eyewitnesses shown pictures of a selection of human and human like creatures, consistently selected the image of a primitive man found preserved in ice some twenty years ago by a Belgian team. According to Loren Coleman this is a confused reference to the allegedly humanoid, or model to skeptics, that Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson described frozen in a block of ice, which later became known as the Minnesota Iceman.
In 1995, after an Unsolved Mysteries segment on the above mentioned Minnesota Iceman, Loren Coleman, a consultant for that episode, was contacted by Pakistanis who claimed to know where the body of a similar creature was buried. Even though the informants did not respond to follow up communications, this is interesting because the link to Pakistan and the Barmanu was not mentioned in the broadcast.
In late 2007, Loren Coleman made a shipment of several field guides and other books to US troops stationed in an area of Afghanistan known for some unusual hominid activity. Although nothing substancial has come from this to date, Loren Coleman did receive a response email from a Mark Langenkamp who at the time was stationed somewhere in Eastern Afghanistan. He writes:
I got your book in the mail today! Thank you again for sending it. When I am done reading it, I will leave it here at the front, in the small library that we have of used books. I’ll put your contact information in the front cover so even after I’m gone, you can be notified should our “Barmanu” be seen.
Lately, we’ve been shooting a lot of artillery here. I doubt the Barmanu like that too much. At least, I’ve not heard of anything resembling Barmanu coming in close to investigate the thunderous sound makers.
I’ll keep in touch from time to time to report what I have or have not seen. Right now, however, I’ve got a book to read!
The Evidence
There is no physical evidence to date that would support the existence of Barmanu. Eyewitness accounts and the personal experiences of several expeditions into the area, though not physical evidence, are all we have to tell us that something strange roams the mountainous region.
The Sightings
In 1987, a Sheppard by the name of Lal Khan, living in Pakistan, claims to have been witness to a Barmanu.
The Stats – (Where applicable)
• Classification: Hominid
• Size: 6 to 7 feet
• Weight: unknown
• Diet: unknown
• Location: Afghanistan
• Movement: bipedal / walking
• Environment: mountain regions
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