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The Legend of the Pukwudgies - FlickerOfLight - 09-15-2024
These are mythical creatures not crypto.
"Pukwudgies"
Inside The Legend Of The Pukwudgies, The Cunning Cryptids Of Native American Myth
By Marco Margaritoff | Edited By John Kuroski
Published June 14, 2024
Updated June 17, 2024
While Pukwudgies are said to be good-hearted if treated kindly, they can become lethal when slighted — and they can use their magical powers to kill.
Pukwudgie
New York Public Library
Pukwudgies are often described as similar to gnomes or fairies, like those depicted in Arthur Rackham’s The Little People’s Market (1915).
Almost all cultures throughout history have their own cryptids, elusive beings whose existence has never been proven. In Wampanoag legend, that creature is the Pukwudgie.
Tiny and magical, Pukwudgies could be compared to gnomes or fairies of European folklore. Due to their penchant for teasing humans with harmless pranks, they appear rather charming compared to other mythical monsters. However, the knee-high pests also have a deadly side.
Pukwudgies have allegedly been known to lure victims into dangerous situations — or even right off of cliffs. Some versions of the legend claim that even their stare is lethal and that they can shape-shift into forest predators and make people forget things.
While not a single Pukwudgie has ever been captured for documentation, and many people have only heard of them because of their place in Harry Potter lore, the enduring tales about these mischievous cryptids continue to enchant believers to this day.
The Mysterious History Of The Pukwudgie
The word Pukwudgie, also spelled Puk-Wudjie or Bagwajinin, reportedly translates to “person of the wilderness.” Stories about these magical creatures are still told throughout New England and the Great Lakes regions today, but the legend seemingly originated with the Wampanoag tribe of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
“Standing no more than three feet tall, the face of the pukwudgies have facial features similar to those of the Wampanoag people, however their ears, fingers, and noses are greatly enlarged and their skin is grey and smooth,” wrote Theresa Bane in the Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology.
The nature of these trickster entities is as disparate as the spelling of their name, as Indigenous folklore warns that Pukwudgies can be dangerous — if treated with disrespect. Those treated kindly are purportedly good-natured, while those who are slighted are said to be deadly.
Benevolent Pukwudgies may merely engage in harmless trickery with unsuspecting humans, and according to legend, they even helped Native Americans with manual labor on occasion. Their evil counterparts, however, are said to steal from children, dangerously sabotage people, and lure their enemies to death by leading them off of cliffs.
Bane wrote that they even cast magical “balls of light to lure victims into the woods where they are then killed or kidnapped.” According to Indigenous lore, the Pukwudgie’s primary nemesis was Maushop, the Wampanoag folk hero who purportedly created Nantucket.
In fact, some versions of the legend even claim Pukwudgies were behind Maushop’s death.
The Magical Powers Of This Wampanoag Cryptid
Pukwudgies are often described as forest creatures that stand knee-high and have a sweet smell. Their powers vary from tale to tale. Some stories say they turn invisible, shoot poisonous darts, kidnap children, or shape-shift into a creature that looks like a porcupine from the back and a half-human, half-troll from the front.
Wampanoag mythology suggests that Pukwudgies were initially friendly with humans, but they became jealous when the Wampanoag people started idolizing Maushop, a mythical giant. Feeling slighted, the creatures began playing mischievous pranks on humans.
Wampanoag Man In The Forest
Library of Congress
According to Wampanoag legend, Pukwudgies are forest sprites that cause mischief ranging from harmless pranks to deadly attacks. This 1857 engraving depicts a Wampanoag man standing in the woods — where he may have been surrounded by Pukwudgies.
Members of the Wampanoag tribe started complaining about the Pukwudgies’ tricks, so Maushop exiled them by shaking them until they were confused and tossing them across America. Unfortunately, his plan backfired. The Pukwudgies returned with a vengeance — and their pranks soon turned deadly. As the story goes, they began kidnapping children, burning villages, and harming Wampanoag people.
Instead of dealing with them himself, Maushop sent his five sons to get rid of the Pukwudgies again. However, the creatures lured the boys into deep grass and killed them with their magical arrows. Another version of the legend claims that they killed Maushop, too.
Tales of the Pukwudgie aren’t limited to Native American lore, however.
Pukwudgie Sightings Throughout History
In 2023, a woman named Mary reportedly emailed the blog New England Folklore to report a Pukwudgie sighting. Mary claimed she was walking a dog between 4 and 5 a.m. when she saw a humanoid creature with black, matted fur and glowing eyes. When she told her co-workers about it the next day, they informed her it was probably a Pukwudgie.
More than 30 years prior to Mary’s Pukwudgie sighting, a man named Bill Russo reportedly saw a similar being while walking his own dog in 1990. The creature allegedly tried to lure him into the dark woods, but he managed to escape.
There are also rumors that Pukwudgies terrorize humans in Massachusetts’ Freetown State Forest. Several unexplainable deaths in recent years have allegedly been blamed on Pukwudgies luring people off of a towering cliff in the forest known as Assonet Ledge. The area is less than 20 miles from Hockomock Swamp, which some legends claim is the place where Pukwudgies originated.
Tales of the Pukwudgie aren’t limited to New England, however. According to the Indiana Historical Society, the Lenape tribe has their own legends about the tiny cryptids. They reportedly lurk in forests in the state and play harmless pranks.
In 1927, a 10-year-old Indiana boy named Paul Startzman claimed that he was walking alone in a park when a two-foot-tall man with blonde hair appeared in front of him. Another resident named Eloise once recalled a group of small people with high-pitched voices who spoke in a strange language approaching her in a park.
Whether or not these stories are true is up for debate, but it’s undeniable that Pukwudgies have a grip on people’s imaginations — and on pop culture.
The Pukwudgie In Popular Culture
The legend of the Pukwudgie made its first appearance outside of folklore in 1855, when Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote “The Song of Hiawatha.” The epic chronicles the life of a fictional Ojibwe warrior and the tragic conclusion of his love for a Dakota woman.
The poem also relates the death of Hiawatha’s friend Kwasind — and his encounter with Pukwudgies. Longfellow wrote, “But the mischievous Puk-Wudjies, / They the envious Little People, / They the fairies and the pygmies, / Plotted and conspired against him.”
Longfellow went on to explain that the the only things that could kill Kwasind were the “seed-cone of the pine-tree” and the “blue cone of the fir-tree.” The Pukwudgies knew this secret, so they gathered up piles of the cones and “lay in wait for Kwasind.” Then, they ambushed and murdered him.
These deadly cryptids appear in much more recent pop culture, as well. J.K. Rowling named one of the four houses of Ilvermorny (Hogwarts’ American counterpart) Pukwudgie. The creatures even live at the school and act as “providers of security and maintenance.”
Rowling’s Pukwudgies are clearly not as evil — or as elusive — as the cryptids said to have caused countless deaths throughout history. Still, they enchant modern readers just as they captivated the minds of Wampanoag storytellers thousands of years ago.
RE: The Legend of the Pukwudgies - Michigan Swamp Buck - 09-17-2024
I just glanced through, but I rather like the Native American Bagwajinini translated as "the little wild man of the woods that vanishes". However, better known as the Pukwudgies. Chaotic half-porcupine, half-human little folk that carry a poisoned spear or bow and arrow and that have no problem messing you up if you bother them.
RE: The Legend of the Pukwudgies - FlickerOfLight - 09-17-2024
(09-17-2024, 01:18 AM)Michigan Swamp Buck Wrote: I just glanced through, but I rather like the Native American Bagwajinini translated as "the little wild man of the woods that vanishes". However, better known as the Pukwudgies. Chaotic half-porcupine, half-human little folk that carry a poisoned spear or bow and arrow and that have no problem messing you up if you bother them.
Weird little boogers. What's interesting is how there are so many different tales of little creatures like this.
This is the first I'd heard of a half beaver half humanoid, and I've never heard of them shape shifting, either.
With so much different lore, from so many different places, it kind of makes you wonder.
This also reminded me of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Seems like there were little beaver creatures in that as well. I don't remember anything like this in Harry Potter, even though it is mentioned in the article.
RE: The Legend of the Pukwudgies - Ninurta - 09-17-2024
Mighty bold of you to claim they are "mythological" - they can get downriht unfriendly if they get to feeling slighted!
Some of the "Little People of the Woods" around here were called the "Moon-Eyed People" There are others, but those stick in my mind.
.
RE: The Legend of the Pukwudgies - Michigan Swamp Buck - 09-17-2024
(09-17-2024, 03:30 AM)FlickerOfLight Wrote:(09-17-2024, 01:18 AM)Michigan Swamp Buck Wrote: I just glanced through, but I rather like the Native American Bagwajinini translated as "the little wild man of the woods that vanishes". However, better known as the Pukwudgies. Chaotic half-porcupine, half-human little folk that carry a poisoned spear or bow and arrow and that have no problem messing you up if you bother them.
Weird little boogers. What's interesting is how there are so many different tales of little creatures like this.
This is the first I'd heard of a half beaver half humanoid, and I've never heard of them shape shifting, either.
With so much different lore, from so many different places, it kind of makes you wonder.
This also reminded me of The Spiderwick Chronicles. Seems like there were little beaver creatures in that as well. I don't remember anything like this in Harry Potter, even though it is mentioned in the article.
I remember the scene in Harry Potter, just don't remember which movie. They were small, about the right size, but more humanoid and they were workers in some specific occupation at the school I believe. Certainly nothing like the legends in most every aspect really, but what do you expect in a Harry Potter movie?
I started researching them because of Detroit's little red devil the Le Nain Rouge. The evil bastard child of a Pukwudgie and stone giant.
Michigan Chronoscope
RE: The Legend of the Pukwudgies - FlickerOfLight - 09-17-2024
A quick Pukwudgie tale I just found.
Legends of the Pukwudgie began in connection to Maushop, a creation giant believed by the Wampanoag to have created most of Cape Cod. He was beloved by the people, and the Pukwudgies were jealous of the affection the Natives had for him. They tried to help the Wampanoag, but their efforts always backfired, until they eventually decided to torment them instead. They became mischievous and aggravated the Natives until they asked Granny Squanit, Maushop’s wife, for help. Maushop collected as many as he could. He shook them until they were confused and tossed them around New England. Some died, but others landed, regained their minds and made their way back to Massachusetts.
Satisfied he had done his job and pleased his wife, Maushop went away for a while. In his absence, the Pukwudgies had returned. They again changed their relationship with the Wampanoags. They were no longer a nuisance, but began kidnapping children, burning villages and forcing the Wampanoag deep into the woods and killing them. Squanit again stepped in, but Maushop, being very lazy, sent his five sons to fix the problem. The Pukwudgies lured them into deep grass and shot them dead with magic arrows. Enraged, Squanit and Maushop attacked as many as they could find and crushed them, but many escaped and scattered throughout New England again. The Pukwudgies regrouped and tricked Maushop into the water and shot him with their arrows. Some legends say they killed him while others claim he became discouraged and depressed about the death of his sons, but Maushop disappears from the Wampanoags' mythology
https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Pukwudgies
RE: The Legend of the Pukwudgies - GeauxHomeLittleD - 09-17-2024
Never encountered them myself but several years ago I read about several encounters with beings matching their description (physical and action wise) in the Pacific Northwest but they were called by a different name- can't remember the name or where I read about them though.
RE: The Legend of the Pukwudgies - FlickerOfLight - 09-17-2024
I found that these creatures went by many different names, depending on the tribe. They appear to be a very popular legend among native Americans.
[color=#0074d9]A little more on the pukwudgies.
Native American Legends: Pukwudgie (Puckwudgie)
Name: Pukwudgie
Tribal affiliation: Chippewa, Wampanoag, Algonkin, Abenaki, Mohican
Alternate spellings: Bagwajiwinini, Bagwajinini, Pukwudjininee, Puckwijinee, Puk-Wudjie, Pukwujininee, Bokwjimen, Bogwejimen, Bgwajinini, Pok-wejee-men, Pok-wegee-men, Puckwudgie, Pukwudgee, Pagwadjinini, Pagwadjininì, Bagudzinini, Pukwatcininins, Puk-wud-gie, Puck wudj ininees, Pakwatcininins, Paweesuk, Paueeseegug, Paueehnsuk, Pikwatci'ni, Pukwadjiineesuk, Pakwatcininins, Bgoji-nini, Bagudjzinishinabe. The plural form of their name in the Algonquian languages is Bogwejimenak, Bagwajininiwok, Bgwajininwag, Pagwajininiwag, Bagwajininiwag, Pukwadjiineesuk, Pugwudgininiwug, Bgoji-nin-wag, Bgoji-ninwag, etc.
Pronunciation: bug-wuh-jih-wih-nih-nee, bug-wuh-jih-nih-nee, or boog-wuh-jee-mun, depending on the tribe
Also known as: Apa'iins, Pai'iins, Pa'iins, or Pahiins all of which literally mean "Little Ones" or "Little People" in Anishinabe languages.
Type: Little people, forest spirits, antagonists (in Wampanoag lore)
Related figures in other tribes: Mikumwess (Micmac), Paissa (Miami)
Pukwudgies are magical little people of the forest in Algonquian folklore, similar to European gnomes or fairies. Pukwudgie stories are told throughout the northeastern United States, southeastern Canada, and the Great Lakes region. However, their nature varies in the folklore of different tribes. In the Ojibwe and other Great Lakes tribes, the pukwudgie (or bagwajinini) is considered a mischievous but basically good-natured creature who plays tricks on people but is not dangerous. In the Abenaki and other northeast Algonquian tribes, a pukwudgie (or bokwjimen) can be dangerous, but only to people who treat him with disrespect. In the Wampanoag and other tribes of southern New England, pukwudgies are capricious and dangerous creatures who may play harmless tricks or even help a human neighbor, but are just as likely to steal children or commit deadly acts of sabotage. According to some Wampanoag stories, pukwudgies were enemies of the culture hero Maushop and were even responsible for his death (or the deaths of his sons.)
Pukwudgies are usually described as being knee-high or even smaller. Their name literally means 'person of the wilderness' and they are usually considered to be spirits of the forest. In some traditions, they have a sweet smell and are associated with flowers. Pukwudgies have magical powers which vary from tribe to tribe but may include the ability to turn invisible, confuse people or make them forget things, shapeshift into cougars or other dangerous animals, or bring harm to people by staring at them.
(09-17-2024, 03:53 PM)GeauxHomeLittleD Wrote: Never encountered them myself but several years ago I read about several encounters with beings matching their description (physical and action wise) in the Pacific Northwest but they were called by a different name- can't remember the name or where I read about them though.
I've heard all kinds of tales from people. I've heard stories about people encountering fairies and gnomes, and other forest spirits, but I've never heard a word about something like this before, other than movie adaptations of similar creatures with similar powers.
This must be where some of that comes from.
(09-17-2024, 08:29 AM)Ninurta Wrote: Mighty bold of you to claim they are "mythological" - they can get downriht unfriendly if they get to feeling slighted!Brother, I was raised in hell. A little forest creature would be fun to piss off. Would be a great story......no one would believe.
Some of the "Little People of the Woods" around here were called the "Moon-Eyed People" There are others, but those stick in my mind.
.
