Wild Man legends



The Wild Man is an archetype and legendary figure that has occurred across many cultures around the world since the earliest days of humanity. This article is an attempt to index and catalogue the various legends of the Wild Man.

Chuchunaa (Siberia)

 * Chuchunaa (or tjutjuna, chuchunya; "outcast", "fugitive") of Siberia, Russia, speculated to be a relict population of Paleo-Asiatic Aborigines or Neanderthals (unknownexplorers.com)

Almas (Mongolia)

 * Almas, the Mongolian word for "wild man"; Caucasus and Pamir Mountains of central Asia, and the Altai Mountains of southern Mongolia.

Barmanou (Pakistan)

 * Barmanou (or Barmanu, Baddmanus; "Big Hairy One") of the mountainous regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Yeren (China)

 * Yeren (Chinese: 野人; pinyin: yěrén; literally "wild-man"), Yiren, Yeh Ren, Chinese Wildman (Chinese: 神农架野人; pinyin: Shénnóngjiàyěrén; literally "The Wildman of Shennongjia"), or Man-Monkey, (Chinese: 人熊; pinyin: Ren Xiong; literally "Man Bear"); the remote mountainous forested regions of western Hubei.

Batutut (Vietnam)

 * Batutut (a.k.a Ujit, Người rừng, or "forest people"); Vu Quang nature reserve and other wilderness areas of Vietnam, Laos and northern Borneo.

Europe

 * Wild man (of the woods), wodewose (woodwose, wudewas), a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands. (Wild man entry in the Jimmy Wales Project)

Am Fear Liath Mòr (Scotland)
a.k.a. The Big Grey Man of Ben MacDhui, The Greyman


 * "It has been described as an extremely tall figure covered with short hair, or as an unseen presence that causes uneasy feelings in people who climb the mountain." (Am Fear Liath Mòr in the Jimmy Wales Project)

Basajaun (Basque)
Basajaun, "Lord of the forest"


 * "The Basajaun is the spirit that inhabits the deepest forests or caves situated in prominent places. He has a tall body, of human form, which is covered in hair. His long mane falls before him to his knees, covering his face, chest and stomach. (...) Basajaun is represented at times as being horrific, gifted with colossal strength and extraordinary agility." (buber.net)

Ge-no'sqwa (Seneca Iroquois)

 * Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Seneca legend of the Ge-no'sqwa, or Stone Giants, tells of living beings that were personified implements of stone. These woodland giants were regarded as malevolent creatures and believed to be cannibals and man-eaters. They were described in tribal lore to have 'rock-hard' skin that they obtained by rolling in earth and sand regularly - hence the 'Stone Giant' moniker. (teamnesra.net)

Tsul 'Kalu (Cherokee)

 * Tsul 'Kalu (the slant-eyed or sloping giant), is a legendary figure in Cherokee mythology who plays the role of "the great lord of the game" (Tsul 'Kalu entry in the Jimmy Wales Project)

Urayuli (Eskimo)

 * The Urayuli, as described, stands about 6 to 10 feet tall and is covered with shaggy, coarse hair or fur of approximately 2 to 4 inches long. It has glowing eyes and is said to look somewhat like the extinct primates. Its arms are elongated enough that the creature can reach its ankles. (archive.org)

Arulataq (Yupik)

 * "He's very tall, taller than a 9- or 10-foot-tall spruce tree. When he was standing, his hands could touch the ground next to his feet. He grew hair to keep warm" (ncf.ca)

Nant'ina (Den'aina)

 * Dena’ina Athabascans — some of whom live in and around Anchorage — speak of Nant’inas: large, shaggy creatures that “are fairly malevolent and dangerous. One of the themes is that they (like the Woodsman) steal children and raise them in the wild.” (woodlandindians.org)



Bukwas (Kwakwaka'wakw)
a.k.a. Bakwas, Bookwus, Bukwis, Buk'wus, Pugwis, Pu Gwis, Pu'gwis.


 * Bukwas, or wild man of the woods, is a significant supernatural spirit being of the Kwaglulth Nation and casts a haunting figure in their great annual winter dance. (windspirit.com)
 * Bukwus is actually a ghost associated with drowning victims (sometimes known as the "King of Ghosts" or "Man of the Sea"), who tries to tempt humans into eating ghost food and therefore becoming bukwus themselves. (nativelanguages.org)
 * "The spirit of Buk’wus, Chief of the Ghosts and woodsmen, is said to live in the forest in a house that is invisible by day, subsisting on ghost food and cockles and drawing the spirit of the drowned to his side. He sometimes entices people to feast with him on his ghost food, thus eternally trapping them in the spirit world and eventually turning them into a Buk’wus." (mpm.edu)
 * "On sunny days, Bukwas creeps down to the beach to warm himself, and dig for cockles, his favorite food. He is extremely timid, and constantly peers over his shoulder to make sure he is not being watched." -- liner notes of "Kwakiutl: Indian Music of the Pacific Northwest" (folkways.si.edu)

Yi'dyi'tay (Nehalem, Tillamook)

 * Yi'dyi'tay (the Wild Man) "is an ugly giant [...] causes sickness or grants certain powers and skills"; compare to the Wild Woman, who is a beautiful giant that can curse or bless. "The mythic forest, the green man and the spirit of nature", Gary R. Varner (books.google.com)

Yahyahaas (Klamath, Modoc)
Yahyáhaäs, the one-legged man


 * "When [Yahyahaas] travels, he hops with his one leg and keeps calling his own name. He has a great bushy head. He is awful tall and is always naked. He comes from the rocks and mountains off in the north. You must watch for him, and if he comes here, we will run away." -- "Myths of the Modocs", p. 148, Jeremiah Curtin, 1912 (archive.org)
 * "When the boy had killed Yahyáhaäs, he threw him into the water, and said: 'You will never be a person again. You will only be something to entice and fool people. You will think that you can kill people, but you will have no strength. You will wander around on the mountains and appear (in dreams) to doctors, and they will be your servants.' As the boy ran off, the spirit called: 'When I appear, you will appear, but you will have no power. You and your brother will no longer be persons; you will be stars, and between summer and winter your people will fight over you.' The younger boy was at the edge of the sky when the old man's spirit said : 'You will be a star.' Right away he was one. As soon as the elder boy reached the edge of the sky, he became a star, too." -- "Myths of the Modocs", p. 116-117, Jeremiah Curtin, 1912 (archive.org)
 * "The elder wrestled with Yahyáhaäs, killed him, and condemned his spirit to wander forever on mountains, and along rivers and brooks. The moment the victor pronounced the curse the conquered said: 'You will no longer be a person. You and your brother will be stars.' Thereupon they became what their opponent had made them. When the word had been uttered nothing in the universe could turn it aside or resist it. Ko-a-lák-ak-a thought that Yahyáhaäs personified fog. Captain John said that Yahyáhaäs was lightning, and the people who wrestled with him were clouds. Yahyáhaäs appears in a number of myths. He always has the same characteristics and the same power. His only way of killing an enemy is by wrestling with him." -- "Myths of the Modocs", p. 384, Jeremiah Curtin, 1912 (archive.org)

Yohemiti (Miwok)

 * The name Yosemite was derived from the Miwok Indian word "yohemiti" ("some among them are killers"), referring not to homicidal Amerinds but to a violent, aggressive variety of Bigfoot. (mythfolk@yahoogroups)

South America

 * Maricoxi