Back-footed being

A nuli, from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493

A back-footed being is a category of legendary creature that has backwards-facing feet or legs, from having clubfoot to being fully backward. A folkloric motif, back-footed beings are common across the world's folklore, particularly in Latin American folklore.[1]

Prevalence

Back-footed beings are largely mythic humanoids. Back-footed beings are part of folklore traditions through the Americas and Afro-Eurasia. Ancient Greek historian Megasthenes wrote of back-footed "Nuli" in India in the 4th century BCE. The motif of back-footed beings as identified in the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature includes backwards feet, backwards toes, and those that can temporarily reverse their legs and feet.[2]

The origin of stories of back-footed beings, particularly cryptids, may come from the mis-identification of animal tracks.[2]

Folkloristics

French folklore scholar Henri Gaidoz in the late 18th century noted the preponderance of back-footed beings in folklore worldwide in a set of articles in the journal Melusine. Gaidoz framed back-footedness as the expression of a base human belief that physical disabilities were malevolent, hence why many back-footed beings are antagonistic in their stories. A.T. Crawford Cree [Wikidata] in 1905 rejected Gaidoz' claim, pointing to benevolent back-footed beings like Cú Chulainn, Hephaestus, and Leabharcham. Cree instead conjectured that back-footed beings stem from theriomorphism - humanoid gods with animal features - and particularly from avian humanoid (ornithomorphic spirit) legends; he claimed that backwards legs evoke avian qualities in a "less violent combination" compared to winged humanoids.[3]

Cultural anthropologist Ramón Sarró [Wikidata] wrote in 2008 that back-footed beings evoke digitigrade legs of animals, while retaining other human qualities, making the back-footed being distinct from both human and animal. Slovenian folklorist Monika Kropej in 2015 identified back-footed beings as an example of the 'backwards' fairy-like creatures of the Otherworld, comparable to other folkloric beings with backwards body features. Slovenian folklorist Barbara Ivančič Kutin [Wikidata] wrote in Folklore in 2018 that "Depictions of creatures with backward-pointing feet can, given the fact that they extend across many different parts of the world, essentially be regarded as archetypal."[1]

List of back-footed beings

Further information: Category:Back-footed beings
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.
Name Country of origin Continent Notes Ref
Abarimon India Asia (South Asia) Attested to by Pliny the Elder [3]
Chirionossos South America Mythical tribe [3]
Chinigua Margarita, Venezuela North America (Caribbean) [1]
Churel India Asia (South Asia) [3]
Ciguapa Dominican Republic North America (Caribbean) [1]
Cú Chulainn Ireland Europe (British Isles) Temporary transformation, while fighting [3]
Curupira Brazil South America [3]
The Devil Europe Sometimes described with backwards knees [3][1]
Douen throughout North America (Caribbean) [1]
Hephaestus Greece Europe Typically clubfoot, sometimes depicted with backward feet [3]
Krivopeta Slovenia Europe [1]
Leabharcham Ireland Europe (British Isles) Temporary transformation, granting running prowess [3]
Masisikiri Venezuela South America [1]
Nuli India Asia (South Asia) Attested to by Megasthenes [2]
Orang Pendek Indonesia Asia (Southeast Asia) [2]
Siguanaba Guatemala North America (Central America) [1]
Sisimito Guatemala North America (Central America) [2]
Xəlvəlik Armenia Asia (West Asia) Demon that does everything backwards, with backwards feet [1]
Yeti Himalayas Asia [2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kutin, Barbara Ivančič (2016). ""Krivopete": Wild Women with Backward-facing Feet in Slovenian Folk Narrative Tradition". Folklore. 127 (2): 173–195. ISSN 0015-587X – via JSTOR.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kirtley, Bacil F. (1964). "Unknown Hominids and New World Legends". Western Folklore. 23 (2): 77–90. doi:10.2307/1498256. ISSN 0043-373X – via JSTOR.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Cree, A. T. Crawford (1906). "Back-Footed Beings". Folklore. 17 (2): 131–140. ISSN 0015-587X – via JSTOR.

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