5 Nasty Mythical Creatures From Northeast India

 

Ruata Lungchuang

If you look at the map of India, you will notice that it has a panhandle to its
extreme east. This remote northeastern part of the country is lovingly named the seven sisters states as it comprises of 7 different states (Now 8 with Sikkim). Isolated from the rest of India this region of India is the least-visited part of the country and has been left untouched by tourists and other Indians by large. The region is culturally distinct from the rest of India, even the people living here resemble people from other east Asian countries both in culture and appearance.
With its isolation and rugged topography, it has some of the least known and probably
the strangest folkloric tradition and legends. Today we are going to present to you a few of
the creatures and characters found in Northeast Indian folklore and traditions.




1. Keimi


Keimis were half human and half tiger

Keimis which translates as Tiger person are a race of Humanoids in Mizo folklore who have the ability to shapeshift into a tiger. They are basically a weretiger. This race of shapeshifting weretigers are found throughout Northeastern folklores with different names. Weretigers or Keimis are portrayed as being better than humans in controlling magic as seen from the mizo story like Kungawrhi where a Keimi magically steals the footprint of a human girl named kungawrhi which he then roast on fire so that he may win her favor. It worked, but he was later killed by a warrior who rescued
Kungawrhi from his clutches. Keimis and humans were sworn, enemies.


2. Tual sumsu



“Oh, hello, don’t mind me. Just doin ma than
Tual sumsu weren’t mythical beings like the Keimis but were humans in Mizoram
who got allegedly possessed by certain demons. According to Mizo folk traditions, such people do crazy stuff at midnight. They would stand upside down in the yard and start bouncing up and down on their heads. take a moment and picture that scene..
This nightly activity of theirs was obviously not a pretty sight to behold, it was in fact considered unlucky to witness a tual sumsu in action. According to legends, when a tual sumsu wakes up in the morning they have terrible headaches but cannot recollect any memories whatsoever about the previous night .Creepy.


3. Laikhutsangbi


“My Arms Don’t Lie”







Long ago in the state of present-day Manipur, Lai Khutsangbi was a much-feared name.
The demoness was so named because she had the ability to elongate her hands at will.
She used to prowl around the villages and then catch unsuspecting livestock and even children. But Lai Khutsangbi managed to get away as she only targeted homes where the menfolk were away. That was before she met a woman named Roopa. She managed to trick this demoness everytime she tried to get into their home.Roopa’s Husband Kaliyong grew tired of this demoness who was constantly pestering his wife and children, and thus with the help of his wife he somehow manages to cut off the demoness elongated hand. pushing the demoness out of human villages forever.



4. U Thlen


U Thlen is a serpentine spirit that appears in the many folklores of Meghalaya.
the being in its earliest depiction was said to be a giant snake that devours anyone that crosses its path. After it was killed it is believed that U Thlen lived on as a spirit and many people started worshipping U Thlen. Among the Khasis of Meghalaya for centuries past, it is said that there has been this deviant cult of Thlen known as “shohnoh”. Nongshohnoh (shonoh adherent) are said to abduct people, extracts blood from their victim and feeds it to the Thlen. In return, the thlen is expected to bring wealth and prosperity to the family. Rumor has it that the cult of thlen still exist today. yikes.


5. Aonglemlatsu



Aonglemlatsu has backwards-facing feet

This creature is from the land of the Nagas. In Ao Naga Mythology Aonglemlatsu was said to be a feminine spirit that manifests itself as a gigantic Humanoid covered in hairs from head to toe. Though the forest spirit in itself was considered harmless, her wails used to terrify nearby villagers. One peculiar thing about this creature was its feet that were turned backwards. It was considered a bad omen to see this creature going her way in the dark forest, coming across her Footprint was downright considered a curse. People take special precautions to avoid anything to do with her when venturing into the jungle. There are still hundreds of other interesting mythological creatures that are not featured here

 

This was an attempt in trying to introduce you to some of the most well-known ones.
Let’s hope we will cover more in the future, in the meantime please share us your thought on the list and mention some other interesting mythological creatures from the northeast that you think
are worth featuring. Special thanks to Mr. Chuba Cj for helping me compile this list.

If you found this short read enjoyable check out our other stories in Northeast India by clicking here

The Mizos

The Mizos is a one-man team news blog, that brings you news and stories from Mizoram, Northeast India and the rest of the World.

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post