Description
The Nalusa Falaya is a creature from Choctaw mythology. Its name is literally translated to "long black being" and it is usually described as a tall skinny humanoid with long ears. It has however been described as slithering like a snake and/or melting into a shadow [1].
The Nalusa Falaya lingers in the long shadows in the dusk and frightens children who stay out too late as well as the occasional careless hunters [1].
It is described as planting thorns into a hunter's hands and feet giving them the power to do evil to others. The hunters remain ignorant of this until their malevolent actions reveal it [1]. Similar to witch myths from Europe and colonized America these people were too afraid to tell others of their power so as to not be prosecuted. [2]
The children of the Nalusa Falaya have the ability to remove their internal organs and appear as small bodies of light seen along the edges of marshes similar to the will-o'-wisps [3].
Sources:
[1]: Lankford, George (1987). Native American Legends : Southeastern Legends--Tales from the Natchez, Caddo, Biloxi, Chickasaw, and Other Nations. Little Rock: August House.
[2]: Kidwell, Clara Sue. Choctaws and missionaries in Mississippi, 1818-1918. University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.
[3]: Ajk’in. "What do you know about nalusa falaya?" scriptmyth, scriptmyth.tumblr, (2018-08-04), https://scriptmyth.tumblr.com/post/176629514492/what-do-you-know-about-nalusa-falaya. (2022-11-03).
