Fomorians, and other "One Eyed One Legged Giants"

In 1888, John Rhys was the first to suggest that it is an Old Irish word composed of fo "under/below" and muire "sea", concluding that it may refer to beings whose (original) habitat is under the sea.

They are sometimes said to have had the body of a man and the head of a goat, according to an 11th-century text in Lebor na hUidre (the Book of the Dun Cow), or to have had one eye, one arm and one leg, but some, for example Elatha, the father of Bres, were very beautiful. Bres himself carries the epithet "the Beautiful."[1]

There are numerous other legends around the world about "One Legged, One Eyed Giants" Some of them even have strange abilities. For instance,

The Bruneau River was named after a French fur-trader in the mid-17th Century. Near its headwaters stretches the legendary land of the giants who terrorized Shoshone forefathers, frightening them from their ancestral hunting grounds.

These were found in the Pine Nut Mountains, along the Jarbridge River. Here, the the [sic] huge Tsawhawbitts, evil spirits in superhuman form, ravaged the Indians. Their old stories tell that these giants possessed an appetite for human flesh, and could cross creeks with a single step, or scale mountains in few strides. They chased and captured people, putting hapless victims in huge baskets, which they carried to the mountaintop for cannibal feasts.

Some Tsawhawbitts gazed from a single eye, and hopped around on one leg. They were sometimes observed high on the rocky peaks digging for unknown objects. People learned to stay far from these lofty crests, because the giants, in addition to their prodigious size, were known to exercise supernatural powers. They could paralyze their prey with a glance from their large red glowing eyes, then harpooning their quarry with razor sharp claws. [2]

Sounds like some sort of device rather than a flesh and blood being to me. It is interesting to me that the same descriptions of these things are in both Ireland and in the Americas. There are stories of great wars with these things in Ireland. They were the main enemy of the Tuatha De Danaan of old Irish pantheon.

My question to you is what do you think they are? Do you have any additional information on them, or where they might pop up in legends in other parts of the world? Is it possible other races of sentient human-like beings have inhabited the earth and were killed off due to our ability to outbreed them with numbers?

[1] en.wikipedia.org...
[2]http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/gigantes/Idaho.html

a reply to: LongArmLugh

They sound a bit ridiculous to be honest, one eye, one leg and one arm?

It's half a body chasing Indians round mountains?

originally posted by: EA006
a reply to: LongArmLugh

They sound a bit ridiculous to be honest, one eye, one leg and one arm?

It's half a body chasing Indians round mountains?

I speculate that it's possible they were more machine than anything of flesh and blood. It's plausible that the natives saw something they didn't understand and equated it with terms they did know.

a reply to: LongArmLugh

Could well be.
You know it sounds like a probe with a lens. Using the same "arm" as a leg.
Glowing red eye could be some form of tech?

Can't explain the cannabilism.

What do I think they are? Myth. Legends. Stories. Take your pick.

originally posted by: EA006
a reply to: LongArmLugh

They sound a bit ridiculous to be honest, one eye, one leg and one arm?

It's half a body chasing Indians round mountains?

In circles, one would assume.

There's an old Appalachian story about one armed one legged one eyed monsters that live in bottomless springs.

Peg leg, captain hook with an eye patch on one eye.

Blood shot eye from drinking too much scotch. It was his breath that actually paralyzed people.

a reply to: LongArmLugh
Hi there,
With respect to Shoshone/ Ute/paiute legends of giants, those giants were the Washoe people. The original inhabitants of the great basin, who the utian speaking Shoshone/Ute/paiute displaced when they moved into the great basin some 800-1000 years ago.
There are examples of Washoe that are over six feet tall, while the utians average 5' tall, and there are Washoe burials that show people of. 6'6" or taller.
In fact the much internet touted paiute battle with the giants in a cave in NV , has been found and only date to about 600 years ago at lovelock cave .
Much of this confusion comes from he idea that a native American is a native American, when in fact native ams are complex blend of multiple ethnicitieis.

originally posted by: LongArmLugh
My question to you is what do you think they are? Do you have any additional information on them, or where they might pop up in legends in other parts of the world?

Allow me to introduce you to a being from Ghana.

“Strange but Somehow Beautiful” Art of the Adan People of south-east Ghana

In her book African Vodun. Art, Psychology, and Power Suzanne Preston Blier talks about the aziza, which she outlines as “miniature forest dwellers (who) are believed to control the hunt and all that pertains to the forest…Descriptions of the aziza vary.

(The aziza is)…a fairy having one leg, one arm, a single hair that covers them entirely and making them invisible. They inhabit the forest and their houses are in large termite mounds. One does not whistle in the woods for fear of attracting their attention. One does not collect a bundle of wood that one finds beside the road because the aziza could have placed it there, to come back to get it later. Aziza know the virtues of leaves and it is they that reveal them to humans. That is why one fears and venerates its mysterious power.

www.artwis.com...

Dr Volkler Schneider, a German ethnographer and photographer, tries to explain types of Adan figures in the following manner.

These special Ade (Adan) figures represent the various Ade hunting divinities of Ewe and also Yoruba people. Those figures are called: Agevi – a wooden or earthen statuette of a person, male or female, which has one arm, one leg and even one eye. Agevi is a representation of the dwarf spirit Age, [..]. Agevi symbolizes mysticism.

ancientpoint.com...

The description of these creatures sound so rediculous, it makes me wonder what kind of intelligence the folks had.

Its like 5 year olds writing history.

My guess is the Nephilim, the giant offspring of man and demon, described in the Bible. They are talked about in almost every culture's mythology and known relics and even skeleton remains abound.

In the story Beowulf, a battle ensues and the hero Beowulf slays Grendel and hangs his arm from the castle. Grendel (a giant) and his mother are arguably from the bloodline of Cain. Says some scholars at least.

originally posted by: SevenThunders
My guess is the Nephilim, the giant offspring of man and demon, described in the Bible. They are talked about in almost every culture's mythology and known relics and even skeleton remains abound.

First, the nephilim were (supposedly) the offspring of man and angels, not demons. Second, what relics and skeletal remains?

Couldn't help myself...

a reply to: SLAYER69

Lol.

a reply to: galaga

It does sound ridiculous to today's standards but what we have to keep in mind is that these primitive people had never been exposed to any sort of modern technology. If the creatures being described weren't actually living, breathing beings but some type of machine or robot from another world (a bit "ancient alien" sounding, but for the sake of argument, let's suppose it's possible), they could have been describing mechanical objects the best they knew how to. The one eye could have been a light or a port hole. I'm not saying I actually believe this, but it's a theory. They wouldn't have had terminology for anything other than what they experienced in their day to day lives.

I believe that in ancient Greek mythology there were giants with one eye known as the Cyclopes. One explanation was that they were blacksmiths who covered one eye with a patch to protect their eyesight. Another explanation is that the blacksmith guild had a circle tattooed on their foreheads to identify themselves. This feature gave rise to the one-eyed thing. Because they spent all day hammering the heck out of bits of iron they had one arm bigger and more muscled than the other and were probably bigger guys to start with hence they were one-armed giants. Sometimes the rulers of a particular city might cripple their blacksmiths so they couldn't leave as their skills were so important- thus they were one legged. Or maybe one-legged men were forced to become blacksmiths as they couldn't do much else. Or that additives in the metal crippled them up after a while. One thing is for sure and that is that there is a lot more to legends and myths than there seems at first glance.

a reply to: LongArmLugh

Speaking as a Gaelic Reconstructionist Pagan, one really should consider the Fomoiri as mythical beings, not literal ones. THey are creatures of the Chaos, the chthonic waters from which the order (An Fhirinne) was established. Other Indo-European cultures had similar beings, the Titans, the Jhotan (giants) etc.

But they are mythical, nothing more. Just because there are legends and myths of something, does not mean they are real. If you've ever been camping and someone tells a "ghost story" that is how this starts. The most modern example of mythical beings like this would be Slender man. He (?) is not real, and created from whole cloth, yet look how that meme (idea, which can be transmitted) has moved.

originally posted by: LongArmLugh

originally posted by: EA006
a reply to: LongArmLugh

They sound a bit ridiculous to be honest, one eye, one leg and one arm?

It's half a body chasing Indians round mountains?

I speculate that it's possible they were more machine than anything of flesh and blood. It's plausible that the natives saw something they didn't understand and equated it with terms they did know.

Cultural racism abounds with you, Native myths are full of symbolism and metaphor. We do the same thing when we describe someone as having "half a brain"... :p

Never seen one-eyed, one-legged giants.


But once I did see a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater.


It sure looked strange to me.