Che-ha-lum'-che the Rock Giant
Miwok · numen · myth age (first people / animal people time) · Recorded classification
Che-ha-lum'-che is the named Rock Giant of the Southern Sierra Miwok of Calaveras County, recorded by C. Hart Merriam among the tribe's beliefs about giants and fabulous beings. He dwells in the limestone caverns of the region, prowls at night imitating voices to lure people out, and carries his victims to his cave in an enormous basket to eat them; the caves were consequently feared and avoided.
Domains
- caves and cannibalism
Powers
- to snatch people at night and carry them to his cave in a basket
- to imitate voices and cries to lure victims from their homes
Sources
- Che-ha-lum'-che is the cannibal Rock Giant of the Southern Sierra Miwok, a cave-dwelling ogre who carries victims off in his basket.: C. Hart Merriam, The Dawn of the World: Myths and Weird Tales Told by the Mewan Indians of California, Arthur H. Clark Co., 1910 (secondary); Edward W. Gifford and Gwendoline Harris Block, Californian Indian Nights Entertainments, Arthur H. Clark Co., 1930 (secondary)