The Nun'Yunu'Wi (Cherokee: "dressed in stone"; also known as Stone Coat[1]) is a being of Cherokee mythology.[2] Nun'Yunu'Wi is described as a human-like being with a skin as hard as stone, which no weapon can pierce.[2] It carries a magical cane which points out victims and has other magical powers. It is described as a powerful sorcerer or medicine man. It devours human beings, interacts with spirits, and can control people's minds.

According to the myth, the Nun'Yunu'Wi was led by its cane to a village. However, the village had been warned in advance by a hunter who had spotted the creature in the mountains. The medicine man warned the villagers that, though the monster would be very difficult to kill with weapons, it could not bear the sight of a menstruating woman. So seven such women were assembled and placed in front of the village. After the monster had seen them all, it was weakened so much that it could not move. The medicine man then burned the creature, and its remains contained a great jewel and lumps of red paint.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Loftin, John D.; Frey, Benjamin E. (2019-01-01). "Eastern Cherokee Creation and Subsistence Narratives: A Cherokee and Religious Interpretation". American Indian Culture and Research Journal. 43 (1): 83–98. doi:10.17953/aicrj.43.1.loftin-frey. ISSN 0161-6463.
  2. 1 2 Howard, James H.; Shaffer, Stewart R.; Shaffer, James (April 1959). "Altamaha Cherokee Folklore and Customs". The Journal of American Folklore. 72 (284): 134. doi:10.2307/538476. ISSN 0021-8715.
  3. ↑ Bruchac, Joseph (2006-04-01). The Girl Who Married the Moon: Tales from Native North America. Fulcrum Publishing. ISBN 978-1-55591-780-7.
  • Myths of the Cherokee. James Mooney, 1889.
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