Fern Flower
Published on June 24, 2019

Nannihi

Regions of expansion

United States 1
United States of America

Description

In the myths and legends of the Cherokee Indian people there are stories about a race of little people who were called "Nunnihi" (Nunne'hi), which has two versions of the translation "People who live everywhere" and "People who live forever" ("Immortal people") or "Yunwi Tsunsdi", which simply meant "Little people". They lived in the territory of the modern states of North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. Outwardly they looked like Indians, only they were very small (about 50 cm).

At the same time, they possessed supernatural powers: they could instantly disappear, teleport from place to place and lived for a very long time (maybe even indefinitely).They loved songs and dances (you can hear the drumbeat from the uninhabited forest), protected the forests. They helped people: in the war, treating wounds, pointing the road, etc. The nannies lived mainly in underground, long and winding burrows.

They could take people to their place to go out, but then they let them go if people wanted it. Sometimes they could turn into people of ordinary height and liked to come to Indian settlements in this form.

Nannihi in popular culture