The Raven Mocker
The ka'lanu ahkyeli'ski or the Raven Mocker is the most evil of all the spirits believed in the Cherokee mythology. The Raven Mocker is a stealer of life; it is believed that this creature resembles a wizened old man or woman but when they hunt their victims they can take to the air in a fiery shape and the wind will rise and the ears of those listening will hear a magnificent raven’s cry. The Raven Mocker steals the sick and the dying of life or what little life they may have left.
It is said the Raven Mocker will torment its victims before it consumes the victim’s heart without leaving an outward mark upon the skin. The life it consumes fuels its own life, if the sick person it attacks may have lived many more years after the sickness the Raven Mocker has just stolen those years this is why it is presumed to be so evil as it steals these lives away.
It is believed that the Raven Mocker is respected and feared by the other witches of Cherokee folklore and it is said that if you hear the raven’s cry soon someone will die. While normally invisible to the naked eye, there are those special people that have the ability to see the Raven Mocker, it is said that these people have “strong medicine” and can cause the Raven Mocker to die within seven days, if they know who it is. In many tribes it would not be uncommon for the Medicine man to stand guard over the dying to comfort them, knowing that the Raven Mocker cannot come steal their hearts.
It is also believed that a Medicine man can place special wards in and around the dying or sick persons dwelling and this will also help in driving off the Raven Mocker. The Raven Mocker does not often kill alone, there are often times more than one as they will gather at the residence and slip inside unseen unless the Medicine man is there to protect the person. It has been said that the Raven Mocker may throw a victim to the ground and others seeing this will just think it is the sick persons dying thralls and offer no assistance.
The only thing that brings comfort to those who believe in this awful creature is that upon its death other witches will often dig up the Raven Mocker’s body and destroy it allowing for no coming back to it, just in case.
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AUTHORThanks for visiting again mythbuster! I would of known which one you were talking about but I am glad you liked it!
Oops, I left fan mail and said I like your Raven "walker" article - typo - meant Raven Mocker, of course :(
- AUTHOR
Thank you for stopping by mythbuster! glad you enjoyed the read :)
Interesting article, JesadaB. Thanks for sharing this lore.
- AUTHOR
Thank you for stopping by to read it, glad you enjoyed it!
This is Very Interesting!!! I have never heard of the Raven Mocker; Thanks for sharing!!
- AUTHOR
Hi OldWitchcraft! Thanks for stopping by! Yes I think just about every culture will have some sort of evil that comes to steal souls and such. It is all so interesting that sometimes I cannot stop myself and I have massive amounts of notes laying around and when/if i ever get them in order I will have some interesting hubs to post. Thanks again!
This is really interesting!
Never heard of this before, but it sounds like the Lechuza (only she's an owl-like creature). There are similar stories all throughout North and South America. And the Philippinos have a bunch of interesting things that are similar like the Aswang and the Tik-tik.
Thanks for this info.
Accolades and a vote up!
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