Unipedalism

Auniped(fromLatinuni-"one" andped-"foot" ) is a person or creature with only onefootand oneleg,as contrasted with abiped(two legs) and aquadruped(four legs). Moving using only one leg is known asunipedalmovement. Manybivalviaand nearly allgastropodamolluscs have evolved only one foot. Through accidents (i.e.amputation) orbirth abnormalitiesit is also possible for an animal, includinghumans,to end up with only a single leg.

In fiction and mythology

One major study of mythological unipeds is Teresa Pàroli (2009): "How many are the unipeds' feet? Their tracks in texts and sources", inAnalecta Septentrionalia: Beiträge zur nordgermanischen Kultur- und Literaturgeschichte,ed. byWilhelm Heizmann,Klaus BöldlandHeinrich Beck(Berlin/London/New York: De Gruyter), pp. 281–327.

• In theSaga of Erik the Red,a native ofVinlandwho is described as being one-legged kills one of Eric's men (his brother). In the children's fiction bookThey Came on Viking ShipsbyJackie French,a uniped is a one-legged Norse mythical creature that lived in the south of Vinland during the time of the expedition ofFreydís Eiríksdóttir.
• Thesciapodwas another mythical one-legged humanoid.
• In Japanese mythology and folklore, someyōkaisuch as thekarakasa-obakeand the ippon-datara have one leg.
• In theNarniabookThe Voyage of the Dawn TreaderbyC. S. Lewis,the heroes meet the "Dufflepuds". These are two-leggeddwarfswho have been rendered one-legged by their master, a wizard. He did this to force them to use the water from the stream next to their food garden, rather than walking miles to get the water.
• In Brazilian folklore, there is a mythical humanoid uniped called "Saci"who appears in several tales and is associated withdustdevils.Colombian folklore has a female version of this monster, the "Patasola".
• InMayan mythology,God Kand his equivalents are represented with one leg.One of these equivalents is theK'iche'Mayastorm deityHuracan,whose name means "one-leg".
• In the Indian epicMahabharata,there is a mention of a Southern Indian tribe of humans named 'Ekapada' (literally 'one-footed') living, whichSahadevaconquers.
• InHinduculture, there is a form of the godShivaknown asEkapada.

References

• Christenson, Allen J. (2007)."Popul Vuh: Sacred Book of the Quiché Maya People"(PDFonline publication).Mesoweb articles.Mesoweb: An Exploration of Mesoamerican Cultures.Retrieved2011-07-29.
• Freidel, David A.;Linda Schele;Joy Parker (1993).Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path.New York:William Morrow & Co.ISBN0-688-10081-3.OCLC27430287.
• Kunz, Keneva, trans. (2008).The Vinland Sagas: The Icelandic Sagas About the First Documented Voyages Across the North Atlantic.London: Penguin.ISBN978-0-140-44776-7.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)