Elbow witch explained

Elbow witches are old women with awls in their elbows in the Ojibwa story of Aayaase (also known as "Aayaash" or "Iyash"), "Filcher-of-Meat". Blinded by cooking smoke, the sisters killed each other in their attempts to kill him for their meal.^[1]

In popular culture

Elbow Witch is Monster in My Pocket #63, one of only three monsters derived from Native American mythology, the others being Wendigo and (to an extent) Bigfoot. The character's awls look very much like tusks.

External links

• The Story of Iyash
• "Old Sisters" in The Legend of Iyash on K-Net.
• archive of "Elbow Witch", on Scott Andrew Hutchins's Monster in my Pocket page

Notes and References

1. Jones, William (1917-19). Ojibwa Texts, vol. ii. Truman Michelson, ed. Leyden, New York: G. E. Stechert & co., pp. 380-393