Encounter Atlas
The Makiawisug are the Little People of the Mohegan (and Pequot) people of Connecticut. The name is linked to the Mohegan-Pequot word for the whippoorwill, the bird they are associated with. They are described as about knee-high, living among the rocks of Mohegan Hill and in the woods, and walking the border between this world and the spirit world, which is why they are rarely seen.
Their leader is Granny Squannit, a powerful healer and the wife of the giant Moshup, who also appears in Wampanoag stories. Mohegans traditionally leave baskets of cornbread, berries or meat in the woods for the Makiawisug as a mark of respect, and it is said to be rude to stare at them. In one Mohegan story a medicine woman nursed Granny Squannit back to health and was rewarded with gifts of herbs and crystals.
Mohegan language speaker Fidelia Fielding shared these traditions with the anthropologist Frank Speck, who published 'Mohegan Traditions of Muhkeahweesug, the Little Men' in 1903. Her grand-niece Gladys Tantaquidgeon, later Mohegan medicine woman, was trusted with tribal knowledge partly because she did not laugh at the Little People. They remain part of living Mohegan tradition.
What witnesses report
- Small figures among rocks in the woods
- A whippoorwill calling nearby
- Food offerings left in the woods
- Symbols carved on rocks
Famous cases
- 1903Frank Speck publishes the Muhkeahweesug traditions told by Fidelia Fielding
Uncasville, Connecticut
Seen the Makiawisug?
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