Featherfoot
A featherfoot or Kadiatcha man is a sorcerer in Australian Aboriginal spirituality. A featherfoot is usually a bad spirit who kills people. In most traditional Aboriginal beliefs, there is no such thing as a natural death. Every death is caused by evil spirits or spells. It is usually because of an enemy, who wants revenge for something.[1]
A featherfoot is so named because they are believed to have supernatural powers, including the ability to fly and move inter-dimensionaly when threatened as means of escape. He wears special shoes made of feathers (usually emu) and hair, stuck together with human blood. Scholars say that the shoes leave no tracks (footprints).
The Kadiatcha uphold tribal law. They do not kill random people only those who have transgressed traditional customs. They use a pointing bone a form of Spiritual weapon and when someone has had the bone pointed it weakens them and the Kadiatcha will then track that person down until the transgression has been dealt with.
South-West of Western Australia, which includes the Noongar people, have a local scary story to tell at night. When the featherfoot is hunting you, it waits till you’re alone or in a small group, at night walking to a destination. The person or the group will start to get a sense of foreboding, followed by a strong sense they are being followed.and the person can usually smell burning emu feathers.The featherfoot is close behind, following. Its steps are silent and leave not tracks. The only way to survive a feathfoot attack is to never look behind you until you get back to a light source. Keep walking and don’t look back, it’s when the person looks behind them, is when it attacks. Often the reason the spirit will follow and attack someone is because they have committed a crime, or something as heinous or evil.
All that is left behind after an attack, is a single large unknown bird feather and a small amount of the victims blood.
One has been witnessed to live in the Western Australian, Albany Narrikup region, where many animal remains are also found near it's lair in bushland. It is threatened by dogs.
References
[change | change source]
