~KRANDLEKEEP~
The Wisconsin Gnomelore Database
The Heroka
"Ahahe ahahe."
From There Be Hodags, by C.A. McAllister:
The héroka were the magical little people of the Ho-Chunk, believed to dwell near the Wisconsin River. The héroka are associated with hunting and archery, and so their pictographic symbol is the bow and arrow, and another name for them is the “mąmąnį” or “bow-walkers.” A héroka never misses his shot with his bow, and his arrow is always lethal. The secret to their accuracy and lethality lies in the special héroka breathings, which make a sound like “ahahé ahahé.” A héroka simply needs to draw their bow back, perform the breathings, and, upon releasing their arrow, their target will instantly die. An arrow empowered by the héroka breathings is capable of even felling a tree in a single shot.
The héroka can also bless humans with this miraculous accuracy, either by supplying them with an arrow or by teaching them the héroka breathings. Ho-Chunk men blessed in this way formed the Society of Those Who have been Blessed by the Héroka, which hosted feasts and ceremonies among its members.
In addition to their powers of archery, the héroka could shapeshift, and could walk on water and even through the air. They also possess the unique ability among Ho-Chunk spirits in being able to marry their own nieces. The héroka are also known to intermarry with the forked men, another type of spirit related to archery.
The name “héroka” means “hornless,” and they are named after their Chief, Héroka, the Ho-Chunk culture hero. This Héroka was once known as “Redhorn” and “One-Horn,” named after his “horn” of red-colored hair. Redhorn was also known by the name “Redman,” since his entire body was red in color. He was also known to the spirit world as “He-Who-Wears-Human-Heads-as-Earrings,” since two tiny heads hung from each of his ears, which would make silly faces at passers-by (these heads would seem to be wakpanigra, a type of Ho-Chunk spirit that took the form of tiny human heads). As a child, Redhorn was known as “He-Who-Gets-Hit-with-Deer-Lungs” because his older brother would throw deer lungs at him. Redhorn adventured alongside two companions, Turtle, an animal spirit, and Storms-as-He-Walks, a thunderbird. Redhorn became known as “Héroka”/“Hornless” when he sacrificed his “horn” of hair to light the ocean on fire, in order to save humanity from man-eating giants.
The héroka chief had two sons. The eldest was also named Héroka, and also wore tiny heads as earrings. The youngest son instead wore tiny heads attached to his nipples, and was the chief of the xonunįgᵋra, or little children spirits, a type of little men the size of small children. These little children spirits were said to have all the same powers as the héroka. For this reason, while these little children spirits could potentially be understood as another, separate type of “gnome” or magical little people, it perhaps would be easier to understand them as a clan, moiety, or family within the greater species of Ho-Chunk little people.
The héroka and xonunįgᵋra have notable parallels with both the pawisa’sûk and the bagwajiwinini, which are both types of little people who are said to be supernaturally gifted when it comes to archery. This comparison is stronger with the pawisa’sûk, whose archery, like that of the héroka, is supernaturally powerful and abnormally destructive. In the later folklore of Wisconsin, the héroka chief Redhorn is said to also be in command of an army of Ho-Chunk and viking ghosts, the remnants of a long forgotten battle between Norse explorers and Ho-Chunk warriors.
From "Heroka ('Without-Horns')", by Richard L. Dieterle:
The Héroka are a race of lilliputian spirits who have special control over the magical powers of the hunt. They can be mischievous. When a hunter becomes lost, he shouts so that the reply of his comrades can help guide him back. However, the Heroka often reply with shouts of their own, leading him farther astray. They are said to be Wągową́ke, "Men who Change Form." Their chief is one and the same as the spirit Redhorn, and either he or his eldest son goes by the name Hérokaga. Among other things, their chief is the spirit of the arrow, as the name "redhorn" can also refer to an arrow made of red cedar. The pictographic symbol of the Heroka is the bow and arrow. Hence their name, Mąmąnį, "Bow Walkers," a name which is also a homonym: inasmuch as mą also means "earth," Mąmąnį can mean, "Earth Walkers"; and treated as a reduplicated emphatic, Mą-mąnį, it would mean, "Walkers par excellance." This brings to mind the Ioway god of the hunt, the dwarf Maya-wadáhe, "About the World Man." When a Heroka fires his arrow, it never misses its mark. Once the Heroka blessed the avatar of Morning Star with such an arrow, which he used to kill his first deer. In order to kill an enemy a Heroka need only draw his bowstring back and forth while making the Heroka breathings, Ahahe ahahe, and whoever he points at will die instantly. A holy young man once used the Heroka breathings against a powerful warlock of the Medicine Rite. This neutralized his powers, both offensive and defensive. When the warlock threw magical claws and striped feathers at him, weapons that had always been lethal in the past, he simply caught them. Then he uttered the Heroka breathings again, and killed the man by merely shooting an arrow into the middle of the fire. Once a man blessed by the Heroka used the Heroka breathings to cause an oak tree to fall upon an enemy warparty, killing all of them. The Heroka are also able to stand upon water and can even stand in mid-air. They are unique among the spirits in being able to marry their own nieces (hicųžą́k). There exists a similar race of diminutive spirits that live nearby known as the "Little Children Spirits." The younger son of Redhorn presides over them as their chief.
The chief of the Heroka was originally known as "One Horn," but he sacrificed his horn to help save humanity from the invincible man-eating spirits created by Herešgúnina. When he removed his red horn and touched the ocean with it, the waters burst into flame as if fed by oil. That is why he and his tribe were known ever after as Heroka, "Without Horns." Not only was his horn red, but his entire body was of that color. He was thus known by the name "Redman." Once he was beheaded by his brother-in-law who had a steel body inlaid with flint. He roasted the head in the fire for years while Redman's body roamed aimlessly up and down Red Hill in Necedah. Finally, he was rescued by his kinsmen who disposed of his tormentor.
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