Ayahos

Representation of the Ayahos spirit.

An Ayahos (Lushootseed: ʔayahus; spelled variously in English as A'yahos, Ayahus, Aiyahus) is a spirit power in the traditional religion of the Lushootseed-speaking peoples of Puget Sound. A rock near the Fauntleroy ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington is associated with the Ayahus.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7]: 118  The Ayahos is a "malevolent and dangerous" spirit,[6]: 72  capable of shapeshifting, who sometimes appears in a two-headed serpent form, who is associated with other earthquake-related areas like landslides near the Seattle Fault.[4][8][9]

LIDAR imagery of the Seattle area revealed a previously unknown landslide in the Fauntleroy area. Another area associated with the Ayahos near Mercer Island could be related to the Lake Washington sunken forests, caused by landslides triggered by a Seattle Fault event around 900 CE.[4]

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