A uniped (from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''uni-'' "one" and ''ped-'' "foot") is a person or creature with only one

foot The foot (: feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is an organ at the terminal part of the leg made up o ...

and one

leg A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element cap ...

, as contrasted with a

biped Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an animal moves by means of its two rear (or lower) limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin ''bis'' ' ...

(two legs) and a

quadruped Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion in which animals have four legs that are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four legs is said to be a quadruped (fr ...

(four legs). Moving using only one leg is known as unipedal movement. Many

bivalvia Bivalvia () or bivalves, in previous centuries referred to as the Lamellibranchiata and Pelecypoda, is a class (biology), class of aquatic animal, aquatic molluscs (marine and freshwater) that have laterally compressed soft bodies enclosed b ...

and nearly all

gastropoda Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

molluscs have evolved only one foot. Through accidents (i.e.

amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...

) or birth abnormalities it is also possible for an animal, including

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

s, to end up with only a single leg.

In fiction and mythology

One major study of mythological unipeds is Teresa Pàroli (2009): "How many are the unipeds' feet? Their tracks in texts and sources", in ''Analecta Septentrionalia: Beiträge zur nordgermanischen Kultur- und Literaturgeschichte'', ed. by

Wilhelm Heizmann Wilhelm Heizmann (born 5 September 1953) is a German philologist who is Professor and Chair of the Institute for Nordic philology, Nordic Philology at the University of Munich. Heizmann specializes in Germanic studies, and is a co-editor of the ' ...

Klaus Böldl Klaus Böldl (born 21 February 1964) is a German philologist who specializes in Old Norse studies. Böldl was born in Passau and studied Nordic philology, German philology and comparative literature at the universities of Ludwig Maximilian Univer ...

and Heinrich Beck (Berlin/London/New York: De Gruyter), pp. 281–327. * In the ''

Saga of Erik the Red The ''Saga of Erik the Red'', in (), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions in two manuscripts: ''H ...

'', a native of

Vinland Vinland, Vineland, or Winland () was an area of coastal North America explored by Vikings. Leif Erikson landed there around 1000 AD, nearly five centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot. The name appears in the V ...

who is described as being one-legged kills one of Eric's men (his brother). In the children's fiction book ''They Came on Viking Ships'' by

Jackie French Jacqueline Anne French (née Ffrench, born 29 November 1953), known professionally as Jackie French, is an Australian author who has written across several genres for both adults and children. Her most notable works include '' Rain Stones, ...

, a uniped is a one-legged Norse mythical creature that lived in the south of Vinland during the time of the expedition of

Freydís Eiríksdóttir Freydís Eiríksdóttir (born 965) was an Icelandic woman said to be the daughter of Erik the Red (as in her patronym), who figured prominently in the Norse exploration of North America as an early colonist of Vinland, while her brother, Leif ...

. * The

sciapod Monopods (also called sciapods, skiapods, skiapodes) were mythological dwarf-like creatures with a single, large foot extending from a leg centred in the middle of their bodies. The names ''monopod'' and ''skiapod'' (σκιάποδες) are both ...

was another mythical one-legged humanoid. * In Japanese mythology and folklore, some ''

yōkai are a class of supernatural entities and Spirit (supernatural entity) , spirits in Japanese folklore. The kanji representation of the word comprises two characters that both mean "suspicious, doubtful", and while the Japanese name is simply ...

'' such as the karakasa-obake and the ippon-datara have one leg. * In the

Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a ...

book ''

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' is a portal fantasy novel written by British author C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1952. It was the third published of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Macmillan US p ...

'' by

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...

, the heroes meet the "Dufflepuds". These are two-legged dwarfs who have been rendered one-legged by their master, a wizard. He did this to force them to use the water from the stream next to their food garden, rather than walking miles to get the water. * In Brazilian folklore, there is a mythical humanoid uniped called "

Saci Saci may refer to: * An alternative spelling for the Hindu goddess Sachi * Saci (Brazilian folklore) Saci ( ) is a character in Brazilian folklore. He is a one-legged Black Brazilian, black man, who smokes a smoking pipe (tobacco), pipe and wea ...

" who appears in several tales and is associated with dustdevils. Colombian folklore has a female version of this monster, the "

Patasola The Patasola or "single leg" is one of many legends in Colombian folklore about female monsters from the jungle, appearing to male hunters or loggers in the middle of the wilderness when they think about women. The Patasola appears in the form ...

". * In

Mayan mythology Maya mythology or Mayan mythology is part of Mesoamerican mythology and comprises all of the Maya tales in which personified forces of nature, deities, and the heroes interacting with these play the main roles. The legends of the era have to be ...

, God K and his equivalents are represented with one leg. One of these equivalents is the K'iche'

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

storm deity

Huracan Huracán (; ; , "one legged"), often referred to as ''U Kʼux Kaj'', the "Heart of Sky", is a Kʼicheʼ people, Kʼicheʼ Maya mythology, Maya god of wind, storm, fire and one of the creator deities who participated in all three attempts at crea ...

, whose name means "one-leg". * In the Indian epic

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

, there is a mention of a Southern Indian tribe of humans named 'Ekapada' (literally 'one-footed') living, which

Sahadeva Sahadeva () was the youngest of the five Pandava brothers in the ancient Indian epic, the '' Mahabharata''. He and his twin brother Nakula were the sons of Madri, one of the wives of the Pandava patriarch Pandu, and Ashvini Kumaras, the ...

conquers. * In

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

culture, there is a form of the god

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

known as

Ekapada Ekapada is the one-footed aspect of the Hindu god Shiva. This form is primarily found in South India and Orissa, India, Orissa, but also occasionally in Rajasthan and Nepal. The Ekapada is primarily represented in three iconographical forms. In ...

Notes

References

* * * {{locomotion Terrestrial locomotion Pedalism