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.:118 The Ayahos is a "malevolent and dangerous" spirit,: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.
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.
References
↑Buerge, D. M. (March 6, 1985), "Lost Seattle, our shameful neglect of a rich archeological past", Seattle Weekly