Kijimuna are superb fisherman and divers. Their diet consists of the seafood they catch and they are known to particularly like fish heads, even more specifically fish eyes. Their favorite fish are the blacktipped fusilier. When a fish is caught by a human or found dead on a beach, if it’s missing an eye or two, then it’s assumed to be the handiwork of a picky Kijimuna.
While obviously these woodland spirits are a bit wilder than humans, they do mirror us in many ways. For example, kijimuna can have families and get married. There are even stories of kijimuna who have married humans.
Tricky and mischievous are one of their more notable traits. Most interactions with a kijimuna are when they are playing a trick on someone. The most commonly told trick is about how they will sit on people’s chest while they sleep and make it hard to breath. This tale basically attributes sleep paralysis to mischievous kijimuna. Other pranks they play are things like replacing Sekihan (rice turned red from being steamed with azuki bean) with red clay, stealing lights at night, and if someone really makes them mad they will trap them in a hollow tree that no one can ever enter or exit.
Despite all their pranks kijimuna are generally considered good-hearted. It’s rare that kijimuna just attack people for no reason. However, they can be angered, especially if you cut down a banyan tree. Once a person makes a kijimuna their enemy, they are said to be cursed as they won’t ever stop messing with them. A slighted kijimuna would destroy ones livestock or sink their boats and generally just ruin someone’s life.
On the other hand, they can be befriended, although these relationships are unlikely to last as they will still retain their annoyingly tricky nature. If you do get on their good side, maybe by way of giving them some food, they can be quite helpful. They are said to carry people on their backs across the island or sea by jumping. They are also said to help people fish since they are excellent fishermen themselves.