A strange creature that will wait by the side of a road and trick passersby into letting it onto their shoulders by faking fatigue and demanding a ride. The most famous instance of devalpa ensnarement comes from the tale of Sinbad the sailor.

Once shipwrecked, Sinbad became aware he was not the only castaway having landed in this spot. The devalpa, seeming to all the world as a kindly and exhausted old man, asked for a ride across a brook. However, once upon the sailor's shoulders, the devalpa's legs became snake-like and constricting, threatening to cut off Sinbad's air supply. He was given the choice to work for the creature as its mount or choke to death. The binding legs never once weakened their grip until Sinbad had gotten the old man drunk. It was then that he could tear the fiend away and dash its brains out with a rock.

Thus this creature's primary mode of life would seem to be a parasitic relationship. In return for keeping its captive alive the devalpa gets transport and extra height of which to pick fruit from trees.

See also: Old Man of the Sea.