Skin Walker

Contents

1 Shapeshifting 1
1.1 Folklore and mythology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Greco-Roman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.1.2 British and Irish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.1.3 Norse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.1.4 Other lore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.1.5 Folktales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.1 Punitive changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.2 Transformation chase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.2.3 Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2.4 Bildungsroman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2.5 Needed items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2.6 Inner conict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2.7 Usurpation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2.8 Ill-advised wishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.9 Monstrous bride/bridegroom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.10 Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3 Modern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3.1 Fiction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.3.2 Popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.5 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.6 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
1.7 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2 Skin-walker 16
2.1 Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.4 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3 Therianthropy 17

i
ii CONTENTS

3.1 Etymology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2 History of therianthropy and theriocephaly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3 Mythology of human shapeshifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.3.1 Skin-walkers and naguals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3.2 Animal ancestors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3.3.3 Shamanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.3.4 Animal spirits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.4 Psychiatric aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.5 References in popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.6 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.7 Notes and references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

4 Werebear 22
4.1 Publication history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.2 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.3 Other publishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

5 Werecat 23
5.1 Etymology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.2 Folklore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.2.1 Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.2.2 Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.2.3 Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
5.2.4 The Americas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.3 Occultism and theology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.4 In popular culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
5.5 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
5.6 Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
5.7 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6 Werehyena 27
6.1 African cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.2 Other cultures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
6.3 Films . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.5 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
6.6 External links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

7 Werejaguar 29
7.1 Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
7.1.1 Were-jaguar motif . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.1.2 Were-jaguar as a rain deity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
CONTENTS iii

7.1.3 Beyond the term were-jaguar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

7.2 Depictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.3 Origins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.3.1 The Stirling hypothesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.3.2 Jaguar as victor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
7.3.3 Genetic defects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.3.4 Were-jaguar as toad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.3.5 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.4 See also . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.5 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.6 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
7.7 Further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
7.8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7.8.1 Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7.8.2 Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
7.8.3 Content license . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 1

Shapeshifting

Shapeshift redirects here. For the Swiss company, see

ShapeShift.
Shapeshifter redirects here. For other uses, see
Shapeshifter (disambiguation).
In mythology, folklore and speculative ction,

Tsarevna Frog (or The Frog Princess), by Viktor Vasnetsov, tells

of a frog that metamorphoses into a princess.
The giant Galligantua and the wicked old magician transform
shapeshifting (or metamorphosis) is the ability of a be- the dukes daughter into a white hind. by Arthur Rackham
ing or creature to completely transform its physical form
or shape. This is usually achieved through an inherent
ability of a mythological creature, divine intervention, or 1.1 Folklore and mythology
the use of magic.
The idea of shapeshifting is present in the oldest formsPopular shapeshifting creatures in folklore are
of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest extant werewolves and vampires (mostly of European,
literature and epic poems, including works such as the Canadian, and Native American/early American
Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad, where the shapeshiftingorigin), the huli jing of East Asia (including the Japanese
is usually induced by the act of a deity. The idea per- kitsune and Korean kumiho), and the gods, goddesses,
sisted through the Middle Ages, where the agency causingand demons of numerous mythologies, such as the
shapeshifting is usually a sorcerer or witch, and into the
Norse Loki or the Greek Proteus. Shapeshifting to the
modern period. It remains a common trope in modern form of a wolf is specically known as lycanthropy,
fantasy, childrens literature, and works of popular cul-
and such creatures who undergo such change are called
ture. lycanthropes. Therianthropy is the more general term for
The most common form of shapeshifting myths is that human-animal shifts, but it is rarely used in that capacity.
of therianthropy, which is the transformation of a hu- It was also common for deities to transform mortals into
man being into an animal or conversely, of an animal animals and plants.
into human form. Legends allow for transformations into Other terms for shapeshifters include metamorph, the
plants and objects, and the assumption of another human Navajo skin-walker, mimic, and therianthrope. The
countenance (e.g. fair to ugly). prex were-, coming from the Old English word for

1
2 CHAPTER 1. SHAPESHIFTING
Loge feigns fear as Alberich turns into a giant snake. Wotan
stands in the background; illustration by Arthur Rackham to
Richard Wagner's Das Rheingold
1722 German woodcut of a werewolf transforming
man (masculine rather than generic), is also used to des-
ignate shapeshifters; despite its root, it is used to indicate
female shapeshifters as well.
While the popular idea of a shapeshifter is of a human
being who turns into something else, there are numer-
ous stories about animals that can transform themselves
as well.[1]
1.1.1 Greco-Roman
Examples of shapeshifting in classical literature include
many examples in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Circe's trans-
forming of Odysseus' men to pigs in Homer's The
Odyssey, and Apuleius's Lucius becoming a donkey in
The Golden Ass. Proteus was noted among the gods for
Vertumnus, in the form of an old woman, wooing Pomona, by
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout.
his shapeshifting; both Menelaus and Aristaeus seized
him to win information from him, and succeeded only
because they held on during his various changes. Nereus
told Heracles where to nd the Apples of the Hesperides
for the same reason.
The Titan Metis, the rst wife of Zeus and the mother of
the goddess Athena, was believed to be able to change her
appearance into anything she wanted. In one story, she
was so proud, that her husband, Zeus, tricked her into
changing into a y. He then swallowed her because he
feared that he and Metis would have a son who would be
more powerful than Zeus himself. Metis, however, was
already pregnant. She stayed alive inside his head and
built armor for her daughter. The banging of her metal-
working made Zeus have a headache, so Hephaestus clove
his head with an axe. Athena sprang from her fathers
head, fully grown, and in battle armor.
In Greek mythology, the transformation is often a pun-
ishment from the gods to humans who crossed them.
Zeus transformed King Lycaon into a wolf (hence
Lycanthropy) as a punishment for either killing
Zeus children or serving him the esh of Lycaons
own murdered son Nyctimus, depending on the ex-
act version of the myth.
Demeter transformed Ascalabus into a lizard for
mocking her sorrow and thirst during her search
for her daughter Persephone. She also turned King
Lyncus into a lynx for trying to murder her prophet
Triptolemus.
1.1. FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY 3

say that it was Zeus who was angered by Tiresias

for saying that men did not get the most out of sex
and that it was Hera who gave Tiresias the gift of
foresight to comfort him. Others say that it was ac-
tually Athena who blinded Tiresias for seeing her
nude, then gave him foresight as compensation af-
ter learning it had been an accident.

While the Greek gods could use transformation punitively

such as Medusa, turned to a monster for having sexual
intercourse with Poseidon in Athena's temple even more
frequently, the tales using it are of amorous adventure.
Zeus repeatedly transformed himself to approach mortals
as a means of gaining access:[2]

Dana as a shower of gold

Europa as a bull
Leda as a swan
Ganymede, as an eagle
Alcmene as her husband Amphitryon
Hera as a cuckoo
Leto as a quail
Maia as a gopher

The Children of Lir, transformed into swans in Irish tales Semele as a mortal shepherd
Io, as a cloud
Athena transformed Arachne into a spider for chal-
lenging her as a weaver and/or weaving a tapestry Nemesis (Goddess of retribution) transformed into
that insulted the gods. a goose to escape Zeus' advances, but he turned into
a swan. She later bore the egg in which Helen of
Artemis transformed Actaeon into a stag for spying Troy was found.
on her bathing, and he was later devoured by his own
hunting dogs. Vertumnus transformed himself into an old woman to
gain entry to Pomona's orchard; there, he persuaded her
Atalanta and Hippomenes were turned into lions af-
to marry him.
ter making love in one of Zeus temples.
In other tales, the woman appealed to other gods to pro-
Io was a priestess of Hera in Argos, a nymph who tect her from rape, and was transformed (Daphne into
was raped by Zeus, who changed her into a heifer to laurel, Cornix into a crow). Unlike Zeus and other gods
escape detection. shapeshifting, these women were permanently metamor-
The young Tiresias was walking through a forest phosed.
when he found two snakes in the act of love. He In one tale, Demeter transformed herself into a mare to
poked them with a stick and was instantly changed escape Poseidon, but Poseidon counter-transformed him-
into a woman. He lived in this female form for many self into a stallion to pursue her, and succeeded in the
years, and even married and had children. Years rape. Caenis, having been raped by Poseidon, demanded
later, Tiresias came across the same snakes doing of him that she be changed to a man. He agreed, and she
the same thing. Again she poked them with a stick, became Caeneus, a form he never lost, except, in some
and turned back into a man. Later in his life, he was versions, upon death.
asked by Zeus which of the two sexes enjoys sex
more. Tiresias, speaking from experience, replied As a nal reward from the gods for their hospitality,
that it is woman, and Hera blinded him for telling Baucis and Philemon were transformed, at their deaths,
her husband of the greatest secret of women. Zeus, into a pair of trees.
unable to undo what his wife had done, gave the now In some variants of the tale of Narcissus, he is turned into
blind Tiresias the gift of foresight. Other versions a narcissus ower.
4 CHAPTER 1. SHAPESHIFTING

Cadmus Sowing the Dragons Teeth by Maxeld Parrish

Gianlorenzo Bernini, Apollo pursuing an unwilling Daphne who
transforms into a laurel tree
After Tereus raped Philomela and cut out her tongue to
silence her, she wove her story into a tapestry for her sis-
ter, Tereuss wife Procne, and the sisters murdered his Witches could turn into hares and in that form steal milk
son and fed him to his father. When he discovered this, and butter.[5]
he tried to kill them, but the gods changed them all into Many British fairy tales, such as Jack the Giant Killer and
birds.
Sometimes metamorphoses transformed objects into hu-
mans. In the myths of both Jason and Cadmus, one task
set to the hero was to sow dragons teeth; on being sown,
they would metamorphose into belligerent warriors, and
both heroes had to throw a rock to trick them into ghting
each other to survive. Deucalion and Pyrrha repopulated
the world after a ood by throwing stones behind them;
they were transformed into people. Cadmus is also of-
ten known to have transformed into a dragon or serpent
towards the end of his life. Pygmalion fell in love with
Galatea, a statue he had made. Aphrodite had pity on
him and transformed the stone to a living woman.
1.1.2 British and Irish
Fairies, witches, and wizards were all noted for their
shapeshifting ability. Not all fairies could shapeshift, and
some were limited to changing their size, as with the
spriggans, and others to a few forms and other fairies
might have only the appearance of shapeshifting, through
their power, called glamour, to create illusions.[3] But
others, such as the Hedley Kow, could change to many
forms, and both human and supernatural wizards were
capable of both such changes, and inicting them on
others.[4]
The Black Bull of Norroway, feature shapeshifting.
Celtic mythology
Pwyll was transformed by Arawn into Arawns own
shape, and Arawn transformed himself into Pwylls, so
that they could trade places for a year and a day.
Llwyd ap Cil Coed transformed his wife and attendants
into mice to attack a crop in revenge; when his wife is
captured, he turned himself into three clergymen in suc-
cession to try to pay a ransom.
Math and Gwydion transform owers into a woman
named Blodeuwedd, and when she betrays her husband
Lleu, who is transformed into an eagle, they transform
her again, into an owl Blodeuwedd.
Gilfaethwy committed rape with help from his brother
Gwydion. Both were transformed into animals, for one
year each. Gwydion was transformed into a stag, sow
and wolf, and Gilfaethwy into a hind, boar and she-wolf.
Each year, they had a child. Math turned the three young
animals into boys.
1.1. FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY 5

Gwion, having accidentally taken some of wisdom potion He can transform into many dierent, terrifying forms.
that Ceridwen was brewing for her son, ed her through a Sadbh, the wife of the famous hero Fionn mac Cumhaill
succession of changes that she answered with changes of was changed into a deer by the druid Fer Doirich.
her own, ending with his being eaten, a grain of corn, by
her as a hen. She became pregnant, and he was reborn in
a new form, as Taliesin.
Tales abound about the selkie, a seal that can remove its
skin to make contact with humans for only a short amount 1.1.3 Norse
of time before it must return to the sea. Clan MacCol-
drum of Uists foundation myths include of a union be-
tween the founder of the clan and a shapeshifting selkie.[6] In the Lokasenna, Odin and Loki taunt each other with
Another such creature is the Scottish selkie, which needs having taken the form of females and nursing ospring
its sealskin to regain its form. In The Great Silkie of Sule to which they had given birth. A 13th century Edda re-
Skerry the (male) selkie seduces a human woman. Such lates Loki taking the form of a mare to bear Odins steed
stories surrounding these creatures are usually romantic Sleipnir which was the fastest horse ever to exist, and also
tragedies. the form of a she-wolf to bear Fenrir.[8]
Svipdagr angered Odin, who turned him into a dragon.
Despite his monstrous appearance, his lover, the god-
dess Freyja, refused to leave his side. When the warrior
Hadding found and slew Svipdag, Freyja cursed him to
be tormented by a tempest and shunned like the plague
wherever he went. In the Hyndlulj, Freya transformed
her protg ttar into a boar to conceal him. She also
possessed a cloak of falcon feathers that allowed her to
transform into a falcon, which Loki borrowed on occa-
sion.
The Volsunga saga contains many shapeshifting charac-
ters. Siggeir's mother changed into a wolf to help torture
his defeated brothers-in-law with slow and ignominious
deaths. When one, Sigmund, survived, he and his nephew
The Kelpie by Herbert James Draper: transformed into a human
and son Sinfjtli killed men wearing wolfskins; when they
donned the skins themselves, they were cursed to become
Scottish mythology features shapeshifters, which allows werewolves.
the various creatures to trick, deceive, hunt, and kill hu-
mans. Water spirits such as the each uisge, which in- The dwarf Andvari is described as being able to magically
habit lochs and waterways in Scotland, were said to ap- turn into a pike. Alberich, his counterpart in Richard
pear as a horse or a young man.[4] Other tales include Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, using the Tarnhelm,
kelpies who emerge from lochs and rivers in the disguise takes on many forms, including a giant serpent and a
of a horse or woman in order to ensnare and kill weary toad, in a failed attempt to impress or intimidate Loki
travelers. Tam Lin, a man captured by the Queen of the and Odin/Wotan.
Fairies is changed into all manner of beasts before being Fafnir was originally a dwarf, a giant or even a human,
rescued. He nally turned into a burning coal and was depending on the exact myth, but in all variants he trans-
thrown him into a well, whereupon he reappeared in his formed into a dragona symbol of greedwhile guard-
human form. The motif of capturing a person by hold- ing his ill-gotten hoard. His brother, tr, enjoyed spend-
ing him through all forms of transformation is a common ing time as an otter, which led to his accidental slaying by
thread in folktales.[7] Loki.
Perhaps the best known Irish myth is that of Aoife who In Scandinavia, there existed, for example, the famous
turned her stepchildren, the Children of Lir, into swans race of she-werewolves known with a name of Maras,
to be rid of them. Likewise in the Wooing of Etain women who took on the appearance of the night looking
Fuamnach jealously turns tan into a buttery. The most for huge monster half human and half wolf. If a female
dramatic example of shapeshifting in Irish myth is that of at midnight stretches the membrane which envelopes the
Tuan mac Cairill, the only survivor of Partholn's settle- foal when it is brought forth, between four sticks and
ment of Ireland. In his centuries long life he became suc- creeps through it, naked, she will bear children without
cessively a stag, a wild boar, a hawk and nally a salmon pain; but all the boys will be shamans, and all the girls
prior to being eaten and (as in the Wooing of tan) re- Maras.
born as a human. The Nisse is sometimes said to be a shapeshifter. This
The Pca is a Celtic faery, and also a deft shapeshifter. trait also is attributed to Huldra.
6 CHAPTER 1. SHAPESHIFTING

1.1.4 Other lore Philippines

In Poland, in the parish church of Schwarzenstein, hang Philippine mythology includes aswang, a vampire-like
two horse-shoes related to the story of the tavern-keeper monster capable of transforming itself into either a large
of Eichmedian. A greedy woman, she charged double the black dog or a black boar in order to stalk humans at night.
honest rate for board and lodging. Late one evening, a The folklore also mentions other beings such as kapre, tik-
group of guests accused her of cheating them. Defending balang, and engkanto, which change their appearances to
herself, she swore an oath before them, saying: If my woo beautiful maidens. Also, talismans (called "anting-
business is not just, then ride my back the Devil must!" anting" or "birtud" in the local dialect), can give their
owners the ability to shapeshift. In one tale, Chonguita
The room suddenly darkened and the Devil suddenly ap-
the Monkey Wife,[13] a woman is turned into a monkey,
peared before her. He gestured, and unable to resist, she
only becoming human again if she can marry a handsome
knelt on all fours and found herself changing into a bay
man.
mare. The Devil mounted, gave a great laugh and rode
her out of the village. At headlong speed he rode to the
town of Schwarzenstein, and to a blacksmiths shop there, Tatar
arriving in the small hours of the morning. He roused
the blacksmith and demanded that his steed be shod at Tatar folklore includes Yuxa, a hundred-year-old snake
once. The blacksmith, yawning, complained of the late that can transform itself into a beautiful young woman,
hour and that his forge was shut down and cold. But the and seeks to marry men in order to have children.
Devil insisted and promised gold if it were done swiftly,
and so the blacksmith agreed. He lit his furnace, and had
the Devil work the bellows. The blacksmith had not long
begun his work however when the mare began to speak,
evidently having worked out how to form human words
with her equine lips. Don't you know me?" she begged.
It is I, the tavern-keeper of Eichmedian!" The black-
smith was horried and nothing could persuade him to
continue with the shoeing. The Devil raged but there was
nothing he could do, and as a cock heralded the arrival of
dawn, the spell was broken. The Devil vanished and the
tavern-keeper returned to her human form. Repenting of
her greedy ways, she had the two horse-shoes which the Madame White Snake Picture on long veranda in the Summer
smith had already fashioned nailed up in the church as a Palace, Beijing, China
warning to other cheats.

Armenian
In Armenian mythology, shapeshifters include the Nhang,
a serpent-like river monster than can transform itself into
a woman or seal, and will drown humans and then drink
their blood; or the benecial Shahapet, a guardian spirit
that can appear either as a man or a snake.[9]
Indian
Chinese
Chinese mythology contains many tales of animal
shapeshifters, capable of taking on human form. The
most common such shapeshifter is the huli jing, a fox
spirit which usually appears as a beautiful young woman;
most are dangerous, but some feature as the heroines of
love stories. Madame White Snake is one such legend; a
snake falls in love with a man, and the story recounts the
trials that she and her husband faced.

Ancient Indian mythology tells of Nga, snakes that Japanese

can sometimes assume human form. Scriptures de-
scribe shapeshifting Rakshasa (demons) assuming ani- In Japanese folklore bake are a type of ykai with the
mal forms to deceive humans. The Ramayana also in- ability to shapeshift. The fox, or kitsune is among the
cludes the Vanara, a group of ape-like humanoids who most commonly known, but other such creatures include
possessed supernatural powers and could change their the bakeneko, the mujina and the tanuki.
shapes.[10][11][12]
In the Indian fable The Dog Bride from Folklore of the Korean
Santal Parganas by Cecil Henry Bompas, a bualo herder
falls in love with a dog that has the power to turn into a Korean mythology also contains a fox with the ability to
woman when she bathes. shapeshift. Unlike its Chinese and Japanese counterparts,
1.1. FOLKLORE AND MYTHOLOGY
Kuzunoha the fox woman, casting a fox shadow
the kumiho is always malevolent. Usually its form is of a
beautiful young woman; one tale recounts a man, a would-
be seducer, revealed as a kumiho.[14] The kumiho has
nine tails and as she desires to be a full human, she uses
her beauty to seduce men and eat their hearts (or in some
cases livers where the belief is that 100 livers would turn
her into a real human).
Trinidad and Tobago
The Ligahoo or loup-garou is the shapeshifter of Trinidad
and Tobagos folklore. This unique ability is believed
to be handed down in some old creole families, and is
usually associated with witch-doctors and practitioners of
African magic.[15] [16]
1.1.5 Folktales
In the Finnish tale The Magic Bird, three young sor-
ceresses attempt to murder a man who keeps reviv-
ing. His revenge is to turn them into three black
mares and have them harnessed to heavy loads until
he is satised.
In The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh, a
Northumbrian legend from about the thirteenth cen-
tury, Princess Margaret of Bamburgh is transformed
into a dragon by her stepmother; her motive sprung,
7
like Snow White's stepmothers, from the compari-
son of their beauty.[17]
In Child ballad 35, "Allison Gross", the title witch
turns a man into a wyrm for refusing to be her
lover. This is a motif found in many legends and
folktales.[18]
In the German tale The Frogs Bridegroom by Gustav
Jungbauer, the third of three sons of a farmer, Hansl,
is forced to marry a frog, which eventually turns out
to be a beautiful woman transformed by a spell.
In some variants of the fairy tales, both The Frog
Prince or more commonly The Frog Princess and
Beast, of Beauty and the Beast, are transformed as
a form of punishment for some transgression. Both
are restored to their true forms after earning a hu-
mans love despite their appearance.
In the most famous Lithuanian folk tale Egl the
Queen of Serpents, Egl irreversibly transforms her
children and herself into trees as a punishment for
betrayal while her husband is able to reversibly
morph into a serpent at will.
In East of the Sun and West of the Moon, the hero is
transformed into a bear by his wicked stepmother,
who wishes to force him to marry her daughter.[19]
In The Marmot Queen by Italo Calvino, a Spanish
queen is turned into a rodent by Morgan le Fay.
In The Mare of the Necromancer, a Turin Italian
tale by Guido Gozzano, the Princess of Corelandia
is turned into a horse by the baron necromancer for
refusing to marry him. Only the love and intelli-
gence of Candido save the princess from the spell.
The Deer in The Wood, an Neapolitan tale written
by Giambattista Basile, describes the transformation
of Princess Desiderata into a doe by a jealous fairy.
From a Croatian book of tales, Sixty Folk-Tales
from Exclusively Slavonic Sources by A. H. Wratis-
law, the fable entitled The she-wolf tells of a huge
she-wolf with a habit of turning into a woman from
time to time by taking o her skin. One day a
man witnesses the transformation, steals her pelt and
marries her.
The Merchants Sons is a Finnish story of two broth-
ers, one of whom tries to win the hand of the tsars
wicked daughter. The girl does not like her suitor
and endeavors to have him killed, but he turns her
into a beautiful mare which he and his brother ride.
In the end he turns her back into a girl and marries
her.
In Dapplegrim if the youth found the transformed
princess twice, and hid from her twice, they would
marry.
8 CHAPTER 1. SHAPESHIFTING

1.2 Themes
Shapeshifting may be used as a plot device, such as when
Puss in Boots in the fairy tales tricks the ogre into becom-
ing a mouse to be eaten. Shapeshifting may also include
symbolic signicance, like the Beasts transformation in
Beauty and the Beast indicates Belles ability to accept
him despite his appearance.[20]
When a form is taken on involuntarily, the thematic ef-
fect can be one of connement and restraint; the per-
son is bound to the new form. In extreme cases, such
as petrifaction, the character is entirely disabled. On the
other hand, voluntary shapeshifting can be a means of
escape and liberation. Even when the form is not under-
taken to resemble a literal escape, the abilities specic to
the form allow the character to act in a manner that was
previously impossible.
Examples of this are in fairy tales. A prince who is forced
into a bears shape (as in East of the Sun and West of
the Moon) is a prisoner, but a princess who takes on a
bears shape voluntarily to ee a situation (as in The She-
Svipdag transformed by John Bauer
Bear) escapes with her new shape.[21] In the Earthsea
books, Ursula K. Le Guin depicts an animal form as
slowly transforming the wizards mind, so that the dol-
phin, bear or other creature forgets it was human, mak- this as the bulk of the plot.[23] In the Italian Campania
ing it impossible to change back. This makes an example Fables collection of Pentamerone by Gianbattista Basile,
for a voluntary shapeshifting becoming an imprisoning tells of a Neapolitan princess who, to escape from her
metamorphosis.[22] Beyond this, the uses of shapeshift- father who had imprisoned her, becomes in a huge she-
ing, transformation, and metamorphosis in ction are as bear. The magic happens due to a potion given to her by
protean as the forms the characters take on. Some are an old witch. The girl, once gone, can regain her human
rare, such as Italo Calvino's "The Canary Prince" is a aspect.
Rapunzel variant in which shapeshifting is used to gain
In other variants, the pursued may transform various
access to the tower.
objects into obstacles, as in the fairy tale "The Mas-
ter Maid", where the Master Maid transforms a wooden
1.2.1 Punitive changes comb into a forest, a lump of salt into a mountain, and a
ask of water into a sea. In these tales, the pursued nor-
mally escapes after overcoming three obstacles.[24] This
In many cases, imposed forms are punitive in nature.
obstacle chase is literally found worldwide, in many vari-
This may be a just punishment, the nature of the trans-
ants in every region.[25]
formation matching the crime for which it occurs; in
other cases, the form is unjustly imposed by an angry In fairy tales of the AarneThompson type 313A, The
and powerful person. In fairy tales, such transformations Girl Helps the Hero Flee, such a chase is an integral part
are usually temporary, but they commonly appear as the of the tale. It can be either a transformation chase (as in
resolution of myths (as in many of the Metamorphoses) The Grateful Prince, King Kojata, Foundling-Bird, Jean,
or produce origin myths. the Soldier, and Eulalie, the Devils Daughter, or The Two
Kings Children) or an obstacle chase (as in The Battle of
the Birds, The White Dove, or The Master Maid).[26]
1.2.2 Transformation chase In a similar eect, a captive may shapeshift in order to
break a hold on him. Proteus and Nereus's shapeshift-
In many fairy tales and ballads, as in Child Ballad #44, ing was to prevent heroes such as Menelaus and Heracles
The Twa Magicians or Farmer Weathersky, a magical from forcing information from them.[27] Tam Lin, once
chase occurs where the pursued endlessly takes on forms seized by Janet, was transformed by the faeries to keep
in an eort to shake o the pursuer, and the pursuer an- Janet from taking him, but as he had advised her, she did
swers with other shapeshifting, as, a dove is answered not let go, and so freed him.[28] The motif of capturing
with a hawk, and a hare with a greyhound. The pursued a person by holding him through many transformations
may nally succeed in escape or the pursuer in capturing. is found in folktales throughout Europe,[7] and Patricia
The Grimm Brothers fairy tale Foundling-Bird contains A. McKillip references it in her Riddle-Master trilogy:
1.2. THEMES 9

a shapeshifting Earthmaster nally wins its freedom by 1.2.5 Needed items

startling the man holding it.

1.2.3 Powers
One motif is a shape change in order to obtain abilities
in the new form. Berserkers were held to change into
wolves and bears in order to ght more eectively. In
many cultures, evil magicians could transform into animal
shapes and thus skulk about.
In many fairy tales, the heros talking animal helper
proves to be a shapeshifted human being, able to help
him in its animal form. In one variation, featured in The
Three Enchanted Princes and The Death of Koschei the
Deathless, the heros three sisters have been married to
animals. These prove to be shapeshifted men, who aid
their brother-in-law in a variant of tale types.[29]
In an early Mayan text, the Shapeshifter, or Mestaclocan,
has the ability to change his appearance and to manipulate
the minds of animals. In one tale, the Mestaclocan nds
a dying eagle. Changing into the form of an eagle, he
convinces the dying bird that it is, in fact, not dying. As
the story goes they both soar into the heavens, and lived
together for eternity.

1.2.4 Bildungsroman

Valkyries as swan maidens, having shed their swan skins.

Some shapeshifters are able to change form only if

they have some item, usually an article of clothing. In
Bisclavret by Marie de France, a werewolf cannot regain
human form without his clothing, but in wolf form does
no harm to anyone. The most common use of this mo-
tif, however, is in tales where a man steals the article
and forces the shapeshifter, trapped in human form, to
become his bride. This lasts until she discovers where
he has hidden the article, and she can ee. Selkies fea-
ture in these tales. Others include swan maidens and the
Japanese tennin.

1.2.6 Inner conict

The power to externally transform can symbolize an

internal savagery; a central theme in many strands of
werewolf mythology,[31] and the inversion of the liber-
ation theme, as in Dr Jekylls transformation into Mr.
Hyde.
Beauty and the Beast, by Anne Anderson

Beauty and the Beast has been interpreted as a young 1.2.7 Usurpation
womans coming-of-age, in which she changes from be-
ing repulsed by sexual activity and regarding a husband Some transformations are performed to remove the vic-
therefore bestial, to a mature woman who can marry.[30] tim from his place, so that the transformer can usurp it.
10 CHAPTER 1. SHAPESHIFTING

cluded in his Pentamerone the tale of a girl born as a sprig

of myrtle, and Italo Calvino, in his Italian Folktales, a girl
born as an apple.
Sometimes, the parent who wishes for a child is told how
to gain one, but does not obey the directions perfectly, re-
sulting in the transformed birth. In Prince Lindworm, the
woman eats two onions, but does not peel one, resulting in
her rst child being a lindworm. In Tatterhood, a woman
magically produces two owers, but disobeys the direc-
tions to eat only the beautiful one, resulting her having a
beautiful and sweet daughter, but only after a disgusting
and hideous one.
Less commonly, ill-advised wishes can transform a per-
son after birth. The Seven Ravens are transformed when
their father thinks his sons are playing instead of fetch-
ing water to christen their newborn and sickly sister, and
curses them.[34] In Puddocky, when three princes start to
quarrel over the beautiful heroine, a witch curses her be-
cause of the noise.

1.2.9 Monstrous bride/bridegroom

Such wished-for children may become monstrous brides

or bridegrooms. These tales have often been inter-
Sister Alenushka Weeping about Brother Ivanushka by Viktor
preted as symbolically representing arranged marriages;
Vasnetsov, Russian variant of Brother and Sister: Alenushka
laments her brothers transformation into a goat. the brides revulsion to marrying a stranger being sym-
bolized by his bestial form.[35]
The heroine must fall in love with the transformed groom.
Bisclaveret's wife steals his clothing and traps him in wolf The hero or heroine must marry, as promised, and the
form because she has a lover. A witch, in The Wonderful monstrous form is removed by the wedding. Sir Gawain
Birch, changed a mother into a sheep to take her place, thus transformed the Loathly lady; although he was told
and had the mother slaughtered; when her stepdaughter that this was half-way, she could at his choice be beautiful
married the king, the witch transformed her into a rein- by day and hideous by night, or vice versa, he told her that
deer so as to put her daughter in the queens place. In he would choose what she preferred, which broke the spell
the Korean Transformation of the Kumiho, a kumiho, a entirely.[36] In Tatterhood, Tatterhood is transformed by
fox with magical powers, transformed itself into an im- her asking her bridegroom why he didn't ask her why she
age of the bride, only being detected when her clothing rode a goat, why she carried a spoon, and why she was
is removed. In Brother and Sister, when two children ee so ugly, and when he asked her, denying it and therefore
their cruel stepmother, she enchants the streams along the transforming her goat into a horse, her spoon into a fan,
way to transform them. While the brother refrains from and herself into a beauty. Puddocky is transformed when
the rst two, which threaten to turn them into tigers and her prince, after she had helped him with two other tasks,
wolves, he is too thirsty at the third, which turns him into tells him that his father has sent him for a bride. A similar
a deer. The Six Swans are transformed into swans by their eect is found in Child ballad 34, Kemp Owyne, where
stepmother,[32] as are the Children of Lir in Irish mythol- the hero can transform a dragon back into a maiden by
ogy. kissing her three times.[37]
Sometimes the bridegroom removes his animal skin for
1.2.8 Ill-advised wishes the wedding night, whereupon it can be burned. Hans My
Hedgehog, The Donkey and The Pig King fall under this
Many fairy-tale characters have expressed illadvised grouping. At an extreme, in Prince Lindworm, the bride
wishes to have any child at all, even one that has another who avoids being eaten by the lindworm bridegroom ar-
form, and had such children born to them.[33] At the end rives at her wedding wearing every gown she owns, and
of the fairy tale, normally after marriage, such children she tells the bridegroom she will remove one of hers if he
metamorphose into human form. Hans My Hedgehog was removes one of his; only when her last gown comes o
born when his father wished for a child, even a hedgehog. has he removed his last skin, and become a white shape
Even stranger forms are possible: Giambattista Basile in- that she can form into a man.[1]
1.3. MODERN
In some tales, the hero or heroine must obey a prohibi-
tion; the bride must spend a period of time not seeing the
transformed groom in human shape (as in East of the Sun
and West of the Moon), or the bridegroom must not burn
the animals skins. In The Brown Bear of Norway, The
Golden Crab, The Enchanted Snake and some variants
of The Frog Princess, burning the skin is a catastrophe,
putting the transformed bride or bridegroom in danger.
In these tales, the prohibition is broken, invariably, re-
sulting in a separation and a search by one spouse for the
other.[1]
1.2.10 Death
Ghosts sometimes appear in animal form. In The Famous
Flower of Serving-Men, the heroines murdered husband
appears to the king as a white dove, lamenting her fate
over his own grave. In The White and the Black Bride
and The Three Little Men in the Wood, the murdered
drowned true bride reappears as a white duck. In The
Rose Tree and The Juniper Tree, the murdered children
become birds who avenge their own deaths. There are
African folk tales of murder victims avenging themselves
in the form of crocodiles that can shapeshift into human
form.[38]
In some fairy tales, the character can reveal himself in ev-
ery new form, and so a usurper repeatedly kills the victim
in every new form, as in Beauty and Pock Face, A String
of Pearls Twined with Golden Flowers, and The Boys with
the Golden Stars. This eventually leads to a form in which
the character (or characters) can reveal the truth to some-
one able to stop the villain.
Similarly, the transformation back may be acts that would
be fatal. In The Wounded Lion, the prescription for turn-
ing the lion back into a prince was to kill him, chop him
to pieces, burn the pieces, and throw the ash into water.
Less drastic but no less apparently fatal, the fox in The
Golden Bird, the foals in The Seven Foals, and the cats
in Lord Peter and The White Cat tell the heroes of those
stories to cut o their heads; this restores them to human
shape.[39] In the Greek tale of Scylla, Scyllas father Nisus
turns into an eagle after death and drowns her daughter
for betraying her father.
1.3 Modern
1.3.1 Fiction
In George MacDonald's The Princess and Curdie,
(1883) Curdie is informed that many human beings,
by their acts, are slowly turning into beasts. Curdie
is given the power to detect the transformation be-
fore it is visible, and is assisted by beasts that had
been transformed and are working their way back to
humanity.[40]
11
L. Frank Baum concluded The Marvelous Land of
Oz (1904) with the revelation that Princess Ozma,
sought by the protagonists, had been turned into a
boy as a baby, and that Tip (who had been search-
ing for her) is that boy. He agrees to the reverse
transformation, but Glinda the Good disapproves of
shapeshifting magic, so it is done by the evil witch
Mombi.[41]
In J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth novels, Sauron,
the main antagonist of The Lord of the Rings is a
shapeshifter. Initially he can appear in any number
of beautiful forms to deceive the gullible; and thus
he makes the Rings of Power with the service of the
Elves who are deceived by his appearance. In the
First Age of the Sun (detailed in the Silmarillion)
he could take on numerable forms; during his bat-
tle with Huan, the wolfhound, he takes on no less
than ve forms, including a gigantic werewolf, but
succumbs and ees in the form of a vampire. When
the island of Nmenor is destroyed, Sauron loses his
shapeshifting powers and is stuck in his dark hideous
form and thus his enemies are no longer deceived.
Aside from Sauron, many other Maiar in Middle-
earth can shapeshift. The Valar shapeshift depend-
ing on their moods.
In The Hobbit, the prequel to The Lord of the Rings,
the character Beorn is normally a large human, but
can shapeshift into a large bear.
In science ction, The Thing written by John W.
Campbell concerns a shapeshifting alien life form
that can assume the memories of any creature it
absorbs.[42]
A Face Dancer is a type of human in Frank Her-
bert's science ction Dune universe. A servant caste
of the Bene Tleilax, Face Dancers are shapeshifters,
and their name is derived from their ability to change
their physical appearance at will. Originally, Face
Dancers were Tleilaxu trained to mimic others using
acting and makeup, enhanced by plastic surgery. As
time went on, the Tleilaxu began to use genetic ma-
nipulation to enhance natural ability in phenotypic
plasticity, so that Face Dancers could change height,
increase and decrease apparent mass, change color-
ing and texture, and change facial features.
T. H. White, in the 1938 The Sword in the Stone,
has Merlin and Madam Mim ght a wizards duel,
in which the duelists would endlessly transform until
one was in a form that could destroy the other.[43]
He also had Merlin transform Arthur into various
animals in as an educational experience.[44]
In C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, Eustace
Scrubb transforms into a dragon,[45] and the war-
monger Rabadash into a donkey.[46] Eustaces trans-
formation is not strictly a punishment the change
12 CHAPTER 1. SHAPESHIFTING

simply reveals the truth of his selshness. It is
reversed after he repents and his moral nature
changes. Rabadash is allowed to reverse his trans-
formation, providing he does so in a public place, so
that his former followers will know that he had been
a donkey. He is warned that, if he ever leaves his
capital city again, he will become a donkey perma-
nently, and this prevents him leading further military
campaigns.
Also in The Chronicles of Narnia the Duepuds are
dwarfs who have been transformed into monopods
as a punishment. However, it ultimately transpires
that they are happier with their new form.
Both the Earthmasters and their opponents in
Patricia A. McKillip's 1976 The Riddle-Master of
Hed trilogy make extensive use of their shapeshift-
ing abilities for the powers of their new forms.[47]
Poul Anderson, in Operation Chaos, has the
werewolf observe that taking on wolf-form can sim-
plify his thoughts.
Mary Stewart's A Walk in Wolf Wood (1980) re-
volves about revealing that one man is an imposter,
taking the form of a man who is living as a wolf in
the woods.
Mavin Manyshaped and her son Peter in Sheri S.
Tepper's True Game novels are both shifters, being
a subspecies of humans having this power, and in
both, the learning of their abilities is a large portion
of their growing up.
Jane Yolen took up the notion of selkie in 1991
Greyling and transformed it into a foundling tale.
In Wayne Gerard Trotman's novel, Kaya Abaniah
and the Father of the Forest, a psychotic Niburian
has been impersonating several of Trinidad and To-
bagos folkloric characters, including Papa Bois,
Mama Dlo, Soucouyant, La Diablesse, and Ligahoo.
The psychic shapeshifter from another world also
transforms into various people both living and dead.
In the 2005 novel I, Coriander by Sally Gardner,
Prince Tycho is transformed into a fox after refusing
to marry Undwin, Queen Rosmores daughter.
In Cassandra Clare's trilogy The Infernal Devices,
Tessa Gray can change into any being, whether su-
pernatural, dead or living, as long as she is holding
one of their belongings. She can also access their
memories.
In C.C. Hunter's Shadow Falls series, shapeshifters
are a supernatural species with ability to transform
into another animal. The more powerful they are,
the faster they can change, and can also transform
into mythical creatures, such as dragons or uni-
corns. Two of the series prominent characters are
shapeshifters named Perry and Steve.
Mindee Arnetts Arkwell Academy trilogy tells of a
species known as shape-changers, who can trans-
form into anyone as long as they acquire someones
tissues, such as teeth, hair, but most importantly,
their heart, which will give them the targets appear-
ance, abilities, memories.
Stephen King's It (1986) regards the books
shapeshifting monster whose common form is a
clown named Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

In the 1995 book The Arkadians by Lloyd Alexan- 1.3.2 Popular culture
der, the poet Fronto is changed into a donkey be-
cause he drinks from a magic pool that only the The TV series Supernatural features shapeshifters
prophets are allowed to drink from. as monsters which the Winchester brothers en-
counter several times in the series run. These
J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series contains both
shifters literally shed their skins to assume new iden-
Animagi who can change to a single animal form
tities, although the original Alpha Shapeshifter can
and Metamorphmagi who can alter their appear-
change appearance far more quickly, and can take
ance. The series included both a usurpation by
on the memories of the person whose appearance
a shapeshifter, and considerable precautions being
they assume. Like the Alpha Shapeshifter, some
taken by wizards and witches to attempt to identify
shapeshifters have the ability to instantaneously
such shapeshifters as they arose.
transform into a dierent person. Their eyes show a
Wayne Gerard Trotman's science ction novel, Vet- retinal are on cameras and they have a crippling
erans of the Psychic Wars contains Niburians, an weakness to silver. The series also features the
ancient race of technologically advanced, psychic trickster, who often changes form to trick the main
shapeshifters. In their natural state, they are de- protagonists into hunting down something else.
scribed as shimmering humanoids. The Niburians
are thought to be the secret mentors and protectors The nal climactic scene in the 1990 Sierra graph-
of humanity. However, out of fear and distrust, they ical adventure game Kings Quest V has King Gra-
have been hunted and killed by other alien races and ham in a shapeshifting battle with the wizard Mor-
are all but extinct. A Trinidadian character, Soraya dack. The players nal action in the game comes af-
Doyle, repeatedly refers to a Niburian as a Ligahoo. ter Mordack becomes re and surrounds the player,
1.4. SEE ALSO
when Graham becomes a rain cloud and extin-
guishes the re.[48]
The Twilight Saga also features shapeshifters that
can transform into wolves and have inhuman
strength, speed, body temperature and aging pro-
cess.[49]
Several episodes of the television show True Blood
feature shapeshifters.
In the sci- television series Fringe, human/machine
hybrids utilize a device which consist of a con-
trol box attached to two sets of wires with three
prongs on the ends. The prongs are inserted on the
roof of victims and shapeshifters mouth and when
switched on, the shapeshifter will be able to acquire
the shape and form of the victim.
In the fantasy adventure lm Willow an army of men
outside a castle are transformed by a witch into pigs
to stop them from attacking.
In the Doctor Who episode "Terror of the Zy-
gons", the main antagonists called the Zygons can
shapeshift into humans.
In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, the T-1000 took the
form of John Connor's foster mom to gather infor-
mation regarding his whereabouts, and later as his
biological mother to gain his trust.
In the X-Men Marvel Comics and lms, the charac-
ter Mystique is a blue female mutant that can trans- Footnotes
form into any sort of person, she can also change her
voice.
In Super Hybrid the story was about an alien creature
that can shapeshift into any sort of cars.
In Disney's Gravity Falls episode of season 2 Into
the Bunker, on Dippers journal pages lead the gang
to the authors hidden bunker where they nd them-
selves face-to-face with an evil shapeshifters enemy
transforms was humans and creatures whom the au-
thor raised from a mysterious egg.
The character Gumby can shape shift into anything.
In The Amazing World of Gumball's season 3
episode The Shell, Gumball convinces his love in-
terest, Penny Fitzgerald, to burst out of her peanut
shell (having cracked it by headbutting her earlier on
in the episode), to which she obeys and reveals her
true form as a fairy that shapeshifts depending on
her emotions. With each transformation she makes,
13
she always keeps her set of antlers. At the end of the
episode, when Gumball kisses her fully on the lips,
she makes all of her transformations before going
back to her original transformation. From this point
onwards it is valid that Penny is Gumballs girlfriend.
The Disney animated show Penn Zero: Part-Time
Hero has shapeshifting as a power of the main char-
acters. With each form a character takes, they are
given dierent powers.
In Samurai Jack the main antagonist Aku is an evil
demon whose main power is the ability to shapeshift
into nearly any being he desires, such as a scorpion,
octopus, dragon, human and several others.
1.4 See also
Resizing (ction)
Soul eater (folklore)
The Thing (1982 lm)
Amorphous creature
Skin-walker
Marvel Comics Skrull extraterrestrial beings (1962-
present)
1.5 Notes
[1] Terri Windling, "Married to Magic: Animal Brides and
Bridegrooms in Folklore and Fantasy"
[2] Richard M. Dorson, Foreword, p xxiv, Georgias A.
Megas, Folktales of Greece, University of Chicago Press,
Chicago and London, 1970
[3] Katharine Briggs, An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgob-
lins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures,
Glamour, p. 191. ISBN 0-394-73467-X
[4] Katharine Briggs, An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgob-
lins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures,
Shape-shifting, p360. ISBN 0-394-73467-X
[5] Eddie Lenihan and Carolyn Eve Green, Meeting The Other
Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland, p. 80 ISBN
1-58542-206-1
[6] Scottish Highlanders and Native Americans: indigenous
education in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world Mar-
garet Szasz 2007 University of Oklahoma Press
[7] Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular
Ballads, v 1, pp. 3367, Dover Publications, New York
1965
14
[8] Gill, N. S. Loki Norse Trickster Loki. about.com. [33] Maria Tatar, O with Their Heads! p. 60 ISBN 0-691-
Retrieved 2010-06-18.; Stephan Grundy, Shapeshifting
and Berserkergang, in Translation, Transformation, and
Transubstantiation, ed. Carol Poster and Richard Utz
(Evanston: IL: Northwestern University Press, 1998), pp.
10422.
[9] Armenian Mythology by Mardiros H. Ananikiam, in
Bullnchs Mythology
[10] Vanamali, Mataji Devi (2010). Hanuman: The Devotion
and Power of the Monkey God Inner Traditions, USA.
ISBN 1-59477-337-8. pp. 13.
[11] Goldman, Robert P. (Introduction, translation and anno-
tation) (1996). Ramayana of Valmiki: An Epic of An-
cient India, Volume V: Sundarakanda. Princeton Univer-
sity Press, New Jersey. 0691066620. pp. 4547.
[12] Smith (2006), pp. 195202.
[13] Fansler, Dean s.; Filipino Popular Tales;
[14] Heinz Insu Fenkl, "A Fox Woman Tale of Korea"
[15] TNT Folklore. triniview.com. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
[16] Caribbean History Archives. Gerard A. Besson. Re-
trieved 2017-01-16.
[17] Joseph Jacobs, English Fairy Tales, The Laidly Worm of
Spindleston Heugh
[18] Child (1965), pp. 313314.
[19] Maria Tatar, p. 193, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales,
ISBN 0-393-05163-3
[20] Wilson (1976), p. 94.
[21] Marina Warner, From the Beast to the Blonde: On Fairy
Tales And Their Tellers, p. 353 ISBN 0-374-15901-7
[22] Colbert (2001), pp. 2829.
[23] Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p. 57, ISBN
0-292-78376-0
[24] Vladimir Propp, Morphology of the Folk Tale, p 57, ISBN
0-292-78376-0
[25] Stith Thompson, The Folktale, p. 56, University of Cali-
fornia Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, 1977
[26] Stith Thompson, The Folktale, p. 89, University of Cali-
fornia Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, 1977
[27] Colbert (2001), p. 23.
[28] John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy,
Transformation, p 960 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
[29] Stith Thompson, The Folktale, pp. 556, University of
California Press, Berkeley Los Angeles London, 1977
[30] Jones (1995), p. 84.
[31] Steiger (1999), p. xix.
[32] Tatar (2004), p. 226.
CHAPTER 1. SHAPESHIFTING
06943-3
[34] Maria Tatar, The Annotated Brothers Grimm, p 136 ISBN
0-393-05848-4
[35] Maria Tatar, O with Their Heads! pp. 140141 ISBN
0-691-06943-3
[36] Wilson (1976), p. 89.
[37] Child (1965), p. 306.
[38] Steiger, B. (1999). The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia
of Shape-Shifting Beings. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-57859-078-
0.
[39] Maria Tatar, The Hard Facts of the Grimms Fairy Tales,
pp. 1745, ISBN 0-691-06722-8
[40] Stephen Prickett, Victorian Fantasy p. 86 ISBN 0-253-
17461-9
[41] Jack Zipes, When Dreams Came True: Classical Fairy
Tales and Their Tradition, pp. 1767 ISBN 0-415-92151-
1
[42] Steiger, B. (1999). Werewolf and Shapeshifter Filmog-
raphy. The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia of Shape-
Shifting Beings. p. 385. ISBN 978-1-57859-078-0.
[43] L. Sprague de Camp, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers:
The Makers of Heroic Fantasy, p 266 ISBN 0-87054-076-
9
[44] John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy,
Transformation, p. 960 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
[45] Erik J. Wielenberg, Aslan the Terrible pp. 2267 Gre-
gory Bassham ed. and Jerry L. Walls, ed. The Chronicles
of Narnia and Philosophy ISBN 0-8126-9588-7
[46] James F. Sennett, Worthy of a Better God p. 243 Gre-
gory Bassham ed. and Jerry L. Walls, ed. The Chronicles
of Narnia and Philosophy ISBN 0-8126-9588-7
[47] John Grant and John Clute, The Encyclopedia of Fantasy,
Shapeshifting, p. 858 ISBN 0-312-19869-8
[48] Kings Quest V speed run playthrough at 28:43, YouTube.
[49] Meyer, Stephenie. Breaking Dawn. Little, Brown and
Company.
Bibliography
Child, Francis James (1965). The English and Scot-
tish Popular Ballads. 1. Dover Publications.
Colbert, David (2001). The Magical Worlds of
Harry Potter. 2001. ISBN 0-9708442-0-4.
Jones, Steven Swann (1995). The Fairy Tale: The
Magic Mirror of Imagination. Twayne Publishers.
ISBN 0-8057-0950-9.
1.7. EXTERNAL LINKS 15

Smith, Frederick M. (2006). The Self Possessed:

Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature.
Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-13748-6.

Steiger, B. (August 1999). The Werewolf Book: The

Encyclopedia of Shape-Shifting Beings. Visible Ink
Press. ISBN 978-1-57859-078-0.
Tatar, Maria (2004). The Annotated Brothers
Grimm. W. W. Norton & company. ISBN 0-393-
05848-4.

Wilson, Anne (1976). Traditional Romance and

Tale. D.S. Brewer, Rowman & Littleeld. ISBN
0-87471-905-4.

1.6 Further reading

Hall, Jamie (2003). Half Human, Half Animal:
Tales of Werewolves and Related Creatures. Author-
House. ISBN 1-4107-5809-5.

1.7 External links

Real Shapeshifters Website Dedicated to the study
of shapeshifting phenomena (realshapeshifters.com)
Shapeshifters in Love A series of articles about
shapeshifting characters in romance and speculative
ction.
Chapter 2
Skin-walker
This article is about the creature of Native American leg-
end. For other uses, see Skin-walker (disambiguation).
In Navajo (Navajo: Din) culture, a skin-walker (yee
naaldlooshii) is a type of harmful witch who has the abil-
ity to turn into an animal, or to disguise themselves as an
animal, usually for the purposes of harming people.
2.1 Background
In the Navajo language, yee naaldlooshii translates to
by means of it, [he or she] goes on all fours.[1] While
perhaps the most common variety seen in horror ction
by non-Navajo people, the yee naaldlooshii is one of
several varieties of Navajo witch, specically a type of
ntihnii.[1] The legend of the skin-walkers is uncertain,
mostly due to reluctance to discuss the subject with out-
siders (in part because strangers may be witches them-
selves), thus people are led to draw their own conclusions
from the stories they hear.[2]
Navajo people are reluctant to reveal skinwalker lore to
non-Navajos, or to discuss it at all among those they do
not trust.[3]
2.2 See also
Witchcraft - Din / Navajo
Huaychivo
Nagual
Shapeshifter
Skinwalker Ranch
Werewolf
Little People of the Pryor Mountains
16
2.3 Notes
[1] Wall, Leon and William Morgan, Navajo-English Dictio-
nary. Hippocrene Books, New York City, 1998 ISBN 0-
7818-0247-4.
[2] Hampton, Carol M. "Book Review: Some Kind of Power:
Navajo Childrens Skinwalker Narratives" in Western His-
torical Quarterly. 01 July 1986. Accessed 17 Nov. 2016.
[3] Keene, Dr. Adrienne, "Magic in North America Part 1:
Ugh." at Native Appropriations, 8 March 2016. Accessed
9 April 2016. What happens when Rowling pulls this in,
is we as Native people are now opened up to a barrage of
questions about these beliefs and traditionsbut these are
not things that need or should be discussed by outsiders.
At all. I'm sorry if that seems 'unfair,' but thats how our
cultures survive.
2.4 Further reading
Brady, Margaret (1984). Some Kind of Power":
Navajo childrens skinwalker narratives. University
of Utah Press.
Morgan, William (1936). Human-Wolves among
the Navaho. Yale University Publications in Anthro-
pology. 11.
Salzman, Michael (October 1990). The Construc-
tion of an Intercultural Sensitizer Training Non-
Navajo Personnel. Journal of American Indian Ed-
ucation. 30 (1): 2536.
Chapter 3

Therianthropy

the term zoanthropy is used instead.[2] Therianthropy

was used to describe spiritual beliefs in animal transfor-
mation in a 1915 Japanese publication, A History of the
Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of the
Meiji Era.[3] One source, The Human Predator, raises
the possibility the term may have been used as early as the
16th century in criminal trials of suspected werewolves.[4]

3.2 History of therianthropy and

theriocephaly
Therianthropy refers to the fantastical, or mythological,
ability of some humans to change into animals.[5] The-
rianthropes are said to change forms via shapeshifting.
Therianthropy has long existed in mythology, and seems
to be depicted in ancient cave drawings[6] such as The Sor-
cerer, a pictograph executed at the neolithic cave draw-
ings found in the Pyrnes at the Les Trois Frres, France,
archeological site.
'Theriocephaly' (Gr. animal headedness) refers to be-
ings which have an animal head attached to an anthro-
pomorphic, or human, body; for example, the animal-
headed forms of gods depicted in ancient Egyptian re-
ligion (such as Ra, Sobek, Anubis).

Valkyries, having shed their swan skins, appear as swan maidens

Therianthropy is the mythological ability of human be- 3.3 Mythology of human

ings to metamorphose into other animals by means of shapeshifting
shapeshifting. It is possible that cave drawings found at
Les Trois Frres, in France, depict ancient beliefs in the
Main article: Shapeshifting
concept. The most well known form of therianthropy is
Shapeshifting in folklore, mythology and anthropology
found in stories concerning werewolves.
generally refers to the alteration of physical appear-
ance from that of a human to that of another species.
Lycanthropy, the transformation of a human into a wolf
3.1 Etymology (or werewolf), is probably the best known form of theri-
anthropy, followed by cynanthropy (transformation into
The term therianthropy comes from the Greek theron a dog) and ailuranthropy (transformation into a cat).[7]
[], meaning wild animal or beast (implicitly Werehyenas are present in the stories of several African
mammalian); and anthrpos [], meaning hu- and Eurasian cultures. Ancient Turkic legends from Asia
man being. It was used to refer to animal transforma- talk of form-changing shamans known as kurtadams,
tion folklore of Europe as early as 1901.[1] Sometimes which translates to wolfman. Ancient Greeks wrote of

17
18 CHAPTER 3. THERIANTHROPY

A frog changes into a princess in the painting Tsarevna Frog

(The Frog Princess) by Viktor Vasnetsov.

kynanthropy, from kyn[8] (or dog), which ap-

plied to mythological beings able to alternate between dog
form and human form, or who possessed combined dog
and human anatomical features.
The term existed by at least 1901, when it was ap-
plied to stories from China about humans turning into
dogs, dogs becoming people, and sexual relations be-
tween humans and canines.[9] Anthropologist David Gor-
don White called Central Asia the vortex of cynan-
thropy because races of dog-men were habitually placed
there by ancient writers. The weredog or cynanthrope is
also known in Timor. It is described as a human-canine In the Irish Mythological Cycle, the Children of Lir could trans-
form into swans.
shapeshifter who is capable of transforming other people
into animals, even against their will.
European folklore features werecats, who can transform times the original animals had assumed human form in
into panthers or domestic cats of an enlarged size.[10] order to ensure their descendants retained their human
African legends describe people who turn into lions or shapes; other times the origin story is of a human marry-
leopards, while Asian werecats are typically depicted as ing a normal animal.
becoming tigers. North American indigenous traditions mingle the ideas
of bear ancestors and ursine shapeshifters, with bears of-
ten being able to shed their skins to assume human form,
3.3.1 Skin-walkers and naguals marrying human women in this guise. The ospring may
be creatures with combined anatomy, they may be very
Main articles: Skin-walker and Nagual
beautiful children with uncanny strength, or they may be
shapeshifters themselves.[11]
Some Native American and First Nation legends talk
P'an Hu is represented in various Chinese legends as
about skin-walkerspeople with the supernatural ability
a supernatural dog, a dog-headed man, or a canine
to turn into any animal they desire. To do so, however,
shapeshifter that married an emperors daughter and
they rst must be wearing a pelt of the specic animal. In
founded at least one race. When he is depicted as a
the folk religion of Mesoamerica, a nagual (or nahual)
shapeshifter, all of him can become human except for his
is a human being who has the power to magically turn
head. The race(s) descended from P'an Hu were often
themselves into animal formsmost commonly donkeys,
characterized by Chinese writers as monsters who com-
turkeys, and dogsbut can also transform into more
bined human and dog anatomy.[12]
powerful jaguars and pumas.
In Turkic mythology, the wolf is a revered animal.
The Turkic legends say the people were descendants of
3.3.2 Animal ancestors wolves. The legend of Asena is an old Turkic myth that
tells of how the Turkic people were created. In the leg-
Stories of humans descending from animals are found in end, a small Turkic village in northern China is raided
the oral traditions for many tribal and clan origins. Some- by Chinese soldiers, with one baby left behind. An old
3.4. PSYCHIATRIC ASPECTS
she-wolf with a sky-blue mane named Asena nds the
baby and nurses him. She later gives birth to half-wolf,
half-human cubs who are the ancestors of the Turkic
people.[13][14]
3.3.3 Shamanism
Ethnologist Ivar Lissner theorised that cave paintings of
beings with human and non-human animal features were
not physical representations of mythical shapeshifters, but
were instead attempts to depict shamans in the process
of acquiring the mental and spiritual attributes of various
beasts.[15] Religious historian Mircea Eliade has observed
that beliefs regarding animal identity and transformation
into animals are widespread.[16]
3.3.4 Animal spirits
In North and Central America, and to some extent in west
Africa, Australia and other parts of the world, tribal males
acquire at puberty a tutelary spirit. In some Native Amer-
ican tribes the youth kills the animal of which he dreams
in his initiation fast; its claw, skin or feathers are put into
a little bag, and become his "medicine". This medicine
must be carefully retained, for once lost, it can never be
replaced. In west Africa this relation is said to be entered
into by means of the blood bond, and it is so close that
the death of the animal causes the man to die and vice
versa. Elsewhere the possession of a tutelary spirit in an-
imal form is the privilege of the magician. In Alaska, the
candidate for magical powers has to leave the abodes of
men; the chief of the gods sends an otter to meet him,
which he kills by saying O four times; he then cuts out
its tongue and thereby secures the powers which he seeks.
A man transforms into a werewolf in this 1722 German woodcut.
The people of the Banana area of the Congo are said to
change themselves by use of magic potions composed
of human embryos and other ingredients, but in their
leopard form they may do no harm to mankind under
pain of retaining forever the beasts shape. In some other
cultures the change may be made for the purposes of
evil magic and human victims are not prohibited. The
Zulu belief is that the magicians familiar is really a trans-
formed human being; when he nds a dead body on which
he can work his spells without fear of discovery, the
shaman breathes a sort of life into it, which enables it to
19
move and speak. Further spells have the eect of chang-
ing the revivied body into the form of some animal, usu-
ally a hyena, owl or wildcat (with the latter being most fa-
vored). This creature then becomes the shamans servant
and obeys him in all things; its chief use is, however, to
inict sickness and death upon persons who are disliked
by its master.
The Malays believe that the oce of pawang (or priest)
is only hereditary if the soul of the dead priest, in the
form of a tiger, passes into the body of his son. While
the familiar is often regarded as the alternative form of the
magician, the nagual (bush-soul) is commonly regarded
as wholly distinct from the human being. Beliefs are also
found in which the power of transformation is attributed
to the whole of the population of certain areas, especially
in Africa.
A water spirit takes on a human form in The Kelpie, a painting
by Herbert James Draper.
In Melanesia there is a belief in the tamaniu or atai, which
is an animal counterpart to a person. It may be an eel, a
shark, a lizard, or some other creature. This creature is
corporeal, can understand human speech, and shares the
same soul as its master, leading to legends which have
many characteristics typical of shapeshifter tales, such as
any death or injury aecting both forms at once.[17]
3.4 Psychiatric aspects
Among a sampled set of psychiatric patients, the belief
of being part animal, or clinical lycanthropy, is generally
associated with severe psychosis, but not always with any
specic psychiatric diagnosis or neurological ndings.[18]
Others regard clinical lycanthropy as a delusion in the
sense of the self-identity disorder found in aective and
schizophrenic disorders, or as a symptom of other psy-
chiatric disorders.[19]
Therians are individuals who believe or feel, on an in-
ternal level, that they are non-human animals in a spiri-
tual sense.[20][21] There are also others who claim to have
a psychological or neuro-biological connectionrather
than a spiritual oneto their creature of identication.
Both often use the term "species dysphoria" to describe
20
their feelings of disconnect from their human bodies and
their underlying desire to live as their stated creature.[22]
The therian and vampire subcultures are related to the
otherkin community, and are considered part of it by
most otherkin, but are culturally and historically dis-
tinct movements of their own, despite some overlap in
membership.[22]
3.5 References in popular culture
Main article: Therianthropy in popular culture
Although the werewolf is the best known animal transfor-
mation gure in popular western culture, the plots of sev-
eral novels in the fantasy and mythic ction elds revolve
around other kinds of therianthropic characters. Swim the
Moon, by Paul Brandon, is set in contemporary Australia
and explores Scottish selkie legends. The Antelope Wife,
by Louise Erdrich, set in modern-day Minnesota, draws
on Ojibwe myths of women who can shift between human
and antelope shape. The Fox Woman, by Kij Johnson, set
in historic Japan, re-tells a kitsune legend in novel form.
Coyote Blue, by Christopher Moore, is a contemporary
comic novel about a Native American trickster who can
shift between human and coyote forms. Hannahs Gar-
den, by Midori Snyder, set in the rural American Mid-
west, draws on Anglo-Irish legends of shape-changing
hares to tell a story about death, family dynamics, and the
power of creativity. The Wood Wife, by Terri Windling,
set in Tucson, Arizona, and most of the novels of Charles
de Lint, set in Canada, blend the shape-shifting legends
of European folklore, the therianthropic lore of trick-
sters and shamans, and animal-human hybrid characters
drawn from various Native American mythologies. Alice
Homan draws on the folklore of therianthropy and ly-
canthropy in her contemporary novel, Second Nature, al-
though in this case the protagonist shiftshapes metaphor-
ically rather than literally, having been raised by wolves
in the wild.[23][24]
Michael Jackson also depicted therianthropy in his mu-
sic videos, transforming into a werewolf in the intro of [17] Hamel, F. (1969). Human Animals, Werewolves & Other
Thriller, and a panther at the end of Black or White.
3.6 See also
Shapeshifting
Werewolf
3.7 Notes and references
[1] De Groot, J.J.M. (1901). The Religious System of China:
Volume IV. Leiden: Brill. p. 171.
CHAPTER 3. THERIANTHROPY
[2] Guiley, R.E. (2005). The Encyclopedia of Vampires,
Werewolves & Other Monsters. New York: Facts on File.
p. 192. ISBN 0-8160-4685-9.
[3] Brinkley, Frank; Dairoku Kikuchi (1915). A History of
the Japanese People from the Earliest Times to the End of
the Meiji Era. The Encyclopdia Britannica Co.
[4] Ramsland, Katherine (2005). The Human Predator: A
Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Inves-
tigation. Berkley Hardcover. ISBN 0-425-20765-X.
[5] Edward Podolsky (1953). Encyclopedia of Aberrations: A
Psychiatric Handbook. Philosophical Library.
[6] Trois Freres. Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved
2006-12-06.
[7] Greene, R. (2000). The Magic of Shapeshifting. York
Beach, ME: Weiser. p. 229. ISBN 1-57863-171-8.
[8] kynanthropy; Woodhouses English-Greek Dictionary;
(1910)
[9] De Groot, J.J.M. (1901). The Religious System of China:
Volume IV. Leiden: Brill. p. 184.
[10] Greene, Rosalyn (2000). The Magic of Shapeshifting.
Weiser. p. 9.
[11] Pijoan, T. (1992). White Wolf Woman & Other Native
American Transformation Myths. Little Rock: August
House. p. 79. ISBN 0-87483-200-4.
[12] White, D.G. (1991). Myths of the Dog-Man. Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press. p. 150. ISBN 0-226-
89509-2.
[13] Cultural Life Literature Turkey Interactive CD-ROM;
2007-08-11.
[14] T.C. Kultur Bakanligi; Nevruz Celebrations in Turkey and
Central Asia; Ministry of Culture, Republic of Turkey;
accessed 2007-08-11
[15] Steiger, B. (1999). The Werewolf Book: The Encyclopedia
of Shape-Shifting Beings. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible
Ink. ISBN 1-57859-078-7.
[16] Eliade, Mircea (1965). Rites and Symbols of Initiation: the
mysteries of birth and rebirth. Harper & Row.
Transformations. New Hyde Park, NY: University Books.
p. 21. ISBN 0-8216-0092-3.
[18] Keck PE, Pope HG, Hudson JI, McElroy SL, Kulick AR
(February 1988). Lycanthropy: alive and well in the
twentieth century. Psychol Med. 18 (1): 11320. PMID
3363031. doi:10.1017/S003329170000194X.
[19] Garlipp, P; Godecke-Koch T; Dietrich DE; Haltenhof
H. (January 2004). Lycanthropypsychopathological
and psychodynamical aspects. Acta Psychiatrica Scan-
dinavica. 109 (1): 1922. PMID 14674954.
doi:10.1046/j.1600-0447.2003.00243.x.
[20] We Are Spirits of Another Sort. Nova Religio: the Jour-
nal of Alternative and Emergent Religions. 15 (3): 65.
2012. doi:10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65.
3.7. NOTES AND REFERENCES 21

[21] Cohen, D. (1996). Werewolves. New York: Penguin. p.

104. ISBN 0-525-65207-8.

[22] Lupa (2007). A Field Guide to Otherkin. Megalithic

Books. ISBN 190571307X.

[23] Shapeshifters: Art Inspired by Animal-Human Transfor-

mation Myths, The Journal of Mythic Arts, 2003: name

[24] The Artist as Shaman: Madness, Shapechanging and Art

in Terri Windlings The Wood Wife by Mary Nicole
Sylvester, Mythic Passages, September/October 2003,
The Mythic Imagination Institute.
Chapter 4

Werebear

For the series of teddy bears released in the United 4.3 Other publishers
Kingdom, see WereBear.
The werebear appeared under the lycanthrope heading
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, in Paizo Publishing's book Pathnder Roleplaying Game
the werebear is a type of lycanthrope. Bestiary 2 (2010), on page 181.[10]

4.1 Publication history 4.4 References

[1] Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson. Dungeons & Dragons
The werebear rst appeared in the original Dungeons & (3-Volume Set) (TSR, 1974)
Dragons white box set (1974).[1]
[2] Gygax, Gary. Monster Manual (TSR, 1977)
The werebear appeared in the rst edition of Advanced
Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual [3] Pulsipher, Lewis (FebruaryMarch 1980). My Life as
(1977).[2] The werebear appeared as a player character a Werebear. White Dwarf (article). Games Workshop
race in Dragon #24 (April 1979). The werebear appeared (17): 33.
as a character class in White Dwarf #17, by Lewis Pul-
[4] Gygax, Gary, and Dave Arneson [1974], edited by J. Eric
sipher.[3]
Holmes. Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (TSR, 1977)
The werebear appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Ba-
[5] Allston, Aaron, Steven E. Schend, Jon Pickens, and Dori
sic Set (1977,[4] 1981, 1983). The werebear appeared in
Watry. Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (TSR,
the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991).[5] The
1991)
werebear appeared as a player character class in Night
Howlers (1992). [6] Cook, David, et al. Monstrous Compendium Volume One
(TSR, 1989)
The werebear appeared in the second edition of Ad-
vanced Dungeons & Dragons in the Monstrous Com- [7] Stewart, Doug, ed. Monstrous Manual (TSR, 1993)
pendium Volume One (1989),[6] and was reprinted in the
Monstrous Manual (1993).[7] [8] Williams, Skip, Jonathan Tweet, and Monte Cook.
Monster Manual. Wizards of the Coast, 2000
The lycanthrope appeared as a creature template in the
third edition Monster Manual (2000),[8] and in the 3.5 [9] Poisso, Dean. Animal Ancestry. Dragon #313 (Paizo
revised Monster Manual (2003), with the werebear as a Publishing, 2003)
sample creature. The werebear appeared as a player char- [10] Baur, Wolfgang, Jason Bulmahn, et al. Pathnder Role-
acter race in Dragon #313 (November 2003).[9] playing Game Bestiary 2 (Paizo Publishing, 2010)

4.2 Description
A werebear is a powerful lawful good lycanthrope that is
able to summon brown bears within one mile. A were-
bears human form is large, hirsute, and of solitary tem-
perament. Werebears in their humanoid form prefer to
wield larger and heavier weapons such as great swords,
or great axes. Werebears dress in simple cloth or leather
garments that are easy to remove or replace.

22
Chapter 5

Werecat

A werecat (also written in a hyphenated form as were- masquerading as a human. When these gods mate with
cat) is an analogy to "werewolf" for a feline therianthropic humans, ospring can be produced, and these children
creature. sometimes grow up to be shapeshifters; those who do not
transform may instead have other powers. In reference
to werecats who turn into lions, the ability is often asso-
5.1 Etymology ciated with royalty. Such a being may have been a king
or queen in a former life, or may be destined for lead-
ership in this life. This quality can be seen in the lions
Ailuranthropy comes from the Greek words ailouros
of Tsavo, which were reputed to be kings in lion shape,
meaning cat, and anthropos, meaning human and
attempting to repel the invading Europeans by stopping
refers to human/feline transformations, or to other be-
their railroad with attacks on humans. The ancient myths
ings that combine feline and human characteristics. Its
spanned north Africa to west Africa.
root word is also used in ailurophobia, the most common
term for a phobia of cats. It has been said that the werecats family are those who
have been clawed, scratched, or even looked in the eye
Ailuranthrope is a lesser-known term that refers to a fe-
by a sphinx. They can also be infected by a normal cat,
line therianthrope.
though very rarely.
Depending on the story in question, the species involved
can be a domestic cat,[1] a tiger,[2] a lion,[3] a leopard,[4]
a lynx, or any other type, including some that are purely 5.2.3 Asia
mythical felines.[5]
Mainland Asian werecats usually become tigers.[8] In
India, the weretiger is often a dangerous sorcerer, por-
5.2 Folklore trayed as a menace to livestock, who might at any time
turn to man-eating. These tales travelled through the
Weircats, later known as werecats. (Weircats, Perretti, rest of India and into Persia through travellers who en-
1763.) countered the royal Bengal tigers of India and then fur-
ther west.[9] Chinese legends often describe weretigers as
the victims of either a hereditary curse or a vindictive
5.2.1 Europe ghost. Ancient teachings held that every race except the
Han Chinese were really animals in disguise, so that there
European folklore usually depicts werecats as people who was nothing extraordinary about some of these false hu-
transform into domestic cats. Some European werecats mans reverting to their true natures. Alternatively, the
became giant domestic cats[5] or panthers. They are ghosts of people who had been killed by tigers could be-
generally labelled witches, even though they may have come a malevolent supernatural being known as Chang,
no magical ability other than self-transformation.[6] Dur- ( ) devoting all their energy to making sure that tigers
ing the witch trials, all shapeshifters, including were- killed more humans. Some of these ghosts were respon-
wolves, were considered witches; whether they were male sible for transforming ordinary humans into man-eating
or female.[7] weretigers. Also, in Japanese folklore there are creatures
called bakeneko that are similar to kitsune (fox spirits)
and tanuki (raccoon dogs). In Thailand a tiger that eats
5.2.2 Africa many humans may become a weretiger. There are also
other types of weretigers, such as sorcerers with great
African legends describe werelions, werepanthers or powers who can change their form to become animals.
wereleopards. In the case of leopards, this is often be- In Thailand however the were-crocodile is more famous
cause the creature is really a leopard god or goddess than any other werebeast. In the folk tale Krai-thong,

23
24
for example, the hero defeats Chalawan the Giant, who
could take the form of a crocodile with diamond teeth.
Chalawan was nearly invulnerable and could use magic
as well.
In both Indonesia and Malaysia there is another kind of
weretiger, known as Harimau jadian.[10] The power of
transformation is regarded as due to inheritance, to the
use of spells, to fasting and willpower, to the use of
charms, etc. Save when it is hungry or has just cause
for revenge, it is not hostile to man; in fact, it is said to
take its animal form only at night and to guard the plan-
tations from wild pigs. Variants of this belief assert that
the shapeshifter does not recognize his friends unless they
call him by name, or that he goes out as a mendicant and
transforms himself to take vengeance on those who refuse
him alms. Somewhat similar is the belief of the Khonds;
for them the tiger is friendly, and he reserves his wrath for
their enemies. A man is said to take the form of a tiger in
order to wreak a just vengeance.[10] Also in Malaysia, Ba-
jangs have been described as vampiric or demonic were-
cats.
5.2.4 The Americas
The foremost were-animal in pre-Columbian
Mesoamerican cultures was the were-jaguar. It was
associated with the veneration of the jaguar, with priests
and shamans among the various peoples who followed
this tradition wearing the skins of jaguars to become
a were-jaguar. Among the Aztecs, an entire class of
specialized warriors who dressed in the jaguar skins were
called "jaguar warriors" or jaguar knights. Depictions
of the jaguar and the were-jaguar are among the most
common motifs among the artifacts of the ancient
Mesoamerican civilizations. The balams (magicians) of
Yucatn were said to guard the maize elds in animal
form. They could also be transformed at the Full Moon,
it has been said that the werecats family are those who
have been clawed, scratched, or even looked in the eye
by a sphinx. They can also be infected by a normal cat,
though very rarely.
In the US, urban legends tell of encounters with feline
bipeds; beings similar to the Bigfoot having cat heads,
tails, and paws. Feline bipeds are sometimes classied as
part of cryptozoology, but more often they are interpreted
as werecats.[11]
5.3 Occultism and theology
Assertions that werecats truly exist and have an origin in
supernatural or religious realities have been common for
centuries, with these beliefs often being hard to entirely
separate from folklore. In the 19th century, occultist
J.C. Street asserted that material cat and dog transfor-
mations could be produced by manipulating the ethereal
CHAPTER 5. WERECAT
uid that human bodies are supposedly oating in.[12]
The Catholic witch-hunting manual, the Malleus Male-
carum, asserted that witches can turn into cats, but that
their transformations are illusions created by demons.[13]
New Age author John Perkins asserted that every person
has the ability to shapeshift into jaguars, bushes, or any
other form by using mental power.[14] Occultist Rosalyn
Greene claims that werecats called cat shifters exist as
part of a shifter subculture or underground New Age
religion based on lycanthropy and related beliefs.[15]
5.4 In popular culture
Werecats are increasingly featured in popular culture, al-
though not as often as werewolves.[16]
By far the most prevalent occurrence of werecats in pop
culture is in books. Some novels, novellas, and short sto-
ries with werecats are listed below.
Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle series in-
cludes several characters who are werecats.
The childrens novel, Sebastian Darke: Prince of Pi-
rates, features an enchantress named Leonora, who
can turn herself into a panther at will. She is recog-
nisable in this form by the tawny colour of her pelt,
which matches her eyes when she is in human form.
The protagonist of Rachel Vincent's Shifters series
is a werecat; she is a member of a Pride led by her
father.
Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter
series of novels has several characters who are were-
cats of varying types.
In the Revelation Series (books 2, 3, 4, and 5) the
character Fiona is a housekeeper and maternal g-
ure to our clan of gargoyles. She is the alpha of her
Pishankyin Clowder and transforms into a panther
at will and has the ability to read any females mind.
Her daughter also makes an appearance in the last
novel.
The short story Lusus Naturae by Margaret At-
wood centers on a young woman whose parents fake
her death to hide the fact that she is a werecat.
Werecats also serve as heroes and villains in lm and tele-
vision shows. Notable examples include:
The 1942 Val Lewton lm Cat People and its 1982
remake both feature female shape changers: rst
Simone Simon and then Nastassja Kinski in a highly
sexual role. The 1982 version also includes Malcolm
McDowell as her brother, also a shape-changer.
5.5. SEE ALSO
Cat creatures have appeared multiple times in the
Scooby-Doo franchise, including The Scooby-Doo
Show (19761978) and Whats New, Scooby Doo?
(20022005); in the 1998 animated lm Scooby-
Doo on Zombie Island, the three villains of the lm
were werecats.
In the mid-1980s show She-Ra: Princess of Power,
the villainess Catra can change into a panther.
In the 1983 music video for the Michael Jackson
song Thriller, Michael transforms into a werecat on a
date at full moon. His date runs away, but he catches
her and begins lunging at her with his claws. The
scene then cuts to a cinema where Michael and his
date are actually watching the scene with a terried
audience.
In the 1992 Indian movie Junoon the main antago-
nist is aicted by a curse that transforms him into a
Bengal tiger in the presence of a full moon.
In the Tom and Jerry Tales episode Monster Con,
Tom is turned into a werecat when he looked at the
full moon after being bitten by Jerrys friend, the
werewolf.
In the fourth season of Teen Wolf, Kate Argent,
played by Jill Wagner, who had presumably been
killed by Peter Hale, returned as a were-jaguar.
Mattels Monster High franchise includes ve were-
cat characters: Toralei, Purrsephone, Meowlody,
Catrine DeMew, and Catty Noir. They each appear
the television specials and movies.
Comic books, manga, and anime are other venues for
werecats.
In Chie Shinohara's 1984 manga series Yami no
Paapuru, the main character, Rinko, is pursued by
the scientist, Sonehara, in order to expose to the
world that Rinko is a human that can become a pan-
ther at will.
In the second book of the Elseworlds Batman vam-
pire trilogy, Selina Kyle is attacked by a werewolf,
which later causes her to literally become a cat-
woman when she transforms into a purple werecat.
Schrdinger from the anime Hellsing is a werecat.
Marvel Comics has Catseye of the Hellions, a female
teenage mutant werecat, who appears in a number of
the Marvel Universe lines.
In Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose, the supporting
character Boo Cat is a werecat.
Werecats have been featured in a number of games, both
video and table-top.
25
The 1988 video game Altered Beast includes a
stage where power-ups transform the player into a
weretiger, which provides extra strength and re-
power.
In the tabletop role-playing game Bastet (White
Wolf Publishing, 1997), players get to play were-
cats.
Weretigers are also featured in Dungeons and Drag-
ons.
In the World of Warcraft online roleplaying game,
druids can transform into panther or lion-like forms,
depending on their chosen race.
In the video game Breath of Fire III, one of the main
characters, Rei, is a weretiger.
The 1993 Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
game features weretigers as hidden characters who
can be recruited.
In the video game Bayonetta, the main character has
the ability to transform into a black panther, and the
witch Jeanne can transform into a red lynx.
The Darkstalkers game series features Felicia, a
character who can shift between a domestic cat form
and a werecat girl whenever she wants.
In the game "Shifters" The main character, Alleron,
can shapeshift into a variety of dierent were crea-
tures such as a werebull, wereeagle and the like. He
also has a female werejaguar shaman form called a
spirit claw who has a petite and lithe physique and is
clad in only a green shawl wrapped around her body.
She uses mainly magic.
In the game "Perfect World International" one of the
playable classes is a Venomancer who may take on
the guise of a werecat, werefox, werebat, werebunny
and weredeer.
The Fire Emblem games, namely Path of Radiance
and Radiant Dawn',' feature a race of people called
the laguz that can transform into various animals.
One particular tribe of these laguz can turn into beasts
such as wildcats, lions and tigers.
The Bungou Stray Dogs series features character by
the name of Nakajima Atsushi who has the Ability
to transform into a tiger and sometimes even switch
certain body parts to resemble a tigers.
5.5 See also
Anthropomorphism
Catgirl
Fictional werecats (category)
26 CHAPTER 5. WERECAT

Leopard Society 5.7 References

Lycanthropy (disambiguation)
This article incorporates text from a publication now
Shapeshifting in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911).
"article name needed ". Encyclopdia Britannica (11th
Skin-walker ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Therianthropy Borges, Jorge. (1969). The book of imaginary be-

ings. New York: E. P. Dutton. ISBN 0-670-89180-
Were 0
Werehyena Greene, Rosalyn. (2000). The magic of shapeshift-
ing. York Beach: Weiser. ISBN 1-57863-171-8
Werejaguar
Hall, Jamie. (2003). Half human, half animal:
Wererat
Tales of werewolves and related creatures. Bloom-
ington: 1st Books. ISBN 1-4107-5809-5

5.6 Footnotes Hamel, Frank. (1969). Human animals: Were-

wolves & other transformations. New Hyde Park:
[1] Galenorn, Yasmine (2006). Witchling. Berkley. p. 33. University Books. ISBN 0-8216-0092-3

[2] Monster Manual: Core Rulebook III. Wizards of the Coast. Steiger, Brad. (2001). Out of the dark. New York:
2003. pp. 165166. Kensington Books. ISBN 1-57566-896-3

[3] Feehan, Christine (2002). Lair of the Lion. Leisure
Books.
[4] Worland, Rick (2006). The Horror Film: An Introduction.
Blackwell Publishing. pp. 73, 176178, 184.
Saunders, Nicholas J. (1991). The cult of the cat.
London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-81036-
2

[5] Greene, Rosalyn (2000). The Magic of Shapeshifting.

Weiser. p. 9.

[6] Hamel, Frank (1969). Human Animals. New Hyde Park:

University Books. pp. 7, 103109.

[7] Summers, Montague; Heinrich Kramer, James Sprenger

(2000). The Malleus Malecarum of Heinrich Kramer and
James Sprenger. Book Tree. pp. 6165.

[8] Summers, Montague (1966). The Werewolf. University

Books. p. 21.

[9] lycanthropy the were-tiger of the east indies

[10] Encyclopdia Britannica. 19101911.

[11] Steiger, Brad (2001). Out of the Dark. Kensington Books.

pp. 154160.

[12] Hamel, Frank (1969). Human Animals. New Hyde Park:

University Books. p. 292.

[13] Summers, Montague; Heinrich Kramer, James Sprenger

(2000). The Malleus Malecarum of Heinrich Kramer and
James Sprenger. Book Tree. pp. 127128.

[14] Perkins, John (1997). Shape Shifting. Rochester, Ver-

mont: Destiny Books. p. 3.

[15] Greene, Rosalyn (2000). The Magic of Shapeshifting.

Weiser. pp. 5389, 125, 149.

[16] Weeks, Linton (July 17, 2009). You Sexy Beast: Our
Fascination With Werewolves. NPR.
Chapter 6

Werehyena

and Morocco where some among the Berber people re-

gard the bouda as a man or woman who nightly turns
into a hyena and resumes human shape at dawn.[1] Many
Ethiopian Christians characterize Ethiopian Jews as be-
ing bouda, accusing them of unearthing Christian corpses
and consuming them; the commonality of blacksmithing
as a traditional profession for Jewish men in Ethiopia may
be a reason for the connection between the two beliefs.[4]
In the folklore of western Sudanic peoples, there is a hy-
brid creature, a human who is nightly transformed into
a cannibalistic monster that terrorizes people, especially
lovers. The creature is often portrayed as a magically
powerful healer, blacksmith, or woodcutter in its human
form, but recognizable through signs like a hairy body,
red and gleaming eyes and a nasal voice.[5]
Members of the Kor cult of the Bambara people in Mali
become hyenas by imitating the animals behaviour
A hyena, as depicted in a medieval bestiary
through masks and roleplays. These are evocative of the
hyenas reviled habits, and may also be used to evoke fear
Were-hyena is a neologism coined in analogy to
among the participants, leading them to avoid such habits
werewolf for therianthropy involving hyenas. It is com-
and traits in their own lives.[5]
mon in the folklore of North Africa, the Horn of Africa
and the Near East, as well as some adjacent territories.
Unlike werewolves and other therianthropes, which are
usually portrayed as being originally human, some were-
hyena lore tells of how they can also be hyenas disguised
as humans.[1]

6.2 Other cultures

6.1 African cultures
In the Kanuri language of the former Bornu Empire in Al-Doumairy, in his Hawayan Al-Koubra (1406), wrote
the Lake Chad region, werehyenas are referred to as that hyenas are vampiric creatures that attack people at
bultungin which translates into I change myself into a night and suck the blood from their necks. Arab folklore
hyena.[2] It was once traditionally believed that one or tells of how hyenas can mesmerise victims with their eyes
two of the villages in the region was populated entirely or sometimes with their pheromones.[6]
by werehyenas,[1] such as Kabultiloa.[3] A Persian medical treatise written in 1376 tells how to
In Ethiopia, it is traditionally believed that every cure people known as kaftar, who are said to be half-
blacksmith, whose trade is hereditary, is really a wizard or man, half-hyena,
[5]
who have the habit of slaughtering
witch with the power to change into a hyena. These black- children.
smith werehyenas are believed to rob graves at midnight The Greeks, until the end of the 19th century, believed
and are referred to as bouda[1] (also spelled buda).[2][4] that the bodies of werewolves, if not destroyed, would
They are viewed with suspicion by most countrymen. haunt battleelds as vampiric hyenas which drank the
Belief in the bouda is also present in Sudan, Tanzania blood of dying soldiers.[1]

27
28 CHAPTER 6. WEREHYENA

6.3 Films
Hyenas (lm)
Le Cri du Coeur (Idrissa Ouedraogo) - 1994
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - 2013

6.4 See also

Blood libel
Crocotta
Gnoll
Skin-walker
Shapeshifting
Therianthropy
Leopard Society
Lycanthropy (disambiguation)
Were
Wererat
Werecat
Werewolf
"The Pack", an episode of Buy the Vampire Slayer
that featured creatures similar to the werehyena

6.5 References
[1] Woodward, Ian (1979). The Werewolf Delusion. p. 256.
ISBN 0-448-23170-0.
[2] Tylor, Edward Burnett (1920). Primitive culture. John
Murray. p. 301.
[3] Massey, Gerald (2007). The Natural Genesis - Vol.1.
Cosimo, Inc. p. 73. ISBN 1-60206-084-3.
[4] Salamon, Hagar (1999). The Hyena People: Ethiopian
Jews in Christian Ethiopia. ISBN 0-520-21901-5.
[5] The Magicality of the Hyena: Beliefs and Practices in
West and South Asia (PDF). Asian Folklore Studies,
Volume 57, 1998: 331344. June 2008. Retrieved 23.
Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
[6] Mounir R. Abi-Said (2006). Reviled as a grave robber:
The ecology and conservation of striped hyenas in the hu-
man dominated landscapes of Lebanon.

6.6 External links

Book Review: The Hyena People: Ethiopian Jews
In Christian Ethiopia
Chapter 7

Werejaguar

was tied to a myth concerning a copulation between a

jaguar and a woman. Although this hypothesis is still rec-
ognized as viable by many researchers, other explanations
for the were-jaguar motif have since been put forward,
several questioning whether the motif actually represents
a jaguar at all.
The term is derived from Old English were, meaning
man, and jaguar, a large member of the cat family in
the Olmec heartland, on analogy with werewolf.

7.1 Description

A stone Olmec were-jaguar, showing common were-jaguar char-

acteristics including a downturned mouth, almond-shaped eyes,
pleated ear bars, a headdress with headband, and a crossed-bars
icon on the chest

The were-jaguar was both an Olmec motif and a super-

natural entity, perhaps a deity.
The were-jaguar motif is characterized by almond-
shaped eyes, a downturned open mouth, and a cleft
head.[1] It appears widely in the Olmec archaeological
record, and in many cases, under the principle of pars
pro toto, the were-jaguar motif represents the were-jaguar
supernatural.[2] The were-jaguar supernatural incorpo-
rates the were-jaguar motif as well as other features, al-
though various academics dene the were-jaguar super-
natural dierently. The were-jaguar supernatural was Las Limas Monument 1, showing an adolescent presenting a
once considered to be the primary deity of the Olmec were-jaguar infant. Proles of four other supernaturals are in-
culture but is now thought to be only one of many.[3] cised on the adolescents shoulders and knees.
Originally, many scholars believed that the were-jaguar

29
30 CHAPTER 7. WEREJAGUAR

7.1.1 Were-jaguar motif

The basic were-jaguar motif combines a cleft head, slant-

ing almond-shaped eyes with round irises, and a down-
turned open mouth with a ared upper lip and tooth-
less gums.[4] This motif was rst described in print by
Marshall Saville in 1929 and expanded upon by artist and
archaeologist Miguel Covarrubias in his 1946 and 1957
books. In this latter book, Indian Art of Mexico & Cen-
tral America, Covarrubias included a family tree showing
the jaguar mask as ancestral to all (later) Mesoameri-
can rain gods.[5]
At about this time, in 1955, Matthew Stirling set forward
what has since become known as the Stirling Hypothe-
sis, proposing that the were-jaguar was the outcome of a
mating between a jaguar and a woman.
In response to this groundwork, the were-jaguar became
the reigning linchpin of Olmec iconography. Nearly
any representation showing a downturned mouth or cleft
head was described as a were-jaguar.[6] A major 1965
Olmec-oriented exhibition was entitled The Jaguars
Children and referred to the were-jaguar as the divine
power of the Olmec civilization.[7]
This paradigm was undermined, however, by the dis-
covery that same year of Las Limas Monument 1, a
greenstone sculpture that displayed not only a were-
jaguar baby, but four other supernaturals, each of whom
had a cleft head. Based on analyses of this sculpture,
in 1976, Peter David Joralemon proposed denitions for
eight Olmec supernaturals, each characterised by specic
iconographic combinations.
Monument 52 from San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan, showing a classic
were-jaguar gure. The long deep groove carved into the back
of this sculpture indicates it was part of the drainage system, as-
sociating the were-jaguar with rain and water.

7.1.2 Were-jaguar as a rain deity

7.1.3 Beyond the term were-jaguar
Through this and subsequent research, it became ap-
Some academics have even attempted to move away from
parent that not every cleft head nor every downturned
the term were-jaguar. For example, in his 1996 mono-
mouth represented a were-jaguar.[8] Some researchers
graph, rather than were-jaguar, Anatole Pohorilenko
have therefore rened the were-jaguar supernatural,
uses the term composite anthropomorph, and in their
specically equating it with the Olmec rain deity,[9] a
1993 book, Miller and Taube state that:
proposition that artist, archaeologist, and ethnographer
Miguel Covarrubias had made as early as 1946 in Mex-
ico South.[10] An overarching [were-jaguar] theory cannot
explain the diversity and complexity of Olmec
The Olmec rain supernatural (or deity) not only displays supernaturals. Only one, the Rain Baby, clearly
the characteristic almond-shaped eyes, cleft head, and seems to be a human-jaguar blend.[14]
downturned mouththat is, the were-jaguar motifbut
has several other dening attributes, including a headband
and a headdress, the latter usually cleft.[11] The headband
is often divided horizontally and decorated with regularly 7.2 Depictions
spaced ornaments.[12] In addition to, or often as an exten-
sion of, the headdress, the supernatural also sports earbars Although they are strangely absent from ceramics,[15]
(often pleated) running down the sides of its face, and a three-dimensional representations of the Olmec
crossed-bars icon on the chest and/or navel.[13] were-jaguar supernatural appear in a wide variety of
7.3. ORIGINS 31

stonework, from small greenstone gurines (see this Furst, however, have cast doubt on this hypothesis, in-
9 cm gurine) to basalt statues (such as San Lorenzo stead proposing alternatives to explain the jaguar charac-
Monument 52) to larger monuments (see lead photo). teristics.
Inert were-jaguar babies are often shown held by stoic
adults, as if the infant were being presented. This scene is
depicted in a wide range of materials, from small portable
carvings (see photo below) to nearly life-size greenstone 7.3.2 Jaguar as victor
statuettes, to multi-tonne altars (see photo of Altar 5 front
here), although it is not known with any clarity what this In her 1978 article, Whitney Davis suggests that the so-
act represents. called depictions of human-jaguar copulation on monu-
ments are instead the beginnings of a jaguar cult or are
Two-dimensional representations of the were-jaguar representative of conquest in battle rather than a sexual
were incised onto greenstone celts, painted on pottery, conquest. Rather than viewing the people and jaguar-
and even carved onto four multi-tonne monoliths at gures in sexual situations, Davis sees the jaguar, or man
Teopantecuanitlan (see drawing). Lively were-jaguar ba- in jaguar pelts, as an aggressor towards a defeated oppo-
bies are depicted in bas-relief on the sides of La Venta nent. Most of the gures in the reliefs and monuments
Altar 5 (see photo below). are clothed in loincloths, which would negate copulation,
According to archaeologist Peter Furst, were-jaguar g- and Davis believes those that are naked appear dead or
urines were likely used as household gods for many dying rather than in a sexual posture. It is not uncom-
people and as spirit helpers or familiars for priests mon to see unclothed human gures as representative of
or shamans, aiding in transformative acts and other dead captives or opponents in battle, as in the danzantes
rituals.[16] of Monte Alban.

7.3 Origins
Further information: Jaguars in Mesoamerican culture

As the major predator of Mesoamerica, the jaguar was

revered by pre-Columbian societies, and adoption of
jaguar motifs by the ruling elite was used to reinforce or
validate leadership.[17] However, this does not explain the
were-jaguar motif in and of itself, and the possible ori-
gins of the motif have engaged scholars for over a half
century.

7.3.1 The Stirling hypothesis

Matthew Stirling, who made many of the initial Olmec

discoveries in the mid-20th century, proposed that the
were-jaguar motif was derived from the story of copula-
tion between a male jaguar and a female human, largely
based on:

Potrero Nuevo Monument 3,

Tenochititln Monument 1,

Laguna de los Cerros Monument 20, and

Murals from Chalcatzingo.

This so-called Stirling hypothesis[18] won guarded sup- The presentation of an inert were-jaguar baby is a common
port from later archaeologists, including Michael D. Coe. theme in Olmec art. Compare this with Las Limas Monument 1
Further analysis of these sculptures by scholars including above.
Whitney Davis, Carolyn Tate, Carson Murdy, and Peter
32 CHAPTER 7. WEREJAGUAR

7.3.3 Genetic defects

Even before Davis questioned the idea of a belief sys-
tem centering on human-jaguar copulation, scholars like
Michael Coe[19] looked for biological causes for the eshy
lips, cleft head, and toothless mouths that make up the
were-jaguar motif. Genetic abnormalities like Down syn-
drome and spina bida have been common explanations.
People aicted with spina bida in particular present de-
velopmental defects that coincide with the were-jaguar
characteristics. One such condition is encephaloceles,
which among other things, can cause separation of the
cranial sutures and result in a depression, or cleft, in the
head.[20] Cranium bidum can produce similar results. In
addition, there is a higher chance of these conditions oc- Two lively were-jaguar babies on the left side of La Venta Altar
curring within the same family than randomly throughout 5. The two were-jaguars depicted on Altar 5 at La Venta as
the population, and there might have been considerable being carried out from a niche or caveplaces often associated
inbreeding among the elite.[21] If children born with this with the emergence of human beingsmay be mythic hero twins
aiction were seen as divine or special in some way, mul- essential to Olmec mythology[25] and perhaps forerunners of the
tiple births of aected children within a family or familial Maya Hero Twins.
line would have reinforced that familys political and re-
ligious power. riod or to the many dierent people who created the im-
ages. The matter is far from settled.
7.3.4 Were-jaguar as toad
Peter Furst, among others, has suggested that the were- 7.4 See also
jaguar actually represents a variety of native toad, specif-
ically an anthropomorphically conceived toad with Jaguars in Mesoamerican culture
jaguar characteristics.[22]
Naguals, later Mesoamerican mythical shape-
Species of toad that are commonly found in Mesoamer-
shifters
ica, like Bufo marinus or Bufo valliceps, have the pro-
nounced cleft in the head and, like all toads, have a eshy
mouth with toothless gums. These species of toad are
known to have ceremonial and hallucinogenic properties 7.5 Notes
for many cultures of Mesoamerica. Skeletal remains of
these species, particularly Bufo marinus, have been found [1] Coe (1968), p. 42. Diehl, p. 104.
at several archaeological sites in Mesoamerica includ-
[2] Pars pro toto means that a part represents the whole. This
ing Olmec ceremonial centers.[23] These species of toads
principle is common in Olmec art (See, among others, Jo-
have inherent symbolic power in their metamorphic life
ralemon, p. 51).
cycle, their fertility, their hallucinogenic venom, and es-
pecially their skin-shedding.[24] [3] See, among others, Miller & Taube, p. 103.
Those were-jaguar representations that have fangs com- [4] Coe (1968), p. 42. Diehl, p. 104.
monly attributed as jaguar fangs can also be explained as
toad-like. Several times a year, mature toads shed their [5] Covarrubias (1957), p. 62.
skin. As the old skin is shed, the toad will eat it. As
the skin is eaten, it hangs out of the toads mouth and [6] Pool, p. 68.
closely resembles the fangs of the were-jaguar. The pro- [7] Coe (1965), p. 123.
cess of regeneration could have symbolised death and re-
birth, with all its attendant religious implications. [8] Pool, p. 112.

[9] e.g. Pool, p. 116, or Pohorilenko.

7.3.5 Summary
[10] See Covarrubias (1986) pg. 99, where he says: stylistic
evidence shows that the Olmec jaguar mask is an early
There are many theories and associations that swirl form of the rain-god.
around the were-jaguar motif, and they need not be not
mutually exclusive. It is possible that were-jaguars meant [11] The headdress may be cleft in back and not, like the were-
dierent things at dierent times during the Olmec pe- jaguar motif, at the very top of the head.
7.6. REFERENCES
[12] Pohorilenko (p. 125) says that the headdress is by far
the most important dress item, while Joralemon (1996,
p. 56) says that particularly important is a striated head-
band.
[13] These characteristics of the Olmec rain
supernatural/were-jaguar are found in Miller &
Taube (p. 126), Joralemon (1996), and Pohorilenko (p.
125). Interestingly enough, while Joralemon nds that
the Olmec rain supernatural has were-jaguar features
(i.e. displays the were-jaguar motif), it is nevertheless
not the were-jaguar supernatural. Joralemon includes the
earbars in his denition of the were-jaguar supernatural,
but states that the creature never wears a headband,
headdress, or other dening attributes. He is easily
recognizable from his features alone (p. 58).
[14] Miller & Taube, p. 185.
[15] Joralemon, p. 56.
[16] Furst (1996), pp. 69-70.
[17] Miller & Taube, p. 102.
[18] See Miller & Taube, p. 158.
[19] Coe, 1962.
[20] Murdy 1981, p. 863.
[21] Murdy 1981, p. 863-866.
[22] Furst (1981, p. 150) was one of the rst to propose the
were-jaguar as toad connection. Two years later, Al-
ison Bailey Kennedy wrote a 1983 article on this sub-
ject for Current Anthropology. Elizabeth Benson, in her
1996 compendium, mentions this theory sympathetically
(p. 231; p. 263).
[23] Coe (1994), p. 69: There were a wide number of bones
from the marine toad, Bufo marinus". . . at San Lorenzo.
[24] Furst (1981), p. 150.
[25] Coe 2002, p. 75-76
7.6 References
Benson, E.P. and B. de la Fuente, eds. (1996)
Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico, National Gallery of
Art, Washington D.C., ISBN 0-89468-250-4.
Benson, E.P. (1998) The Lord, The Ruler: Jaguar
Symbolism in the Americas. In N.J. Saunders
(ed.), Icons of Power: Feline Symbolism in the Amer-
icas. London: Routledge: 53-76.
Coe, Michael D. (1972) Olmec Jaguars and Olmec
Kings. In E.P. Benson (ed.), The Cult of the Feline.
Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks: 1-12.
Coe, Michael D. (1999) The Maya. London:
Thames and Hudson: 90, 247-48.
33
Coe, Michael D. (2002) Mexico: From the Olmecs to
the Aztecs. London: Thames and Hudson: 64, 75-
76.
Covarrubias, Miguel (1986) [1946]. Mexico South:
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Reprint, Originally
published New York: Knopf 1946 ed.). Lon-
don: KPI (Kegan Paul International), distributed
by Routledge & Kegan Paul, by arrangement with
Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-7103-0184-7. OCLC
14069879.
Covarrubias, Miguel (1957) Indian Art of Mexico
and Central America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Davis, Whitney (1978) So-Called Jaguar-Human
Copulation Scenes in Olmec Art. American An-
tiquity 43(3): 453-457.
Diehl, Richard (2004). The Olmecs: Americas First
Civilization. Ancient peoples and places series. Lon-
don: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-02119-8.
OCLC 56746987.
Furst, Peter T. (1981) Jaguar Baby or Toad
Mother: A New Look at an Old Problem in Olmec
Iconography. In E.P. Besnon (ed.), The Olmec
and Their Neighbors. Washington D.C.: Dumbar-
ton Oaks: 149-162. ISBN 978-0-88402-098-1.
Joralemon, Peter David (1996) In Search of the
Olmec Cosmos: Reconstructing the World View of
Mexicos First Civilization. In E. P. Benson and
B. de la Fuente (eds.), Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico.
Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art: 51-60.
ISBN 0-89468-250-4.
Miller, Mary; Karl Taube (1993). The Gods and
Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illus-
trated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. Lon-
don: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-05068-6.
OCLC 27667317.
Murdy, Carson N (1981) Congenital Deformities
and the Olmec Were-Jaguar Motif. American An-
tiquity 46(4): 861-871.
Pohorilenko, Anatole (1996) Portable Carvings in
the Olmec Style, in E. P. Benson and B. de la
Fuente (eds.), Olmec Art of Ancient Mexico. Wash-
ington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art: 119-131.
ISBN 0-89468-250-4.
Pool, Christopher (2007) Olmec Archaeology and
Early Mesoamerica. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN 978-0-521-78882-3.
Tate, Carolyn E. (1999) Patrons of Shamanic
Power: La Ventas Supernatural Entities in Light of
Mixe Beliefs. Ancient Mesoamerica 10: 169-188.
34 CHAPTER 7. WEREJAGUAR

Saunders, N.J. (1998) Architecture of Symbolism:

The Feline Image. In N.J. Saunders (ed), Icons of
Power: Feline Symbolism in the Americas. London:
Routledge: 12-52.

7.7 Further reading

Joralemon, Peter David (1971) A Study in Olmec
Iconography. In Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and
Archaeology, No. 7. Washington, D.C.: Dumbar-
ton Oaks.
7.8. TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES 35

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7.8.1 Text
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TowerDragon, Robbot, Fredrik, Kizor, Altenmann, Ajd, Lowellian, Blainster, Wereon, Radagast, Matt Gies, Gwalla, Gtrmp, Flordeneu,
ShaunMacPherson, var Arnfjr Bjarmason, 0x6D667061, Everyking, Guanaco, Mboverload, Wmahan, Utcursch, Andycjp, Piotrus,
Secfan, Icairns, Atemperman, D6, Jim Henry, Vsmith, Ovvldc, WikiPediaAid, Dbachmann, Mani1, Theosaur, BlueNight, Putrescent
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Keolah, Andrewpmk, Logologist, InShaneee, Wdfarmer, Max rspct, ReyBrujo, Tony Sidaway, Ianblair23, Shimeru, Angr, Woohookitty,
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mouth, Kungfuadam, Ericreiter, Lobizn, Jaysscholar, MMM PIE!!!, SmackBot, Action Parker, Stardancer101, Malkinann, TestPilot,
Od Mishehu, Arny, Yamaguchi , Kevinalewis, Hraefen, Chris the speller, SchftyThree, Neo-Jay, ERobson, Emperor Jachra, Colonies
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neOlivo, Heartkels, Bossman1234248957208471, LukasMatt, NQ, Shapeshifter123, Whikie, Johnnyappleseed777, WyattAlex, Bermudi-
anMiller, Inyouchuu shoku, Wassword, Drmrc, DarkDormitoryBelt, Ira Leviton, CAPTAIN RAJU, Lilie-b 12, Ayonpradhan, Motivao,
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36 CHAPTER 7. WEREJAGUAR

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38 CHAPTER 7. WEREJAGUAR

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