[Lazarus]

Lycanthropy in legend


Although the term lycanthropy properly speaking refers to metamorphosis into a wolf, it is in practice used of transformation into any animal. The Greeks also spoke of kynanthropy (Kynior, dog) ; in India and the Asiatic islands the tiger is the commonest form, in North Europe the bear, in Japan the fox, in Africa the leopard or hyena, sometimes also the lion, in South America the jaguar ; but though there is a tendency for the most important carnivorous animal of the area to take the first place in stories and beliefs as to transformation, the less important beasts of prey and even harmless animals like the deer also figure among the were-animals.
Lycanthropy is often confused with transmigration; but the essential feature of the were-animal is that it is the alternative form or the double of a living human being, while the soul-animal is the vehicle, temporary or permanent, of the spirit of a dead human being.

Even if the denotation of lycanthropy is limited to the animal-metamorphosis of living human beings, the beliefs classed together under this head are far from uniform, and the term is somewhat capriciously applied. The transformation may be voluntary or involuntary, temporary or permanent; the were-animal may be the man himself metamorphosed, it may be his double whose activity leaves the real man to all appearance unchanged, it may be his soul, which goes forth seeking whom it may devour and leaving its body in a state of trance; or it may be no more than the messenger of the human being, a real animal or a familiar spirit, whose intimate connection with its owner is shown by the fact that any injury to it is believed, by a phenomenon known as repercussion, to cause a corresponding injury to the human being.

The phenomenon of repercussion, the power of animal metamorphosis, or of sending out a familiar, real or spiritual, as a messenger, and the supernatural powers conferred by association with such a familiar, are also attributed to the magi, male and female, all the world over ; and witch superstitions are closely parallel to, if not identical with, lycanthropic beliefs, the occasional involuntary character of lycanthropy being almost the sole distinguishing feature. In another direction the phenomenon of repercussion is asserted to manifest itself in connection with the bush-soul of the West African and the nagual of Central America ; but though there is no line of demarcation to be drawn on logical grounds, the assumed power of the magician and the intimate association of the bush-soul or the nagual with a human being are not termed lycanthropy. Nevertheless it will be well to touch on both these beliefs here.

In North and Central America, and to some extent in West Africa, Australia and other parts of the world, every male acquires at puberty a tutelary spirit; in some tribes of Indians 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" and must be carefully retained, for a "medicine" once lost 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 animal 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. The Malays believe that the office of pawang (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 or bush-soul is commonly regarded as wholly distinct from the human being. Transitional beliefs, however, are found, especially in Africa, in which the power of transformation is attributed to the whole of the population of certain areas. The people of Banana are said to change themselves by magical means, composed of human embryos and other ingredients, but in their leopard form they may do no hurt to mankind under pain of retaining for ever the beast shape. In other cases the change is supposed to be made for the purposes of evil magic and human victims are not prohibited. We can, therefore, draw no line of demarcation, and this makes it probable that lycanthropy is connected with nagualism and the belief in familiar spirits, as Dr Tylor argues, or with totemism, as suggested by J. F. M'Lennan. A further link is supplied by the Zulu belief that the magician's familiar is really a transformed human being ; when he finds a dead body on which he can work his spells without fear of discovery, the wizard breathes a sort of life into it, which enables it to move and speak, it being thought that some dead wizard has taken possession of it. He then burns a hole in the head and through the aperture extracts the tongue. Further spells have the effect of changing the revivified body into the form of some animal, hyena, owl or wild cat, the latter being most in favour. This creature then becomes the wizard's servant and obeys him in all things ; its chief use is, however, to inflict sickness and death upon persons who are disliked by its master.

This post has been edited by Sanctuary: 11 April 2005 - 12:20 AM

[Lazarus]

Lycanthropy in Europe.


The wolf is the most common form of the were-animal, though in the north the bear disputes its pre-eminence. In ancient Greece the dog was also associated with the belief. Marcellus of Sida, who wrote under the Antonines, gives an account of a disease which befell people in February ; but a pathological state seems to be meant.

[Lazarus]

Lycanthropy in Africa.

In Abyssinia the power of transformation is attributed to the Boudas, and at the same time we have records of pathological lycanthropy . Blacksmiths are credited with magical powers in many parts of the world, and it is significant that the Boudas are workers of iron and clay ; in the Life of N. Pearce a European observer tells a story of a supposed transformation which took place in his presence and almost before his eyes ; but it does not appear how far hallucination rather than coincidence must be invoked to explain the experience.

[Lazarus]

The Were-tiger of the East Indies.


The Poso-Alfures of central Celebes believe that man has three souls, the inosa, the angga and the tanoana. The inosa is the vital principle ; it can be detected in the veins and arteries ; it is given to man by one of the great natural phenomena, more especially the wind. The angga is the intellectual part of man ; its seat is unknown ; after death it goes to the under-world, and, unlike the inosa, which is believed to be dissolved into its original elements, takes possession of an immaterial body. The tanoana is the divine in man and after death returns to its lord, Poewempala boeroe. It goes forth during sleep, and all that it sees it whispers into the sleeper's ear and then he dreams. According to another account, the tanoana is the substance by which man lives, thinks and acts ; the tanoana of man, plants and animals is of the same nature. A man's tanoana can be strengthened by those of others ; when the tanoana is long away or destroyed the man dies. The tanoana seems to be the soul of which lycanthropic feats are asserted.
Among the Toradjas of central Celebes it is believed that a man's "inside" can take the form of a cat, wild pig, ape, deer or other animal, and afterwards resume human form ; it is termed lamboyo. The exact relation of the lamboyo to the tanoana does not seem to be settled ; it will be seen below that the view seems to vary. According to some the power of transformation is a gift of the gods, but others hold that werewolfism is contagious and may be acquired by eating food left by a werwolf or even by leaning one's head against the same pillar. The Todjoers hold that any one who touches blood becomes a werewolf. In accordance with this view is the belief that werewolfism can be cured; the breast and stomach of the wereman must be rubbed and pinched, just as when any other witch object has to be extracted. The patient drinks medicine, and the contagion leaves the body in the form of snakes and worms. There are certain marks by which a wereman can be recognized. His eyes are unsteady and sometimes green with dark shadows underneath. He does not sleep soundly and fireflies come out of his mouth. His lips remain red in spite of betel chewing, and he has a long tongue. The Todjoers add that his hair stands on end.

Some of the forms of the lamboyo are distinguishable from ordinary animals by the fact that they run about among the houses ; the were-buffalo has only one horn, and the were-pig transforms itself into an ants' nest, such as hangs from trees. Some say that the wereman does not really take the form of an animal himself, but, like the sorcerer, only sends out a messenger. The lamboyo attacks by preference solitary individuals, for he does not like to be observed. The victim feels sleepy and loses consciousness ; the lamboyo then assumes human form (his body being, however, still at home) and cuts up his victim, scattering the fragments all about. He then takes the liver and eats it, puts the body together again, licks it with his long tongue and joins it together. When the victim comes to himself again he has no idea that anything unusual has happened to him. He goes home. but soon begins to feel unwell. In a few days he dies, but before his death he is able sometimes to name the werman to whom he has fallen a victim.

From this account it might be inferred that the lamboyo was identical with the tanoana: the absence of the lamboyo seems to entail a condition of unconsciousness, and it can assume human form. In other cases, however, the lamboyo seems to be analogous to the familiar of the sorcerer. The Toradjas tell a story of how a man once' came to a house and asked the woman to give him a rendezvous ; it was night and she was asleep ; the question was put three times before the answer was given "in the tobacco plantation." The husband was awake, and next day followed his wife, who was irresistibly drawn thither. The wereman came to meet her in human form, although his body was engaged in building a new house, and caused the woman to faint by stamping three times on the ground. Thereupon the husband attacked the wereman with a piece of wood, and the latter, to escape, transformed himself into a leaf; this the husband put into a piece of bamboo and fastened the ends so that he could not escape, he then went back to the village and put the bamboo in the fire.

In another case a woman died, and, as her death was believed to be due to the malevolence of a werewolf, her husband watched by her body. For, like Indian witches, the werewolf, for some reason, wishes to revive his victim and comes in human form to carry off the coffin. As soon as the woman was brought to life the husband attacked the werewolf, who transformed himself into a piece of wood and was burnt. The woman remained alive, but her murderer died the same night.

According to a third form of the belief, the body of the wereman is itself transformed. One evening a man left the hut in which a party were preparing to pass the night ; one of his companions heard a deer and fired into the darkness. Soon after the man came back and said he had been shot. Although no marks were to be seen he died a few days later.

In Central Java we meet with another kind of were-tiger. The power of transformation is regarded as due to inheritance, to the use of spells, to fasting and will-power, 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 plantations from wild pigs. exactly as the balams (magicians) of Yucatan were said to guard the corn fields in animal form. Variants of this belief assert that the wereman 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 ; he reserves his wrath for their enemies, and a man is said to take the form of a tiger in order to wreak a just vengeance.

[Lazarus]

Lycanthropy in South America.


According to K. F. P. v. Martius, the kanaima is a human being who employs poison to carry out his function of blood avenger ; other authorities represent the kanaima as a jaguar, which is either an avenger of blood or the familiar of a cannibalistic sorcerer. The Europeans of Brazil hold that the seventh child of the same sex in unbroken succession becomes a were-man or woman, and takes the form of a horse, goat, jaguar or pig.

[Lazarus]

A little abreviated lore about were-folk

This is a listing of varous werewolves in different cultures, included are vampires in this list as many vampires were believed to change shape as well.

Alp (German)
A vampyre-incubus or predatory blood-drinking ghost in German lore. An
accomplished shapeshifter the Alp can appear as a bird, cat, pig or dog
and wears a "cap of concealment" (Tarnkappe) which bestows invisibility
and magic powers when worn. From the same Teutonic root as Alf or Elf,
meaning the "Shining White One".

Agriogourouno (Macedonian)
"Wild boar" in Macedonian, a shapeshifting phenomena thought to afflict
Turks who have lead very wicked lives or never have eaten Pork.

Aptrgongumenn (Norse)
Walking dead

Baobhan Sith (Scottish)
Faery-vampyres, appear as young women dressed in green.

Bleiz-Garv (French)
Cruel wolf (Bretton French)

Broucalaque (see Burculacas )

Bruxsa (Portugese)
A female vampyre witch who can turn herself into a great night-bird.

Burculacas (Greek)
Term used for a vampyre lycanthrope

Cat-witches (European)
In parts of France the witches are always said to assume the form of
large black cats and gather in the old forest of Bonlieu.

Chesme (Turkish)
Vampyre cat spirit associated with springs and lakes

Chovihani (Romani)
Witch that assumes cat form after dusk.

Dachnavar (Armenian)
Spirit thank drinks blood from travellers toes.

Deag-dul (Irish)
Red Blood Sucker, one female is said to dwell in Waterford, if found a
cairn should be built over the grave to stop them wandering.

Doppelsauger (Wendish)
Double sucker, can only return to it's previous dwelling place along the
path it's coffin was carried out. To prevent this the sill of the door
is lifed over the coffin as it leaves the house, and put back in place
after the funeral.

Dhampir (Serbian)
Son of a vampyre and a living woman, said to have shaman like powers and
a boneless rubbery body.

Frog (European)
A familiar of witches, and a form assumed by vampyres in Wallachian
folklore, particularly red-headed men.

Gairou (Haute Maine)
Werewolf

Garwaf (Norman)
Werewolf in old Normandy

Garwall, Guaroul and Garol (Bretton french)
Werewolf

Gerulphus (Low Latin)
In writings of the middle ages, werewolf

Ghierwolf (Dutch)
Werewolf in some districts of the Neatherlands.

Gorgol (Welsh)
Mediaeval tern, meaning man wolf

Kallikantzaros (Greek)
Aegean, Mainland Greece, Crete and Messenia, "Beautiful Centaurs", semi-
animal demonic creatures, horned black beings with hooves, fangs, talons
and tails.

Kara-kondjiolos (circssian Turkish)
Vampire witches that ride up rooted trees.

Kresnik (Slovanian)
Traditional vampyre slaying shaman, can take the form of boars, horses,
white dogs or bulls.

Krvoijac (Bulgarian)
Vampyre

Kudlak (Slovanian)
Vampyre can take the form of a black boar, horses, hounds or bulls.
Enemy of Kresnik.

Kunanthropos (Greek)
7th century, means "Dog-man"

Leannan -Sidhe (Irish)
Faery mistress, lures young men, can assume form of a white deer.

Liogat (Albanian)
Defined in 1854 as "Dead turks in winding sheets", mortal enemy, wolves
who tear off the Liogats legs causing them to retire vanquished to the
tomb never to wander again.

Lobishomem ( Portugese)
Or Lobis-Homem, one under an enchantment who occasionally becomes a
wolf. Has a short tail covered in yellow fur. According to the folk
tales the person has a crescent tattoo or mark, they go at night to a
deserted cross roads , spin around windershins five times. They then
fall to the earth and rise up again in wolf form.

Lobombre (Spanish)
Man-wolf in Pyrenees and Cantabrian mountains, humans that have drunk
from lycanthropous streams or come into contact with magical flowers.

Loup Garou (French)
Especially Brittany, sometimes thought to be the illigitimate son of a
priest. Common in 16th and 17th Century France, Jean Grenier case in
1603.

Lupin (French)
Werewolf that hangs around ingraveyards in Normandy howling at the moon.
Also said to gnaw the bones and converse in their own language.

Lupo-mannaro (Italian)
Naples men born on Christmas night are said to be werewolves, and posses
tails. In Sicily any one who sleeps bathed in the light of a full moon
may also become a werewolf, and certain springs are also said to cause
transformations in the Alps.

Meza-Tevs (Latvian)
Forest Father, priest - cheif of werewolf cult, said to drive away the
demons of infertility.

Meneur des Loups (Breton)
Very similar to Meza-Tevs, shapeshifts into a great wolf able to speak.
Can play the bagpipes to charm wolves into following him on moonlit
nights.

Miezvilki (Baltic)
Barley wolves that chase away demons who would steal the fertility of
the land.

Moroii (Roumanian)
Undead, steal beauty and youth as well as blood. Able to shapeshift, but
may also have clawed feet or be lizard like in appearance.

Mullo (Romani)
Spirit double or fetch.

Murony (Wallachian)
Shapeshifting vampyre.

Nachtzehrer (German/Baltic)
Vampyre that assumes the pig shape to raid graveyards.

Nosferatu (Roumanian)
Indulges in orgies with it's victims, children from the union are ugly
and covered with hair. Appears to brides and grooms and makes them
unable to perform.

Prikolotsch (Wallachian)
Also Priculics or Priccolitsch, a werewolf vampire, a wolf coat.

Roggenwulf (Germany)
Rye wolf that steals away unwarey children.

Ruvaush ( Romani-gypsy)
Victim of Romani vampyre witch who is doomed to become a werewolf.
Periodically transform into Wolf-kings larger than the normal wolf.

Streghoi (Wallachian)
Night flying vampire witch.

Stregoni Benefici (Italian)
Vampyre slaying sorcerer.

Strix/ Striga (Roman latin)
Witch that assumes form of a screech owl.

Varcolac (Roumanian)
Also Velkudlaka, Vulcolaca, Vukodlak and Varcolac, all meaning Wolf-
Coat. Invoked when women spin at midnight in the moon beams, sweep dust
towards the setting sun or burn a stick they used to stir food.
Varcolacs fall into a trance whilst the fetch travels, the body should
not be moved in case the spirit can not find it's way home.
Can also appear as dark flying dragons and beasts with lots of
mouths.

Vjestica (Slavonic)
Succubus witch,has firey wings, partner of lycanthropic Voukodlak, can
assume hyena form.

Varou (Guernsey)
Werewolf linked with the Wild Hunt, heralds violent storms, follows
certain set routes and hidden tunnels between megalithic remains.

Versipellis (Latin)
Skin turner, Pliny mentions the werewolves of Arcadia as being
versippeles, a chosen member of the clan had to swim a lake naked and
assume wolf form for nine years.

Werewulf (Saxon)
Also Gothic Vairavulf, Swedish Warulf, Danish Varulv, Frisian Waerwulf,
Middle Dutch Weerwulf, and Old High German, Werawolf.

Zmeu (Moldavian)
Fairy vampyre with no back.

This post has been edited by Lazarus: 15 January 2004 - 08:50 PM

[Lazarus]

"Ranchers raise pathetic, worthless cattle and sheep, animals who cannot live off the land without human supervision, and the same ranchers kill wolves, magnificent, individualistic animals fully capable of caring for themselves without assistance. Individualism gives way to sheep behavior. Sound familiar?

I root for a wolf to someday grab a ranchers kid. Yes I do! And you know something? The wolf would probably take the kid and raise him, in the manner of Romulus and Remus; and probably do a better job than the rancher.

Remember, wolves mate for life, and they care for their sick and infirm; they don't run them off or kill them, or abandon them. Give me a wolf over some fuckin' jerkoff rancher any day of the week" - George Carlin


(Nothing to offer here for lore.. but I thought it was funny.. har har :lol: )

[Lazarus]

What is a Lycanthrope?

Lycanthrope means "werewolf". It is the proper name for a human able to turn into a wolf. I have found conflicting information about where the name comes from... I have heard both that it comes from the story of King Lycaon, a cruel tyrant of Arcadia, punished by Zeus by turning him into a wolf, and have also heard it comes from "Lycos", wolf, and "anthrope", human.

Lycanthropy is also the accepted term for a real psychological disease, in which the person actually believes they are a wolf (not just a werewolf, actually a wolf). This disease is thought to be often brought on by drugs and malnutrition.


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Some of the other names for the Lycanthrope

Another accepted name of the lycanthrope, is, of course, werewolf. In French, lycanthropes are called loup-garou (plural, loups-garous) pronounced loo-garoo (loo-garooz). Often, people are shortening it to "garou" although this is not a very proper term, but people understand what it means. In Portugal, lycanthropes are called lobis-homem, in the Breton dialect, they are called bisclaravet. In almost any language, there is a name for the lycanthrope. They have been known about since ancient Roman times. Since all this can be confusing, they will be called by their scientific name on this page.


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Who are the Lycanthropes?

The basic legends concerning lycanthropes is they are humans able to turn into wolves. This is a change from full human form to full lupine (wolf) form. It is only in recent years, with the advent of cheap horror flicks, that the "wolf-man" form has become popular. This idea was designed to keep costs for the film down, and is not true lycanthropy.

Although lycanthropes are in full lupine or full human form, many of the characteristics of each carry over to the other form. A lycanthrope in human form, for example, may be exceptionally strong, have a strange, wild, haunting look to their eyes, longer than usual canines, unusual grace and speed. A lycanthrope in lupine form keeps an intelligent mind, may have a deep, human look to their eyes, and have the ability to understand, if not talk, human speech.

Lycanthropes, also, are slightly different than their counterparts in either form. In human form, their eyes may look very different, they may be quiet, and soft-spoken, compared to other humans, with an alertness and shyness which can betray their lupine nature. They are exceptionally strong, fast and quiet in their movements. In wolf form, they are much larger than a normal wolf, with longer, sharper canines. Senses in either form are acute.

Most lycanthropes shift to "grey wolf" in lupine form, the species Canis lupis. This species has many names... grey wolf, timber wolf and arctic wolf, to name a few... they are all the same species and can come in many colors. Shades of brown and grey, black or white are common. Some lycanthropes may shift to other wolf species, for example, red wolves, Canis rufus or such grey wolf subspecies as the Mexican wolf.

[Saturn9]

Good lord man, you've compiled a fucking library.
You planning on writing a book on wereolves?

Quote

Kallikantzaros (Greek)
Aegean, Mainland Greece, Crete and Messenia, "Beautiful Centaurs", semi-
animal demonic creatures, horned black beings with hooves, fangs, talons
and tails.

Wasnt this actually the origin of the myth?
I remember some Mesopotamian lore about killer wolves (what culture DIDNT have some), but I also hearing something in some book about that legend being the first true werewolves.

[Lazarus]

Nah, just a scholar. And it is not necessarily the original source of lycanthropic legends.. many cultures existed before then.. so I guess it depends on what source you read from.

[Robin]

Very very informative. I am impressed

[Raza]

Good read

[Saturn9]

Lazarus, on Jan 16 2004, 02:44 PM, said:

Nah, just a scholar. And it is not necessarily the original source of lycanthropic legends.. many cultures existed before then.. so I guess it depends on what source you read from.

Yes, but I meant the origin of the classical werewolf.
The one we know and love today.

[Tindomerel]

:blink: :blink: This is amazing Lazarus! How long did it take you to get all this information?
Do you mind if I print it out for study?

[Lestattheblackhearted]

Quote

Nah, just a scholar.

Good to see another scholar on here ^_^ what other things do you research?

[Poison Ivy]

:o Wow.

[Amadeo]

:blink: MAN, that is mindboggling in it's accuracy. That is amazing, I know this seems a little off-topic, but I've been trying to get stuff together to gather interest in a game of Werewolf: the Apocolypse, I think I'll have my players read this for the real deal on lycanthropes. Well, as real as an unproved thing goes that is.

[atiole]

That is truly amazing...you most have been very, very dedicated to the task...

[MesPtah the Doorkeeper]

Wow! You have a lot of information here. It was very interesting.

I have a very old book called the Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology, published in 1959. There is a large section on Lycanthropy, most of which you have already covered. But they did list certain cases that occurred during the 1500's and partial transcripts from their trails. It seems most of these poor people were condemned for being poor and illiterate.

[Rhuen]

I am posting this question and answear here from the questions thread, as it adds to this thread, and as a means to bring this thread forward for more to read who can't find the hidden third page in this section "we have to be able to do something about that 30 days thing its hideing so many good threads from easy view"

Divine Sin:
Can werewolves have puppies?

Rhuen:
can werewolves have puppies? was the question and the answear is it depends on the version, those that are enchanted such as the magic ointments and belts, no they are human, however the werewolves of India and much of the far east are permenently wolves or shapeshifters between human and wolf and inherit this power from their parents so in a sense yes, and the type that stays a wolf after only once changeing from human to wolf have wolf cubs "these are said to have incredible intellegence and human life spans.

This post has been edited by Rhuen: 17 May 2004 - 10:17 PM