Chapter 2

10See note9.

11Encyc. Brit. XV. 89 fol.:—There can nowhere be a living belief in contemporary metamorphosis into any animal which has ceased to exist in the particular locality. Belief in metamorphosis into the animal most prominent in any locality itself acquires a special prominence. (See note12.) In none of these cases however is the power of transformation limited exclusively to the prominent and dominant animal.

12Encyc. Brit. XXIV. 628 fol. underWolf:—The wolf is found in nearly the whole of Europe and Asia, North America from Greenland to Mexico, the Indian peninsula, but not in Ceylon, Burmah or Siam; and not in South America or Africa, in the two latter jackals instead.Meyer’s Kleines konversations-lexikon:—Der wolf “ist häufig in Ost- und Nordeuropa, Mittel- und Nordasien, Nordamerika, seltener in Frankreich und Belgien, den Herden gefährlich, besonders in Russland.” Encyc. Brit., XXIV underWolf:—In northern countries the wolf is generally larger and more powerful than in the southern portion of its range. Its habits are similar everywhere. It has from time immemorial been known to man in all the countries it inhabits as the devastator of his flocks of sheep. It has speed and remarkable endurance. They usually assemble in troops or packs, except in summer, and by their combined and persevering efforts are able to overpower and kill even such great animals as the American bison. Children and even grown people are not infrequently attacked by them when pressed for hunger. The ferocity of the wolf in the wild state is proverbial. Even when tamed, they can rarely be trusted by strangers.

Meyer’s Kleines konversations-lexikon:—Der wolf “ist häufig in Ost- und Nordeuropa, Mittel- und Nordasien, Nordamerika, seltener in Frankreich und Belgien, den Herden gefährlich, besonders in Russland.” Encyc. Brit., XXIV underWolf:—In northern countries the wolf is generally larger and more powerful than in the southern portion of its range. Its habits are similar everywhere. It has from time immemorial been known to man in all the countries it inhabits as the devastator of his flocks of sheep. It has speed and remarkable endurance. They usually assemble in troops or packs, except in summer, and by their combined and persevering efforts are able to overpower and kill even such great animals as the American bison. Children and even grown people are not infrequently attacked by them when pressed for hunger. The ferocity of the wolf in the wild state is proverbial. Even when tamed, they can rarely be trusted by strangers.

13Paul, Grundriss, III. 272.

14Gustav Freytag, Bilder aus neuer zeit, Leipzig, 1904, p. 275 fol., speaking of the Polish borderlands, says: “Noch lebte das Landvolk in ohnmächtigem Kampf mit den Heerden der Wölfe, wenig Dörfer, welchen nicht in jedem Winter Menschen und Thiere decimirt wurden,” and in the same note 2, pp. 275-6:—“Als 1815 die gegenwärtige Provinz Posen an Preussen zurückfiel, waren auch dort die Wölfe eine Landplage. Nach Angaben der Posener Provinzialblätter wurden im Regierungsbezirk Posen vom 1. Sept. 1815 his Ende Februar 1816, 41 Wölfe erlegt, noch im Jahre 1819 im Kreise Wongrowitz 16 Kinder und 3 Erwachsene von Wölfen gefressen.”

15Thus in note6was mentioned Herodotus’ (484-425 B. C.) statement about the Neurians. The oldest werewolf legend, according to Hertz, is that of Lykaon, the son of Pelasgos, the first king of ancient Arcadia. These Arcadians lived as huntsmen and shepherds. According to J. Oppert (Andree, p. 65; and notes 6 and 9) the werewolf superstition existed amongst the Assyrians; and Andree states, the oldest Hellenic werewolf myth is found in Pausanias (died 467 B. C). In the Norse “Edda” we find Odin’s wolves, also Sköll, Hati and Fenrir. In the Völsunga Saga, Sigmund and Sinfjötli become wolves. For other reflections of the fear in which wolves were held, see the 10th century ms. of the “Wiener Hundesegen” against male and female wolves (Braune, Althochdeutsches Lesebuch, 6. aufl. 1907, p. 85). Jacob Grimm,—Geschichte der deutschen sprache s. 233:—“Unsere thierfabel stellt vortrefflich das gebannte raubthier des waldes dar, und lehrt die nähe des wolfs und fuchses.”C. Lemcke, Aesthetik, 6. aufl. II. 1890, s. 562:—“In die ältesten Zeiten hinauf reicht auch bei Jägervölkern die Tiersage, in ihrer Weise zum Teil die Eigentümlichkeiten der Tiere erklärend, ihr Gebahren erzählend. Die furchtbaren und die listigen Tiere boten sich am besten dar.... Wo die Menschen städtisch beisammen wohnen, bleibt Tier Tier; wo sie einsamer mit Tieren leben, bekommen diese eine höhere Bedeutung. So wird dem Wäldler Bär und Wolf zum ebenbürtigen Räuber und Kämpfer, menschlicher aufgefasst zum Gegner voll Mut, List, Rachsucht, der Gedanken hat wie der Mensch selbst.”

C. Lemcke, Aesthetik, 6. aufl. II. 1890, s. 562:—“In die ältesten Zeiten hinauf reicht auch bei Jägervölkern die Tiersage, in ihrer Weise zum Teil die Eigentümlichkeiten der Tiere erklärend, ihr Gebahren erzählend. Die furchtbaren und die listigen Tiere boten sich am besten dar.... Wo die Menschen städtisch beisammen wohnen, bleibt Tier Tier; wo sie einsamer mit Tieren leben, bekommen diese eine höhere Bedeutung. So wird dem Wäldler Bär und Wolf zum ebenbürtigen Räuber und Kämpfer, menschlicher aufgefasst zum Gegner voll Mut, List, Rachsucht, der Gedanken hat wie der Mensch selbst.”

16Volhynia, Europe, Northern Asia. Formerly, according to Andree, p. 65, the wolf was as common throughout Europe as it is to-day in Russia. Hirt, Die Indogermanen, I. 187, says: “Der Wolf ist überall in Europa verbreitet gewesen, der Bär ist aber ganz sicher ein Waldtier.”

17Note9.

18Cf. note9,Encyc. Brit.

19Leubuscher, p. 1:—Weil die Verwandlung vorzugsweise in Hunde und Wölfe geschehen sollte, so erhielt die Krankheit den namen Lykanthropie.

20Or as Mogk in Paul’s Grd., III. 272 expresses it, for example amongst the West Indogermanic peoples when they still formed a whole, as shepherds, by whom the wolf as robber of herds was especially feared. Leubuscher, p. 55 writes: “Die meisten Lykanthropen waren Hirten, die im Freien lebten, mit Tieren viel verkehrten, und der Wolf schwebte ihrer Einbildungskraft am öftersten vor, weil sie am meisten damit zu kämpfen hatten. Wenn das Gespenst des Wehrwolfes sich in Einzelnen als Krankheit erhob, war die Gegend wahrscheinlich von Wölfen besonders beunruhigt worden, und wahrscheinlich manche Mordthat nur von Wölfen begangen.” Ethn. Rep. 1888-89, p. 282:—“The Dakotas have long believed in the appearance from time to time of a monstrous animal that swallows human beings. The superstition was perhaps suggested by the bones of mastodons, often found in the territory of those Indians.”

21Ethn. Rep. 1893-94, p. 267:—In celebrations it is possible that the foxskin so universally worn by the animistic personifications is a survival comparable with the skin of the animal in which formerly the whole body was clothed.

22Hertz, p. 17, gives the origin as follows: “In der ältesten Naturreligion ist die Gottheit des Todes und der winterlichen Erde als Wolf gedacht. Ihre Priester trugen wohl in der Vorzeit Wolfsfelle und hatten nach dem Volksglauben die Gabe, sich in das Tier der Gottheit zu verwandeln. Der Wolf, als das schnelle, kampfgewandte Tier, war zum raschen Zurücklegen weiter Wege und zur Erlegung von Feinden besonders geeignet. Darum nahmen die Götter und die zauberbegabten Menschen zu solchen Zwecken Wolfsgestalt. Der Wolf ist von Natur gefährlich und wurde darum als diabolisch gedacht, und beim Werwolfe auch ist Drang nach Mord und Zerstörung die Hauptsache. Die Ursprünge des Werwolfglaubens waren also 1. religiöse Vorstellungen, 2. Rechtsvorstellung (der friedlose Mörder ist ein Wolf bei Griechen und Germanen); 3. die Geisteskrankheit der Lykanthropie.” Page 51. “Die Verwandlung in Wölfe geschieht vorzugsweise durch Wolfshemden.” Page 57: “Dass die von allem menschlichen Verkehr abgeschnittenen Waldflüchtigen sich in Tierfelle kleideten, ist nahe liegend.”

23Page 46. See also note9.

24Similarly Dilthey, Erlebnis und Dichtung, 1906, p. 153 fol.;—“Ist so die Einbildungskraft in Mythos und Götterglauben, zunächst gebunden an das Bedürfnis des Lebens, so sondert sie sich doch allmählich im Verlauf der Kultur von den religiösen Zweckbeziehungen und erhebt jene zweite Welt zu einer unabhängigen Bedeutsamkeit”—like Homer, Dante, etc. See note20, close, and Encyc. Brit., Lycanthropy:—“Insane delusions must reflect the usages and beliefs of contemporaneous society.”

25Notes20,21and27.

26See note15.

27Grinnell, Story of the indian, p. 54, says:—Traces of the fear in which buffalo “were held may still be discovered in the traditional stories of certain tribes, which set forth how, in those days,” [i. e. in the stone age] “before men were provided with arms, the buffalo used to chase, kill, and eat the people. Such tales show very clearly how greatly the buffalo were dreaded in ancient times, and such fear could hardly have arisen save as the result of actual experience of their power to inflict injury and death.” Pliny informs us how the Romans kept the wolf out of their fields, see Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, III. 1241. Whether the Indians lived on the steppes, in the woods, on the coast, or in the mountains, the animals were their whole study. They moved with the animals, followed them for food.

28Note27.

29Ethn. Rep. 1881-82, p. 122, note:—It seems that masks were occasionally used as decoys.... Next to the otter the most valuable animal in the estimation of the Kadiak men, is the species of seal or sea-dog called by the Russians nerpa. The easiest manner of taking it is to entice it toward the shore. A fisherman, concealing the lower part of his body among the rocks, puts on his head a wooden cap or rather casque resembling the head of a seal and makes a noise like that animal. The unsuspicious seal, imagining that he is about to meet a partner of his own species, hastens to the spot and is instantly killed. Compare note57.

30Ethn. Rep. 1896-97, I. 132:—Bering Strait Eskimo stuff rudely the skin of the bird called ptarmigan, and mount it upon a stick which holds the head outstretched, then imitate the call of the bird, which is trapped in the net attached to the decoy. Other decoys are made by molding soft snow into the form of a bird; for the ptarmigan, brown moss is put around the neck for plumage. The call then brought the real birds.

31Thus G. B. Grinnell, Story of the Indian, p. 61, in his description of the primitive Indians’ method of trapping buffalo, says: “Some men went forth naked, others carried a dress made of the entire skin of a buffalo, the head and horns arranged like a buffalo head, while the rest of the skin hung down over the wearer’s back,” etc. This “caller” went near to a herd of buffalo, got them in pursuit of him, then led them into the trap, a chute, or to a precipice, the fall from which often proved fatal to the entire herd. Again, in Ethn. Rep. 1884-85, p. 484, about Central Eskimo seal hunting, is stated: If a hunter is close to an animal he imitates its movements. Some utter sounds similar to those of a blowing seal. “The sealskin clothing makes man and seal look so extremely alike that it is difficult to distinguish one from the other at some distance.” And on p. 508, about deer hunting: In a plain the Central Eskimos carry guns on their shoulders, two men going together, so as to resemble the antlers of a deer. The men imitate their grunting. If they lie on the ground at some distance they greatly resemble the animals themselves. According to Ross the “inhabitants of Boothia imitate the appearance of the deer, the foremost of two men stalking a herd bearing a deer’s head upon his own.” Ethn. Rep. 1888-89, p. 534:—“The old manner of hunting antelope and deer: the hunter would disguise himself by covering his head with the head and skin of an antelope, and so be enabled to approach the game near enough to use his bow and arrow. In a similar manner the Hidatsa would mask themselves with a wolfskin to enable them to approach buffalo.” Ethn. Rep. 1901-02, p. 439;—Two of the party of hunters (Zuñi) out after deer “wear cotton shirts with sleeves to the elbow, the front and back of the shirt being painted to represent as nearly as possible the body of the deer; the hands and the arms to the elbow and also the sleeves are colored to represent the deer’s forelegs. Each wears the skin of a deer’s head over his head.... In this dress the two huntsmen imitate as closely as possible, even to the browsing, the game they would catch.”

32Ethn. Rep. 1897-98, I. 352:—“Tradition says the Iroquois derived the music and action of the Buffalo dance while on an expedition against the Cherokee, from the bellowing and the movements of a herd of buffalo which they heard for the first time ‘singing their favorite songs,’ i. e. bellowing and snorting.” Also note33.

33Ethn. Rep. 1897-98, I. 266, gives a song to prevent frostbite. The wolf’s, deer’s, fox’s, opossum’s feet it is held never become frostbitten. After each verse of the song, the singer imitates the cry and the action of the animal. The words used are archaic in form and may be rendered “I become a real wolf, etc.” The song runs:1. Tsûñ´ wa´ ‘ya-ya´ (repeated four times), wa+a! (prolonged howl). The singer imitates a wolf pawing the ground with his feet.2. Tsûñ´-ka´ wi-ye´ (four times), sauh! sauh! sauh! sauh! (imitating the call and jumping of a deer).3. Tsûñ´-tsu´ ‘la-ya´ (four times), gaih! gaih! gaih! gaih! (imitates barking and scratching of a fox).4. Tsûñ´-sĭ´-kwa-ya´ (four times), kĭ+(imitates cry of the opossum when cornered, and throws his head back as that animal does when feigning death).

1. Tsûñ´ wa´ ‘ya-ya´ (repeated four times), wa+a! (prolonged howl). The singer imitates a wolf pawing the ground with his feet.

2. Tsûñ´-ka´ wi-ye´ (four times), sauh! sauh! sauh! sauh! (imitating the call and jumping of a deer).

3. Tsûñ´-tsu´ ‘la-ya´ (four times), gaih! gaih! gaih! gaih! (imitates barking and scratching of a fox).

4. Tsûñ´-sĭ´-kwa-ya´ (four times), kĭ+(imitates cry of the opossum when cornered, and throws his head back as that animal does when feigning death).

34Ethn. Rep. 1881-82, p. 323, about the Omaha Coyote dance performed by warriors whenever it was thought necessary to keep up their spirits, in which each had his robe about him and imitated the actions of the coyote, trotting, glancing around, etc. Page 348 describes the Omaha Buffalo dance, in which each of four men used to put the skin of a buffalo over his head, the horns standing up, and the hair of the buffalo head hanging down below the chest of the wearer. The various movements of the buffalo were imitated by the dancers. Pages 348-349, the Omaha wolf dance, by the society of those who have supernatural communication with wolves. The dancers wear wolfskins, and dance in imitation of the actions of wolves. Similarly they performed the grizzly bear dance, horse dance, etc.

35Notes22,34and37.

36See notes34and37.

37Similarly in the use of masks (see note57). See Wundt, Völkerpsychologie II. i. 412 fol., and in regard to this Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie, XXXVIII. 1906, ss. 558-568:—“Der maskierte mensch ist der ekstatische Mensch. Mit dem anlegen der maske versetzt er sich in ekstase, fühlt er sich in fremde lebensvorgänge ein, eignet er sich das wesen an, mit dem er sich durch die maske identificiert.” Für den naiven menschen, wie für das kind, ist die maske durchaus nicht blosser schein, sondern wirkender charakter. Der augenblickstanz wurde zum zaubertanz. Die naturvölker verwenden ihre masken nur bei den feierlich-ernsten zaubertänzen, nicht zu ihrer burlesken mimik; die tänzer sind in Tiermasken, etc.

38Amongst American Indians for example a man transformed into a bear and vice versa is usually regarded as benevolent (Ethn. Rep. 1880-81, p. 83). See, also, Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, III. 1097:—In Norse accounts also we find transformation into a bear, for the bear was regarded as rational and was esteemed.

39Note84.

40See note57a.

41Notes27and42.

42The important consideration in the mind of primitive man was whether certain things were harmful or useful. See Behaghel, Die deutsche Sprache, p. 98:—“Die grossen Tiere und die mächtigen Bäume, die Tiere und Pflanzen, die für dieErnährungandBekleidungdes Menschen von Bedeutung sind, die Tiere, die sein Lebenbedrohen, sie haben viel früher sprachliche Bezeichnung gefunden, als der unscheinbare Käfer im Sande, als die kleine Blume des Waldes. So kommt es, dass die Namen der grösseren Tiere, der grossen Waldbäume, der wichtigsten Getreidearten allen germanischer Stämmen gemeinsam sind, einzelne sogar, wieWolf,Kuh,Ochse,Birke,Buche,Erle,Gerstemit den Benennungen anderer indogermanischer Völker übereinstimmen.” Doubtless animals occupied their attention sooner than plants. See Wundt, Völkerpsychologie, II. 412 fol., about themaskentanz: “Überhaupt haben die Tiermotive weit früher Berücksichtigung erfahren als die Pflanzenmotive.” See note95.

43G. B. Grinnell, Pawnee hero stories and folk-tales, N. Y., Scribners, 1893, p. 245, fol.

44Jacob Grimm, Geschichte der deutschen Sprache, s. 233: Ein sabinischer stamm hiesz Hirpi (lat.hirpusbedeutetwolfin sabinischer oskischer Mundart), weil den einwandernden ein wolf führer geworden war, oder nach andrer sage sie wölfe gejagt hatten und gleich wölfen raubten, d. h. im sinn des deutschen ausdrucks friedlos waren.

45The werewolf story could arise only where the animal, wolf, tiger or lion, etc., was common; and likewise the werewolf tales gradually died out when the animals became rare or extinct. See note11.

46Grinnell, p. 245.

47The Watusi of East Africa distinctly describe all wild beasts save their own totem-animals asenemy-scouts(Encyc. Brit. under Lycanthropy).

48Ethn. Rep. 1881-82, p. 323. See also Grinnell, Story of the indian, p. 208: The wolf was believed, in the animals’ council, to be able to give the Indian the power to creep right into the midst of the enemy’s camp without being seen.

49See note53.

50See note57-b.

51So originally the germanic godLogiwas not an evil god.Logimeant the natural force of fire;Lokimeant the same, but the burly giant has been made a sly, seducing villain (Grimm, Teut. Myth. I. 241). A son of Loki, Fenrisûlfr, appears in wolf’s shape among the gods. Perhaps association with the wolf is in part responsible for the transformation of Logi (Loki) from a good to an evil god.

52Encyc. Brit. under Lycanthropy:—In modern savage life we find beastform of chiefs or spirits, medicine men, some hunt in beast form for the community; others are said to assume beast form in order to avenge themselves justly on enemies; others for love of bloodshed and cannibalism. See also note58.

53No doubt some of these men disguised as wolves won considerable fame through their skill and bravery, as we should judge from such proper names asRudolf, which means reallyRuhmwolf,Ruhmrelated to Gothichropeigs“victorious,” Sanskritkir“to praise”; orAdolffromAdalolf, which meansEdelwolf, originally, therefore,Edelräuber, forwolfmeant originally about the same asrobber(Kluge). Sorobberorwolfwas originally a highly respectable appellation, at a time when men lived from robbery and the chase, either as searobbers, or mountain robbers, etc. (about this early profession see Hirt, Die Indogermanen, 1905, p. 268 fol.), and the profession was not looked on as a disgrace (see appellation “wolves” applied to Pawnees, p.12.). Later we find such names asWulfila“little wolf.” Many Indian names are those of animals, such as Good Fox, Good Bear, Walking Bear, Conquering Bear, Rushing Bear, Stumbling Bear, Brave Bear, Bear Rib, Smoking Bear, Biting Bear, Bear-Looks-Back, Cloud Bear, Mad Bear, Mad Wolf, Lone Wolf, Lean Wolf, Wolf-Ear, Wolf-Robe, etc. See Ethn. Rep. 1882-83, p. 169: The names of Indians very often refer to some animal, predicating some attribute or position of that animal. For discussion of names, see note111.

54Ante p.6.

55See(3)below.

56See ante p.8.

57See note4and also Ethn. Rep. 1881-82, p. 73 fol. (see note37):—The use of masks is worldwide. The origin and development of the use of masks is very much the same as the origin and development of the werewolf as given in the preceding pages. The wolfrobe and the mask, both originally useful devices, degenerated in unscrupulous hands into instruments for personal aggrandizement and gain. The use of the mask is described in the above report as follows:a). It was used as a shield or protection for the face, for defense against physical violence, human or otherwise. It was therefore first used merely as a mechanical resistance to the opposing force; then secondly, still in the lowest grade of culture, it was used to inspire terror, to gain a moral influence over the opposing agent by hideousness or by symbolizing superhuman agencies. Now individual variations arose—devices for example derived or conventionalized from some predatory, shrewd or mysterious animal.b). With growth of culture came growth of supernaturalism, and the mask came to be used in religious performances, as a part of the religious paraphernalia, like the shirts or girdles of the shamans. Ethn. Rep. 1896-97, I. 395:—“When worn in any ceremonial, ... the wearer is believed to become mysteriously and unconsciously imbued with the spirit of the being which his mask represents.”c). Finally the element of humor enters in, and the mask is used for public amusements and games; by secret societies; as protection against recognition on festive occasions, etc., like the animal skins worn in dances.

a). It was used as a shield or protection for the face, for defense against physical violence, human or otherwise. It was therefore first used merely as a mechanical resistance to the opposing force; then secondly, still in the lowest grade of culture, it was used to inspire terror, to gain a moral influence over the opposing agent by hideousness or by symbolizing superhuman agencies. Now individual variations arose—devices for example derived or conventionalized from some predatory, shrewd or mysterious animal.

b). With growth of culture came growth of supernaturalism, and the mask came to be used in religious performances, as a part of the religious paraphernalia, like the shirts or girdles of the shamans. Ethn. Rep. 1896-97, I. 395:—“When worn in any ceremonial, ... the wearer is believed to become mysteriously and unconsciously imbued with the spirit of the being which his mask represents.”

c). Finally the element of humor enters in, and the mask is used for public amusements and games; by secret societies; as protection against recognition on festive occasions, etc., like the animal skins worn in dances.

58Notes32,34,33, ante p.11.

59See p.13.

60Ethn. Rep. 1888-89, p. 503:—Account of “a cloak or mantle made from the skin of a deer, and covered with various mystic paintings. It was made and used by the Apaches as a mantle of invisibility, that is, a charmed covering for spies which would enable them to pass with impunity through the country, and even through the camp of their enemies. In this instance the fetichistic power depends upon the devices drawn.” The Apache have a similar fetich or charm. The symbols drawn were the raincloud, serpent lightning, raindrops and the cross of the winds of the four cardinal points. Ethn. Rep. 1889-90, p. 515:—Among the Hidatsa (Sioux) fetiches are especially the skins of the wolf. “When they go to war, they always wear the stripe off the back of a wolf skin, with the tail hanging down the shoulders. They make a slit in the skin through which the warrior puts his head, so that the skin of the wolf’s head hangs down upon his breast.” Finally the magic robes or shirts and girdles came to be a part of the regular paraphernalia of the shamans, or practisers of magic. In the folklore of all countries we find numerous notices of holy girdles.Ethn. Rep. 1897-98, I. (Cherokee) 393: “Some warriors had medicine to change their shape as they pleased, so that they could escape from their enemies.” Page 501: Such stories might be paralleled in any tribe.

Ethn. Rep. 1897-98, I. (Cherokee) 393: “Some warriors had medicine to change their shape as they pleased, so that they could escape from their enemies.” Page 501: Such stories might be paralleled in any tribe.

61See further development in note64.

62Note52.

63As an example of the motive of vengeance, or pure brutality, we cite from Andree, p. 69:—People in the interior of Africa who understand magic, transform themselves into lions and go about killing people. See also below, note65, where the wolf-man of Abyssinia kills his enemy and sucks his blood, and also kills other wolf-men it meets, the question being one of the survival of the fittest, that is the strongest. All this takes place atnight, which reminds us of our Pawnee Indian starting out at night in his wolf’s robe, and trotting up to the hostile village to ascertain where his enemies’ horses are tied, so as to steal them when all are asleep (Grinnell’s Pawnee hero stories and folk-tales, p. 246, and pp. 70-73). Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 461:—“To recover stolen or lost property, especially ponies, is one of the principal tasks imposed upon the so-called medicine-men” (shamans).

64As superstition waxed strong, no doubt the wolf robe was put on not merely to make the wearer look just like a common object of the landscape, but also because the wearer of the disguise was supposed to take on the characteristics of the animal he represented (swiftness, boldness, etc.), as in the case of masks (see note57), and finally the wearer of such a robe was believed to actually become transformed, like the wearers of the werewolf shirt, for example in Germany. Wolves were regarded as good hunters who never fail, Ethn. Rep. 1897-98, I. 280, also p. 264:—The wolf is revered by the Cherokee as hunter and watchdog of Kanáti; therefore we can understand how the wolf disguise, as conferring the quality of unerring huntsmanship, might be in especial favor amongst those who gained their food from the chase. Similarly the singing of songs imitating the cries of certain animals was supposed to confer a characteristic of the animal in question (see note33).Ethn. Rep. 1901-02, p. 394:—To gain animal characteristics a wizard attached crow and owl plumes to his head that he might have the eyes of the crow to see quickly the approach of man, and the eyes of the owl to travel by night. He flapped his arms, ... A Zuñi man hearing a cry like an owl, yet human, looked about him and found a man whom he recognized as a Zuñi. “Aha!” said he, “why have you those plumes upon your head? Aha, you are a sorcerer,” etc.An example of the transforming power of therobewe find in Bulletin 26, of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, 1901, Kathlamet texts, p. 156 fol.:—A woman ate of some of the fat of a bitch, gave birth to five male dogs and one female dog. When they grew older, she discovered one day that they could transform themselves into real children. While they were down at the beach, she entered the house, and now she saw the dogblankets. She took them and burnt them. Then the children retained their human form (like Sigmund and Sinfjötli in the Völsungasaga). Page 58 fol., is the Myth of the Elk, according to which an old man transformed himself into an elk by putting on an elkskin.W. Golther, Handbuch der germanischen mythologie, 1895, p. 100, writes, “Die Fähigkeit von Leuten, die sich verwandeln können, heisst ‘sich zu häuten, die Hülle zu wechseln’. Das Umwerfen eines äusserlichen Gewandes kann den Wechsel der Gestalt hervorbringen, wie Freyjas Federgewand, die Schwan- und Krähenhemden der Valkyrjen, Odins Adlergewand. Die Wolfsgewänder (úlfahamir) wenn angelegt, verwandeln den Menschen zum Wolfe”. See also Meissner, Ritter Tiodel, Zeitschrift für deutsches altertum, XLVII. 261.

Ethn. Rep. 1901-02, p. 394:—To gain animal characteristics a wizard attached crow and owl plumes to his head that he might have the eyes of the crow to see quickly the approach of man, and the eyes of the owl to travel by night. He flapped his arms, ... A Zuñi man hearing a cry like an owl, yet human, looked about him and found a man whom he recognized as a Zuñi. “Aha!” said he, “why have you those plumes upon your head? Aha, you are a sorcerer,” etc.

An example of the transforming power of therobewe find in Bulletin 26, of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, 1901, Kathlamet texts, p. 156 fol.:—A woman ate of some of the fat of a bitch, gave birth to five male dogs and one female dog. When they grew older, she discovered one day that they could transform themselves into real children. While they were down at the beach, she entered the house, and now she saw the dogblankets. She took them and burnt them. Then the children retained their human form (like Sigmund and Sinfjötli in the Völsungasaga). Page 58 fol., is the Myth of the Elk, according to which an old man transformed himself into an elk by putting on an elkskin.

W. Golther, Handbuch der germanischen mythologie, 1895, p. 100, writes, “Die Fähigkeit von Leuten, die sich verwandeln können, heisst ‘sich zu häuten, die Hülle zu wechseln’. Das Umwerfen eines äusserlichen Gewandes kann den Wechsel der Gestalt hervorbringen, wie Freyjas Federgewand, die Schwan- und Krähenhemden der Valkyrjen, Odins Adlergewand. Die Wolfsgewänder (úlfahamir) wenn angelegt, verwandeln den Menschen zum Wolfe”. See also Meissner, Ritter Tiodel, Zeitschrift für deutsches altertum, XLVII. 261.

65Ethn. Rep. 1901-02, p. 392:—The owner of fine beads fears that some witch, prompted by jealousy, will strike him with disease.As another example of the pretended assumption of superhuman powers to gain influence over others, we may cite the instances given by Andree, p. 68 fol., according to which Livingston met in Africa a native said to have power to transform himself into a lion. As lion he would stay for days and months in theforest, in a sacred hut, to which however his wife carried beer and food for him, so we may judge that at least this lion did not cause much devastation amongst the wild beasts. He was able to reassume human form by means of a certain medicine brought him by his wife. Again Andree, p. 69:—In Banana, Africa, the members of a certain family transform themselves in thedarkof theforestinto leopards. They throw down those they meet in the forest, but dare not injure them nor drink their blood, lest they remain leopards. (See note83.)The motive of personal gain is exemplified by our American Indians, who put on a wolf’s mantle to steal, or to recover stolen animals (Grinnell, Pawnee hero stories, p. 247, also the story of robbery entitled Wolves in the night, p. 70 fol.). Similarly in Abyssinia, Andree, p. 69, where the lowest caste of laborers are believed to have power to transform themselves into hyenas or other animals, as such, plundering graves. They employ naturally various artifices to help along their cause, since it yields such returns. They are reported to act like other folk by day, atnightthough to assume the ways of wolves, kill their enemies and suck their blood, roaming about with other wolves till morning. They are supposed to gain their supernatural powers by a secret beverage made from herbs. They are not likely to be discovered to be only sham animals, since their roaming and plundering is done in thenight; in the daytime they of course conceal the animal skins (see Andree, p. 72).Ethn. Rep. 1880-81, p. 68:—Among the Chaldeans, Egyptians and Greeks, the success of magic depended upon the ignorance of the masses and the comparative learning of the few who practised it. Among the American Indians the medicine-man and the more expert sorceress have little learning above that of the body of the tribe, and their success depends entirely upon their own belief in being supernaturally gifted, and upon the faith and fear of their followers.The Iroquois believed in people who could assume a partly animal shape. See Grinnell, Blackfoot lodge tales, p. 79:—“An old blind wolf with a powerful medicine cured a man, and made his head and hands look like those of a wolf. The rest of his body was not changed. He was called a man-wolf.”

65Ethn. Rep. 1901-02, p. 392:—The owner of fine beads fears that some witch, prompted by jealousy, will strike him with disease.

As another example of the pretended assumption of superhuman powers to gain influence over others, we may cite the instances given by Andree, p. 68 fol., according to which Livingston met in Africa a native said to have power to transform himself into a lion. As lion he would stay for days and months in theforest, in a sacred hut, to which however his wife carried beer and food for him, so we may judge that at least this lion did not cause much devastation amongst the wild beasts. He was able to reassume human form by means of a certain medicine brought him by his wife. Again Andree, p. 69:—In Banana, Africa, the members of a certain family transform themselves in thedarkof theforestinto leopards. They throw down those they meet in the forest, but dare not injure them nor drink their blood, lest they remain leopards. (See note83.)

The motive of personal gain is exemplified by our American Indians, who put on a wolf’s mantle to steal, or to recover stolen animals (Grinnell, Pawnee hero stories, p. 247, also the story of robbery entitled Wolves in the night, p. 70 fol.). Similarly in Abyssinia, Andree, p. 69, where the lowest caste of laborers are believed to have power to transform themselves into hyenas or other animals, as such, plundering graves. They employ naturally various artifices to help along their cause, since it yields such returns. They are reported to act like other folk by day, atnightthough to assume the ways of wolves, kill their enemies and suck their blood, roaming about with other wolves till morning. They are supposed to gain their supernatural powers by a secret beverage made from herbs. They are not likely to be discovered to be only sham animals, since their roaming and plundering is done in thenight; in the daytime they of course conceal the animal skins (see Andree, p. 72).

Ethn. Rep. 1880-81, p. 68:—Among the Chaldeans, Egyptians and Greeks, the success of magic depended upon the ignorance of the masses and the comparative learning of the few who practised it. Among the American Indians the medicine-man and the more expert sorceress have little learning above that of the body of the tribe, and their success depends entirely upon their own belief in being supernaturally gifted, and upon the faith and fear of their followers.

The Iroquois believed in people who could assume a partly animal shape. See Grinnell, Blackfoot lodge tales, p. 79:—“An old blind wolf with a powerful medicine cured a man, and made his head and hands look like those of a wolf. The rest of his body was not changed. He was called a man-wolf.”

66Ethn. Rep. 1880-81, p. 73:—Witches could and did assume animal shapes. For example a dog seen by a man which had fire streaming from its mouth and nostrils. It wasnight. The man shot at it, and the next morning tracked it by the marks of blood from its wound. At a bridge a woman’s tracks took the place of the dog’s, and finally he found the woman. She had died from the effect of the shot. Page 73: Likewise a hog, when pursued, disappeared at a small creek, and finally reappeared as an old man, who said it was he, whom they had been chasing. So they, the pursuers, knew he was a witch. Page 74: A Canadian Indian oneeveningpursued a white bull with fire streaming from its nostrils. He had never seen a white bull on the reservation before. “As it passed in front of a house it was transformed into a man with alarge white blanket, who was ever afterward known as a witch.”Ethn. Rep. 1901-02, p. 395:—A man going out atnightnoticed a queer-looking burro. Upon his return home he was told that a large cat had entered the house. He went out again, discovered a man wrapped in a blanket, but not in the Zuñi fashion, his head was sunk low in the blanket. He knew this creature to be a wizard.Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 458:—That the medicine man (Shaman) has the faculty of transforming himself into a coyote and other animals at pleasure and then resuming the human form, is as implicitly believed in by the American Indians as it was by our own forefathers in Europe. And page 459: The Abipones of Paraguay credit their medicine-men with power to put on the form of a tiger. The medicine-men of Honduras claimed the power of turning themselves into lions and tigers. Also the Shamans of the Nicaraguans possessed similar power. Hertz, p. 133 fol.:—“In der christlichen Zeit wurde der heidnische Cultus Teufelsanbetung und hier entstand mit dem Hexenglauben die Vorstellung von Menschen, die sich mit Hilfe des Satans aus reiner Mordlust zu Wölfen verwandeln. So wurde der Werwolf das Bild des tierisch Dämonischen in der Menschennatur.”

Ethn. Rep. 1901-02, p. 395:—A man going out atnightnoticed a queer-looking burro. Upon his return home he was told that a large cat had entered the house. He went out again, discovered a man wrapped in a blanket, but not in the Zuñi fashion, his head was sunk low in the blanket. He knew this creature to be a wizard.

Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 458:—That the medicine man (Shaman) has the faculty of transforming himself into a coyote and other animals at pleasure and then resuming the human form, is as implicitly believed in by the American Indians as it was by our own forefathers in Europe. And page 459: The Abipones of Paraguay credit their medicine-men with power to put on the form of a tiger. The medicine-men of Honduras claimed the power of turning themselves into lions and tigers. Also the Shamans of the Nicaraguans possessed similar power. Hertz, p. 133 fol.:—“In der christlichen Zeit wurde der heidnische Cultus Teufelsanbetung und hier entstand mit dem Hexenglauben die Vorstellung von Menschen, die sich mit Hilfe des Satans aus reiner Mordlust zu Wölfen verwandeln. So wurde der Werwolf das Bild des tierisch Dämonischen in der Menschennatur.”

67Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 467:—The medicine-men of the Apache are paid at the time they are consulted, the priest beforehand among the Eskimo. Ethn. Rep. 1889-90, p. 187: “The magnitude of the disease is generally measured by the amount of the patient’s worldly wealth.” Page 416:—Sioux sorcerers prepared love-potions for those who bought them. Ethn. Rep. 1901-2, p. 568:—“The shaman, like the theurgist is usually paid after each visit with calico, cotton, or food, according to the wealth of the family, since it is always understood that these doctors expect proper compensation for their services.” Page 387:—“The Zuñi doctor is paid according to his reputation.” Grinnell, Blackfoot lodge tales, p. 284: “In early days if a man remained sick for three or four weeks, all his possessions went to pay doctors’ fees.”Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 462 fol.—The American Indian’s theory of disease is the theory of the Chaldean, the Assyrian, the Hebrew, the Greek, the Roman—all bodily disorders are attributed to the maleficence of spirits (that is of animal spirits, ghosts or witches), who must be expelled or placated. Gibberish was believed to be more potential in magic than was language which the practitioner or his dupes could comprehend. Page 468:—The medicine-men are accused of administering poisons to their enemies. Ethn. Rep. 1889-90, p. 416:—Sioux sorcerers were thought to cause the death of those persons who had incurred their displeasure. Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 581:—“When an Apache or other medicine-man is in full regalia he ceases to be a man, but becomes, or tries to make his followers believe that he has become, the power he represents.” The Mexican priests masked and disguised, and dressed in the skins of the women offered up in sacrifice.So the shaman practiced sorcery, medicine and was a priest. Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 594:—The Indian doctor relied far more on magic than on natural remedies. Dreams, beating of the drum, songs, magic feasts and dances, and howling were his ordinary methods of cure. Grinnell, Story of the indian, p. 210 fol.:—They have “firm confidence in dreams.” “Their belief in a future life is in part founded on dreams,” etc.

Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 462 fol.—The American Indian’s theory of disease is the theory of the Chaldean, the Assyrian, the Hebrew, the Greek, the Roman—all bodily disorders are attributed to the maleficence of spirits (that is of animal spirits, ghosts or witches), who must be expelled or placated. Gibberish was believed to be more potential in magic than was language which the practitioner or his dupes could comprehend. Page 468:—The medicine-men are accused of administering poisons to their enemies. Ethn. Rep. 1889-90, p. 416:—Sioux sorcerers were thought to cause the death of those persons who had incurred their displeasure. Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 581:—“When an Apache or other medicine-man is in full regalia he ceases to be a man, but becomes, or tries to make his followers believe that he has become, the power he represents.” The Mexican priests masked and disguised, and dressed in the skins of the women offered up in sacrifice.

So the shaman practiced sorcery, medicine and was a priest. Ethn. Rep. 1887-88, p. 594:—The Indian doctor relied far more on magic than on natural remedies. Dreams, beating of the drum, songs, magic feasts and dances, and howling were his ordinary methods of cure. Grinnell, Story of the indian, p. 210 fol.:—They have “firm confidence in dreams.” “Their belief in a future life is in part founded on dreams,” etc.

Back to Index Next