The Complete Idiot's Guide to Werewolves (9 page)

 

Chapter 5

Relatives of the Werewolf

While the presence of werewolves is widely common in folklore, it is not universal to all parts of the globe. In places where wolves are not a part of the indigenous wildlife, this is especially true—no wolf = no werewolf. However, this doesn’t mean that cultures who do not have werewolves did not create their own unique breeds of similar were-creatures and shapeshifters. From were-hyenas to vampire-werewolves to were-cats, these creatures represent the many diverse and furry relatives of the werewolf.

Were-hyenas are most commonly found in Africa, which is not surprising. Hyenas are very common to the wildlife of the continent, so it would appear that they have taken the place of wolves as a canine therianthrope. These African were-hyenas are often referred to by the term
bouda
(sometimes spelled
buda
). This term has spread to many African languages and has come to mean “were-hyena” (though its original meaning was probably different).

 

Many aspects of the African were-hyena legends bear some striking similarities to parts of werewolf lore. For example, the two primary ways for a person to become a were-hyena are either by being bitten (which is the most common) or through the powers of magic. Also, hyenas run in packs the same as wolves. Unlike wolf packs (which are led by male
alpha
wolves), hyena packs are matriarchal, meaning that their alpha members are females. This has led some to assert that there are more female than male hyenas (though this remains unproven). As a result, many elements of these legends state that tribes who possess were-hyena powers can be identified by the fact that they have more females than males.

In Borno, a northeastern state of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a country located on the western coast of the African continent, there is also a legend about were-hyenas. In the Borno dialects, were-hyenas are not referred to as bouda, but as
bultungin,
which literally means, “I turn into a hyena.” According to local legends, there were once two tribes in the Borno region that were entirely comprised of were-hyenas.

 

In the African country of Sudan (located in a northwestern area of the continent), the were-hyena is viewed rather negatively as a monster that stalks the night and preys upon human flesh. This creature, in its Sudanese version at least, is also said to have a special taste for the flesh of lovers. It stalks the night and is happiest when it comes upon a loving couple and can tear them apart. These were-hyenas are said to be identifiable in human form because their bodies remain unusually hairy, they have a reddish-tint to their eyes (or red eyes), and their voices are commonly said to sound a bit off. (Some legends say they sound “nasally,” like a person who speaks through the nose.)

 

In Ethiopia (which runs along the lower western border of Sudan), all blacksmiths are commonly said to be were-hyenas. In that country, the occupation of blacksmith is widely a hereditary one. The close relationship between blacksmiths and the elements of fire and Earth led people to believe that they possessed magical powers, namely to heal (because they are seen as able to work with fire yet not burn) and shapeshift (because of their apparent ability to change the shapes of things, such as turning a piece of iron into the shape of a tool). While Ethiopian blacksmiths are not necessarily treated badly because of this, they are regarded with a certain amount of suspicion and caution.

 

Many of the people who brought the knowledge of blacksmithing skills to the lands of Ethiopia were ethnically Jewish. Today, most of the blacksmiths in Ethiopia practice the Jewish religion. As a result, the term “bouda” has also come to be used by some Ethiopian Christians as a generic term for Ethiopian Jews. However, it would appear that, in these particular cases, the term is not always meant to imply that Ethiopian Jews are all “were-hyenas” but that they come from blacksmiths.

While in Portuguese a werewolf is referred to as a
lobis-homen,
they also have another werewolf-related creature—
bruxsa.
A bruxsa, sometimes also referred to by the term
cucubuth,
is a creature that has the combined powers of both a werewolf and a vampire.

 

Most versions of this legend state that a bruxsa is a werewolf who dies but is left under the light of the moon and is thereby resurrected. If the creature is allowed to return to life (or … un-death?), it will possess both werewolf and vampire powers and attributes. Some legends flip the process and claim that a bruxsa is a vampire that dies and, because it is resurrected by the moon, takes on the additional attributes of a werewolf. However, it is possible that a bruxsa can be created in either of these fashions. Nobody really knows, and the bruxsa aren’t really available for comment.

 

The fact that these creatures are both werewolf and vampire is doubly scary because, according to many of the legends, this means a bruxsa will both drink your blood as well as eat your flesh. The bruxsa are popularly known in Portuguese folklore for having a taste for the warm flesh of children, and it is said they will even eat their own offspring because of this.

Were-cats are sometimes referred to in pop culture as
bastets.
The word “were-cat” was only coined little over a century ago (though the credit for its creation frequently varies from one source to another).
Bastet,
also spelled
Bast,
was originally the name of a feline-headed goddess from the mythic pantheon of the ancient Egyptians.

 

Were-cats are similar to werewolves in that they are often said to be humans who possess the power to change into animal form. However, much unlike werewolves, were-cats transform into large (often predatory) cats or into a form that more resembles a human-cat hybrid. Interestingly enough, were-cats are almost entirely absent from the folklores of Europe.

 

Perhaps the were-cats became wary of the region, at some point, because of all the werewolves?

African folklore is full of legends about were-lions. Since the lion is a very significant member of the continent’s wildlife, this would stand to reason. Much like the negative European view of the werewolf, African were-lions are primarily seen as evil. The African were-lion is usually an evil sorcerer who assumes the shape of a lion to commit terrible deeds against humans (such as eating people). Were-lions also played a part in the recent history of at least one African region.

 

In Tanzania, a country on the western coast of Africa, during the early twentieth century, a mystical lion-rite cult violently rose to power. This cult would purchase mentally disabled children and hold them in complete social isolation until they reached adulthood. Needless to say, this caused the children to grow up with extremely savage and sociopathic tendencies. Once adults, these prisoners would be dressed from head to toe in the skins of lions in order to give them a frightening appearance. They were regarded with fear throughout the region and were referred to as “The Lion Men.” The cult then sold these Lion Men to local tribal leaders, usually as war-slaves. They were also used at times as assassins because their savagery often allowed their attacks to be dismissed as committed by lions or some other wild beast.

The western world first came to know of Tanzania’s Lion Men in the early 1920s. At that time, Tanzania was a colony of the British. Colonial authorities began receiving reports that hundreds of people in the Tanzanian region of Singida had been killed in what appeared to be lion attacks. However, more detailed examinations of the corpses later proved this was not the case, and it was discovered that the bites and scratches from these attacks were more likely from humans.

 

The British colonial authorities, during the official investigation, learned of the Lion Men that were hired as mercenaries. They discovered that the cult had been using their Lion Men in order to extort the villages of the area (many of which had little with which to pay for their safety). If a village did not pay the cult, then the Lion Men would be unleashed upon them.

In regions of the Far East, tigers are perhaps the most feared animal in the eyes of the people. The Chinese once believed that all other races were actually tigers that had disguised themselves as humans. In Chinese myths, it is sometimes said that a person who is killed by a tiger will later haunt the living as an evil spirit. Some were-tiger myths from China even claim that were-tigers are created whenever a human being becomes possessed by the evil spirit of someone who was killed by a tiger. However, a vast majority of the Chinese were-tiger legends also claim that the condition is a familial trait and therefore one that must be inherited.

 

In Hindu legends, were-tigers are almost always portrayed as evil sorcerers. These dark wizards often use their powers to steal or kill livestock. If these were-tiger-sorcerers spend a little too much time in their tiger form, many of the Hindu legends claim that they will become overcome by twisted bloodlust. This will soon cause them to desire human flesh, and they will turn cannibal. If they feast upon enough human flesh, they will forget that they are humans and will permanently remain in tiger form. It was commonly believed that tigers that turned to man-eating had originally been human sorcerers.

 

Part 2

A History of Werewolves

Werewolves have a long, turbulent history. In the eyes of the medieval church and other religions, wolves became the epito mic symbol of evil. They were mercilessly hunted, and when they could not be caught, innocent people sometimes paid the price as “werewolf scapegoats,” executed to appease the mob. In France, werewolves were long considered a very real threat to human existence, agents of evil whose sole purpose was to bring harm.