Nagual or Nahual (both pronounced [na'wal]) is a human being who has the power to magically turn him- or herself into an animal form, most commonly donkeys, turkeys, and dogs, but also other and more powerful animals such as the jaguar and puma...
Such a Nagual is believed to use his powers for good or evil according to his personality...
Specific beliefs vary, but the general concept of nagualism is pan-Mesoamerican...
Nagualism is linked with pre-Columbian shamanistic practices through Preclassic Olmec depictions which are interpreted as humans transforming themselves into animals...
The system is linked with the Mesomerican calendrical system, used for divination rituals...
The birth date often determines if a person will be a Nagual. Mesoamerican belief in tonalism, wherein all humans have an animal counterpart to which their life force is linked, is also part of the definition of nagualism.
"Another legend of Mexico is "The Nahuales." This folktale is told from the viewpoint of a young man who heard the story from his uncle. It is about Nahuales, a people capable of morphing into animals like pigs, burros, and chickens in order to capture other animals.
A man delivering wood walks down the road and encounters a burro carrying a pig. He tells his companion that he will take the burro. As he neared the animal, he notices that the burro had no tail and the pig was unsecured on the animals back. When the man beats the burro, it speaks to him, admonishing the man to stop hitting him...
The man realizes that he has, in fact, come across a Nahuales.
The man delivers his wood and returns to the animals, bearing fried pork and fried pig skin for them to eat..."
In English the word is often translated as "transforming witch," but translations without the negative connotations of the word witch would be "transforming trickster" or "shape shifter".
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See Lycanthrope:
Compare with:
*Werecat (Still werejaguar is a werecat):
*Werehyena:
*Wererat:
Compare with werebear:
Compare with Adlet:
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