Wascat

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Engraving from 1763. Depiction of a valuer .

A werecat , also known as a cat man or ailuranthrope , is a shapeshifter in mythology , saga and poetry , who, like a werewolf , is counted among the therianthropes .

The term wascat is a collective term that refers to all types of cats, including domestic cats , tigers , lions , leopards , lynxes , and any other type of anthropomorphic creature with a cat-like appearance. Usually, werecats can only transform into one specific species of cat, not different species.

Ailuranthropy

The term is a rather unknown description for the feline form of therianthropy , the belief in transforming oneself into an animal - here specifically a cat. “Ailuranthropy” is made up of the Greek words αἴλουρος ailouros “cat” and ἄνθρωπος anthropos “human being”. Ailuros is also the Greek name for Bastet , the Egyptian cat goddess.

Cat people

Puss in Boots - French illustration from 1843
Nekomata with Shamisen in the Hyakkai-Zukan ( 百 怪 図 巻 ) from 1737

As a subspecies of the werecats, the cat man is a hybrid of man and cat, which has evolved from a cat and whose appearance varies from all kinds of anthropomorphic creatures with cat-like appearance to humans with cat-like behavior. The best-known representative is probably the Puss in Boots , who in addition to his English "relative" (Dick Whittington's cat) also has some female "relatives".

In a fable attributed to the Greek Aesop , a cat fell in love with a young man. Since her desire was so strong, the goddess Venus answered her prayer and turned her into a seductive young woman. Despite her human body, however, she chased every mouse she saw, whereupon the enraged goddess turned her back into a cat. This fable inspired Jean de La Fontaine to his verse fable The Transformed Cat and can also be found as a basic idea in the story The mysterious Minusch by Annie MG Schmidt .

In Romania it is said that the cat emerged from the woman. Their name was Kata, and that is why the newly created living being was so named. According to a Hungarian legend, Eva is said to have emerged from the tail of a cat. When God took out Adam's rib to form the woman, the cat is said to have snatched it. She ran away, but God caught her tail and formed Eve out of it.

Also worth mentioning is the Sphinx , a half-being with magical powers, half-human, half-lion, who was considered a female in Greek mythology and a male in Egyptian mythology. According to Greek belief, this is said to have always strangled passing travelers on a mountain near what would later become Thebes , if they could not solve the riddle it posed. The Egyptians used the sphinx as a symbol for the sun god or the pharaoh as a guardian in front of temple entrances and tombs.

In Japanese folklore there is the Bakeneko (translated as monster or ghost cat), house cats gifted with magic that like to transform themselves into older people or the related nekomata , which can be recognized by their forked tails. In contrast, the Nekomusume (translated as cat girls) are said to prefer a younger shape. In mangas and animes , the nekomimi (o 耳, cat ears), which are counted among the kemonomimi , are widespread and very popular with cosplayers . But there are also some stories to be found in literature. B. La Japonesa in the Mexican Ghost Tales of the Southwest collection by the Mexican-American author Alfred Avila .

In the literature there are also joint appearances with werecats as " role reversal " of cat and human in the cat fairy tale Goodbye in Kenilworth by Peter Rühmkorf or an exchange of consciousness in the cat thriller The nine lives of Win Fortesuce by Marian Babson .

Legends and sagas about werecats

Depending on the continent, the cause of the cat's transformation and type of cat may vary based on the wild species in the area in which the legend originated. The term “werecat” did not appear until the late 19th century. Typical reasons for a transformation are throwing on the skin of an animal, complicated rituals, magic, curses, but also relationships with animals such as B. in some Celtic legends about old Scottish and Irish families.

Europe

Wafers are rather rare in European stories. Mainly domestic cats, which can reach gigantic proportions, or panthers occur here.

On the positive side, the werecat shows itself primarily in the world of fairy tales and legends as a helpful companion or as, usually with the entire court, enchanted cat princess.

In Hungary, the superstition is known that seven to twelve year old cats can turn into witches if you don't scratch a cross in the animal's skin.

That witches were closely associated with cats is also shown in a kind of witch test, which consisted of placing a cat in a bowl of holy water . If the animal tried to escape, it was a transformed witch.

The witch's hammer , Malleus Maleficarum, attributes the ability to witches to seemingly transform themselves into cats with the help of demons. There was a clear distribution of roles:

It was mainly women who were accused of transforming themselves into cats as witches, while men were mainly accused as werewolves. The means of transformation were also tailored to this: women should use animal skins and grease, a kind of magic ointment, while men should use belts.

An example of magic formulas is provided by the "voluntary" testimony of Isobel Gowdie, who was accused of being a witch, from Scotland in 1662, according to which she could transform herself into various animals, including a cat.

For the transformation into a cat one should repeat this verse three times:

I'll slip into a cat
With wails and sighs and a little black ball;
I go in the devil's name;
Oh, although I'm coming home again.

The following verse should ensure the reconversion:

Cat, cat, God send you a little black ball
I'm in a cat shape now
But in a moment I'll be in the form of a woman
Cat, cat, god send you a little black ball.

According to popular belief, the shape of the cat is said to have been used for espionage or stealing. Therefore, in some regions, important family issues around cats were not discussed. Rich and independent women were believed to transform at night to steal valuables, while poor women would transform themselves to get personal items to bewitch their victims.

Also, a witch should only be able to transform into a cat nine times because of a cat's nine lives. Injuries that occurred during the transformation and persisted after the transformation back were considered evidence. The assumption that you can only kill a witch in animal form with a silver ball arose primarily from the connection between witches and werewolves in the witch trials . The decline in the wolf population also led to increased attention to other "witch animals", especially cats and other domestic animals. The “silver bullet myth” has survived these days only in lycanthropy .

A representative of the werecats in vampirism is the Moroiu, which arises from buried, unbaptized children and only takes its shape seven years after their death if they have not been baptized by then. Among other things, he appears as a cat pouncing on travelers.

Africa

Stature of a cat with a Nubian woman's head (exhibited in the Louvre )

African legends mainly tell of people who transform into lions and leopards. The latter stand for gods and goddesses who enter into relationships with people, from whom children with special powers emerge, but who cannot change. An example of this are the kings of Dahomey , who traced their origins back to a union between a human and a female leopard; the people therefore sometimes referred to themselves as "leopard children". The Igbo believed that the best in society would be reborn as elephants or leopards.

Lions can also stand for the rebirth of people, although they were kings, queens or leaders in previous lives and act in this form against invading Europeans. A well-known example of this is the story of the "cannibals of Tsavo" by John Henry Patterson .

The Egyptian mythology provides some interesting examples of werecats in the humanized form of animal deities such as Bastet and Sekhmet.

Bastet , who as the goddess of fertility and love has a rather gentle nature and symbolizes the Egyptian Mau , the ancestor of today's domestic cat. Originally she possessed both angry and gentle qualities and in the early days she was depicted as a lioness, which makes her easy to confuse with menhit , sachmet or thermutis . She was later portrayed as a seated cat or a woman with a cat's head, and the mother cat with a human head was also a popular type of representation in the form of talismans, amulets and statuettes.

In the course of time, the goddess Sachmet took over the angry nature of Bastet and, with her nickname, The Mistress of Trembling , symbolizes above all the destructive and evil in the character of a cat. She is also known as Bastet's destructive shadow, but on her peaceful side she is also known as the goddess of love and, like Menhit or Thermutis, symbolizes the lion.

Asia

On the Asian mainland, tigers in particular are widespread as a manifestation, especially the animals known as man -eaters were said to be more valuable. In India and Thailand it is mainly magicians who threaten the livestock through the transformation, but in Thailand tales of plant crocodiles are more widespread than valuables. Indian worthies also carry the souls of the dead in order to punish them for their evil deeds in previous lives.

Chinese legends, especially of Han Chinese , show the more valuable as a victim of hereditary curses or resentful spirits, whereby they should use their energy to ensure that more people, especially their enemies, become victims of tigers. In Indonesia and Malaysia worthy vengeance, z. B. because of refused alms and other injustices or protect the corn fields from wild boars at night, similar to the magicians of Yucatán in Mesoamerica (Central America). The shapeshifters make no distinction between friend and foe if you don't address them by name.

But there are not only legends about valuable ones, but also about other species, e.g. B. Milarepa , a Tibetan poet monk, tells that after six months of imprisonment in the Great Cave of the Fighting Demons, his disciples found him in the form of a snow leopard.

Several types can be distinguished in the myths of the Garo in northeast India about Wertiger. This includes a "tiger disease" reported at the end of the 18th century. Men afflicted by this mental illness are said to have spread terror on the streets, moving wildly like tigers. Shapeshifters who can assume human and tiger form are known to the Garo as matchadus (from matcha , "tiger"). They are described as a horde of cannibals that live in their own villages deep in the jungle. Occasionally, in folk tales, a Garo hero manages to kill one of the matchadus beasts. The Garo call the phenomenon of the psychological transformation of a person into a tiger in a dream matchapilgipa . The life soul leaves the dreaming or in a trance person and embodies itself in a wild animal. The matchapilgipa experiences itself in the dream as a tiger attacking a pet or a person.

America

Jaguar warriors in a representation of the Aztecs
Olmec nephrite sculpture from Veracruz

In the pre-Columbian cultures, the cult of the jaguar man (Werjaguar) was a powerful myth that was considered a symbol of the sun and gods. The Aztecs had the jaguar warrior caste , elite warriors who, for example, use jaguar pelts as part of their armor. It is also worth mentioning a Maya instrument found by archaeologists in Guatemala , a kind of humming-pot that can be used to imitate the voice of a jaguar.

Olmecs made stylized werjaguar masks as well as small sculptures from jade. An example includes the famous Las Limas Monument 1 this idea in a nephrite sculpture depicting a youngster who is holding a slender Werjaguar baby in his arms.

Modern legends in South America describe a variant of the "vanished hitchhiker" or secret killer of the government or organized crime. Also, according to a superstition, homeless people are advised not to carry catnip with them, as wascats like and are attracted to it. The counterpart to the catnip is said to be dog bones, which are seen by the Werjaguars as an object of hate and are supposed to act as a deterrent.

In the USA there are legends about the two-legged feline relatives of the Bigfoot, with cat heads, paws or other feline features that are cryptozoologically classified as werecats .

The United States is also the birthplace of many branches of the so-called New Age religions, in which the totem cult of the native peoples of America was included and shapeshifters play a major role.

But there are also individuals who also refer to the totem cult as part of their origins and who want to transform their bodies into the shape of their totem through operations and tattoos. One of the most famous representatives of this group of people was the artist " Stalking Cat ", who achieved great fame through his plan to resemble a tiger.

Wheels in the entertainment industry (selection)

Movies

TV series, music videos & documentaries

  • In the series She-Ra , the villain Catra can transform into a panther.
  • The main characters in the series ThunderCats come from a planet inhabited with cat people.
  • Nefertina from the Mummies Alive series transforms into a wascat during one episode.
  • There is a sorority of humanoid cats in the Doctor Who series .
  • In the "Summer of the 80s" series on Arte , it is mentioned in the documentary about the music video Thriller that Michael Jackson transforms into a wascat.
  • In the music video Eaten Alive by Diana Ross she turns into a black panther.
  • In the Monster High series there are students who are part of the cheerleading team.
  • In the series Billy the Cat , a boy is turned into a cat by a magician.
  • In the series True Blood , a group of Werpanthers appears during the third season.
  • In the Grimm series, some creatures transform into cat-like shapes.
  • In the series Teen Wolf , Werjaguare appear in season 4.

literature

Comic and manga series

  • In the manga / anime series Bleach , Yoruichi can transform Shihoin into a cat through concentration.
  • Shampoo from the Manga series Ranma ½ by Rumiko Takahashi transforms into a cat when it comes into contact with cold water.
  • One of the main characters in Fred Perry's "Gold Digger" comic series, Brittany Diggers, is a werpard.

Games

  • Various characters in the Beat'em-Up game series Bloody Roar can turn into cats or half cats.
  • The character class of the druid in the MMORPG World of Warcraft has the ability to transform into werecats.
  • Nine Tribes of Twilight: The Player Guide to Werecats for Werewolf, The Apocalypse; Bastet, ISBN 1-56504-335-9 .
  • As a Wertiger character Delmair in the computer game Eye of the Beholder 3: Assault on Myth Drannor , as well as in general role-playing games of Dungeons & Dragons .
  • In the World of Darkness (WoD), a pen & paper role-playing game , cat shapeshifters are called Bastet . These are divided into different tribes, which also determine their animal shape.
  • In the computer games of The Elder Scrolls series there is a breed, Khajiit, which are cat people.
  • In the MMORPG Perfect World International (PWI) there is a race called Chimeras, in which you can choose between Vulperines and beast warriors, Vulperines are beings with human bodies but animal ears and tails and beast warriors are beings with also human bodies and animal heads. Both can transform into an animal, the Vulperine into a fox and the beast warrior into a white tiger.
  • In the “Bayala” series of figures from Schleich there are two cat people (Liassa [cheetah woman] and Noctis [panther man]) who are delivered with an animal companion.

See also

literature

  • This article applies in part to the 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica , 1910–1911.
  • Rosalyn Greene: The Magic of Shapeshifting. Weiser, York Beach 2000, ISBN 1-57863-171-8 .
  • Nicholas J. Saunders: The cult of the cat. Thames and Hudson, London 1991, ISBN 0-500-81036-2 .
  • Rita Voltmer: About werewolves and witch cats. Animal Transformations in European History. Conference of the Academy of the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart with the Working Group Interdisciplinary Witch Research (AKIH) from March 1st to 3rd, 2001 in Stuttgart-Hohenheim. In: historicum.net (as of March 26, 2010)
  • Sabine Seidl: Witches (performances) and magic in Southeast Europe. In: Katrin Moeller (Ed.): Scientific qualification work on belief in witches and magic. on: historicum.net (as of March 26, 2010)
  • Sergius Golowin : Goddess Cat - The magical animal by our side. Goldmann Verlag , 1989, ISBN 3-442-12136-1 .
  • Sergius Golowin: The secret of the beastmen - From vampires, mermaids, werewolves and similar creatures. "Sphinx series". Heyne Verlag, 1993, ISBN 3-453-13288-2 .
  • Sergius Golowin: The wise women: The witches and their healing knowledge. Sphinx, Basel 1982, ISBN 3-85914-152-X .
  • Daniela Gehrmann: About cat women, monkey men and werewolves: the animal in humans. Film studies. Tectum Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-8288-9136-5 .
  • Klaus Völker : Werewolves and other beastmen - seals and documents. Bechtermünz Verlag, 1997, ISBN 3-86047-664-5 .
  • David Prickering: Lexicon of Magic and Witchcraft. Brechtmünz Verlag, 1996, ISBN 3-8289-0323-1 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ RL Stine : The magical amulet. 2001, ISBN 3-7855-4025-6 .
  2. ↑ Everett Bleiler: The Guide to Supernatural Fiction. Kent State University Press, 1983, p. 272.
  3. ↑ Christine Warren: Fantasy Fix. Ellora's Cave, 2003, p. 232.
  4. ↑ Yasmine Galenorn: Witchling. Berkley, 2006, p. 12.
  5. ^ Rosalyn Greene: The Magic of Shapeshifting. Weiser, 2000, pp. 8-9.
  6. ↑ Marian Babson: The nine lives of Win Fortesuce. Bastei-Verlag, 1996, ISBN 3-404-13823-6 .
  7. ↑ Gerd Schmitt-Hausser: The day on which the cats disappeared. Ullstein Verlag, 1992, ISBN 3-548-22815-1 .
  8. ↑ Margaret Maron : The Beast in Her. In: Martin H. Greenberg, Ed Gorman (Ed.): Neue Krimikatzen. Bastei-Verlag, 1991, ISBN 3-404-13500-8 .
  9. ↑ Paul Galico: My friend Jennie. Rowohlt Verlag , 1962, ISBN 3-499-10499-7 .
  10. ↑ Yasmine Galenorn: Witchling. Berkley, 2006, p. 33.
  11. ↑ Monster Manual III. Wizards of the Coast, 2004, pp. 165-166.
  12. ↑ Christine Feehan: Lair of the Lion. Leisure Books, 2002.
  13. ↑ Rick Worland: The Horror Film: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing, 2006, pp. 73, 176-178, 184.
  14. ↑ Lael J. Littke: The cat does not let the mouse moult In: Gisela Eichhorn (Hrsg.): Der Katzenkrimi. 1996, ISBN 3-502-51530-1 , pp. 249-287.
  15. ↑ Lael J. Littke: The cat does not let the mouse moult In: Gisela Eichhorn (Hrsg.): Der Katzenkrimi. 1996, ISBN 3-502-51530-1 , pp. 249-287.
  16. ↑ domestic cat. In: Wikipedia. Processing status: March 25, 2010, 16:34 UTC. (Accessed: March 26, 2010)
  17. ↑ a b Adapted translation of the verses by: Isobel Gowdie. In the Engl. Wikipedia, March 26, 2010
  18. ↑ Claude Lecouteux: The History of the Vampires. Metamorphosis of a Myth. 2001, ISBN 3-491-96235-8 .
  19. ^ Francesco Brighenti: Traditional Beliefs About Weretigers Among the Garos of Meghalaya (India). In: eTropic , 16.1, 2017, pp. 96–111, here pp. 100, 103
  20. ↑ In 2004 the Princeton University Museum launched a website ( Memento of the original from April 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. available, which in addition to the Inca humming pot, also provides audio samples of other musical instruments. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mcis2.princeton.edu
  21. ↑ Jade. In: Wikipedia. Processing status: March 15, 2010, 03:42 UTC. (Accessed: March 24, 2010)