Werehyena
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Werehyena is a neologism coined in analogy to werewolf for therianthropy involving hyenas. It is common in the folklore of the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Near East as well as some adjacent territories. Unlike werewolves and other therianthropes, which are usually portrayed as being originally human, some werehyena lore tells of how they can also be hyenas disguised as humans.[1]
African cultures
In Somalia, it is traditionally believed that Qori Ismaris ("One who rubs himself with a stick") was a man who could transform himself into a "hyena-man" by rubbing himself with a magic stick at nightfall and by repeating this process could return to his human state before dawn.[2]
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In the folklore of western Sudanic peoples, there is a hybrid creature, a human who is nightly transformed into a cannibalistic monster that terrorizes people, especially lovers. The creature is often portrayed as a magically powerful healer, blacksmith, or woodcutter in its human form, but recognizable through signs like a hairy body, red and gleaming eyes, and a nasal voice.[7]
Members of the Korè cult of the Bambara people in Mali “become” hyenas by imitating the animals' behavior through masks and roleplay. These are evocative of the hyenas' reviled habits and may also be used to evoke fear among the participants, leading them to avoid such habits and traits in their own lives.[7]
Other cultures
Al-Doumairy, in his Hawayan Al-Koubra (1406), wrote that hyenas are
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Popular culture
Werehyenas have appeared in popular culture:
- In Hyenais an example of a werehyena and there had been different versions of this character.
- The Monsters episode "One Wolf's Family" features a werehyena named Stanley.
- The 1994 film The Heart's Cry features a werehyena.
- The Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "The Pack" featured creatures similar to the werehyena.
- Ilona Andrews's Kate Daniels urban fantasy series features clan of werehyenas.
- The 2011 film Hyenas featured some werehyenas.
- The 2021 fantasy novel Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen features werehyenas.
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 0-448-23170-0.
- ISBN 9780313313332.
- ^ a b Tylor, Edward Burnett (1920). Primitive culture Vol. 1. John Murray. p. 310.
- ^ ISBN 0-520-21901-5.
- ISBN 978-1-60206-084-5.
- OL 24821270M.
- ^ a b c "The Magicality of the Hyena: Beliefs and Practices in West and South Asia" (PDF). Asian Folklore Studies, Volume 57, 1998: 331–344. June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-06-25. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
- ^ Mounir R. Abi-Said (2006). Reviled as a grave robber: The ecology and conservation of striped hyenas in the human dominated landscapes of Lebanon.
External links
- Book Review: The Hyena People: Ethiopian Jews In Christian Ethiopia