Caroline Taylor Stewart

“ The theory that if one put on a wolf’s skin he became a werewolf, is perhaps a reminiscence of the fact alleged of Berserkers haunting the woods by night, clothed in hides of wolves or bears. A permanent cure was effected by burning the werewolf’s sack, unless the Devil furnished him with a new wolfskin. Primitively, to become incarnated into any creature, the soul had only to put on the outward integument of the creature. ”

“ A tame wolf which for the past two years has been a pet in a farmer’s family at Marshfield, Wisconsin, escaped and attacked a chicken. The farmer’s daughter called to the wolf, but it had become wild from the taste of blood, attacked her, and bit her on both arms and one leg. It held so fast that the young lady could not be released until she had nearly choked the wolf with its collar. ”

“ The man in wolf-skin was already a lurking thief or enemy, or a destroyer of human life. To advance from this stage to the werewolf frenzy, our primitive man must have seen about him some exhibition of such a frenzy, and some reason for connecting this frenzy particularly with, say the wolf. ”

“ 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. ”

“ All uncivilized tribes of the world are continually on the defensive, like our American Indian; they all no doubt on occasion have sent out scouts who, like our American Indians, to avoid detection, assumed the disguise of the animal most common to the special locality in question, just as to-day they are known to disguise in animal skins for purposes of plunder or revenge.52 53
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The kind of animal makes no difference, the underlying principle is the same; namely, the transformation of a living human being into an animal. ”

“ The starting point of the whole superstition of the harmful werewolf is the disguising as some common animal by members of savage races when abroad as foragers or scouts, in order to escape detection by the enemy. Like wolves they roamed the land in search of food. As stated above,103 later fabulous report would represent them as possessing in their disguise the attributes of the animal they impersonated,104 and finally even of actually taking on animal form, either wholly or in part,105 for longer or shorter periods of time. ”

“ For customs amongst the American Indians relating to the outlaw see Ethn. Rep. 1879-80, p. 67 fol.: An outlaw is one who by his crimes has placed himself without the protection of his clan, is not defended in case he is injured by another. When the sentence of outlawry has been declared, for example among the Wyandots, it is the duty of the chief of the Wolf clan to make known the decision of the council.... In outlawry of the highest degree it is the duty of any member of the tribe who may meet the offender to kill him like an animal. ”

“ The belief that a human being is capable of assuming an animal’s form, most frequently that of a wolf, is an almost worldwide superstition. Such a transformed person is the Germanic werewolf, or man-wolf ”

“ While the party remained hidden in some ravine or hollow, one Indian would put his robe over him and gallop to the top of the hill on all fours, and would sit there on his haunches looking all over the country, and anyone at a distance who saw him, would take him for a wolf. ”

“ If the Greenlanders catch too many seal at one place, the latter will take a terrible revenge. Assuming human form, they attack their enemy in the night at his home. This is the transformation of an animal into a man, but the inventor of the story was no doubt looking towards his own gain. It is the same old fight for seal protection which in another form is still going on to-day. Andree, p. 72. In Siam stories are told of people who by magic formulae become tigers and roam about at night in search of booty. ”

“ Worship of dead ancestors with wolf totems originated the notion of transformation of men into divine or superhuman wolves. 2. The storm-wind was explained as the rushing of a troop of dead men’s souls or as the howling of wolf-like monsters (called by Christianity demons) . 3. Berserker madness and cannibalism, accompanied by lycanthropic hallucinations, interpreted as due to such demoniacal metamorphosis, gave rise to the werewolf superstition of the Middle Ages. ”

“ As lion he would stay for days and months in the forest, 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. ”

“ Fourthly, primitive man would put on an animal’s skin or dress when out as forager (or robber) or spy, for the purpose of avoiding detection by the enemy. The Pawnee Indians for example,43 were called by neighboring tribes wolves, probably not out of contempt, since it may be doubted that an Indian feels contempt for a wolf any more than he does for a fox, a rabbit, or an elk, but because of their adroitness as scouts, warriors and stealers of horses ”

“ In Europe the transformation into a wolf is by far more prominent and frequent (amongst Greeks, Russians, English, Germans, French, Scandinavians) . Belief in metamorphosis into the animal most prominent in any locality itself acquires a special prominence. Thus the were-wolf prevails in Europe, also in England, Wales, Ireland; and in S. France, the Netherlands, Germany, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Servia, Bohemia, Poland, Russia, he can hardly be pronounced extinct now (see note 12) . In Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Iceland the bear competes with the wolf for pre-eminence. ”

“ Possibly often the wolves were an invention of excited imagination. So people attributed a wolf’s nature to the maniac or idiot with cannibal appetites, then the myth-forming process assigned to the unfortunate wretch a tangible lupine body. ”

“ The point in common everywhere is the transformation of a living human being into an animal, into a wolf in regions where the wolf was common16 into a lion, hyena or leopard in Africa, where these animals are common ”

“ The idea of the harmfulness to other men of a man in animal form or dress became deeply seated now, when men in animal disguise began to act not only as decoys for animals dangerous to life, but also as scouts (robbers49—and later as possessors [14] of supernatural power, when growth of culture brought with it growth of supernaturalism50) ”

“ Some of the North American Indian transformation stories represent men as having only the head, hands and feet of a wolf.106 The transformation into a werewolf in Germanic lands is caused merely by a shirt or girdle made of wolf-skin.107 This shirt or girdle of wolf-skin of the Germanic [30] werewolf is the survival of the robe or mantle originally disguising the entire body. ”

“ It is said that wolves, which in former days were extremely numerous, sometimes went crazy, and bit every animal they met with, sometimes even coming into camps and biting dogs, horses and people. Persons bitten by a mad wolf generally went mad, too. ”

“ No hyena was to be seen, only the man himself with a fresh wound. Soon he died, however the soldier did not survive him long. Doubtless one of the magician class was responsible for the death of the soldier, just as we to-day put to death the man who so violates our laws, as to become a menace to our society, or as formerly kings killed those who stood in their way; or as [24] religious sects murder those who dissent from their faith. ”

“ Some savages, as in Africa,78 came to regard any animal that robbed them of children, goats or other animals, as a witch in animal form;79 just as the American Indians ascribe to evil spirits death, sickness and other misfortunes. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ The origin of the superstition must have been an old custom of primitive man’s of putting on a wolf’s or other animal’s skin21 or dress, or a robe.22 Thus Leubuscher,23 says: “Es ist [7] der Mythenkreis eines jeden Volkes aus einfachen wahren Begebenheiten hervorgewachsen.”24 25 Likely also the notion of attributing speech to animals originated from such disguising or dressing of men as animals. In the following we shall examine into primitive man’s reasons for putting on such a skin or robe.
Primitive man was face to face with animal foes, and had to conquer them or be destroyed. ”

“ These magicians, supposed to be men who could assume animal form, as a matter of fact do often form a class, are greatly feared by other natives, often dwell with their disciples in caves and at night come forth to plunder and kill.83 It is to their interest to counterfeit well, for if suspected of being malevolent, they were put to death or outlawed, like criminals to-day.84 Their frenzies were, as said above, in some cases genuine delusions ”

“ In Persia the bear is supreme; in Japan the fox; in India the serpent vies with the tiger (contrary to Mogk in Paul’s Grd., III. 272, who says:—“Nur Griechen, Römer, Kelten, Germanen, Slaven unter den indogermanischen Völkern kennen den Werwolf, den Indern und Iraniern ist er unbekannt.” Compare notes 6 and 9, Hertz, p. 133) ; in Abyssinia and Borneo the hyena with the lion; in E. Africa the lion with the alligator; in W. Africa the leopard is perhaps most frequently the form assumed by man; among the Abipones the tiger, among the Arawaks the jaguar, etc. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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, at night though 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 the night; in the daytime they of course conceal the animal skins (see Andree, p. 72) . ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ The origin of the belief in such a transformation, as stated above54 was the simple putting on of an animal skin by early man. The object of putting on animal skins was,
(1) To gain food. For this purpose the motions and cries of animals were imitated (origin of dancing and singing) ,55 artificial decoys (like decoy ducks to-day) 56 and finally even masks were used.57
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(2) To secure clothing in cold climes by trapping or decoying animals, as in (1) above. ”

“ Wolves on the prairie were too common45 to excite remark, and at night they would approach close to the Indian camps.” ... The Pawnee starting off on the warpath usually carried a robe made of wolf skins, or in later times a white blanket or a white sheet; and, at night, wrapping himself in this, and getting down on his hands and knees, he walked or trotted here and there like a wolf, having thus transformed himself into a common object of the landscape. This disguise was employed by day as well, for reconnoissance.... ”

“ They trembled and their limbs jerked, they made their jaws work and foamed at the mouth, often trying to bite other people. When any one acted in this way, his relatives tied him hand and foot with ropes, and, having killed a buffalo, they rolled him up in the green hide, built a fire on and around him, leaving him in the fire until the hide began to dry and burn. ”

“ Die grossen Tiere und die mächtigen Bäume, die Tiere und Pflanzen, die für die Ernährung and Bekleidung des Menschen von Bedeutung sind, die Tiere, die sein Leben bedrohen, sie haben viel früher sprachliche Bezeichnung gefunden, als der unscheinbare Käfer im Sande, als die kleine Blume des Waldes. ”