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The jaguar is a fearsome apex predator that stalks the forests of South and Central America. These incredible animals face extinction from habitat loss and poaching today, but they were once key figures in the cultural life of the great Mesoamerican civilizations. So much so that echoes of werejaguar mythology have remained in the region into modern times, despite the best efforts of Christian missionaries to stamp out and demonize these beliefs.
The Olmec: Birth of the Werejaguar
The trail of the werejaguar begins with the Olmec. The Olmec were an advanced Central American society that existed approximately 1500 B.C.E. to 300 C.E. (7). The first Olmec stonework was discovered in 1867 (4), but a lot about this civilization remains mysterious. They are believed to have been a major influence on the later Mesoamerican cultures, i.e. the Aztecs and Maya, yet so much about the Olmec themselves is unknown or a matter of debate (7). The Olmec are mostly known from recovered art and architecture, and a common feature decorated upon both is their werejaguar.
The Olmec werejaguar is a motif in their art that appears to have a blend of human and feline characteristics. These figures are generally human in form but have downturned mouths, almond-shaped eyes, and cleft heads, often with snouts, fangs, and/or special headdresses (2, 4, 5, 7, 9).
A lot of explanations have been offered for these werejaguars that just keep cropping up. They’ve been found as sculptures, on pottery, carved into bas-relief on buildings, and into masks and figurines (7). The photo at left is of a stone werejaguar that is actually part of a drainage system. There is a groove in the back of it for water to flow through. Obviously, the Olmec had a thing for this design. Why?
Hypotheses
In 1955, archeologist Matthew Stirling proposed that these were-jaguars depicted the mythic offspring of matings between male jaguars and human women (7, 9). He based this idea on a handful of Olmec artworks that seemed, to him, to show the act of such mating (7, 9). Not everyone has been on board with Stirling’s hypothesis. However, one of the articles I read included a picture of a cave painting Stirling used for reference (9). I’ll admit that I can see where he’s coming from.
Theories that take the Stirling Hypothesis into account assume that the jaguar was revered by the Olmec, therefore there would be a benefit to descending from jaguars in their culture. One theory is that royalty may have claimed to belong to a jaguar lineage, thus imbuing themselves with the power associated with that animal (4, 5). Perhaps the hybridization was meant to be with a jaguar deity, rather than a literal jaguar (4, 5). It’s hard to tell from art that is out-of-context and thousands of years old. And of course, Stirling might have been wrong all along.
Some scholars believe, based on later religious traditions from the area, that the Olmec werejaguars are representations of a rain/fertility god (5, 9). It has also been proposed that they depict a nature spirit called upon by the shamans (9). The Mixe, who are believed to be distant descendants of the Olmec, have a similar spirit in their religion (9). He is a shapeshifter named is ‘Ene∙ who generates rain (9). His offspring become venomous snakes and jaguars (9).
One theory comes closest to what we would think of as a werejaguar. What if the Olmec intended to represent a shamanic transformation from man to animal (2, 5)? An Olmec ceramic vessel that dates from 150 B.C.E. to 250 C.E. shows a man with a werejaguar mask covering only half his face, as if in mid-transformation (5). Perhaps all of these part-human, part-jungle cat designs indicate a transformation. Although scholars can only speculate, more modern beliefs do make one wonder if the Olmec might have at least thought it possible.
Postcolonial Werejaguars
The Olmec may be long gone, but there are still werejaguars in their old stomping grounds, and beyond. But these aren’t made of stone or clay. They’re flesh-and-blood people.
There are two kinds of weretiger in Postcolonial Mesoamerican: the tonal and the nagual. The difference between the two is complicated, especially as the words are sometimes used interchangeably or in place of the other. Some regions have only one, some both, and the stories vary as all do. I’ll try to make it as straightforward as possible.
Tonal
In some Mesoamerican groups, it is believed that every person has a counterpart in nature, usually an animal, called a tonal (6, 8). A person’s tonal is born at the same time they are and lives in parallel to them their entire life (6). Although the person and their tonal lead their own lives, what happens to one can happen to the other (6). No one knows what their tonal is instinctively, but if they fall ill without discernible cause, a healer must be consulted who can determine the person’s tonal (6). An injury or illness to the tonal is assumed to be the problem, and only by finding the tonal can a solution be prescribed for one party or the other (6).
Quite a few animals can be tonal, including rabbits, deer, snakes, raccoons, tigrillos, alligators, and, of course, jaguars (6). Natural phenomena, like storm clouds, can also be tonal (6). Domestic animals are off the list, however (6). When wild animals are seen acting in unusual ways, or evidence of strange behavior is found, this is interpreted as evidence that the animal is someone’s tonal (6). For example, when dead donkeys are found with only the liver and heart eaten, the conclusion is that only a tonal would do that (6).
When someone’s tonal dies, they die, and vice versa (6, 8). However, there is sometimes a chance to save the person when the tonal is killed. The skin of the tonal must be wrapped around its person, and this will only work if the skin is unsalted and untreated (6). If a hunter kills a tonal and treats the skin in any way before the family intervenes, there is nothing to be done. Tonalli aren’t just a burden, however. They are thought of as guardians and may act on the behalf of their people (6).
Nagual
Naguales are a product of witchcraft, though whether for good or evil varies (3, 6). People are not naturally born with a nagual; rather, they are given one through ritual, often as an infant (1, 6). Like a tonal, a nagual is an animal that is inextricably linked to an individual person (3, 6, 8). However, having a nagual comes with extra perks.
There are multiple legends regarding the ritual to assign a nagual. In one, sorcerers pick a child before they are born. Then, after birth but before baptism, the sorcerer sends a nagual to whisk the baby away in the night. The infant is taken to a crossroads where a procession of animals pass over it. Whichever animal stops and cleans the baby with its tongue is the kind of animal that will be their nagual. If more than one does, any animal or animals, up to three, may be the child’s nagual. (6)
Bishop Francisco Nuñez de la Vega reported in 1698 that, at least in his diocese, naguales were assigned astrologically. The date and month of a child’s birth determined their nagual. Then “some diabolical ceremonies” were performed to find the right place for the parents to bring the child when they turned seven years old. At the appointed time and place, the child’s nagual would appear. As indicated by his earlier quote, the bishop considered the whole business to be the work of the Devil. (1)
Those with a nagual know intuitively what animal it is and may recognize it if they run across each other (6). They can also frequently transform into their nagual at will (1, 3, 6). A greater variety of animals can be a nagual than a tonal, including domestic cattle and several non-native species, but the jaguar remains a common theme (6).
A common story told in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico, goes that two men are walking together on the road when one asks his friend if he can be frightened. Of course, the friend says something “No, you can’t scare me!” So the one who asked will find a reason to leave the path, only to leap back onto it in the form of a jaguar. (6) I think there can be no question that this is exactly what humans would choose to do if capable of transforming into a ferocious beast. So I say it checks out.
A less amusing story is that of a group of women working in the fields when a man comes up and tries to make a move on one of them. She was having none of it and rebuffed him in front of the others, which made him angry. On the way home from work, the group of women were ambushed by a jaguar with human hands. Fortunately, he only wanted to scare them. The hands kind of gave him away as a werejaguar–and a jerk. (6)
Tragically, as has so often been the case, European colonizers were determined to destroy native beliefs in the tonal and nagual. A 1692 edict from Bishop de la Vega to his diocese read:
“And because in the provinces of our diocese those Indians who are Nagualists adore their naguals, and look upon them as gods…we, therefore, prescribe and command that in every town an ecclesiastical prison shall be constructed at the expense of the church, and that it be provided with fetters and stocks, and we confer authority on every priest and curate of a parish to imprison in these gaols whoever is guilty of disrespect toward our Holy Faith, and we enjoin them to treat with especial severity those who teach the doctrines of Nagualism.”
Tonal and nagual beliefs were still under scholarly discussion as recently as the mid-nineties, so I think it’s safe to say that the attempt, despite having three hundred years to bear fruit, was not as successful as its architects had hoped. Nonetheless, it is just another example of colonizers campaigning to erase the culture of the colonized. Let people have their culture; save the werejaguars.
Works Cited
- Brinton, D.G. (1894). Nagualism: A study in Native American folk-lore and history. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 33(144), 11-73. https://www.jstor.org/stable/983361
- Dallas Museum of Art. (n.d.). Standing figure with were-jaguar face. https://collections.dma.org/artwork/3049386
- Gossen, G.H. (1994). From Olmecs to Zapatistas: A once and future history of souls. American Anthropologist, 96(3), 553-570. https://www.jstor.org/stable/682300
- Heyworth, R. (2014, May 15). The Olmec: The children of the were-jaguar. Uncovered History. https://uncoveredhistory.com/mexico/the-olmec-children-of-the-were-jaguar/
- Johnson Museum of Art. (n.d.). Were-jaguar with half mask. https://museum.cornell.edu/collections/american/pre-columbian-america/were-jaguar-half-mask
- Kaplan, L.N. (1956). Tonal and nagual in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. The Journal of American Folklore, 69(274), 363-368. https://doi.org/10.2307/536346
- Milton, G. and Gonzalo, R. (1974). Jaguar cult – Down’s Syndrome – were-jaguar. Expedition, 16(4), 33-37. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/jaguar-cult-downs-syndrome-were-jaguar/
- Paz, J. (1995). The vicissitude of the alter ego animal in Mesoamerica: An ethnohistorical reconstruction of tonalism. Anthropos, 90(4/6), 445-465. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40463191
- Tate, C.E. (1999). Patrons of shamanic power: La Venta’s supernatural entities in light of Mixe beliefs. Ancient Mesoamerica, 10(2), 169-188. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26307986
Published December 20, 2020
