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In Aztec mythology and Mayan mythology, a Nahual was a spirit being, similar to a guardian angel, that manifested itself in the form of an animal. Each person had a nahual who watched over and protected them. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Nahual. ... The Aztec civilization recognized many gods and supernatural creatures. ... Maya mythology refers to the pre-Columbian Maya civilizations extensive polytheistic religious beliefs. ... A guardian angel is a spirit who is believed to protect and to guide a particular person. ...

Depending on the day of birth in the ancient divinatory calendar, each person receives a different nahual. Parents may keep this from the child until the he matures enough to use the knowledge in a responsible way. This may be from a concern that the person may resemble their nahual animal or develop related characteristics. For example, a bull is mean, so if a child's nahual is a bull then he would use it to gain advantage, acting mean to everyone to get what he wants. In addition, a child may blame his own inappropriate behavior on his nahual. In general, individuals do not tell people about their nahual, unless they have a really close relationship.

The Nahual

Throughout its history, Mexico has been known for their shamans, mystics and "curanderos" (healers), which are sometimes called Nahuales or Naguales.. The shaman is an intellectual and spiritual figure who is regarded as possessing power and influence on other peoples in the tribe and performs several functions, primarily that of a healer ( medicine man). The shaman provides medical care, and serves other community needs during crisis times, via supernatural means (means... Mysticism from the Greek μυστικός (mystikos) an initiate (of the Eleusinian Mysteries, μυστήρια (mysteria) meaning initiation[1]) is the pursuit of achieving communion or identity with, or conscious awareness of, ultimate reality, the divine, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, or insight; and the belief that such experience is an... A curandero (or curandera for a female) is a traditional folk healer or shaman prevalent in Latin America, and especially in Mexico and in Chicano communities in the southwestern United States. ...

Before the rise of the great Prehispanic civilizations like Aztec and Maya, the Yakis, Tarahumaras and Seris Indians, who lived in the North of Mexico and Southern parts of the United States around 900 A.D., had Nahuales. These peoples lived in parts of the U.S. states of California, New Mexico and Texas, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Baja California, Sonora and Sinaloa. They believed that if a man can know his primitive spirit or Nahual, he can use it to cure the people and practice magic. Many primitive drawings in old caves show people like werewolves. The Maya civilization is a culture Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, its spectacular art and monumental architecture, and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. ... This article is becoming very long. ... New Mexico was the 41st satate to be admitted to the us. ... Official language(s) See: Languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... The state of Chihuahua is the largest of the 31 states of Mexico and is located in the northwestern part of the country. ... Baja California (literally lower California in Spanish) is the northernmost state of Mexico. ... Sonora is a state in northwestern Mexico, bordering the states of Chihuahua to the east, Sinaloa to the south, and Baja California to the northwest. ... Sinaloa is bordered by the states of Sonora to the north, Chihuahua to the northeast, Durango to the east, and Nayarit to the south. ... A German woodcut from 1722 A werewolf (also lycanthrope or wolfman) in folklore and mythology is a person who shapeshifts into a wolf, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse. ...

The Aztec origin for Nahual is "Nahualli" that means "lo que es mi vestidura o piel" (Something that is my cloth or skin). It refers to the ability of the Nahual to morph himself into a werecreature (wolf, jaguar, lynx, eagle, coyote, ...) That voice also refers to necromancy, secrets and malice. In the Aztec empire the Nahuales were protecters for Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec god of the war and sacrifice. The legend said that a Nahual can put away his skin and transform into a werecreature. Many Aztec and colonial hunters said that in the night they killed an animal and the next day it turned into a man. The Aztecs were a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. ... Shapeshifting, transformation , transmogrification or morphing is a change in the form or shape of a person, especially: a change from human form to animal form and vice versa a change in appearance from one person to another Shapeshifting is not considered scientifically or medically possible for humans (and animal shapeshifting... In folklore, lycanthropy is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a wolf. ... Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call... Binomial name Panthera onca (Linnaeus, 1758) The jaguar (Panthera onca) is a large member of the cat family found primarily in the warm regions of the Americas. ... The range of the lynx. ... // This article is about the bird. ... Binomial name Canis latrans Say, 1823 The coyote (Canis latrans, meaning barking dog) also prairie wolf [2]) is a member of the Canidae (dog) family and a relative of the domestic dog. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

"The Nahual only can morph in the night and he attacks our babies with hellish spells", said people during the Colonial times (1500–1800 A.D.). The Santa Inquisition (the Catholic tribunal that punished Jews, witches, and the generally non-Catholic) hunted Nahuales for many years. But people believed in their power and sometimes protected them, especially in the Indian towns. The term Inquisition (Latin: Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis Sanctum Officium) is a special Chatolic ecclesiastical institutional for combating or suppressing heresy. ... This article is part of the Witchcraft series. ...

Most anthropologists agree that the tradition of these spirits continue in all modern Mexican cities and towns, and many have at least one Nahual acting for these spirits.

Trivia

• The Nahual of the last K'iche'(Quiché) leader, Tecún Umán, was the Resplendent Quetzal.

The Kiche (or Quiché in Spanish spelling), are a Native American people, part of the Maya ethnic group. ... Statue of Tecún Umán in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. ... Binomial name Pharomachrus mocinno (De la Llave, 1832) Ref: ITIS 553589 For other uses, see Resplendent Quetzal (disambiguation). ...

Reference

• Lopez Austin, Alfredo (Thema Ortiz de Montellano and Bernard Ortiz de. Montellano, Translators). "The Human Body: Concepts of the Ancient Nahuas, Vol 2." University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1988.

See also

• Totem
• Shapeshifting