CRYPTID CORNER DOG HEADED MEN / THE CYNOCEPHALI The characteristic of cynocephaly, having the head of a dog—or of a jackal—is a widely attested mythical phenomenon existing in many different forms and contexts. Cynocephaly is taken from the Latin word cynocephalus, meaning dog-head. Men with the heads of dogs have been reported since ancient times. Reports of dog-headed races can also be traced back to Greek antiquity. In the fifth century BC, the Greek physician Ctesias wrote a detailed report on the existence of cynocephali in India, known as Indica. Similarly, the Greek traveller Megasthenes claimed to know about dog-headed people in India who lived in the mountains, communicated through barking, wore the skins of wild animals and lived by hunting. Herodotus reports claims by ancient Libyans that such creatures inhabit the east of their lands. As George Alexandrou has pointed out, in this northeast region of India, and we know that there were peoples in this area who slashed their cheeks from mouth to ear, so that all the teeth showed. Marco Polo saw this tribe, whom he called the Cynocefaloi. He said that they looked like mastiffs; that is, they didn’t have elongated heads like German shepherds with the long nose, but like mastiffs. You can imagine – a mastiff has a round, flat face shaped more like that of a human. They cut the cheeks, filed the teeth, cropped the ears, and reshaped the skulls of their babies so that they would grow into a very ferocious aspect. All of this was to protect themselves from the constant invasions of the area....These people were ferocious in looks, but not ferocious in their ways. They were simply a primitive people who needed to protect themselves. The cynocephali offered such an evocative image of the magic and brutality deemed characteristic of bizarre people of distant places that they kept returning in medieval literature. Augustine of Hippo mentioned the cynocephali in City of God, Book XVI, Chapter 8, in the context of discussing whether such beings were descendants of Adam; he considered the possibility that they might not exist at all, or might not be human, but insisted that if they were human they were indeed descendants of Adam. Cynocephali also figure in medieval Christian world-views. A legend that placed St. Andrew and St. Bartholomew among the Parthians presented the case of Abominable, the citizen of the city of cannibals... whose face was like unto that of a dog. After receiving baptism, however, he was released from his doggish aspect. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, certain icons covertly identify Saint Christopher with the head of a dog. The Nowell Codex, perhaps more commonly known as the manuscript containing the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, also contains references to Cynocephali. One such reference can be found in the part of the manuscript known as The Wonders of the East, in which they are called healfhundingas or half-dogs. Cynocephali most recently were supposed to be a race living in Africa, who cannibalized humans. But seeing such beings in modern times would seem incredible, yet there have been increasing reports of these creatures. Very disturbing reports if they are true. Most sightings occur at night, though some have happened during daylight hours. Bizarrely, some have reported the men indifferently walking along main roads, attired normally, except they have the head of a dog. Most witnesses insist the head is too real in appearance and lifelike motion to be a mask. Some reports have been more sinister, where the creature has been caught unawares lurking around at night, near woods or the darkness of a backyard. One night-time jogger reported that a dog headed man kept pace with him as he ran across a field, staying alongside until the petrified man finally made it to his well lit doorway. There was one report of a DHM seen through a window from outside a house, lurking towards the kitchen. Other cases describe DHM’s who stand outside at night and look in through windows. ~ Punk
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 22:45:42 +0000
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