In Mesoamerican beliefs, a nahual (also called nagual or nawal (from Nahuatl: nahualli 'hidden, concealed, disguise') is a kind of sorcerer or supernatural being who has the ability to take animal form. The term refers both to the person who has this ability and to the animal itself that serves as his alter ego or animal guardian.
The concept is expressed in different native languages, with different meanings and contexts. Most commonly, nahualismo is the practice or ability of some people to become animals, elements of nature or to perform acts of witchcraft.
In Maya, the concept is expressed under the word chulel, which is understood precisely as "spirit"; the word derives from the root chul, which means "divine".
According to some traditions, it is said that each person, at the moment of birth, already has the spirit of an animal, which is in charge of protecting and guiding him or her. These spirits usually manifest themselves only as an image that advises in dreams or with a certain affinity to the animal that took the person as its protégé. A woman whose nahual was a mockingbird will have a privileged voice for singing, but not all have such a light contact: it is believed that the sorcerers and shamans of central Mesoamerica can create a very close bond with their nahuals, which gives them a series of advantages that they know how to take advantage of, the vision of the sparrow hawk, the wolf's wolfhound or the ocelot's ear affirm.
Beliefs
Naguals use their powers for good or evil according to their personality. The general concept of nagualism is pan-Mesoamerican. Nagualism is linked with pre-Columbian shamanistic practices through Pre-classic Olmec and Toltec depictions that are interpreted as human beings transforming themselves into animals. The system is linked with the Mesoamerican calendrical system, used for divination rituals. Birth dates often determine if a person can become a nagual. Mesoamerican belief in tonalism, wherein every person has an animal counterpart to which their life force is linked, is drawn upon by nagualism
The Western study of nagualism was initiated by archaeologist, linguist, and ethnologist Daniel Garrison Brinton who published Nagualism: A Study in Native-American Folklore and History, which chronicled historical interpretations of the word and those who practiced nagualism in Mexico in 1894. He identified various beliefs associated with nagualism in modern Mexican communities such as the Mixe, the Nahua, the Zapotec and the Mixtec.
Description
In Mexico, the name nahuales has been given to sorcerers who can change their shape. However, it is believed that contact with their nahuales is also common among shamans who seek to benefit their community, although they do not use the ability to transform; for them, the nahual is a form of introspection that allows those who practice it to have close contact with the spiritual world, thanks to which they easily find solutions to many of the problems that afflict those who seek their advice.
Since pre-Hispanic times, the gods of the Mayan, Toltec and Mexica cultures, among others, have been attributed the power to take the form of an animal (nahual) to interact with humans. Each deity used to take one or two forms; for example, Tezcatlipoca's nahual was the jaguar, although he indistinctly used the form of a coyote, and Huitzilopochtli's was a hummingbird. According to Michoacán traditions, the nahuales sometimes transform into elements of nature, and are sometimes confused with the graniceros, although there are similar references in various cultures that lend themselves to confusion, and it is likely an amalgam of other cultures where the change of form is to elements of nature and not to animals.
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My kiddo is a HS freshman and wants to watch scary movies with me. So far I've got:
Any recs?
The Thing
I'm gonna recommend some foreign language films! I have to use subtitles anyways so I'm fine with reading my movies
Rec is the original Mexican version of the American film Quarantine. Found footage apocalypse movie that uses the medium of found footage really well. I don't recommend watching Quarantine though, it's a remake for America and I don't think it's particularly good.
Funny Games is a classic psychological horror movie at this point. There is an American remake of the film that many fans dislike, but it's a shot for shot remake so there's not really any reason to dislike it. I think the older film aesthetic works better than the remake does, but the English version is still worth watching if you don't want to read your movie. This is a movie that's better knowing absolutely nothing going in.
It Follows is an English movie, but is the newest great horror movie I have watched.
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I remember it as being Mexican, just looked it up and you're right. For some reason I remember the entire film being set in Mexico City, guessing it was my age when I watched it.
Yeah, Rec 1 is fucking nutty
If your kid is mature enough not to think they'll die because they saw a movie, I'd recommend The Ring. Not too intense, has next to no gore, but still pretty scary and it's a classic horror movie.
The original Exorcist also fits those criteria, if you aren't religious neither of you will find it scary probably since the effects are pretty tame next to what modern horror movies do.
And I'll give the sleeper shoutout to As Above So Below. It's a pretty good horror movie and I'm pretty sure there isn't any gore at all, some violence but it mostly happens in the dark. I don't think it would be traumatizing but might be worth glancing at the parent's guide just to be safe.
Event Horizon
Scream, for a self-aware but not particularly meta slasher
The Others, for paranormal suspense
Little Evil, for a non-realistically-gory black comedy about being a good stepdad to the antichrist
Is the kid into gore? The Thing maybe
The Exorcist is a classic, might be a little slow for kids today though.
I had a fun time with Escape Room, it's not like good lol but I still enjoyed it.
The first IT movie was good.
Scream and Carrie are classic, I actually didn't mind the Carrie remake but the original was "better" in my opinion.
Society might be hard to find but I liked it. Got some left politics stuff in it
Friday the 13th is another classic, the sequels too I guess.
Oh and Deadly Friend is another like B movie that's pretty funny, not many scares but still counts as horror. It's got one of the most ridiculous death scenes of all time.
Oh you know what, I skipped over the part where you said your kid wanted to watch these WITH you lol. Yeah, some of the above might be a little awkward cause of sex scenes (especially Society which also has an incest thing going on, they're very rich people it makes sense in the movie).
Yeah, i don't know who would be more uncomfortable with overly sexy stuff
The visit is pretty creepy