Mexican Brujx, Part 2: Shapeshifting Witches
Many pre-Colombian indigenous cultures had deep, complex belief in therianthropy, the ability of certain people to assume animal form. Evidence for this practice in Mesoamerica goes back to the Olmecs, in whose art we find multiple representations of the were-jaguar.
This particular sort of witchcraft was adopted by the Nahua peoples as well (such as the Mexica or “Aztecs”). In Nahuatl, a generic name for shape-shifting witches is mocuepani, meaning “one who transforms.”
There are several varieties.
Chīchtli.
A generic Nahuatl word for “owl,” but also a sort of witch. In Mexican and Chicano Spanish, she’s a “lechuza,” a witch who can shift into an owl (“chīchtli mocuepa,” is the phrase in Nahuatl). The magic she uses was called “chīchyōtl” or “witch-owl sorcery.”
Rough pronunciation: CHEECHT-lee. Plural chīchtin.
