Editing Shapeshifting (section)

==Folklore and mythology==
[[File:GermanWoodcut1722.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|1722 German woodcut of a [[werewolf]] transforming]]

Popular shapeshifting creatures in folklore are [[werewolf|werewolves]] and [[vampire]]s (mostly of European, Canadian, and Native American/early American origin), [[ichchhadhari naag]] (shape-shifting cobra) of India, shapeshifting fox spirits of East Asia such as the [[huli jing]] of China, the [[obake]] of Japan, the Navajo [[skin-walker]]s, and gods, goddesses and demons and demonesses such as the [[Norse mythology|Norse]] [[Loki]] or the [[Greek mythology|Greek]] [[Proteus]]. Shapeshifting to the form of a [[gray wolf|wolf]] is specifically known as [[Werewolf|lycanthropy]], and creatures who undergo such change are called lycanthropes. It was also common for deities to transform mortals into animals and plants.

The prefix "were-" comes from the Old English word for "man".

While the popular idea of a shapeshifter is of a human being who turns into something else, there are numerous stories about animals that can transform themselves as well.<ref name="endicott-studio.com"/>

===Greco-Roman===
{{main|Metamorphoses in Greek mythology}}
[[File:Gerbrand van den Eeckhout 005.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Vertumnus]], in the form of an old woman, wooing [[Pomona (mythology)|Pomona]], by [[Gerbrand van den Eeckhout]].]]

Examples of shapeshifting in [[classical literature]] include many examples in [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses (poem)|Metamorphoses]]'', [[Circe]]'s transforming of [[Odysseus]]' men to [[pig]]s in [[Homer]]'s ''[[The Odyssey]]'', and [[Apuleius]]'s Lucius becoming a [[donkey]] in ''[[The Golden Ass]]''. [[Proteus]] was known among the gods for his shapeshifting; both [[Menelaus]] and [[Aristaeus]] captured him to obtain information, and they succeeded only by holding on through his many transformations. [[Nereus]] told [[Heracles]] where to find the Apples of the [[Hesperides]] for the same reason.

The [[Oceanid]] [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], the first wife of Zeus and the mother of the goddess Athena, was believed to be able to change her appearance into anything she wanted. In one story, her pride led Zeus to trick her into transforming into a fly. He then swallowed her because he feared that he and Metis would have a son who would be more powerful than Zeus himself. Metis, however, was already pregnant. She stayed alive inside his head and built an armor for her daughter. The banging of her metalworking made Zeus have a headache, so Hephaestus clove his head with an axe. Athena sprang from her father's head, fully grown, and in battle armor.

In [[Greek mythology]], the transformation is often a punishment from the gods to humans who crossed them.
* [[Zeus]] transformed King [[Lycaon of Arcadia|Lycaon]] and his children into wolves (hence lycanthropy) as a punishment for either killing Zeus' children or serving him the flesh of Lycaon's own murdered son [[Nyctimus]], depending on the exact version of the myth.
* [[Ares]] assigned [[Alectryon (mythology)|Alectryon]] to keep watch for [[Helios]] the sun god during his affair with [[Aphrodite]], but Alectryon fell asleep, leading to their discovery and humiliation that morning. Ares turned Alectryon into a [[rooster]], which always crows to signal the morning and the arrival of the sun.
* [[Demeter]] transformed [[Ascalabus]] into a lizard for mocking her sorrow and thirst during her search for her daughter [[Persephone]]. She also turned King [[Lyncus]] into a [[lynx]] for trying to murder her prophet [[Triptolemus]].
* [[Athena]] transformed [[Arachne]] into a spider for challenging her as a weaver and/or weaving a tapestry that insulted the gods. She also turned [[Nyctimene (mythology)|Nyctimene]] into an owl, though in this case it was an act of mercy, as the girl wished to hide from the daylight out of shame of being raped by her father.
* [[Artemis]] transformed [[Actaeon]] into a stag for [[Voyeurism|spying]] on her bathing, and he was later devoured by his hunting dogs.
* [[Galanthis]] was transformed into a [[weasel]] or [[cat]] after interfering in [[Hera]]'s plans to hinder the birth of [[Heracles]].
* [[Atalanta]] and [[Hippomenes]] were turned into lions after making love in a temple dedicated to Zeus or [[Cybele]].
* [[Io (mythology)|Io]] was a priestess of [[Hera]] in [[Ancient Argos|Argos]], a nymph who was raped by Zeus, who changed her into a [[Cattle|heifer]] to escape detection.
* Hera punished young [[Tiresias]] by transforming him into a woman and, seven years later, back into a man.
* King [[Tereus]], his wife [[Procne]], and her sister [[Philomela]] were all turned into birds (a [[hoopoe]], a [[swallow]] and a [[nightingale]] respectively), after Tereus raped Philomela and cut out her tongue, and in revenge she and Procne served him the flesh of his murdered son [[Itys]] (who in some variants is resurrected as a [[European goldfinch|goldfinch]]).
* [[Callisto (mythology)|Callisto]] was turned into a bear by either [[Artemis]] or [[Hera]] for being impregnated by Zeus.
* [[Selene]] transformed [[Myia (mythology)|Myia]] into a fly when she became a rival for the love of [[Endymion (mythology)|Endymion]].

While the Greek gods could use transformation punitively&nbsp;– such as [[Medusa]], who turned to a monster for having sexual intercourse ([[rape]]d in Ovid's version) with [[Poseidon]] in [[Athena]]'s temple&nbsp;– even more frequently, the tales using it are of amorous adventure. Zeus repeatedly transformed himself to approach mortals as a means of gaining access:<ref>Richard M. Dorson, "Foreword", p xxiv, Georgias A. Megas, ''Folktales of Greece'', University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1970</ref>
* [[Danaë]] as a shower of gold
* [[Europa (mythology)|Europa]] as a bull
* [[Leda (mythology)|Leda]] as a [[swan]]
* [[Ganymede (mythology)|Ganymede]], as an [[eagle]]
* [[Alcmene]] as her husband [[Amphitryon]]
* [[Hera]] as a [[cuckoo]]
* [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]] as an eagle or a flame
* [[Persephone]] as a serpent
* [[Io (mythology)|Io]], as a cloud
* [[Callisto (mythology)|Callisto]] as either Artemis or [[Apollo]]
* [[Nemesis (mythology)#Origins|Nemesis]] (Goddess of retribution) transformed into a goose to escape [[Zeus#Divine offspring|Zeus]]' advances, but he turned into a swan. She later bore the egg in which [[Helen of Troy#Birth|Helen of Troy]] was found.

[[File:Apollo and Daphne (Bernini) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Gianlorenzo Bernini]], [[Apollo]] pursuing an unwilling [[Daphne]] who transforms into a laurel tree]]
[[Vertumnus]] transformed himself into an old woman to gain entry to [[Pomona (mythology)|Pomona]]'s orchard; there, he persuaded her to marry him.

In other tales, the woman appealed to other gods to protect her from rape, and was transformed ([[Daphne]] into laurel, [[Corone (crow)|Corone]] into a crow). Unlike Zeus and other gods' shapeshifting, these women were permanently metamorphosed.

In one tale, [[Demeter#Demeter and Poseidon|Demeter]] transformed herself into a mare to escape [[Poseidon#Lovers|Poseidon]], but Poseidon counter-transformed himself into a stallion to pursue her, and succeeded in the rape. [[Caeneus|Caenis]], having been raped by [[Poseidon]], demanded of him that she be changed to a man. He agreed, and she became [[Caeneus]], a form he never lost, except, in some versions, upon death.

[[Clytie (Oceanid)|Clytie]] was a nymph who loved Helios, but he did not love her back. Desperate, she sat on a rock with no food or water for nine days looking at him as he crossed the skies, until she was transformed into a purple, sun-gazing flower, the [[heliotropium]].

As a final reward from the gods for their hospitality, [[Baucis and Philemon]] were transformed, at their deaths, into a pair of trees.

[[Eos]], the goddess of the dawn, secured immortality for her lover the [[Troy|Trojan]] prince [[Tithonus]], but not eternal youth, so he aged without dying as he shriveled and grew more and more helpless. In the end, Eos transformed him into a [[cicada]].

In some variants of the tale of [[Narcissus (mythology)|Narcissus]], he is turned into a [[Narcissus (plant)|narcissus]] flower.

[[File:Cadmus teeth.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|"Cadmus Sowing the Dragon's Teeth" by [[Maxfield Parrish]]]]
Sometimes metamorphoses transform objects into humans. In the myths of both [[Jason]] and [[Cadmus]], one task set to the hero was to sow [[Dragon's teeth (mythology)|dragon's teeth]]; on being sown, they would metamorphose into belligerent warriors, and both heroes had to throw a rock to trick them into fighting each other to survive. [[Deucalion]] and [[Pyrrha]] repopulated the world after a flood by throwing stones behind them; they were transformed into people. [[Cadmus]] is also often known to have transformed into a dragon or serpent towards the end of his life. [[Pygmalion (mythology)|Pygmalion]] fell in love with [[Galatea (mythology)|Galatea]], a statue he had made. [[Aphrodite]] had pity on him and transformed the stone into a living woman.

===British and Irish===
[[Fairy|Fairies]], [[witch]]es, and [[Wizard (fantasy)|wizards]] were all noted for their shapeshifting ability. Not all fairies could shapeshift, some having only the appearance of shapeshifting, through their power, called "glamour", to create illusions, and some were limited to changing their size, as with the [[spriggan]]s, and others to a few forms.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|author-link=Katharine Mary Briggs |author=Katharine Briggs |encyclopedia=An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures |title=Glamour |year=1976 |page=191 |isbn=0-394-73467-X}}</ref> But others, such as the [[The Hedley Kow|Hedley Kow]], could change to many forms, and both human and supernatural wizards were capable of both such changes, and inflicting them on others.<ref name="Fairies, Hobgoblins p360"/>

Witches could turn into hares and in that form steal milk and butter.<ref>Eddie Lenihan and Carolyn Eve Green, ''Meeting The Other Crowd: The Fairy Stories of Hidden Ireland'', p. 80 {{ISBN|1-58542-206-1}}</ref>

Many British fairy tales, such as ''[[Jack the Giant Killer]]'' and ''[[The Black Bull of Norroway]]'', feature shapeshifting.

====Celtic mythology====
[[Pwyll]] was transformed by [[Arawn]] into Arawn's shape, and Arawn transformed himself into Pwyll's so that they could trade places for a year and a day.

[[Llwyd ap Cil Coed]] transformed his wife and attendants into mice to attack a crop in revenge; when his wife is captured, he turns himself into three clergymen in succession to try to pay a ransom.

[[Math fab Mathonwy]] and [[Gwydion]] transform flowers into a woman named [[Blodeuwedd]], and when she betrays her husband [[Lleu Llaw Gyffes]], who is transformed into an eagle, they transform her again, into an owl.

[[Gilfaethwy]] raped [[Goewin]], [[Math fab Mathonwy]]'s virgin footholder, with help from his brother [[Gwydion]]. As punishment, Math turned them into different types of animals for one year each. Gwydion was transformed into a stag, sow, and wolf, and Gilfaethwy into a hind, boar, and she-wolf. Each year, they had a child. Math turned the three young animals into boys.

[[Taliesin|Gwion]], having accidentally taken [[Awen|the wisdom]] from a potion that [[Ceridwen]] was brewing for [[Morfran|her son]], fled from her through a succession of changes, which she answered with changes of her own. This ended when he turned into a grain of corn and she turned into a hen and ate him. She became pregnant, and he was reborn as a baby. He grew up to be the bard Taliesin. In the [[Book of Taliesin]], he mentions many forms which he is able to take, including that of lantern-light.

[[File:Thekelpie large.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.8|''[[Kelpie]]'' by [[Herbert James Draper]]: transformed into a human]]

Tales abound about the [[selkie]], a seal that can remove its skin to make contact in [[human guise]] with people for only a short amount of time before it must return to the sea. Clan MacColdrum of [[Uist]]'s foundation myths include a union between the founder of the clan and a shape-shifting selkie.<ref>Scottish Highlanders and Native Americans: indigenous education in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world Margaret Szasz 2007 University of Oklahoma Press</ref> Another such creature is the Scottish selkie, which needs its sealskin to regain its form. In ''[[The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry]]'' the (male) selkie seduces a human woman. Such stories surrounding these creatures are usually romantic tragedies.

[[Scottish mythology]] features shapeshifters, which allows the various creatures to trick, deceive, hunt, and kill humans. Water spirits such as the [[each-uisge]], which inhabit lochs and waterways in Scotland, were said to appear as a horse or a young man.<ref name="Fairies, Hobgoblins p360">{{cite encyclopedia |author-link=Katharine Mary Briggs |author=Katharine Briggs |encyclopedia=An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Boogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures |title=Shape-shifting |year=1976 |page=360 |isbn=0-394-73467-X}}</ref> Other tales include [[kelpie]]s who emerge from lochs and rivers in the disguise of a horse or woman to ensnare and kill weary travelers. [[Tam Lin]], a man captured by the Queen of the Fairies is changed into all manner of beasts before being rescued. He finally turned into a burning coal and was thrown into a well, whereupon he reappeared in his human form. The motif of capturing a person by holding him through all forms of transformation is a common thread in [[folklore|folktale]]s.<ref name="Francis James Child pp. 336"/>

[[File:Ler swans Millar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[Children of Lir]], transformed into swans in Irish tales]]
Perhaps the best-known [[Irish mythology|Irish myth]] is that of [[Aoife]] who turned her stepchildren, the [[Children of Lir]], into swans to be rid of them. Likewise, in the ''[[Tochmarc Étaíne]]'', [[Fuamnach]] jealously turns [[Étaín]] into a butterfly. The most dramatic example of shapeshifting in Irish myth is that of [[Tuan mac Cairill]], the only survivor of [[Partholón]]'s settlement of Ireland. In his centuries-long life, he became successively a stag, a wild boar, a hawk, and finally a salmon before being eaten and (as in the Wooing of Étaín) reborn as a human.

The [[Púca]] is a Celtic faery, and also a deft shapeshifter. He can transform into many different, terrifying forms.

[[Sadhbh]], the wife of the famous hero [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]], was changed into a deer by the druid [[Fear Doirche|Fer Doirich]] when she spurned his amorous interests.

===Norse and Teutonic===
[[File:Galligantus - Project Gutenberg eText 17034.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|"The giant [[Galligantua]] and the wicked old magician transform the duke's daughter into a white [[red deer|hind]]." by [[Arthur Rackham]]]]

There is a significant amount of literature about shapeshifters that appear in a variety of Norse tales.<ref>Perabo, L. D. 2017. Shapeshifting in Old Norse-Icelandic Literature, Roda da Fortuna. Revista Eletrônica sobre Antiguidade e Medievo, 6(1): 135–158.</ref>

In the [[Lokasenna]], [[Odin]] and [[Loki]] taunt each other with having taken the form of females and nursing offspring to which they had given birth. A 13th-century [[Edda]] relates Loki taking the form of a [[mare]] to bear Odin's steed [[Sleipnir]] which was the fastest horse ever to exist, and also the form of a she-wolf to bear [[Fenrir]].<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/lokimyth/g/Loki.htm
|title=Loki – Norse Trickster Loki
|publisher=about.com
|access-date=2010-06-18
|last= Gill |first= N. S.
}}; [[Stephan Grundy]], "Shapeshifting and Berserkergang," in ''Translation, Transformation, and Transubstantiation'', ed. Carol Poster and Richard Utz (Evanston: IL: Northwestern University Press, 1998), pp. 104–22.
</ref>

[[Svipdagr]] angered [[Odin]], who turned him into a dragon. Despite his monstrous appearance, his lover, the goddess [[Freyja]], refused to leave his side. When the warrior Hadding found and slew Svipdagr, Freyja cursed him to be tormented by a tempest and shunned like the plague wherever he went.{{Citation needed|reason=It is unclear which saga, myth, or story states this, and the articles on Svipdagr and the poems he appears in do not appear to corroborate this claim at all.|date=March 2019}} In the ''[[Hyndluljóð]]'', Freyja transformed her protégé [[Óttar (mythology)|Óttar]] into a boar to conceal him. She also possessed a cloak of falcon feathers that allowed her to transform into a falcon, which Loki borrowed on occasion.

The [[Volsunga saga]] contains many shapeshifting characters. [[Siggeir]]'s mother changed into a wolf to help torture his defeated brothers-in-law with slow and ignominious deaths. When one, [[Sigmund]], survived, he and his nephew and son [[Sinfjötli]] killed men wearing wolfskins; when they donned the skins themselves, they were cursed to become [[werewolf|werewolves]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adkins |first1=Christopher David|date=2023 |title=Carnivore Incarnate: Wicked Wolves and Noble Bears in Norse Tales of Shapeshifting|journal=Preternature |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=1–26 |doi=10.5325/preternature.12.1.0001|issn=2161-2196}}</ref>

[[File:Ring12.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Loge feigns fear as Alberich turns into a giant snake. Wotan stands in the background; illustration by [[Arthur Rackham]] to [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Das Rheingold]]'']]

The dwarf [[Andvari]] is described as being able to magically turn into a [[Esox|pike]]. [[Alberich]], his counterpart in [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Der Ring des Nibelungen]]'', using the [[Tarnhelm]], takes on many forms, including a giant serpent and a toad, in a failed attempt to impress or intimidate Loki and Odin/[[Odin|Wotan]].

[[Fafnir]] was originally a dwarf, a giant, or even a human, depending on the exact myth, but in all variants, he transformed into a dragon—a symbol of [[Greed (deadly sin)|greed]]—while guarding his ill-gotten hoard. His brother, [[Ótr]], enjoyed spending time as an otter, which led to his accidental slaying by Loki.

In [[Scandinavia]], there existed, for example, the famous race of she-werewolves known by the name of Maras, women who took on the appearance of huge half-human and half-wolf monsters that stalked the night in search of human or animal prey. If a woman gives birth at midnight and stretches the membrane that envelopes the child when it is brought forth, between four sticks and creeps through it, naked, she will bear children without pain; but all the boys will be [[Shamanism|shaman]]s, and all the girls Maras.{{Citation needed|reason=This claim does not appear to be backed up by any other sources; the article on the Mara explicitly contradicts this claim.|date=March 2019}}

The [[Nisse (folklore)|Nisse]] is sometimes said to be a shapeshifter. This trait also is attributed to [[Hulder]].

[[File:Sammon puolustus.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|[[Louhi]], Mistress of the North, attacking [[Väinämöinen]] in the form of a giant eagle with her troops on her back as she tries to steal [[Sampo]]; in the [[Finland|Finnish]] [[epic poetry]] ''[[Kalevala]]'' by [[Elias Lönnrot]]. <small>(''[[The Defense of the Sampo]]'', [[Akseli Gallen-Kallela]], 1896)</small>]]

[[Gunnhild, Mother of Kings]] (''Gunnhild konungamóðir'') (c. 910 &nbsp;–&nbsp; c. 980), a quasi-historical figure who appears in the [[Icelandic Sagas]], according to which she was the wife of [[Eric Bloodaxe]], was credited with magic powers – including the power of shapeshifting 
and turning at will into a bird. She is the central character of the novel ''[[Mother of Kings]]'' by [[Poul Anderson]],<ref>[[Tor Books]], 2003</ref> which considerably elaborates on her shapeshifting abilities.

In the [[Finland|Finnish]] epic poem [[Kalevala]] of ancient folklore, [[Louhi]], Mistress of the North, attacks [[Väinämöinen]] in the form of a giant eagle with her troops on her back as she tries to steal [[Sampo]].

===Indian===
*[[Ichchhadhari naag]]: A common male cobra will become an ''ichchhadhari naag'' and a common female cobra will become an ''ichchhadhari naagin'' after 100 years of tapasya (penance). After being blessed by Lord [[Shiva]], they attain a human form of their own and have the ability to shapeshift into any living creature, they can live for more than a hundred years without getting old.
*[[Yogini]]s were associated with the power of shapeshifting into female animals.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hatley |first=Shaman |author-link=Shaman Hatley |title=The Brahmayāmalatantra and Early Śaiva Cult of Yoginīs |url=https://repository.upenn.edu/dissertations/AAI3292099/ |year=2007 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania (PhD Thesis, UMI Number: 3292099 |page=14}}</ref>
*In the Indian fable ''The Dog Bride'' from ''Folklore of the Santal Parganas'' by Cecil Henry Bompas, a buffalo herder falls in love with a dog that has the power to turn into a woman when she bathes.
*In [[Kerala]], there was a legend about the ''Odiyan'' clan, who in Kerala folklore are men believed to possess shapeshifting abilities and can assume animal forms. Odiyans are said to have inhabited the [[Malabar Coast|Malabar]] region of Kerala before the widespread use of electricity.

===Armenian===
In [[Armenian mythology]], shapeshifters include the ''Nhang'', a serpentine river monster that can transform itself into a woman or seal, and will drown humans and then drink their blood; or the beneficial ''Shahapet'', a guardian spirit that can appear either as a man or a snake.<ref name="Armmyth">[http://bulfinch.englishatheist.org/armenian/chapter11.htm "Armenian Mythology"] by Mardiros H. Ananikiam, in ''Bullfinch's Mythology''</ref>

===Philippines===
[[Philippine mythology]] includes the [[Aswang]], a vampiric monster capable of transforming into a bat, a large black dog, a black cat, a black boar, or some other form to stalk humans at night. The folklore also mentions other beings such as the [[Kapre]], the [[Tikbalang]], and the [[Engkanto]], which change their appearances to woo beautiful maidens. Also, talismans (called "''anting-anting''" or "''birtud''" in the local dialect), can give their owners the ability to shapeshift. In one tale, ''Chonguita the Monkey Wife'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Fansler|first= Dean s.|author-link=Dean Fansler|title=Filipino Popular Tales}}</ref> a woman is turned into a monkey, only becoming human again if she can marry a handsome man.

===Tatar===
[[Tatarstan|Tatar]] folklore includes [[Yuxa]], a hundred-year-old snake that can transform itself into a beautiful young woman, and seeks to marry men to have children.

===Chinese===
[[File:Legend white snake1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|"Madame White Snake" Picture on long veranda in the [[Summer Palace]], Beijing, China]]

{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2021}}
[[Chinese mythology]] contains many tales of animal shapeshifters, capable of taking on human form. The most common such shapeshifter is the [[huli jing]], a fox spirit that usually appears as a beautiful young woman; most are dangerous, but some feature as the heroines of love stories. ''[[Madame White Snake]]'' is one such legend; a snake falls in love with a man, and the story recounts the trials she and her husband faced.

===Japanese===
[[File:Kuniyoshi Kuzunoha.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Kuzunoha]] the fox woman, casting a fox shadow]]
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2021}}

In [[Japanese folklore]] [[obake]] are a type of [[yōkai]] with the ability to shapeshifting. The fox, or [[Kitsune#Folklore|kitsune]] is among the most commonly known, but other such creatures include the [[bakeneko]], the [[mujina]], and the [[Japanese raccoon dog|tanuki]].

===Korean===
[[Korean mythology]] also contains a fox with the ability to shapeshift. Unlike its Chinese and Japanese counterparts, the [[kumiho]] is always malevolent. Usually its form is of a beautiful young woman; one tale recounts a man, a would-be seducer, revealed as a kumiho.<ref>{{cite web |author=Heinz Insu Fenkl |url=http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrFoxTale.html |title=A Fox Woman Tale of Korea |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111095533/http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrFoxTale.html |archive-date=2006-11-11 |url-status=unfit |publisher=The Endicott Studio}}</ref> The kumiho has nine tails and as she desires to be a full human, she uses her beauty to seduce men and eat their hearts (or in some cases livers where the belief is that 100 livers would turn her into a real human).

===Somali===
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2021}}
In [[Somali mythology]] ''Qori ismaris'' ("One who rubs himself with a stick") was a man who could transform himself into a "[[Werehyena|Hyena-man]]" by rubbing himself with a magic stick at nightfall and by repeating this process could return to his human state before dawn.

===Southern Africa===
'''[[ǀKaggen]]''' is a [[demi-urge]] and folk hero of the [[ǀXam]] people of southern Africa.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Dorothea Bleek |author=Dorothea F. Bleek |year=1956 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l3UTAwAAQBAJ |title=Bushman Dictionary |publisher=Рипол Классик |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=l3UTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA296 296]|isbn=9785882327261 }}</ref> He is a trickster god who can shape shift, usually taking the form of a [[praying mantis]] but also a bull [[Taurotragus|eland]], a [[louse]], a snake, and a [[caterpillar]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Wilhelm Heinrich Immanuel Bleek |year=1875 |url=https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/12485 |title=A brief account of Bushman folklore and other texts |place=Cape Town |publisher=Juta|hdl=2263/12485 }}</ref>

=== Native American ===
A Pukwudgie is a human-like creature from Wampanoag folklore said to appear and disappear at will, and shapeshift.

=== South American ===
[[Amazon river dolphin]]s are curious and lack of fear of foreign objects,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder |title=Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1 |date=2005 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=9780801882210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YnYED-YG0ZYC}}</ref> are [[apex predator]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gómez Salazar, Catalina Trujillo, Fernando Whitehead, Hal |title=Ecological factors influencing group sizes of river dolphins : Inia geoffrensis and Sotalia fluviatilis |journal=Marine Mammal Science |date=2011 |volume=28 |issue=2 |page=E124–E142 |url=https://babel.banrepcultural.org/digital/collection/p17054coll23/id/588}}</ref> and the male Amazon river dolphins are very physically aggressive during their mating period, particularly around the courtship practice of object carrying.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bebej |first1=Ryan |title=Inia geoffrensis Amazon river dolphin (Also: boto; pink river dolphin) |url=https://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Inia_geoffrensis.html |website=Animal Diversity Web |access-date=11 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martin, A.R.; Da Silva, V.M.F.; Rothery, P. |title=Object carrying as socio-sexual display in an aquatic mammal |journal=Biology Letters |date=Jun 23, 2008 |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=243–245 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2008.0067 |pmid=18364306 |pmc=2610054 }}</ref>

[[Amazon river dolphin]]s, known by the [[Indigenous peoples|natives]] as the [[boto]], encantados or toninhas, are very prevalent in the mythology of the native South Americans. They are frequently characterized in mythology with superior musical ability, seductiveness and love of sex, resulting in illegitimate children, and attraction to parties. Despite the fact that the Encante are said to come from a [[utopia]] full of wealth which is also without pain or death, they crave the pleasures and hardships of human societies.<ref name="Authorhouse">{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=Jamie |title=Half Human, Half Animal: Tales of Werewolves and Related Creatures |date=2003 |publisher=Authorhouse |isbn=978-1-4107-5809-5 |pages=55–88}}</ref>

Transformation into human form is said to be rare, and usually occurs at night. The encantado will often be seen running from a [[festival|festa]], despite protests from the others for it to stay, and can be seen by pursuers as it hurries to the river and reverts to dolphin form. When it is under human form, it wears a hat to hide its [[blowhole (anatomy)|blowhole]], which does not disappear with the shapeshift.<ref name="Authorhouse"/>

Besides the ability to shapeshift into human form, encantados frequently wield other magical abilities, such as controlling storms, [[Hypnosis|hypnotizing]] humans into doing their will, transforming humans into encantados, and inflicting illness, insanity, and even death. [[Shamanism|Shamans]] often intervene in these situations.<ref name="Authorhouse"/>

Along with shapeshifting, [[kidnapping]] is also a common theme in such folklore. Encantados are said to be fond of abducting humans with whom they fall in love, children born of their illicit love affairs, or just about anyone near the river who can keep them company, and taking them back to the Encante. The fear of this is so great among people who live near the Amazon River that both children and adults are terrified of going near the water between dusk and dawn, or entering water alone. Some who supposedly have encountered encantados while out in their canoes have been said to have gone insane, but the creatures seem to have done little more than follow their boats and nudge them from time to time.<ref name="Authorhouse"/> The [[myth]] is suggested to have arisen in part because [[dolphin genitalia]] bear a resemblance to those of humans. Others believe the myth served (and still serves) as a way of hiding the incestuous relations which are quite common in some small, isolated communities along the river.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cravalho |first1=Mark |title=Shameless creatures: An ethnozoology of the Amazon river dolphin |journal=Ethnology |date=Winter 1999 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=47–58 |doi=10.2307/3774086 |jstor=3774086 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3774086|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
Legend also states that "if a person makes eye contact with an Amazon river dolphin, they will have lifelong [[nightmare]]s".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Waleska Gravena, Tomas Hrbek, Vera M. F. Da Silva, Izeni P. Farias |title=Amazon River dolphin love fetishes: From folklore to molecular forensics |journal=Marine Mammal Science |date=22 October 2008 |volume=4 |issue=24 |pages=969–978 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00237.x |bibcode=2008MMamS..24..969G |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00237.x}}</ref>

===Trinidad and Tobago===
The [[Lagahoo|Ligahoo]] or [[Werewolf|loup-garou]] is the shapeshifter of [[Caribbean folklore|Trinidad and Tobago's folklore]]. This unique ability is believed to be handed down in some old [[Creole peoples|creole]] families, and is usually associated with [[Witch doctor|witch-doctors]] and practitioners of [[African magic]].<ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.triniview.com/TnT/Folklore.htm
|title=TNT Folklore
|publisher=triniview.com
|access-date=2017-01-16}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web
|url=http://caribbeanhistoryarchives.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Ligahoo?m=0
|title=Caribbean History Archives
|publisher=Gerard A. Besson
|access-date=2017-01-16}}</ref>

===Mapuche (Argentina and Chile)===
{{Unreferenced section|date=October 2021}}
The name of the [[Nahuel Huapi Lake]] in Argentina derives from the toponym of its major island in [[Mapudungun]] ([[Mapuche]] language): "Island of the Jaguar (or Puma)", from ''nahuel'', "puma (or jaguar)", and ''huapí'', "island". There is, however, more to the word "Nahuel" – it can also signify "a man who by [[Magic (paranormal)|sorcery]] has been transformed into a puma" (or jaguar).

===Slavic mythology===
In [[Slavic mythology]], one of the main gods [[Veles (god)|Veles]] was a shapeshifting god of animals, magic and the underworld. He was often represented as a bear, wolf, snake or owl.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.slavorum.org/veles-the-slavic-shapeshifting-god-of-land-water-and-underground/ |title= Veles – The Slavic Shapeshifting God of Land, Water and Underground |author= Aleksandra Kojic |website= Slavorum |date= 2016-08-18 |access-date= 2017-09-08}}</ref> He also became a dragon while fighting [[Perun]], the Slavic storm god.<ref name=katicic2008>{{cite book |last=Katičić |author-link=Radoslav Katičić |first=Radoslav |title=Božanski boj: Tragovima svetih pjesama naše pretkršćanske starine |year=2008 |publisher=IBIS GRAFIKA |location=Zagreb |isbn=978-953-6927-41-8 |url=http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/120570/96db5654f2d3025b46454ace91716506.pdf |ref=katicic2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018000746/http://ir.nmu.org.ua/bitstream/handle/123456789/120570/96db5654f2d3025b46454ace91716506.pdf |archive-date=2015-10-18 }}</ref>

===Folktales===
[[File:Vasnetsov Frog Princess.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|''[[The Frog Princess|Tsarevna Frog]]'' (or ''The Frog Princess''), by [[Viktor Vasnetsov]], tells of a frog that [[Metamorphosis|metamorphoses]] into a princess.]]
* In the Finnish tale ''The Magic Bird'', three young sorceresses attempt to murder a man who keeps reviving. His revenge is to turn them into three black mares and have them harnessed to heavy loads until he is satisfied.
* In ''[[The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh]]'', a Northumbrian legend from about the thirteenth century, Princess Margaret of Bamburgh is transformed into a dragon by her stepmother; her motive sprung, like [[Snow White]]'s stepmother's, from the comparison of their beauty.<ref>[[Joseph Jacobs]], ''English Fairy Tales'', [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/english/laidlyworm.html "The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh"]</ref>
* In [[Child ballad]] 35, "[[Allison Gross]]", the title witch turns a man into a [[European dragon|wyrm]] for refusing to be her lover. This is a motif found in many legends and folktales.{{sfnp|Child|1965|pp=313–314}}
* In the German tale ''The Frog's Bridegroom'', recorded by folklorist and ethnographer [[Gustav Jungbauer]], the third of three sons of a farmer, Hansl, is forced to marry a frog, which eventually turns out to be a beautiful woman transformed by a spell.
* In some variants of the fairy tales, both ''[[The Frog Prince]]'' or more commonly ''[[The Frog Princess]]'' and Beast, of ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'', are transformed as a form of punishment for some transgression. Both are restored to their true forms after earning a human's love despite their appearance.
* In the most famous [[Lithuanian culture|Lithuanian]] folk tale ''[[Eglė the Queen of Serpents]]'', Eglė irreversibly transforms her children and herself into trees as a punishment for betrayal while her husband is able to reversibly morph into a serpent at will.
* In ''[[East of the Sun and West of the Moon]]'', the hero is transformed into a bear by his wicked [[Stepmother#In fiction|stepmother]], who wishes to force him to marry her daughter.<ref>Maria Tatar, p. 193, ''The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales'', {{ISBN|0-393-05163-3}}</ref>
* In ''[[The Marmot Queen]]'' by [[Italo Calvino]], a Spanish queen is turned into a rodent by [[Morgan le Fay]].
* In [[The Mare of the Necromancer]], a Turin Italian tale by [[Guido Gozzano]], the Princess of Corelandia is turned into a horse by the baron necromancer for refusing to marry him. Only the love and intelligence of Candido save the princess from the spell.
* [[The White Doe]], a French tale written by [[Madame d'Aulnoy]], describes the transformation of Princess Desiree into a doe by a jealous fairy.
* From a Croatian book of tales, [[Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources]] by [[A. H. Wratislaw]], the fable entitled "The she-wolf" tells of a huge she-wolf with a habit of turning into a woman from time to time by taking off her skin. One day a man witnesses the transformation, steals her pelt and marries her.
* ''The Merchant's Sons'' is a Finnish story of two brothers, one of whom tries to win the hand of the tsar's wicked daughter. The girl does not like her suitor and endeavors to have him killed, but he turns her into a beautiful mare which he and his brother ride. In the end he turns her back into a girl and marries her.
* In ''[[Dapplegrim]]'', if the youth found the transformed princess twice, and hid from her twice, they would marry.
* In literary fairy tale ''The Beggar Princess'', to save her beloved prince, Princess Yvonne fulfills the tasks of cruel king Ironheart and is changed into an old woman.<ref>Brady, Loretta Ellen. ''The Green Forest Fairy Book''. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 1920. pp. 132–169.</ref>
* ''[[Journey to the West]]'', one of China's Four Great Classical Novels, greatly features shapeshifting, as many gods, demons, and other mythical beings are capable of the act. The most famous case would be the [[Monkey King]], a mischievous trickster who often utilizes his power of 72 transformations to thwart his foes.