Since primitive times, a mysterious and cruel cult of the leopard has existed on different continents. His followers - people of leopards - are panicked by the inhabitants of South America and West Africa, accusing them of terrible atrocities, black magic, werewolf. And as it turns out, not without reason …
Along with the powerful, but distant gods in the world of primitive man lived a spirit ally. The creature is also supernatural, but closer and more responsive. The ally spirit was most often represented in the form of an animal or plant, but not because he really belonged to the kingdom of fauna or flora, but because he possessed their qualities that are very necessary for man. So, the bear personified "strength", the fox "cunning", the snake "wisdom", the monkey "dexterity", etc. The spirit-ally, as it were, put on the masks of these animals, appeared in their appearance, and therefore primitive man turned to them, looking for support in achieving our plans. Through prolonged exercises that mimic the behavior of the selected animal, he practiced what many thousands of years later would be called a psycho-training technique. Moreover, these were not ordinary formulas for today,contributing to concentration or relaxation, but very special rituals that help a person transform into a beast.
Modern experts call this an altered state of consciousness. The creation of such psychotechnics was dictated by the harsh conditions of survival, in which the strength of a bear or the deceit and power of a jaguar gave additional chances of gaining a worthy place in the world.
The unique techniques of prehistoric tribes were inherited by the martial arts schools of the East. Already at the initial stages of training, in different versions, they offer students to experience what an altered state of consciousness is: to recall and relive episodes from their own life, when a person created, rejoiced, demonstrated his strength, etc. Or identify himself with someone from their great ancestors. And finally, walk around the zoo, choose the animal you like the most and try to imagine yourself in its appearance. With this, probably, the ancient man began, furtively observing the habits of various animals.
Among the numerous totems of animals, birds and plants, the cult of the leopard is of the greatest interest. In antiquity, it was very widespread throughout the world and, unlike most others, has survived in its original form to this day in the virgin forests of West Africa, as well as under the guise of the jaguar cult in South America. This is a very cruel cult, which is probably natural: after all, the leopard is a merciless predator. But what especially attracts the attention of modern researchers to him is the rumors about werewolf people who own the technique of turning into an animal.
There are two ways of looking at shapeshifting these days. Known and studied by doctors cases of pseudo-werewolf, when the transformation into an animal occurs only in the mind of a person. He sees himself in the mirror, for example, a real wolf, imitates his habits, hunts, howls, etc. In some cases, such a change in consciousness occurs spontaneously, in others through the use of special psychotechnics, where hypnosis plays an important role, used by the ministers of secret cults, as a rule, in the backward regions of the world.
But there is another point of view, the supporters of which are convinced that there are not only "mental" werewolves, but also the most real. These are people who possess secret knowledge that allows them to move from one biological species to another. Some of the facts that you will get acquainted with further confirm this to some extent.
In the Mayan language (pay attention!) The concepts of "jaguar", "werewolf", "magician" and "sorcerer" were expressed in one word - "balam", and the cult of the jaguar itself was closely associated with the dark Aztec god Tezcatlipoca. Since the jaguar was a symbol of this deity, the Aztecs described him in the same way as Tezcatlipoca: “He dwells in forests, rocks, waters; noble, noble. He is the king, the ruler of animals. He is careful, wise, proud. It does not feed on carrion. He is the one who hates and despises, who is sick of everything dirty … And at night he does not sleep; he looks out for what he hunts for, what he eats. His vision is clear. He sees well, sees very well; he sees far away. Even if it is very dark, very foggy, he sees."
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Negro shamans adhere to a similar opinion, repeating almost word for word the lines dedicated to the American jaguar when describing the African leopard.
Despite the fact that the worship of the leopard goes back millennia, the first mention of it dates back to 1854, when it was documented that in the city of Port Lokko, located in the small African country of Sierra Leone, one sorcerer was burned alive for transforming into a leopard and killed people at night. In connection with the increased incidence of werewolf or pseudo-werewolf cult, when priests of the leopard cult put on animal skins and three-fingered gloves equipped with long knives, the government of Sierra Leone drew attention to this case, which declared the cult illegal in 1892. Wearing the attributes of society was also prohibited.
At the same time, the authorities interviewed numerous witnesses, some of whom, under pressure exerted on them, confessed to their involvement in the leopard cult. It was then that the characteristic features of this terrible society began to be drawn.
The cult's adepts were branded with a special bone needle, the scars from which resembled both leopard claw marks and accidental scratches received in the jungle. The sectarians carried with them sanitary bags in which they hid parts of human bodies, smeared with cock's blood, and grains of rice. This bag was a kind of talisman-amulet, over which spells were pronounced and which had to be “fed” from time to time with fresh human blood and fat, so that it would not lose its magical properties. To perform this ritual, the priests of the cult pre-selected a victim and a performer who, dressed in the skin of a leopard, would attack the victim, kill it with a claw-like glove and bring the body to the meeting in order to share it among the rest of society. Retaliation for violation of the order established in the cult came immediately: the "stumbled" with his entire family was punished with death.
So, on the basis of an ancient cult, a black magic society of the most disgusting type was created. What were his goals, the sources are silent. It is only known that during the period from 1899 to 1912, about five hundred people were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the leopard cult on the territory of the British colonies in Africa, among whom were quite high-ranking persons: the leaders of local tribes and even one Christian missionary. The fear of the leopard people turned out to be so great that many witnesses refused to testify against the sect, attributing the killings to ordinary leopards. Indeed, leopard paw prints were always found at the scene of crimes, and the bodies of the victims, if any, did not betray the involvement of human hands in this case.
But one way or another, the guilt of some sectarians was proven, and five of them were publicly announced.
"Leopard activity has been discontinued," the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Edward Mieweather reported in 1913, "but I doubt that the organization itself was destroyed."
Such evasiveness of the statement was by no means groundless, since the alleged leader of the sect, a certain Daniel Wilberforce, who was brought to justice twice during the above-mentioned period of time, was found not guilty each time due to insufficient evidence.
After this big process, the already secret cult of the leopard went deep underground for several decades and announced its existence again only in 1946 with another series of horrible murders. More than eighty victims were then found in different parts of Nigeria with open veins, cut throats, removed hearts and lungs. A special squad of two hundred black policemen, led by three white officers, was sent in search of the killers. A curfew was imposed starting at four o'clock in the afternoon, sentry posts were set up, and a high reward was assigned for the heads of the leopard people.
As a result of these events, hundreds of people were arrested, eighteen of whom were subsequently hanged. Just when the local leaders reassured the people, saying that the members of the leopard cult were not supernatural beings at all, but the most ordinary people-killers, eighteen bodies of dead leopards were found not far from the place of execution! This confirmed the legend that upon initiation into the sacrament between the initiate and the animal-totem, a "blood relationship" is established, and if one dies, then the other dies next.
It is not known whether the animals themselves went to their deaths after their "brothers in blood" or they were planted by sectarians who escaped arrest, only one thing is clear: the colonial authorities failed to destroy the leopard cult.
The lull lasted until 1994. Once, says the representative of the International Red Cross R. Burkatti, in the city of Ekepa, located in Liberia, eight torn bodies of women and children were delivered. Some had their heads separated from their bodies. Except for one woman and her child, everyone was dead. The surgeon examining the corpses drew Burkatti's attention to the marks of human teeth left on them. Individual muscles and organs were eaten, literally gnawed out of the bodies.
The negro hospital staff refused to even touch the bodies of the unfortunate victims of the sadistic cannibals. Men and women, muttering something about revenge on all who touched the dead, left the building. All that remained was a mulatto surgeon from Puerto Rico and a local nurse. Both were found dead the next day, and the surviving woman disappeared.
Even black police officers from Monrovia (the capital of Liberia) refused to go to the investigation, sending Burkatti to a white officer. After listening to the representative of the Red Cross, he immediately "made a diagnosis": this is the work of the leopard people. In Liberia, they had not been announced for a long time, but in neighboring Guinea … The officer recalled the trial of 1946. Then, said Perkins (that was the name of the policeman), a version was put forward that a local sorcerer was behind all the terrible murders, whose magic was reduced to trivial hypnosis. All this was done for the sake of one thing: to disguise the robberies and subjugate the local population. But Perkins didn't believe it was that simple. At that time, the authorities needed a version that could somehow explain what was happening and calm people down, and it was invented. Something, the policeman said, would be invented this time too.
He was right. For half a year, a special Interpol brigade with experience in fighting terrorists was looking for the spotted brothers. But in vain. They seemed to dissolve. Then it was reported that the brutal murders were committed by a gang of criminals, consisting of deserters. Disguising themselves as "spotted brothers", they engaged in violence and robbery.
It seems that the leopard people have once again disappeared into the impenetrable jungles of Africa, taking their secrets with them. And most importantly - the answer to such an interesting question for scientists: is a person capable of becoming a werewolf?
What can be added to these facts? Judge W. Griffith, who participated in the investigation of the leopard cult in 1912, wrote:
“I've been to many forests, but none of them struck me as creepy as the West African bush. There is something about this bush and its villages that gives goosebumps. Bush seemed to me to be imbued with something supernatural, a spirit that connects animal and human. Some of this mysterious spirit from the environment has been passed on to people and influences their customs. They have an amazing ability to hide what they want to keep secret from others. This is the result of the existence of secret societies from generation to generation …"
From the book: “XX century. Chronicle of the inexplicable. Opening after opening”. Nikolai Nepomniachtchi