Kinocephals, which are also called kinocephals, dog heads, psoglavtsy, are zoomorphic characters present in the culture of different peoples. They are depicted with a human body, but with the head of a dog, sometimes a wolf, hyena or jackal. Stories about them are found already starting from the 4th century. BC e.
Man with dog head
Descriptions of cinephals from source to source underwent changes. Some say that they did not speak the human language, but only howled and barked. Others report that they still tried to express themselves like people, but it was difficult for them.
Outwardly, these creatures had a body completely resembling a human, but with the head of a dog. In some cases, it was said about bull legs. These characters are known to have used both weapons, such as bows, and tools. And they also did not walk naked, but, like people, wore clothes.
This moment made it possible for the theologians of the Middle Ages to say that these individuals are not devoid of a soul. After all, since they cover up shame, it means that they experience a feeling of shame, which is one of the properties of the soul, given by the Lord God.
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They were "settled" in various places
The people of the Psoglavians were mentioned, in particular, by ancient writers, including Hesiod, Herodotus, Ctesias, Megasthenes, Pliny the Elder and others. According to their descriptions, kinocephals lived in India, Ethiopia, Libya, Scythia. That is, on the borders of the ecumene, a part of the world known to the ancient Greeks, the center of which was in Hellas.
Other authors also mentioned these strange creatures. These are Indian, Persian, Egyptian, Chinese and Zulu writers. At a later time, the Psoglavians "moved" from Byzantine sources to Old Russian legends.
Their description can also be found in Blessedo Augustine (IV-V centuries), Plano Carpini (XII-XIII centuries), Marco Polo (XIII-XIV centuries), Pordenone (XV-XVI centuries). The habitats of people with dog heads were marked on medieval maps.
When new lands were discovered in the era of the great geographical discoveries, the cinephals were "resettled" to Indonesia, the Moluccas, and also to America. So, Christopher Columbus heard stories about the cannibal tribe with dog heads. As it turned out later, they were talking about the Caribs, a group of Indian warring tribes in South America.
Sometimes kinocephals were "settled" in Scandinavia, sometimes - in Russia, or rather in the "north-east of Muscovy, in the Colmogora region." The latest descriptions date back to the 18th century.
One of the first descriptions of cinephals was given by Pliny the Elder in Natural History:
The Roman writer Solin wrote in his collection of landmarks:
The ancient Greek philosopher Simmias has a similar description:
Famous dog-headed characters
Among them we find:
- Anubis - the ancient Egyptian zoomorphic god.
- Saint Christopher is a Christian saint. According to one of the hagiographic versions, he belonged to a dog-headed tribe. According to another, God gave him a dog's head when he heard his prayers to fight temptations.
- Polkana - a Russian hero, represented in epics in the form of a centaur, sometimes depicted with a dog's head.
- Aralezov - the Armenian gods-psoglavs, who had the ability to return to life the soldiers who fell in battle by licking their wounds.
- Saints Ahrakas and Augani. They are mentioned in the Life of Mercury Abu Sefein, a Coptic saint. He tells of two saints who had dog heads and faithfully served him, accompanying him everywhere. They are depicted on one of the icons dating back to the 18th century, which is in the Coptic Museum.
What do scientists think about cinephals?
"Monkey" version
Who were these mysterious creatures? The ancient authors, who gave numerous descriptions of the dog-people, nevertheless did not try to explain their nature. Most likely, this is due to the fact that in those distant times, science was in such a state when these problems were not considered. Therefore, the fact of finding an animal's head on a human body could rather frighten, cause disdain, disgust than surprise.
Modern scholars have come to the conclusion that the stories about cinephals are based on folklore origin. And the creatures that are described as people with dog heads and which have been observed by numerous travelers are none other than monkeys - baboons, baboons or hamadryas.
The word "kinocephalus" (κυνοκεφάλοι) has an ancient Greek origin and is translated as "dog-headed". However, originally it was the above-mentioned species of monkeys that were called so.
For example, Aristotle in his "History of Animals" speaks of cinephals, mentioning them among the monkeys. Researchers interpret this moment as a description of baboons. It is interesting that the modern scientific name of the baboon in Latin is written only as Papio cynocephalus ursinus.
Olga Strelkova