People with dog heads - kinocephals - are heroes of myths and ancient legends, you say. But no. Judging by the numerous and, in general, authoritative sources, many educated people met in different parts of the world from the fourth century BC and up to the 18th century.
Fairy tale or reality?
It would seem sheer stupidity - a man with a dog's head. The same tale, like the stories about centaurs, minotaurs and mermaids. But if stories about half-humans, half-horses, or, for example, about a man with a bull's head from Greek folklore and beyond the scope of myths usually do not go beyond the framework of myths, then with cinephals is a completely different story.
Already from the IV century BC. in historical chronicles, books and stories, you can find evidence of meetings of people with strange creatures. In different sources, their descriptions are slightly different: in some, these are creatures with a human body and a dog's head, who did not know the human language and communicated with each other using barking and howling. Others added bull's legs to the description of their appearance, while others clarified that these creatures were still able to express themselves in human language, but this was given to them with difficulty, and the language of dogs remained the main means of communication for them. In general, the descriptions are quite diverse, which, however, is not surprising.
Documentary confirmation
If we look at the geography of the habitation of these "tribes of barbarians" (as they are called in some ancient sources), we will see that cinephals were widespread enough. The first mentions of them speak of India, Africa, North Asia. With the beginning of the era of the great geographical discoveries, those who saw strange "people" name Indonesia and America as their habitats. They also include Libya, Scythia, Scandinavia and even Russia, or rather "the north-east of Muscovy, the Colmogora region." Ancient Persians, Hindus, Egyptian and Zulu authors wrote about cinephals. In the era of the development and conquest of the world, the habitats of dog-people were mapped, and it is thanks to these surviving artifacts that we can today judge where these "tribes-packs" lived.
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One of the first cinephals was described by Pliny the Elder in his "Natural History": “In the numerous mountains there live people who have dog heads, they dress in the skins of wild animals. Instead of speaking, they bark; armed with claws and live by hunting for animals and catching birds. " Solin writes in his Collection of Sights: “In the Indian mountains there are people with dog heads, armed with claws, and dressed in skins. Their voice is inhuman, and they can only be explained by barking and growling. " Simmias confirms these words: “And I saw the famous tribe of half-Pesians, whose head with the strongest jaws grew over their strong shoulders; they, like dogs, bark, and they do not know the famous speech of other mortals at all”(Apollo).
In addition to them, such peoples are mentioned by Hesiod, Herodotus, Marco Polo, Blessed Augustine and many others.
The factual unanimity in the description of these strange creatures, the abundance of evidence, and the habitat cannot but surprise. But a natural question arises: who are they, cinephals? Where did they come from?
Ancient authors, describing dog-people in large numbers, do not undertake to explain the nature of their origin. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in ancient times people were new to anthropology, so the fact that a dog's head was located on the human body is theirs, of course. Frightened, aroused disgust and disdain, but did not surprise at all.
"Monkey" version
Modern scholars agree that the stories about cinephals are mostly folklore, and the creatures that numerous travelers have seen were only dog-headed monkeys - baboons, baboons or hamadryas. But here's the bad luck: the habitat of these monkeys is limited, they are found only on one continent - in Africa, while India is called the first habitat of the kinocephals.
The “monkey” version raises doubts, and if we read the testimony of Adam of Bremen: “They say that the Amazons live somewhere on the shores of the Baltic Sea, their country is now called the women's paradise. Others say that Amazons become pregnant after drinking water. Others say that they conceive either from passing merchants, or from those who are taken prisoner, or, finally, from monsters that are not uncommon in these lands. The latter, we believe, is the most probable. When it comes to childbirth, it turns out that if a male fetus is a cinocephalus, and if a female fetus, then a very special woman. Kinocephals are those who carry their heads on their shoulders like a dog. They are often taken prisoner in Russia, and they speak, interfering with words and barking."
Against the version of baboons, the fact that most references emphasize the nakedness of their bodies, covered only with skins and furs, their use of manual labor, bows and arrows, cattle breeding and agriculture as a way of survival. As for the gastronomic predilections of the cinema, it was noted that they feed mainly on jerky meat. Isn't it difficult to imagine a monkey shooting a bow and cattle breeding? …
Saint Christopher
Often, if science and common sense cannot find an answer to any questions, religion does it successfully. Christianity has succeeded most others in terms of describing cinephals - perhaps precisely because one of the most famous representatives of dogheads is the holy Great Martyr Christopher. Yes, yes, the Christian saint - half-man, half-dog - lived in the 3rd century AD.
Its history is described in different ways. According to one version, Christopher was a tall and sturdy handsome young man who helped travelers to cross the river. One day a little boy asked him to cross to the other side. When Christopher sat him on his shoulders, he felt an extraordinary weight. To this the boy told him that he is Christ and carries with him all the burdens of the world. When the young man carried Christ across the river, he said that he was ready to fulfill his every desire. Christopher, being a righteous Christian, asked to turn his beautiful face into an ugly one in order to avoid temptation from women who were not indifferent to him. So he received the head of a dog and the name Christopher, translated from Greek meaning "carrying Christ." He was martyred a few years later after converting many people to the Christian faith.
According to another version, the giant and strong man with an ugly appearance bore the name Reprev (literally “bad”, “outcast”). Emperor Decius, having learned about his extraordinary strength, asked to take him to him. Two hundred soldiers, who were instructed to deliver Reprev, believed in Christ after he performed miracles before their eyes: a rod blossomed in his hand, through the prayer of a strong man, the amount of bread that the soldiers lacked increased. After vain attempts of the evil emperor to turn Reprev into paganism by cunning, he ordered to kill the stubborn one. But Reprev's faith was so strong that neither fire nor torture could overcome him. After long agony, Reprev died, retaining in his heart the faith that he had carried to people all his life.
Undoubtedly, the second version of the saint's life seems more plausible, despite the fact that the very existence of the cinephals seems impossible. But is it worth it to be so critical of dog people, if there is so much confirmation of ancient legends in the historical annals? And, perhaps, such heroes of mythology as Anubis, Christopher and Polkan are not at all the fruit of human fantasy?
Magazine: Secrets of the 20th century №49. Author: Maria Milyaeva
