Croatian legend says that in ancient times there lived a strange king with a dog's head and a human body. So that no one could betray this secret of the king, every day he was shaved by another young man, whom the king then killed.
But one day a mother was found who managed to save her only son when it was his turn to shave the king. She kneaded the bread and mixed into it a certain amount of mother's milk, and then gave it to her son to treat the king with this bread.
The king ate the bread with pleasure, and after that the young man revealed to him why the bread was so sweet. Having tasted his mother's milk, the king was forced to recognize the young man as his brother. He saved his life, but told him not to divulge the secret of his dog's head.
The young man kept a secret for a long time, but the weight of this burden was too great. So one day he dug a hole, bent down and whispered: "Black earth, our king has a dog's head."
An elderberry grew nearby, and the occasion wished for a shepherd to sit nearby, making a new pipe from its branches. When he played the pipe, instead of a melody, he heard the words: "Our king has a dog's head." The mystery spread throughout the kingdom, everyone turned away from the king with a dog's head, and he was left to live abandoned, lonely and unshaven, and the young men got rid of the fear of death in his fortress. (This story was preserved and retold by Yurka Petrichevich, who lived in these places for 104 years.)
Hundreds of similar facts about people with dogs' heads in the traditions and legends of the peoples of the world, as well as in the reports of travelers, have survived.
In the Middle Ages, Blessed Augustine (354-430), Plano Carpini (c. 1182-1252) and other travelers, philosophers, monks and writers wrote about cinocephalus. Areas marked as inhabited by the Psoglavians were present on medieval maps. On the map of Heinrich of Mainz (XV-XVI centuries) it is written: “The Riphean mountains are the border of Asia and Europe; Tanais river. The vile people of Griff live here, the cinephals. On the Ebstorf map of the world (X111 century), the dog-lord is armed with a bow and an arrow, next to it there is a legend: “Cinema-phals are called so because they have dogs of a head and a mask; their clothes are animal skins, and their voice is a barking dog. On the Hereford Map of the World (c. 1300), the Psoglavians are settled in Scandinavia.
The hero of "Cosmography" (a treatise of the 8th or 9th century by Archbishop Virgil of Salzburg), the philosopher Ethic, goes around Spain, visits Ireland, Britain and the land of Thule, then the Orkney Islands, after which he ends up on the island of cinocephalics, which are described as follows:
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“These pagans go bare-chested. Hair is grown, oiled and saturated with fat, to an incredible length. They lead a wicked life, feed on unclean and unlawful four-legged animals, mice, moles and everything else. They have no worthy buildings, they use wicker canopies and felt tents. They live in forests and hard-to-reach places, in swamps and in reed thickets. They have an unprecedented abundance of livestock, many birds and flocks of sheep. Not knowing God, they worship demons and omens. They have no king. They use more tin than silver.
It is noteworthy that women of the cynocephalic people, according to Cosmography, have the most ordinary human appearance, while men have a dog's head, and the rest of the members are just like people.
The famous traveler Marco Polo told in his fundamental work that the tribes of people with dog heads actually exist. He saw the "miracle of the Creator" during his long stay in China. But this narrative replete with curious details cost the impeccably honest Polo's reputation. Since the times, calling him a shameless liar, they gave the nickname Million, unequivocally hinting at how many times, in their opinion, the traveler lied.
Meanwhile, the natives of the Andaman Islands, even in the days of the ancient world, gained a reputation for being in friendship and even marital relations with human dogs. And Ctesias, personal physician of the Persian king Artaxerxes II, in 355 BC. respectfully reported to the monarch: “In the highlands of India there are people whose heads are not much different from those of dogs. They dress in the skins of wild animals, drink and eat on all fours. Black and wiry, they do not understand the language, communicate with each other and with newcomers with gestures. To strangers, when they receive gifts, they are benevolent. They have a special sign - short tails. There are at least 120-130 thousand of them, absorbing only fresh meat and clean water”.
Doctor and Orthodox priest Nikolai Kozhukhov in 1838, "wandering in the woods near Tomsk," was shocked when short peasants with thick hair on their foreheads, near rounded eyes, on necks, almost fused with shoulders, appeared in a hunting hut in the morning. similar to small bears. The guests, who brought a hide filled with thick honey as a gift, "had a strong clubfoot and had short tails covered with thinned red hair."
Surprisingly, the guests, with whom Kozhukhov shared salt and matches, spoke passably in Russian. Speech, however, abounded in Old Slavism, but it was understandable.
This is how the doctor learned that the people who call themselves Molosha have lived in the forest from time immemorial, they avoid strangers, they are forced to make contacts in order to get hold of clothes, dishes, salt. When Kozhukhov asked if it was possible to visit their village, the "people-animals" replied that they did not have a permanent settlement as such, that they wandered, hunting and fishing, finding shelter in adobe huts, which were arranged by their ancestors, who are in order support themselves. On that and parted.
Kozhukhov's cousin, Colonel Mitrokhin, was not at all surprised when he heard about a relative's “funny adventure”. He confirmed that all Tomsk residents know about moloshes, especially those who procure furs, which are exchanged for goods with moloshes. “The savages, thanks to trade, have everything they need for a comfortable life,” said Mitrokhin, expressing regret that there is no God, there is no faith, even a nasty, pagan one.
Modern scientists have no doubt that people with physiological abnormalities are victims of the game of genes, disruptions in the genome of mankind. However, there are other versions that admit the presence next to us of another, llyarshp tansy about the most ancient population of the Earth, which has survived in one form or another to this day.
PS Surprisingly enough, the church allowed the existence of a mysterious creature in its annals: the Apostle Bartholomew - cinocephalus who became a saint! There are different versions of how Christopher with a dog's head became such. During the time of Emperor Trajan (III century), he was a warrior and robber of gigantic stature, who terrified all of Palestine.
The dog's head helped him with this. Christopher said that he would agree to serve the one who is more terrible and more powerful than him. Then he realized that there was no one in the world more terrible than the devil, and decided to bow to him and make him his master. And so he did. However, upon learning that the devil was afraid of Jesus and flees from the sign of the cross, he left him and became a zealous servant of God, converting many people to Christianity.
According to another version, the giant Christopher agreed to carry Christ across the river and was surprised at his severity, and he said that he bears all the burdens of the world. What convinced Christopher that there is no one in the world more powerful than Christ! Trying to baptize the population of Lycia (today's corner of Turkey), Christopher met with fierce resistance and died. The church honors him as a great martyr.
In 1722 the Holy Synod decreed not to paint Saint Christopher with a dog's head. Orthodox Christians celebrate it on May 22.
