ys very much in awe of the
superphysical; but it is rarely he can ever claim close intimacy with
it--not close enough, at all events, to be the recipient of its special
gifts.

In werwolfery there is no "totem." The property of metamorphosis, in
this branch of lycanthropy, is not deemed the gift of a national deity,
but either of the Occult Powers in general or of some particular local
phantasm. In other branches of lycanthropy, viz., that of the wer-tiger
and wer-leopard--I am doubtful about the wer-jaguar--the property of
transmutation is said to be conferred solely by the god, or a god, of
the tribe.

But although these various properties of lycanthropy are apparently
derived from different sources, the difference is only in outward form;
and I have no hesitation in saying that the occult power from which all
lycanthropy proceeds, whether in the form of a wolf, tiger, leopard, or
any other beast, is in reality the same species of Elemental.[32:1] But
whether a Vagrarian, Vice, or some other Elemental, I cannot possibly
say.

I have stated that I am doubtful as to whether totemism exists in
Arawak. The truth is, with regard to this question, I am in receipt of
somewhat conflicting testimony. Some say that the natives have as their
god a deity in the form of a jaguar, to whom they pray for vengeance on
their foes and for the property of lycanthropy; which property (_vide_
the case of the Kandhs) would give them the additional pleasure of
executing vengeance in their own person. On the other hand, I have heard
that the form of a jaguar is the form most commonly assumed by spirits
in Arawak, particularly by those invoked at seances. Hence it is
extremely difficult to arrive at the truth. From the corroborating
testimony of various people, however, I conclude that whereas among the
Kandhs and West African negroes the property of lycanthropy (unless, of
course, hereditary) is rarely conferred on females, or on anyone younger
than sixteen, in Arawak and Malaysia it is awarded regardless of sex or
age.

Some years ago there was current, among certain tribes of the natives in
Arawak, a story to this effect:--

A Dutch trader, of the name of Van Hielen, was visiting for purely
business purposes an Indian settlement in a very remote part of the
colony. Roaming about the village one evening, he came to a hut standing
alone on the outskirts of one of those dense forests that are so
characteristic of Arawak. Van Hielen paus