Nagualismn.
/nəˈɡwɑːlɪz(ə)m/, /nəˈ(h)wɑːlɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /nəˈɡwɑlˌɪz(ə)m/, /nəˈ(h)wɑlˌɪz(ə)m/ Among certain indigenous peoples of Mexico and surrounding countries: belief in a personal guardian spirit residing or embodied in a particular animal, etc. Cf. nagual n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > non-European magic (miscellaneous) > [noun] > Nagualism
Nagualism1822
1822 P. F. Cabrera Teatro Critico Americano 31 The mischievous use the Indians made of their histories in the superstition of nagualism.
1822 P. F. Cabrera Teatro Critico Americano 123 Nuñez de la Vega..gives an account of the sect or superstition of Nagualism.
1883 D. G. Brinton in Folk-Lore Jrnl. 1 viii. 249 The learned Abbé..is not entirely satisfied that animal magnetism, ventriloquism, and such trickery, can explain the mysteries of nagualism, as the Central American system of the black arts is termed.
1896 F. B. Jevons Introd. Hist. Relig. xvi. 207 Nagualism is one of the ancient forms of worship, and consists in choosing an animal as the tutelary divinity of a child.
1928 C. Dawson Age of Gods ii. 33 This belief was observed by the Spaniards centuries before Totemism had been discovered, and was named by them Nagualism, from the word for the guardian spirit—Nagual—which was generally used in Central America.
1987 A. Hultkrantz Native Relig. N. Amer. ii. 30 The connection between a person and a protective spirit could become so intense that the person took part in the spirit's qualities and even in its life. In northern Mexico, this close bond is called nagualism.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1822