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=Nagualism= A pre-Columbian [|Chatino] stela depicting a nagual transforming into a jaguar. His name is inscribed in [|Zapotec glyphs] on his abdomen and translates to "5 Alligator". In [|Mesoamerican] folk religion, a //**Nagual**// or //**Nahual**// (both pronounced [na'wal]) is a human being who has the power to magically turn him- or herself into an animal form: most commonly a [|donkey], [|turkey] , or [|dog] , [|[1]] but also other and more powerful animals such as the [|jaguar] and [|puma]. Such a Nagual is believed to use his powers for good or evil according to his personality. [|[2]] Specific beliefs vary, but the general concept of nagualism is pan-Mesoamerican. Nagualism is linked with pre-Columbian shamanistic practices through Preclassic Olmec depictions which are interpreted as humans transforming themselves into animals. The system is linked with the [|Mesomerican calendrical system], used for divination rituals. The birth date often determines if a person will be a Nagual. Mesoamerican belief in [|tonalism], wherein all humans have an animal counterpart to which their life force is linked, is also part of the definition of nagualism. [|[3]] In English the word is often translated as "transforming witch", but translations without the negative connotations of the word [|witch] would be "transforming [|trickster] " or " [|shape shifter] ". [|[4]] ==  The word // nagual // derives from the [|Nahuatl] word // nahual //, an indigenous religious practitioner, identified by the Spanish as a 'magician'. The nagual is acquired along with the other characteristics of a person's birth day at birth. Each day is associated with an animal which has strong and weak aspects. A person born on "The Dog Day" would have both strong and weak 'Dog' aspects. In Nahuatl the word // [|tonalli] // was used to refer both to a day and to the animal associated with that day. The nagual is different, where the // tonal // is the day spirit proper, the nagual is the spirit familiar of the day. It is probable that the tonal represents the daytime aspect and the nagual the nighttime aspect of the tonalli, 'the things of the day'. Because practitioners of powerful magic were normally born on certain days related to animals with a strong or harmful aspect they would often have specific tonals such as the jaguar or puma. In Aztec mythology the God [|Tezcatlipoca] was the protector of nagualism, because his tonal was the jaguar and he governed the distribution of wealth. ==

History
In modern rural Mexico, //nagual// is sometimes synonymous with //brujo// ("witch"): one who is able to shapeshift into an animal at night, (normally into an [|owl], [|bat] , or turkey) drink blood from human victims, steal property, cause disease, and the like. In some indigenous communities the position of Nagual is integrated into the religious hierarchy. The community knows who is a //Nagual//, tolerating, fearing and respecting them. //Nagualli// are hired to remove curses cast by other //nagualli//. In other communities the accusation of nagualism may result in violent attacks by the community towards the accused—much like the [|witch processes] of renaissance Europe. The Western study of Nagualism was initiated by noted [|archaeologist], [|linguist] and [|ethnologist] [|Daniel Garrison Brinton] who published [|"Nagualism: A Study in Native-American Folklore and History"] which chronicled historical interpretations of the word and those who practiced [|nagualism] in Mexico in 1894. He identified various beliefs associated with nagualism in some modern Mexican communities such as the [|Mixe], the [|Nahua] , the [|Zapotec] and the [|Mixtec]. Subsequently many studies have described Nagualism in different Mesoamerican cultures such as the [|Zoques] and the [|Jakaltek], [|K'iche'] , [|Q'eqchi'] , and [|Tzeltal Maya]. Among the Jacaltec, Naguals reinforce indigenism by punishing those who collaborate with non Mayas. [|[5]] Discussion continues on which degree nagualism represents a [|pre-Columbian] belief system or is modelled on European popular religion. Gustavo Correa, [|[6]] suggests nagualism is not [|pre-Columbian], arguing that it was wholly imported from Europe, where he compares it to the medieval belief in [|werewolves]. However, Indigenous sources of pre-Columbian origin such as the [|Popol Vuh] describe concepts clearly related to modern Nagualism.[// [|dubious] – [|discuss] //]. Nonetheless, the only version of this document which has survived was transcribed well after the Spanish Conquest and may contain concepts introduced by European missionaries.[// [|citation needed] //] Kaplan [|[7]] concludes that, in Oaxaca, the belief in Naguals as evil shape shifting witches is common in both indigenous and mestizo populations. According to Kaplan, the belief in animal spirit companions is exclusively indigenous.

Books
Castaneda's first three books — // [|The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge] // ; // [|A Separate Reality] // ; and // [|Journey to Ixtlan] // — were written while Castaneda was an [|anthropology] student at the [|University of California, Los Angeles] (UCLA). He wrote these books as his research log describing his apprenticeship with a traditional "Man of Knowledge" identified as // don Juan Matus //, a Yaqui Indian from northern Mexico. Castaneda was awarded his [|bachelor's] and [|doctoral degrees] based on the work described in these books.

In 1974 his fourth book, // Tales of Power //, was published. This book ended with Castaneda leaping from a cliff into an abyss, and signaled the end of his apprenticeship under the tutelage of Matus. Castaneda continued to be popular with the reading public with subsequent publications. In his books, Castaneda narrates in first person the events leading to and following after his meeting Matus, a Yaqui "Man of Knowledge", in 1960. Castaneda's experiences with Matus inspired the works for which he is known. He also says the sorcerer bequeathed him the position of // [|nagual] //, or leader of a party of seers. He also used the term " // nagual // " to signify that part of perception which is in the realm of the unknown yet still reachable by man, implying that, for his party of seers, Don Juan was a connection in some way to that unknown. Castaneda often referred to this unknown realm as nonordinary reality, which indicated that this realm was indeed a reality, but radically different from the ordinary reality experienced by human beings. The term " // nagual // " has been used by anthropologists to mean a shaman or sorcerer who is believed capable of [|shapeshifting] into an animal form, or to metaphorically "shift" into another form through magic rituals, [|shamanism] and experiences with psychoactive drugs (e.g., [|peyote] and jimson weed - // [|Datura stramonium] // ). [|[3]]

Biography
Immigration records for Carlos Cesar Arana Castaneda indicate that he was born on 25 December 1925 in [|Cajamarca], [|Peru]. [|[4]] Records show that his surname was given by his mother Susana Castañeda Navoa. His father was Cesar Arana Burungaray. His surname appears with the [|ñ] in many Hispanic dictionaries, even though his famous published works display an anglicized version. He moved to the United States in the early 1950s and became a [|naturalized citizen] in 1957. In 1960, he was married to Margaret Runyan in [|Tijuana], Mexico. They lived together for only six months but, contrary to rumor, were never divorced. On August 12, 1961, Carlton Jeremy Castaneda was born in Hollywood, California. Carlos spoke of CJ as his biological son and is listed on the younger Castaneda's birth certificate as his father.

Carlos Castaneda was educated at the UCLA ( <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|B.A.] 1962; <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Ph.D.] 1973). <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|[5]] Castaneda also married <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Florinda Donner-Grau] in Las Vegas in September 1993. According to his <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|will] of April 23, 1998, Castaneda adopted <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Nuri Alexander]. In all, twelve books by Castaneda were published, two posthumously. Castaneda was the subject of a cover article in the March 5, 1973 issue of // [|Time] //. <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|[6]] The article described him as "an enigma wrapped in a mystery." When confronted by correspondent Sandra Burton about discrepancies in his personal history, Castaneda responded by saying: "To ask me to verify my life by giving you my statistics...is like using science to validate sorcery. It robs the world of its magic and makes milestones out of us all". The interviewer wrote that "Castaneda makes the reader experience the pressure of mysterious winds and the shiver of leaves at twilight, the hunter's peculiar alertness to sound and smell, the rock-bottom scrubbiness of Indian life, the raw fragrance of tequila and the vile, fibrous taste of peyote, the dust in the car, and the loft of a crow's flight. It is a superbly concrete setting, dense with animistic meaning. This is just as well, in view of the utter weirdness of the events that happen in it." Following that interview, Castaneda retired from public view. In the 1990s Castaneda once again began appearing in public to promote <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Tensegrity], a group of movements that he claimed had been passed down by 25 generations of <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Toltec] shamans. On 16 June 1995, articles of incorporation executed by George Short were filed to create <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Cleargreen Incorporated]. The Cleargreen statement of purpose says in part, "Cleargreen is a corporation that has a twofold purpose. First, it sponsors and organizes seminars and workshops on Carlos Castaneda's Tensegrity, and second, it is a publishing house." Cleargreen published three videos of Tensegrity movements while Castaneda was alive. Castaneda himself did not appear in these videos. Castaneda died on 27 April 1998 in Los Angeles due to complications from hepatocellular cancer. There was no public service; Castaneda was cremated and the ashes were sent to Mexico. It was not until nearly two months later, on 19 June 1998, that an obituary entitled "A Hushed Death for Mystic Author Carlos Castaneda" by staff writer J.R. Moehringer appeared in the // Los Angeles Times //. <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|[7]] Four months after Castaneda's death, C. J. Castaneda, also known as Adrian Vashon, whose birth certificate claims Carlos Castaneda as his father, challenged Castaneda's will in probate court. For many years Castaneda had referred to Vashon as his son. The will was signed two days before Castaneda's death and Vashon challenged its authenticity. The challenge was ultimately unsuccessful. <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|[8]]

Companions
After Castaneda stepped away from public view in 1973, he bought a large house in Los Angeles which he shared with three of his female companions. The women broke off relationships with friends and family when they joined Castaneda's group. They also refused to be photographed and took new names: Regina Thal became <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Florinda Donner-Grau], Maryann Simko became <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Taisha Abelar] and Kathleen Pohlman became <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Carol Tiggs].

In the early 1990s, Florinda Donner-Grau and Taisha Abelar published two books purporting to describe their experiences with don Juan and his party. Together with Carol Tiggs, they appeared and sometimes lectured at many of the Tensegrity workshops that began in July 1993, and Donner-Grau and Abelar appeared at book signings and gave occasional lectures and radio interviews as well. Shortly after Castaneda died, Donner-Grau and Abelar disappeared, along with <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Patricia Partin]. <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Amalia Marquez] (also known as Talia Bey) and Tensegrity instructor <span style="background-color: initial; color: #a55858; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Kylie Lundal] had their phones disconnected and also disappeared. On 2 August 1998, Carol spoke at a workshop in Ontario. The remains of Partin, also referred to by Castaneda as // Nury Alexander // and/or // Claude //, were found in 2003 near where her abandoned car had been discovered a few weeks after Castaneda's death in 1998, on the edge of <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|Death Valley]. Her remains were in a condition requiring DNA identification, which was made in 2006. <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|[2]] None of the others have been seen in public since their disappearance.[ // [|citation needed] // ] Because the women had cut all ties with family and friends, it was some time before people noticed they were missing. There has been no official investigation into the disappearances of Donner-Grau, Simko and Lundahl. Luis Marquez, the brother of Talia Bey, went to police in 1999 over his sister's disappearance, but was unable to convince them that her disappearance merited investigation. Their opinion changed in 2006 after the remains of Patricia Partin were identified, and the LAPD finally added Bey to their missing person database. <span style="background-color: initial; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 0.8em; text-decoration: none;">[|[9]]