For those who never heard of them, werehyenas are creatures found in folklores from various regions in Africa, including Ethiopia.
In Ethiopia, the ability to transform into a hyena is known there as "buda". In Ethiopian folklore, wizards, witches, and blacksmiths to a less extent, are thought to have the buda; the buda is caused by the vice of envy, and is inherited from a witch, a wizard, or a blacksmith's paternal lineage. The buda is used to pass off as a hyena and hide oneself's human form, while attacking other humans; it's thought, in Ethiopia, that talismans and priests can defeat werehyenas, though they occasionally resist exorcism practiced by priests. In Ethiopia, the belief about werehyenas and the buda was just to justify the persecution of jews, them having been accused of eating human corpses.
Its actually a quite common sentiment across various cultures, as smithing us basicly magic and/or alchemy to outsiders.
Because forging metall is a very specialized and rare skill which takes a lot of knowledge. Especially in times without thermometers or modern ovens where you somehow have to guess that your forge now has the correct temperature to change and purify metalls. And they produce talismans, bronze mirrors, goblets abd else used in religious or magical processions. Not to mention the various toxic fumes and else it may produce.
And smiths won't share their buisness secrets either, so its very mysterious overall
IIRC theres also a connection to antisemitism against Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel), who were stereotyped as metalworkers and commonly accused of hyenanthropy.
142
u/Wendigo-Huldra_2003 6d ago
For those who never heard of them, werehyenas are creatures found in folklores from various regions in Africa, including Ethiopia.
In Ethiopia, the ability to transform into a hyena is known there as "buda". In Ethiopian folklore, wizards, witches, and blacksmiths to a less extent, are thought to have the buda; the buda is caused by the vice of envy, and is inherited from a witch, a wizard, or a blacksmith's paternal lineage. The buda is used to pass off as a hyena and hide oneself's human form, while attacking other humans; it's thought, in Ethiopia, that talismans and priests can defeat werehyenas, though they occasionally resist exorcism practiced by priests. In Ethiopia, the belief about werehyenas and the buda was just to justify the persecution of jews, them having been accused of eating human corpses.