How to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the Caatinga
The stories from the caatinga about humans transforming into animals that look like pigs, dogs, or wolves, rather than being mere anecdotes or simple cultural variations on a familiar theme (the werewolf), point to connections with an Amerindian mythical-sociocosmological background, in which othern...
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Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas
2026
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| Online Access: | https://econtents.sbu.unicamp.br/inpec/index.php/ruris/article/view/19962 |
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| author | Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues |
| author_facet | Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues |
| author_sort | Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues |
| collection | Portal da Incubadora de Periódicos Científicos, Acadêmicos e Educacionais |
| container_reference | RURIS (Campinas, Online); Vol. 16 No. 2 (2024); 89-122 |
| description | The stories from the caatinga about humans transforming into animals that look like pigs, dogs, or wolves, rather than being mere anecdotes or simple cultural variations on a familiar theme (the werewolf), point to connections with an Amerindian mythical-sociocosmological background, in which otherness appears as a given and as a regime of transformation. Far from constituting merely a regional narrative motif, these stories mobilize classic problems of South American ethnology within a social universe that has rarely been described in these terms. Certainly, the caatingueiros share several elements with the vast bibliography on the theme (from the European werwolf to the Latin American lobisomem). However, what is of interest here is the ethnographic inflection that my interlocutors introduce into this literature: the Labisôme, or Bicho, does not attack humans to devour them or drink their blood, but to urinate in their mouths and convert them into Bicho, a more-than-human way of producing another of oneself and, with that, subtly displacing the very anthropological problem of otherness. |
| first_indexed | 2026-04-17T21:01:19Z |
| format | Online |
| id | ojs-article-19962 |
| institution | Universidade Estadual de Campinas |
| issn | 2317-1480 |
| language | por |
| last_indexed | 2026-04-27T21:01:12Z |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | ojs-article-199622026-04-27T14:58:47Z How to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the Caatinga Como se faz um bicho: urofagia, transformação e alteridade na Caatinga Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues Caatinga Alteridade Licantropia Virar-bicho Caatinga Alterity turn Bicho Riobaldo The stories from the caatinga about humans transforming into animals that look like pigs, dogs, or wolves, rather than being mere anecdotes or simple cultural variations on a familiar theme (the werewolf), point to connections with an Amerindian mythical-sociocosmological background, in which otherness appears as a given and as a regime of transformation. Far from constituting merely a regional narrative motif, these stories mobilize classic problems of South American ethnology within a social universe that has rarely been described in these terms. Certainly, the caatingueiros share several elements with the vast bibliography on the theme (from the European werwolf to the Latin American lobisomem). However, what is of interest here is the ethnographic inflection that my interlocutors introduce into this literature: the Labisôme, or Bicho, does not attack humans to devour them or drink their blood, but to urinate in their mouths and convert them into Bicho, a more-than-human way of producing another of oneself and, with that, subtly displacing the very anthropological problem of otherness. Os relatos na caatinga sobre a transformação de humanos em animais com aparência de porcos, cães ou lobos, mais que anedotas ou simples variações culturais de um tema conhecido (o lobisomem), apontam para relações presentes com um fundo mítico-sociocosmológico ameríndio, no qual a alteridade aparece como dada e como regime de transformação. Longe de constituir apenas um motivo narrativo regional, essas histórias mobilizam problemas clássicos da etnologia sul-americana em um universo social que raramente foi descrito nesses termos. Decerto, os caatingueiros compartilham diversos elementos com a vasta bibliografia sobre o tema (do homem-lobo europeu ao lobisomem latino-americano). No entanto, interessa aqui a inflexão etnográfica que meus interlocutores introduzem nessa literatura: o Labisôme, ou Bicho, não ataca humanos para devorá-los ou beber seu sangue, mas para urinar em sua boca e convertê-los em Bicho, um modo mais-que-humano de produzir outro de si mesmo e, com isso, deslocar sutilmente o próprio problema antropológico da alteridade. Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas 2026-04-17 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Artigo avaliado pelos Pares Texto Text application/pdf https://econtents.sbu.unicamp.br/inpec/index.php/ruris/article/view/19962 10.53000/rr.v16i2.19962 RURIS (Campinas, Online); Vol. 16 No. 2 (2024); 89-122 RURIS (Campinas, Online); v. 16 n. 2 (2024); 89-122 2317-1480 por https://econtents.sbu.unicamp.br/inpec/index.php/ruris/article/view/19962/15268 Brazil; Contemporary Brasil; Contemporâneo Copyright (c) 2026 RURIS (Campinas, Online) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 |
| spellingShingle | Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues Lopes, Gabriel Rodrigues Caatinga Alteridade Licantropia Virar-bicho Caatinga Alterity turn Bicho Riobaldo How to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the Caatinga |
| title | How to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the Caatinga |
| title_full | How to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the Caatinga |
| title_fullStr | How to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the Caatinga |
| title_full_unstemmed | How to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the Caatinga |
| title_short | How to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the Caatinga |
| title_sort | how to make an animal: urophagia, transformation, and otherness in the caatinga |
| topic | Caatinga Alteridade Licantropia Virar-bicho Caatinga Alterity turn Bicho Riobaldo |
| url | https://econtents.sbu.unicamp.br/inpec/index.php/ruris/article/view/19962 |
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