The spirit animal

For many people, shapeshifters probably exist only in fantasy books and movies. However, in the Garo community, a few rare people are believed to have the ability to shapeshift.

Such people are connected to the soul of certain animals and can manifest into their physical form. Some of the animals that humans can take the form of include tigers, leopards, elephants and snakes, among others. Some people are born with such abilities, while others gain their shapeshifting ability at some point in their life.

This phenomenon seems to be a sensitive topic within the community and not much is known about it. Ma C T Sangma in her book Unbelievable! Incredible happenings around us writes about the commonly known features of such people.

In some cases, people attached to the spirit of a tiger have their tailbone sticking out an inch or so, somewhat like a short tail. They also tend to fall asleep at any given time of the day, regardless of where they are. During this short period, the soul of the animal inside them can go out and explore. If they see a loved one in danger, they will do anything to protect them.

My grandmother used to tell us the story of her mother, who they believed to have had the soul of a leopard inside her. She had an uncanny ability of knowing where people were at any given moment. This could be the result of their ability to cover large distances in a short span of time while in their spirit form.

The people in town used to talk a lot about this, but my grandmother and the rest of the family did not believe any of it. Until one day.

Her brother, my great grandfather, had decided to go and gather woods in the forest. While he was chopping the wood, he saw some leaves rustling at a distance. He looked up and to his surprise, a leopard was standing and watching him. He felt chills run up his spine and froze on the spot.

After a while, he remembered that he had a hunting rifle on him. He slowly took it out and proceeded to fire it at the leopard. The bullet hit the leopard’s leg. The animal let out a growl and ran off.

My great grandfather, still in shock, decided to go back home for the day.

He reached home and saw his sister waiting for him on the veranda. As soon as he went closer, he saw her clutching her leg which was bleeding. He asked her what happened.

She looked at him. “You shot me.”

She proceeded to tell him that the leopard in the forest was her and she had no intentions of harming him.

After that incident, the family started believing in some people’s ability to shift into animals.