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Several of you guys have asked where I got my terms for my weranimal nomenclature. Some of you have asked for specific words, others just in general. Sorry to disappoint some of you who thought my terms were general use. They are not. They are new and fresh to me and my writing.
People have been asking about the terminology of my wereanimal societies. Where did I get them? I did research not into actual weranimal societies. Sorry, folks, but it’s fiction. But into mythology, folklore, heraldry, entomology, ancient languages, and the history of names.
Example: Ulfric is old Norse or old German for wolf king. It seemed utterly logical to use that for the head of my werewolf pack.
Example: Sk?ll and Hati are the wolves that chase the sun and moon in Norse mythology. When they catch them it will be the end of the world. Sköll is the head enforcer or bodyguard for the Ulfric. Hati is the second in command enforcer. Richard’s Sk?ll is Jamil. His Hati is Shang-Da.
I used a lot of Norse stuff for Richard’s pack and for the Verne’s pack in Tennessee. It just seemed a natural fit. I also studied real wolves to help me get some of the greetings between pack members and the rituals. Just a few of the books I’ve used for the wolves and some of the other weranimal research are: The Wolf, the ecology and behavior of an endangered species, by L. David Mech; Of Wolves and Men by Barry Holstun Lopez; A Lycanthropy Reader, Werewolves in Western Culture, by Charlotte F. Otten; and The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland. I also visited some of the Greek and Roman myths. Dictionary of Mythology by Bergen Evans (it has more than just Greek and Roman but it was the first source where I found the intriguing story of King Lycaon.) Who’s Who in Classical Mythology by Michael Grant and John Hazel has a longer version of his story. I took fictional liberties with it and changed a king that had been punished by the Gods by being turned into a wolf to a king that was a werewolf and did not hide the fact. The first in recorded history to do so. The werewolves call themselves the Lukoi in his honor. His name is one of the basis for the word lycanthropy.
Lycanthropy is a word that originally only refers to werewolves, but it is the most common word for shapeshifting in Western culture so I decided that over a number of years it would simply become a word for all shapeshifting. Most people don’t know their Greek and Latin roots anyway.
Lupa, the head female werewolf, is again based on Latin, as is the wolf meeting place, the Lupanar. Lupa is also very close to the word for wolf in Spanish and French.
Many books have come out since I did the initial research, or I discovered them after I’d done much of my research. Exploring the Northern Tradition by Galina Krasskova; The Werewolf Book by Brad Steiger are but a few. I have shelves of books on wolf, big cat, and other related animal and myth research.
The leopards owe much of their naming conventions to the myth and culture of India. I have yet to find a book that satisfies my research needs as well for Indian research. Two of the ones I’ve found the most useful have been; Indian Mythology by Devdutt Pattanaik, and The Myths and Gods of India by Alain Danielou.
I have not found just one book that has done for leopards and other big cats what the wolf books have done for the wolves, but here are the main books I used at the beginning. Wild Cats of the World by Mel Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist; Big Cats by Tom Brakefield; and Wild Cats of the World by Barbara Sleeper, photographs and drawings by Art Wolfe. It’s much easier to find books on tigers or lions than on leopards for some reason.
A very helpful general book is GODDESSES IN WORLD MYTHOLOGY by Martha Ann and Dorothy Myers Imel. It covers a lot of the world and lesser known Deities. I’d love it if someone would do an equivalent book on Gods. But everyone seems to think Gods have had too much press. Trust me I have not found a single book that had as much well researched information on male Deities as this one book has on female Deities.
One last book that was very helpful was SYMBOLIC AND MYTHOLOGICAL ANIMALS by J. C. Cooper.
For our friend that asked about bears I haven’t found a book that really made me happy, but here are two useful ones; Bear Attacks, Their Causes and Avoidance, by Stephen Herrero; and A Celebration of Power and Beauty BEARS by Rebecca L. Grambo with Photographs by Daniel J. Cox. Some of the best up close and personal bear photos I’ve found.
This touches only part of the research I did for my wereanimals societies. I continue to research and look for more sources. I’m doing tigers and lions right now. And still looking for that perfect leopard book.
I remember now why I didn’t want to answer this question; its a long answer, but so many of you had asked about where I got my animal and wereanimal research I thought you deserved as good an answer as I could give you. Short of me listing another twenty plus books you’ve got the answer. Most of the unlisted books are ones I’ve not had time to read that much in, or have not been happy with. Rather than saying something negative about the author, who I’m sure did their best, I’ll just not list them. I actually found one book on Indian mythology that is still in it’s plastic wrap. I remember why I’ve almost stopped reading other people’s fiction. I’m too busy researching my own.