The werewolf is a universal myth. Several cultures around the world have it as another creature of their mythological staff. There is something about the wolf that fascinates us. Perhaps it is its fierceness, its loyalty, its beauty.
The werewolf is found even in the most remote places for the western people, like Armenia. Although in the Armenian myths it is more frequent the wolf woman or mardagayl. According to some versions, the wolf foman is a cursed being, a woman who, as a sinner, has been condemned to transform involuntarily into a beast (or voluntarily according to other versions) for 7 years. The architect of the curse is usually a spirit that forces the unfortunate woman to wear a wolf skin. When she puts it on, she is transformed and develops a thirst for human flesh. It only occurs at night, as usually in these myths. At dawn, she gets rid of her skin.
She does not choose her victims at random. To make her curse worse, she is forced to hunt first her own children and then the children of her relatives. She possesses the speed of the wind. She is capable of covering great distances in a blink of an eye. The only way to kill the mardagayl is by burning its skin, although this is not easy, since the creature, knowing its weak point, is careful to hide it well.
When the curse ends, the skin voluntarily abandons its host to ascend to the heavens. Finally, the woman returns to be human. However, it is possible that she has a vestige of her previous form, like a tail, surely so that next time she will think twice before sinning.
THE FACT
The Power Metal band Powerwolf dedicates a song to this myth in their album Bible of the Beast: Werewolves of Armenia.
