Mythological shapeshifters

Loki is a god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi or Nari and Váli. By the jötunn Angrboða, Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir and the world serpent Jörmungandr. In the form of a mare, Loki was impregnated by the stallion Svaðilfari and gave birth to the eight-legged horse Sleipnir.

Enlil (Sumerian: dEN-LÍL), later known as Elil and Ellil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hurrians. Enlil's primary center of worship was the Ekur temple in the city of Nippur, which was believed to have been built by Enlil himself and was regarded as the "mooring-rope" of heaven and earth. He is also sometimes referred to in Sumerian texts as Nunamnir. According to one Sumerian hymn, Enlil himself was so holy t

thumb|A depiction of Sigurð slaying Fáfnir on the right portal plank from Hylestad Stave Church, the so-called "Hylestad I", from the second half of the 12th century In Germanic heroic legend and folklore, Fáfnir was a dwarf or other type of humanoid who had shifted into the hamr of a Germanic dragon (a worm, "serpent", in period nomenclature) in order to protect a treasure, eventually being slain by a member of the Völsung family, typically Sigurð.

Leshy or Leshi is a tutelary deity of the forest in pagan Slavic mythology. As Leshy rules over the forest and hunting, he may be related to the Slavic god Porewit.

right|thumb|220px|The of the Sasakibara Family () from the Buson Yōkai Emaki by [[Yosa Buson. It depicts a cat in Nagoya that would wear a napkin on its head and dance. Unlike which have two tails, the bakeneko has only one tail.]] The '''''' (, "changed cat") is a type of Japanese , or supernatural entity; more specifically, it is a , or supernatural cat. It is often confused with the , another cat-like . The distinction between them is often ambiguous, but the largest difference is that the has two tails, while the has only one.

thumb|right|200px|This part of the Drävle Runestone is held to depict Andvari. In Norse mythology, Andvari (12th c. Old Norse: ; "careful one") is a dwarf who lives underneath a waterfall and has the power to change himself into a pike (gedda) at will.

thumb|Itzamna as shown in the classic period Itzamná () is, in Maya mythology, an upper god and creator deity thought to reside in the sky. Itzamná is one of the most important gods in the Classic and Postclassic Maya pantheon. Although little is known about him, scattered references are present in early-colonial Spanish reports (relaciones) and dictionaries. Twentieth-century Lacandon lore includes tales about a creator god (Nohochakyum or Hachakyum) who may be a late successor to him. In the pre-Spanish period, Itzamná was often depicted in books and in ceramic scenes derived from them. Befo

thumb|Iðunn is carried off by Þjazi in this artwork by [[Harry George Theaker, 1920.]] thumb|He flapped away with her, magic apples and all (1902) by Elmer Boyd Smith.

In Aztec mythology, Huēhuehcoyōtl () (from huēhueh "very old" (literally, "old old") and coyōtl "coyote" in Nahuatl) is the auspicious Pre-Columbian god of music, dance, mischief, and song. He is the patron of uninhibited sexuality — his partners can be female or male of any species — and rules over the day sign in the Aztec calendar named cuetzpallin (lizard) and the fourth trecena Xochitl ("flower" in Nahuatl).

dwarf of Norse mythology

mythological creature

mythological character

In Slavic mythology, a vedmak is a warlock or male witch, the female equivalent (witch) being vedma. This role greatly focuses on the Shamanic aspects of Slavic paganism.

thumbnail|250px|Illustration of the devil from a 14th-century Arabic manuscript, the Book of Wonders. Ördög (Ürdüng in Old Hungarian) is a shape-shifting, demonic creature from Hungarian mythology and early Hungarian paganism who controls the dark and evil forces of the world. After Christianization, it was identified with the devil. It is often said in Hungarian mythology that God (Isten in Hungarian) had help from Ördög when creating the world.

Yuxa (Latin: Yuxa Yilan, Cyrillic: Юха елан, Old Turkic: 𐰖𐰆𐰎𐰀; ), or Yuha, is a legendary creature in Turkic mythology. According to popular beliefs, every 100-year-old snake is transformed into Yuxa. In fairy tales, Yuxa is described as a beautiful damsel who would marry men to beget offspring.

thumb|A painting depicting a chonchon. The Chonchon ( from ), also known as the Tue-Tué, is a mythical creature found in Mapuche religion, as well as in the folk mythologies of Chile and southern Argentina.

Archura (Old Turkic: 𐰀𐰺𐰲𐰆𐰺𐰀; ) is a shapeshifting woodland spirit in Turkic mythology who protects wild animals and forests.

thumb|King Pandu shoots Kindama.|260x260px Kindama () is a rishi featured in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

Ethiopian and Eritrean folklore

thumb|upright 1.1|alt=illustration of a great auk|A great auk, which may be the source for descriptions of the boobrie The boobrie is a mythological shapeshifting entity inhabiting the lochs of the west coast of Scotland. It commonly adopts the appearance of a gigantic water bird resembling a cormorant or great northern diver, but it can also materialise in the form of various other mythological creatures such as a water bull.

Indonesian Boar Demon

thumb|300px|Pihuicheñ of the Mapuche

In Irish mythology, Finnguala (modern spellings: Fionnghuala, Fionnuala , or Finola; literally meaning "white shoulder") was the daughter of Lir of the Tuatha Dé Danann. In the legend of the Children of Lir, she was changed into a swan and cursed by her stepmother, Aoife, to wander the lakes and rivers of Ireland, with her brothers Fiachra, Conn and Aodh, for 900 years until saved by the marriage of Lairgren, son of Colman, son of Cobthach, and Deoch, daughter of Finghin, whose union broke the curse. 'The Song of Fionnuala', with lyrics by Thomas Moore speaks of her wanderings.

deity in Chinese folk religion and Taoism

mythological Irish seer

thumb|Wooden figure of Dakuwaqa from the Solomon Islands, on display at the [[Louvre gallery]] In Fijian mythology, Dakuwaqa (Dakuwanga) is a shark deity and often appears as a fierce sea monster, guarding the islands. He was greatly respected by fishermen because he protected them from any danger at sea and its denizens.

thumb|280px|Aygnan (Anhangá) in the forms of birds and beasts, and other oddities, in Léry ''Histoire d'vn voyage'' (1580 edition). Anhangá or Anhanga (Tupi: <; Sateré-Mawé: or ; , ) is a type of spirit present in the cosmovision of several native groups from Brazil and Indianist literature.

Pitsen is a forest creature in the Siberian Tatars' mythology.

Äbädä (Cyrillic: Әбәдә) is an innocent forest spirit in Turkic mythology. It looks like an old woman. Äbädä also is represented in mythologies of Siberian peoples.

thumb|400px|Iktomi depicted sitting by the fire. In Lakota mythology, Iktómi is a spider-trickster spirit, and a culture hero for the Lakota people. Alternate names for Iktómi include Ikto, Ictinike, Ksa , Inktomi, Unktome, and Unktomi. These names are due to the differences in languages between different indigenous nations, as this spider deity was known throughout many of North America's tribes.