INUGAMI (犬神・Dog-God)

Note:I do not in any way approve of cruelty to animals. PLEASE DO NOT DO IT for real.
Inugami, or literally "dog-god" is a kind of spirit that can possess a human, and is a type of kodoku(1*) The belief in this spirit was still strong until recent years and was widespread particularly in the western part of Japan.

Those who can create and command Inugami is called "Inugami-tsukai" (literally, dog-god user). Inugami-tsukai creates an Inugami by the following method; first, you take a live dog and bury it in the ground up to its neck. Then you put some food in front of the dog but just beyond its reach, so that the dog is able to see the food but is not able to eat it. You then let the dog starve and when it is near to death and its desire for food is at its strongest, the Inugami-tsukai must go behind the dog and cut off its head. The dog's head is then buried undeground in the middle of a cross-road; this is to get as many people walk over it as possible in order to intensify its grudge. Finally the head is dug up and enshrined. Now a powerful inugami is born (2*).

Inugami can be commanded to possess a person. Those who are easily possessed by Inugami are the ones who are emotionally unstable. The possessed may act and say odd things, complain of pains in the chest and limbs, and sometimes walk on all fours and even bark like a dog.

In order to exorcise an Inugami you need either eat a charred beast, or ask a Yamabushi (3*)to perform a special ritual (involving use of fire and incantation) for you.

The size of Inugami is about the same as a large rat. Some say it is covered with spots and is blind. It is usually invisible to ordinary humans.


Inugami-suji "The Dog-God Bloodline"

The family which is possessed by an inugami is described as "Inugami-suji", meaning "dog-god bloodline." They are said to be the descendants of the shamans and sorcerers who originally created Inugami.

If the family worships it the Inugami bestows prosperity on it; on the other hand if the spirit is treated poorly it will bring calamity to the house.

In Inugami-suji household, a new Inugami is created every time a girl is born. When the girl marries, she is said to take her Inugami with her, thus making the new household an Inugami-suji too. For this reason normally marrying to an Inugami-suji was the thing to be avoided by common people. In few areas of Japan, some people still check the bloodline of the bride before marriage to make sure that she is not from an Inugami-suji.


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1*Kodoku - a black magic that uses living animals; will be explained more in detail on this blog in the near future.
2*This is the most well-known method. A source says when the dog's head is cut off it should fly and bite the food in front of it.
3* Yamabushi - lieterally meaning "one who lies in the mountain" Yamabushi is a Japanese ascetic and is a practitioner of shugendo, a syncretic religion mixing Buddhist and Shinto elements. (wikipedia).
*The picture shows Inugami ( from wikipedia japan)

Comments

Anonymous said…
Poor dog. =(
Anonymous said…
This is very strange. A few years ago, there was a animal cruelty case where a dog was buried like this, with the food infront of it too! The owners weren't punished nearly enough for the crime, so let's hope the poor dog gets some sort of otherworldly power to use on them! : (
paulo said…
hi my name is paulo i am from the brasil

there are many dogs where i live so i did this ritual

but i dont know how to command dog spirit to posess somebody

so how do u command it? so far i have just buried the head i dunno wat to do wehn i unbury it
Molly said…
Paulo, hope that dog's gonna inugami you. Animal-abuser.
Molly said…
My bad, I meant; Gonna kill you*
sasusaku said…
to paulo
did you really did that i mean really i cant just believe that. i dont think its right to abuse/kill animals so cruelly for one owns fortune/revenge. NOW THE DOG WILL SURELY HAUNT YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zanyuki said…
I smell a troll up there.

Also, why on earth would you want to summon an Inugami? What possible benefit would you get from the ability to command such a spirit? :O
paulo... said…
hello this is paulo again

been two years since did this and i regret this much

I live in favela in brasil, sometimes police come and atack my family. i was very angry at police back 2010 when i done this...

after unburied head, i created small alter at home with two candles and incense to honor dog god

at first i think it understand my anger and hate and i know bad things happen to police who come to atack us but then my family too was victim of bad hapenigns

i am now alone, my wife dont talk to me and my child gone but other son is with wife

wishi never did, the alter is stil home with head of my god, i keep it clean
@paulo: I am sorry for your sadness and loss, and for all the hardship you have to endure, Paulo.

I don't know how to give you an advice. I just don't think creating and keeping the dog-god is an answer to your problems.

I don't even know if there's really a dog-god, or if the instructions I put up here are all correct. I'm sorry I should have warned you more. I don't want you to suffer and I don't want you to hurt dogs either.. I admit I'm feeling guilty and somewhat responsible for what your action.

Maybe you can take this dog-head to a church? Or bury it and pray for it to rest in peace?

Take care, Paulo. I cannot do anything for you but I'm worried about you. I hope something good happens to you soon.
Anonymous said…
@ paulo Those dog-god-honoring thing you do at home is ABSOLUTELY not helping at all. It only make things worse. What the dog needs, it's a rest, not power. Honoring him only give him power, which he can't use to do anything except pull the revenge further on you. Do as Saya says, burn the head, bring the ashes to a church and pray for the dog to rest in peace. Hope you can get out of this soon. And this is a lesson for everyone. Power costs.
Nat said…
I just finished the ceremony. Waiting for stuff to happen, but so far nothing's happened.

Ah, well.

My dog won't stop barking though.
@Nat: I'm not sure if you're being serious or not, but PLEASE. DON'T. DO IT.
Unknown said…
Hi Saya, silence reader for long time here. I can't get enough for your blog, it's addictive you know. Related to this inugami, i know its part of a culture, but to know that i had 2 dogs that i really fond...it's just painful to see the method, cruel...it's really cruel. But in my country, there's a tribe that used to hunt dogs and actually eat it, kind of delicacy for them. So...it's part of culture that i cannot judge tho, it's beauty of the world.
Unknown said…
well,damage done,wished i found this a few years ago,paulo is probrably dead or insane,but at least i could prevent anyone else from commiting his mistake.

what saya advised is a sealing act,for example,in thai magic,in the creation of the nam prai oil,after the monk/arjan collect the chin oil from the sacrificed pregnant women,the oil on 7 different sacred places of worship,preferably where the point of the energy is the strongest,for strongest sealing to be achieved,ie,where buddha or jesus eyes met the ground,or a spot the wall,moslem,which are usually practiced in the state of kelantan where malay magic have fused with thai magic,place it under the mihrab.here is an example how its made

http://arjahnmuk.com/enhancements/8-nam-man-prai-oil

Once this is ready, the Nam Man Prai oil is put into a bottle and taken for the next empowerment ceremony to the shrine room of a temple. The Arjahn must look where the gaze of the main Buddha image in the shrine falls, and place the bottle of Nam Man Prai oil in the spot where Buddhas eyes are looking. The Kata for empowerment of Nam Man Prai oil are chanted into the bottle.

The Ceremony is repeated in 7 different shrines in 7 different temples.

placing it on sacred grounds will empower the spirit,by sealing it,but also empowers it.as it stuck on the energy current,and cant move away from the place,but it will also receive a continous supply of energy!the longer,the more powerful it will become.

burning it will bind it to its remains,dont believe me?look up kuman thong on wikipedia,its the spirit of a unborn baby,binded to it body,by burning it,in indian magic,the fire puja doesn't just use to bind two person to a wedding vow,but is used to bind spirits.

he must perform a ritual,to placate the spirit,for 49 day on the buried spot.then dug is and place it on a shrine *OUTSIDE HIS HOUSE*

this thing happened once,i hope saya will approve this comment so it will help other,as if no one tame the spirit,in the case someone unburied the dog,it will attack not just paulo,but innocent people.