ABSTRACT
In Mesoamerican culture, the doppelgänger is mainly embodied by the nagual (also nawal, nahual), which takes either of the following forms. First, it can appear as personal guardian spirit or protective alter ego assumed by various Middle American Indians to reside in an animal or, less frequently, in some other embodiment. Secondly, it can also be the animal double or guardian itself. There is finally the role of the sorcerer believed by many Middle American Indians to be capable of transforming himself into animal form (Merriam-Webster).
This chapter will analyze nagualism as a key component in the novel Hombres de Maíz [Corn Men, 1949], considered to be the masterpiece of Guatemalan author and Nobel Prize winner, Miguel Ángel Asturias. The novel presents the main conflict between indigenous people (men of maize or “hombres de maíz”) and the ruthless forces of imperialism and capitalism, which threaten the indigenous way of life and of the Indians themselves. The discussion will center on the different types of transmutations that take place in the novel, including transformation as spell (the curse of wandering women), transformation as an act of revenge against ladinos and foreigners, and transformation as a source of freedom and empowerment for the Indians through nagualism. The main premise behind this study is that nagualism in the novel can be perceived as a powerful mechanism of resistance in the struggle of a society emerging from colonial violence. In this society Indians, Ladinos, and foreigners constantly engage in intense conflicts, literally embodied by the transmutations and nagualism exhibited by its various characters. Events in the novel, most notably those involving mutations, echo anxieties present in works labeled as Imperial Gothic, such as Heart of Darkness and The Island of Dr. Moreau. Despite different historical and cultural contexts, Hombres de Maíz points to similar concerns about the struggle of power between colonized and colonizers. The magical transformations in the novel are both a symptom and a coping mechanism that arise from the colonial arena and its tragic aftermath.
