How to write a w###igo?

[Stargazer31]

I want to write a comic, in which one of the villains is based off a w###igo. It is a starvation spirit that possesses people who have performed cannibalism, but it isn't called a w###igo.
Is this ok, or should I base it off a different creature, so I do not portray it wrongly?

[milejdyvan]

Ehm... Why are you censoring the word wendigo? And i'm sure you can use it, or you can use a different word if it is a fantasy setting, or you just don't want to connect to the real myth.

[Stargazer31]

It's supposed to be taboo to say the word. Also, thanks for the advice.

[milejdyvan]

Eh, really? I never heard of that lol XD

[CarltonIsaac]

Eh, really? I never heard of that lol XD

I concur. This creature has been a feature in popular literature, though not as much as the Yeti or Bigfoot.

Don't see any Taboo anywhere about it.

[Kelheor]

It's a mythological creature. If you are afraid someone will call you out, you can rename it and give it some other features that are not usually associated with a wendigo. We have a short story about wendigo, no one ever had any problems with it

[Stargazer31]

ok, thanks :). Just trying to be respectful.

[Siromany]

I'd suggest actually you seek out feedback from someone from the Algonquin tribe, there's a lot of different resources from them that talk about if it is or isn't okay. Most of the time the resounding answer is: no. It's usually misrepresented in media as well, as being a long creature with antlers and a skull. W*ndigos are depicted differently depending on the tribe. You can divorce your monster concept from it, as as long as you don't refer to it as one it can be fine. It's a very sensitive matter and you're on the right track on trying to figure out what is respectful.

[TAMAnnoying]

Look,

Someone somewhere has already written/drawn really hard core smutt with wendigos.

If your worried about “being respectful” you will be fine.

Trust me.

[DiegoPalacios]

Old mythology is on the public domain, so you don't need to worry about such issues. While some people may dislike a way of how a creature is portrayed, there are not such strict guidelines as long as the mythical creature is somewhat recognizable.

For example, while Nosferatu and Dracula are both vampires, they are both completely different.

Here is a link on approaches that give monsters different interpretations

Our Monsters Are Different - TV Tropes

Also, is not like real wendigos are gonna go and call you out or something...... (that could make some surreal and comical horror tho)

[Inspector_Spinda]

The Wendigo: Morality and Taboo in Native American Mythos

It is not literally taboo. It is not a swear word just represents negative things. Also I found no evidence the tribe @Siromany was talking about would have any issue. I doubt they would over something so trivial and otherwise there would probably be some article somewhere else about controversy in its depictions. But either way maybe consider drawing from the original Wendigo and not the Americanized one assuming the original fits the intent of yours story

[elyss]

I just want to say that off a better start than most my censoring it. Not about of people know that you aren't supposed to say it.

As for use, I honestly recommend giving it a different name. If you've done research, and I'm guessing you have based on your censoring the word, it's not something Native cultures are fond of people using. Keep all the stuff that interests you and name it something else entirely. I always recommend avoiding negative discourse whenever possible.

[O-1-D]

What makes mythology so interesting is that it can be tweaked and made new while also paying respects to what made the mythos so long-lasting in the first place. Like others, I would look further into the original mythos about the Wendigo rather than the mainstream portrayal of it. And it's completely viable to create a creature inspired by the Wendigo where you aren't under pressure to stay accurate.

For instance, in my story, one of the main characters is a Wulver; a creature of celtic mythology. Traditionally it is portrayed as a man with a wolf's head who is docile unless provoked and can be found fishing and will sometimes put baskets of fish on the doorsteps/windowsills of less fortunate people. In my version the Wulver is much more beast like, she's designed almost like a bear/wolf hybrid. But she retains the same behaviour of being calm unless pushed and she leaves fish for less fortunate people. It's possible to strike a balance.

[Iris-Grimoire]

From what I've seen in previous drama before, the americanized Wendigo is kinda like turning a house-fairy into a bloodthirsty squirrel-dog; just misinterpreting the myth because ooo creepy aesthetic. It's cliche and it's disrespectful to a culture that very much still exists - IF you want the horror skull deer thingy, and not the actual spirit.

If it's the latter, then research research research, especially with the Indigenous origins, and truly do understand its meaning and usage. If not... Just call it a skull-deer or anything else, don't feed some bad cultural appropriation even more. Flight Rising changed theirs into something called a "pronghorn", and it might be too silly for your setting, but there's a start.

And for everyone going "oh it's been done wrong before you're fine" - it really isn't. Do better, don't imitate another writer's mistakes just because they got away with it. Geez, I shouldn't even be saying this. It's one thing to go "I've got an evil snake lady in my RPG, I'll call it a Lamia because it's pretty close to the myth" and another to go "I've got a sea monster, I'll call it a Iemanjá because no one from that culture can call me out on it".

[TAMAnnoying]

You need to read more mythologies cause you super don’t understand the idea of freedom of retelling stories for next gen which was a common thing even in the olden days before books where a mainstream thing,

Read why Set hates cabbages. Plz everyone had fan fics of their own mythos it was common and even a cool thing to do.

[DiegoPalacios]

From what I've seen in previous drama before, the americanized Wendigo is kinda like turning a house-fairy into a bloodthirsty squirrel-dog; just misinterpreting the myth because ooo creepy aesthetic.

Gotta agree the original mythos is way cooler and more interesting and opens to deeper themes like the darkest side of humanity.

But how much a creator will dig will depend on how much focus and relevance said creature will have in the story. If it is just a "monster of the week", they may not dig that much.

Of course, if they research, said monster could be more memorable.......

Just call it a skull-deer or anything else, don't feed some bad cultural appropriation even more.

One could argue that any vampire story is to some degree an appropiation of easthern european culture. That mindset would limit a lot on the creation of fiction.

Even in older examples are many different portrayals. Nosferatu and Dracula are completely different.

Also we have modern examples, like Twilight, in which vampires are not killed with the sun.....they......sparkle.

And while i thought it was silly and cheesy, i believe in the freedom of the different portrayals of creatures. (even if i dislike that specific example)

Some older portrayals may be considered clicheed, some modern ones may be weird or even silly, but it depends on it's excecution and on what fits in the story what will be the best approach and how much one sticks to the original mythos.

Different genres will take different approaches, for example, Horror, Romance and Comedy will prioritize different things.

[TAMAnnoying]

One could argue that any vampire story is to some degree an appropiation of easthern european culture. That mindset would limit a lot on the creation of fiction.

This would also disregard the common mindset for most mythos of easy access to pop culture. Everyone knows zeus as the more important brother of Poseidon and hades and we will igonore a lot of lore about the three because talking about Poseidon raping his daughters and zeus cheating on his wife with a dude then turning him into constellations to hide him- is kind of just a weird and usually uncomfortable thing for a lot of people to talk about, even tho it’s true and where common stores told during its time because >THATs just the kinds of stories people told back then<

People constantly ignore the fact that king author was not actually a real person - and even if he was he would be WELSH not british- but no one cares or would care about the diffrence because it’s already common knowlage and commonly accepted for him to be British.

[SpavVy]

As someone who comes from a Native background, I personally think there is no need to censor the word wendigo? I listen to scary story podcasts as inspiration while I do my work and many of these 'supposedly true" stories come from people who are native and they don't censor the word wendigo or skinwalker.

As for the writing part I say go for it.

[Iris-Grimoire]

There's a degree of how important a supernatural creature is to a culture though. Some are just Things You Watch Out For like classic vampires, or represent the Other like some types of giant, or explaining natural phenomena, or even extremely ingrained parts of their oral history where they used that to explain humans that acted out of line. Even going back to vampires, they range from something to keep people inside when night comes, to showing how some taboo action makes others depraved and monstrous - it depends on which name and culture you're taking it on.

This is why it's a bit meh to treat mythologies as a buffet or argue about "limiting creations" - most of greek mythology is fair game and had so many interpretations that doing it right is difficult(just look at Persephone's files on Theoi.com, good lord), but if you're going to make something so removed from the origin, why bother calling it something it isn't? Make a new species, make an OC, wikipedia or blogs aren't where creation ends.

[Inspector_Spinda]

Oh yeah really? That surprises me. I tried to research that, but didn't find anything about it. However a few people here seem to think that so i guess it's true.