does rabies play a role in wardi perceptions of dogs?
Mentioned this briefly in another post, but rabid animals are interpreted as being animals that have killed and/or eaten a person and are now possessed by their ghost (who has been prevented from moving on to the afterlife through their corpse's desecration and consumption, and twisted into a very powerful evil spirit). Being bitten by one may pass the spirit on to the bite victim.
The animal, whose body has been ravaged by the physical disease enabled by possession, soon dies, and the bite victim is now possessed by the same evil spirit (which has taken on traits of their host animal via inhabiting its body). Victims of bites who start exhibiting symptoms will VERY often commit suicide or be killed by others, to the point that human deaths directly due to rabies running its full course is relatively rare- one who is fully possessed by an evil spirit has their afterlife in jeopardy and will likely be trapped as a wandering ghost under the spirit's control, and killing oneself before the possession fully takes hold will be preferable to most. It's better than a tormented eternity as a soul trapped in the world of a living, deprived of rest among loved ones and God's full domain in the afterlife.
Feral dogs are by far the most frequently encountered rabid animals and are uniquely associated with this type of possession, sometimes to the point that most other rabid animals encountered are assumed to have themselves been bitten by feral dogs (ie a beloved and well bred hunting dog who becomes rabid certainly has not eaten human flesh, so must have been bitten by a feral dog (which, in practice, is often correct)),
This heavily reinforces cultural disdain for feral dogs as all-around unlikable, unclean, diseased animals, and bites on humans (whether actually by a rabid animal or not) will often be responded to by mass localized culls. In villages, towns, and small cities, this is usually done by members of the public, but most major cities have specially devoted dog hunters who respond to reports of possible rabid animals, other problem dogs, and potential man-dogs (see next paragraph). In Godsmouth, this position is of enough importance that a certified dog hunter will be issued their own firearm, which they can legally carry while out on culls.
This is also the source of regional lycanthrope-esque folklore- someone who becomes fully possessed and is strong enough to fight off the physical disease associated will now become completely under the control of a doglike evil spirit and behave like a vicious wild dog, becoming a man-dog. (In reality, there is no rabies vaccine here and someone who has been bitten by a rabid animal has virtually no chance of survival unless they are lucky enough to avoid the infection to begin with).
Most variants of the folklore include that the possessed human physically transforms into a dog (depending on folklore this is either permanent, or the man-dog is human during the day and a dog at night). The man-dog then wanders at night, killing people and livestock as their possessing spirit compels them. Man-dogs do NOT spread their possession or create other man-dogs via bites, but are instead dangerous as particularly violent and bloodthirsty beasts that kill at random and mutilate the bodies of their victims.
Man-dogs may mate with normal feral dogs. The resulting pups are mundane, but assumed to be unusually powerful and vicious. In theory they should be killed, but believed man-dog feral pups are sometimes adopted to be kept as guard dogs, to be used in combat, or for dogfighting.
Vagrants (especially those that are mentally ill or otherwise have difficulties with communication) unlucky enough to be caught up in a man-dog scare may be accused of being the beast in human daylight form, and become victims of mob violence. Actual dogs accused of being man-dogs are usually not rabid (a man-dog would have fought off the physical disease and not exhibit symptoms), but rather healthy and notably aggressive individuals, especially those known to have attacked or killed people. There are no surefire visual methods of identifying a man-dog, though a dog having particularly human-shaped eyes is compelling evidence.
Note my dog's relatively narrow, humanlike eyes, visible whites, and haunted, distant gaze. This may very well be a man-dog.
Once killed, a man-dog (whether in human form or dog form) should be buried in barren earth (which prevents spiritual contamination and 'traps' the spirit in the ground) and the ground should be consecrated by a priest to prevent any chances of the spirit wandering further. Anyone who has touched the body should undergo a full purification and blessing to remove any lingering attachments and impurities.
There are also (rarer) man-lions, man-wolves ('wolves' here are naturalized wild descendants of ancient domestic dogs), man-jackals, man-hyenas, man-king hyena, etc. An individual wild predator that is NOT rabid but shows an uncharacteristic propensity for killing and eating people is often assumed to be a possessed and transformed person. These wild variants are equally feared, but may garner a sort of terrified respect and awe that is not afforded to man-dogs.
This is especially the case for man-lions (given lions are highly venerated animals in this cultural sphere). They will be hunted and killed just the same as other assumed man-beasts, but their bodies may instead be cremated with the same full rites as a human- a proper funeral as an act of respect for the slain foe may cause the man-lion spirit to be soothed and to favor its killers, and remain as a localized guardian, patrolling its territory like a lion and fighting off malicious spirits and living man-beasts. This specific treatment is unique to lions, as they are the only potential man-eaters widely held as sacred, and this sacred quality may allow the evil of their possessing spirit to be tempered and shifted into benevolence via proper respect.
