or nahual
In some Mesoamerican religions , a personal guardian spirit that resides in an animal.
The person who wishes to find his nagual goes to sleep in an isolated spot, and the animal that appears in a dream or that confronts him when he awakens will thereafter be his guardian spirit. Many modern Mesoamerican Indians believe that the first creature to cross over the ashes spread before a newborn baby becomes the child's nagual. In some areas, nagual refers to the animal into which men with magical powers can transform themselves to do evil.