Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

culture, a skin-walker ( nv, yee naaldlooshii) is a type of harmful

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

who has the ability to

turn into "Turn Into" is the second single that released from '' Show Your Bones'', the second LP by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Track listing #"Turn Into" #"Turn Into" (Nick Zinner remix) #"Maps A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships bet ...

, possess, or disguise themselves as an animal. The term is never used for healers.

Background

In the

Navajo language Navajo or Navaho (; Navajo: or ) is a Southern Athabaskan language of the Na-Dené family, through which it is related to languages spoken across the western areas of North America. Navajo is spoken primarily in the Southwestern United States ...

, ' translates to "by means of it, it goes on all fours".Wall, Leon and William Morgan, ''Navajo–English Dictionary''. Hippocrene Books, New York, 1998. . While perhaps the most common variety seen in horror fiction by non-Navajo people, the ' is one of several varieties of skin-walkers in Navajo culture; specifically, they are a type of '. Navajo witches, including skin-walkers, represent the antithesis of Navajo cultural values. While community healers and cultural workers are known as

medicine men A medicine man is a traditional healer and spiritual leader among the indigenous people of the Americas. Medicine Man or The Medicine Man may also refer to: Films * ''The Medicine Man'' (1917 film), an American silent film directed by Clifford S ...

and women, or by other positive, nurturing terms in the local, indigenous language, witches are seen as evil, performing twisted ceremonies and manipulating magic in a perversion of the good works medicine people traditionally perform. In order to practice their good works, traditional healers learn about both good and evil magic. Most can handle the responsibility, but some people can become corrupt and choose to become witches.Kluckhohn, C. (1944). ''Navaho Witchcraft''. Boston: Beacon Press. The legend of the skin-walkers is not well understood outside of Navajo culture, both due to reluctance to discuss the subject with outsiders,Hampton, Carol M.
Book Review: ''Some Kind of Power: Navajo Children's Skinwalker Narratives''
in ''Western Historical Quarterly''. 1 July 1986. Accessed 17 Nov. 2016. as well as those from outside the culture lacking the lived experience Native commentators feel is needed to understand the lore. Traditional Navajo people are reluctant to reveal skin-walker lore to non-Navajos, or to discuss it at all among those they do not trust.

Adrienne Keene Adrienne J. Keene (born 20 October 1985) is a Native American academic, writer, and activist. A member of the Cherokee Nation, she is the founder of Native Appropriations, a blog on contemporary Indigenous issues analyzing the way that indigenou ...

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation (Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It ...

activist and founder of the blog

Native Appropriations Native Appropriations is a blog that critically discusses the ways that Indigenous people are depicted in mainstream, Euro-American dominated, culture. Active since 2010, the website is created and maintained by Cherokee Nation scholar Adrienne ...

, has written in response to non-Navajos incorporating the legends into their writing (and specifically the impact when

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and Philanthropy, philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to ...

did so) that when this is done, "we as Native people are now opened up to a barrage of questions about these beliefs and traditions...but these are not things that need or should be discussed by outsiders. At all. I'm sorry if that seems 'unfair', but that's how our cultures survive."Keene, Dr. Adrienne,
Magic in North America Part 1: Ugh.
at ''

'', 8 March 2016. Accessed 9 April 2016.

Legend

Animals associated with witchcraft usually include tricksters such as the

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

; however, it may include other creatures, usually those associated with death or bad omens. They might also possess living animals or people and walk around in their bodies.Carter, J. (2010, October 28). The Cowboy and the Skinwalker. ''Ruidoso News''.Teller, J. & Blackwater, N. (1999). ''The Navajo Skinwalker, Witchcraft, and Related Phenomena'' (1st Edition ed.). Chinle, AZ: Infinity Horn Publishing.Brady, M. K. &

Toelken, B. John Barre Toelken (June 15, 1935 – November 9, 2018) was an award-winning American folklorist, noted for his study of Native American material and oral traditions. Early life and education Barre Toelken was born in Enfield, Massachusetts, to ...

(1984). ''Some Kind of Power: Navajo Children's Skinwalker Narratives''. Salt Lake City, UT: University of Utah Press. Skin-walkers may be male or female. Skin-walker stories told among Navajo children may be complete life and death struggles that end in either skin-walker or Navajo killing the other, or partial encounter stories that end in a stalemate. Encounter stories may be composed as Navajo victory stories, with the skin-walkers approaching a

hogan A hogan ( or ; from Navajo ' ) is the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house. A hogan can be round, cone-shaped, multi-sided, or squ ...

and being scared away. Non-Native interpretations of skin-walker stories typically take the form of partial encounter stories on the road, where the protagonist is temporarily vulnerable, but then escapes from the skin-walker in a way not traditionally seen in Navajo stories.Brunvand, J. H. (2012). Native American Contemporary Legends. In J. H. Brunvand, ''Encyclopedia of Urban Legends'' (2nd Edition ed.). Santa Barbara, California, United States of America.Watson, C. (1996, August 11). "Breakfast with Skinwalkers". ''Star Tribune''. Sometimes Navajo children take European folk stories and substitute skin-walkers for generic killers like

The Hook The Hook, or The Hookman, is an urban legend about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attacking a couple in a parked car. In many versions of the story, the killer is typically portrayed as a faceless, silhouetted old man wearing a rai ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skin-Walker Legendary creatures of the indigenous peoples of North America Shapeshifting Therianthropy Supernatural legends American witchcraft Navajo mythology Native American demons Witchcraft in folklore and mythology

Background

Legend

See also

Notes