Skinwalkers
Making of a Skinwalker
"The world is steadfast because, through witchcraft and skinwalking, rain comes to the earth. Practitioners put ntł’iz—a mixture of sacred white shell, turquoise, abalone, and jet—near water seeps so clouds will form and rain will nurture the soil. There are also two powers—yishtłizh (brown), the ability to obtain wealth, and łibá (gray), a curse to inflict abject poverty. Skinwalkers have control over these forces and may wax rich while causing people around them to become beggars. The knowledge is 'a dangerous thing to handle, and you do not teach anyone that you do not know. In return for this knowledge, you must kill your mother or brother or sister' as part of the covenant."
- Robert S. McPherson in Dinéjí Na`nitin Chapter Three: Sacred Evil: The Dark Side of Life along the San Juan
Skinwalkers are a practitioners of Navajo witchcraft who use black magic in order to cause harm. These are witches who could have once been respected among their community as healers or guides, but turned to use their power for evil. A skinwalker no longer lives among their tribe and usually lives in a secluded location. To become a skinwalker the witch has to first kill a loved one from their immediate family. This deed gives the witch power in which they are able to practice more involved witchcraft. In the case of the skinwalker, the individual gains the power to transform into animals.
Abilities and Powers
Skinwalkers are able to shape-shift into animals. There are most likely to transform into predatory animals such as coyotes, wolves, bears, eagles, and more. The skinwalker wears the skin of the animal they are taking shape of, which is where the name skinwalker originates from. With the skins the skinwalker has the ability to shapeshift and harness not only the animal's shape, but also abilities. The Navajo name for skinwalker is yee naaldlooshii, which translates to "with it, he goes on all fours." In addition to their animal-like abilities the skinwalker's use of black magic gives them the ability to possess a human's body if eye contact is made.
According to legend the skinwalker is detectable through their eyes. A shape-shifted skinwalker in the skin of an animal is said to have eyes that are human-like. Alternately when the skinwalker is in human form, their eyes are animalistic.
In Navajo Society
Navajo sandpainting used in healing ritual
Skinwalkers are not tolerated among the Navajo. They are warned against and represent anti-Navajo values. Gaining power through killing a loved one in order to cause harm directly goes against Navajo belief and culture. In society skinwalkers are outcasts, looters, and evildoers.
In Mary Shepardson's Changes in Navajo Mortuary Practices and Beliefs, she quotes a Navajo woman speaking of the grave of a baby. She writes, "A woman said, 'There is always a danger that Skin Walkers [witches who wear coyote skins] will dig up the grave and steal the jewelry. They will restring necklaces so they won't be recognized'" (Shepardson, 386). Shepardson's article depicting changes in Navajo mortuary practices, depicts fear of the Skinwalker as a real part of everyday life. They are depicted as grave robbers who disturb even the burials of babies that are buried with jewlery.