Skinwalkers

Skinwalkers

                In many different cultures around the world the idea of a shape shifter appears. For many of those it is a source of fear. These are creatures like the werewolf turning from man to beast or the vampire who can turn into bat and sometimes a wolf. While these creatures are meant to be scary they people still talk about them and joke about them. This is not the case with the Skinwalkers in Native American mythology. Just knowing about them and fearing them gives them power.

                Yee Naaldlooshii or Naagloshii are practitioners of The Witching Way or ’ánt’įįhnii. Their brand of magic is considered to be a truly evil thing breaking cultural taboos to attain power. Naagloshii have the power to transform at will into any creature they choose to suit their needs. One version of the legend states that they transform into perfect versions of the creatures except for the eyes. While another version states that they become a twisted caricature of what it should be. In order to transform into something the Skinwalker needs to have collected a pelt from the creature. The majority of legends focus on the transformation into various types of predators. Due to this the Navajo abstain the use of most predator pelts in most of their ceremonies. Another key power of the Skinwalker is the ability to take on the shape of a person. Not as in their own form, but to actually take the body of another. In order to do this they meet the eyes of the person and mentally push their soul out and then inhabit the empty shell.

                On top of its ability to transform from one creature to the next it is also sorcerer or evil medicine man of great power. While medicine men used their powers to heal and use nature as a tool, the Skinwalker is the antithesis. They place curses on people, and perform a perverted sing that acts as an anti-heal. They can make or mimic the sound of anything in existence. They use this power to lead people off by themselves before they attack them, often using the sound of a crying baby to lure women out into the open. They also have no qualms about attacking groups. They will burst into a house and attack all those inside. They will use charms such as bone beads, that they will launch at people to be secretly lodged under the skin. These charms will cause fear to well up in the recipient. Skinwalkers feed not only on the physical flesh of those they attack but on the fear of all. So anyone anywhere who is afraid of a Skinwalker is feeding it and giving it strength. That is part of the true terror that they instill. That and the fact that openly speaking about it may bring its attention upon you.

                Because of these fears the are spoken about only seldomly by those who believe and only in whispers during full day light. Few other creatures throughout history have instilled this kind of fear. Most things are feared but dismissed by many as flights of fancy, while the western tribes that believe this are in deadly earnest. Because of how much fear they cause in those who do believe, I wonder how they feel about these Witches appearing on Television and books. Now more people in the world know about their existence. But does it grant power to the Skinwalker the way it does when people truly fear it?