Skinwalkers? (Farmington, Navajo, Thoreau: house, to live in, moving to)

[clairz]

There was a comment made on another thread--Probably Moving to Outskirts of Thoreau...--about the possibility of encountering skinwalkers at night.

What can you tell me about skinwalkers, and the beliefs and stories surrounding them?

~clairz

[jecc]

You can start here for some general info. Then see if you can find a recording of this song and follow along with the words. The whole album is beautiful and haunting and may open your mind to more of this kind of energy.

[songinthewind7]

Is this like a shapeshifter?

[jecc]

Yes.

[john4355]

I grew up near the res, and most Navajos I knew had experiences with skinwalkers (either they or a family member had). The fact that there are witches who have to murder an immediate family member is pretty freaky in and of itself.

[songinthewind7]

Now I understand why I have the desire to howl like a wolf.

[Idunn]

An entertaining novel and a good overview of skinwalkers is Tony Hillerman's 'Skinwalkers:'
Amazon.com: Skinwalkers (Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Novels): Tony Hillerman: Books

Briefly, skinwalkers are thought by the Navajo to be witches that can shift their shape to mimic such animals as coyotes.

My understanding that such shifts are possible. Although by the time anyone had obtained such skill unlikely they would be as concerned with the affairs of humans. Many Navajo apparently feel differently, and much myth and legend involved in such things. People with such skill would not be confined to the American Southwest.

[tecpatl]

With all due respect to the Dine' and their ancient beliefs, and all people who believe in spirit beings, angels, werewolves, ghosts, poltergeists or weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, one has to sincerely believe such things exist in order to encounter them. That encounter, then, can be as real and true as the sun rising in the East.
Jesus doesn't save the atheist family by waking them when the house catches fire in the middle of the night, the dog does. Hey, wait....d-o-g...g-o-......hmmmmm
Without the belief I don't think skinwalkers or similar beings are a real threat issue in New Mexico, though everybody loves a ghost story, or a Tony Hillerman book.

[desert sun]

I use to live in Farmington and worked with alot of Navajo women,they tried to teach me alot about their culture and many of them have known someone that has encounterd a skinwalker or died from one.

I was told that they take the skin of an animal and wear it and they are basically withces, they kill you by making you sick or by another animal or snake bite. They can appear out of nowhere and run at fast speeds like an animal.

[sjbasin]

Originally Posted by tecpatl

or weapons of mass destruction in Iraq

100 more days.
100 more days.
100 more days.