What is Navajo Witchcraft?

The Four "Ways" of Navajo Witchcraft

The Dine (Navajo) believe that there are natural places where powers for both good and evil are concentrated, and that those sacred powers can be harnessed for good (healing) or evil (harm). Navajo witches also believe that objects such as hair or personal items can be used for good or evil. Within Navajo spirituality, the supernatural and the physical worlds are tightly intertwined, so pieces of physical objects like bone, hair or other items hold strong supernatural properties that can be manipulated. For the most part, only a very thin line separates the living from the dead, the good from the evil, and the medicine man from the Navajo witch.

In his 1944 book Navajo Witchcraft, anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn lists the four "Ways" of the Navajo witch as follows.

• Witchery Way focuses on corpses in all of their rituals and ceremonies.
• Sorcery Way involves burying a victims' personal objects or body parts (like hair) during ceremonies.
• Wizardry Way focuses on injecting foreign objects such as poison or cursed darts into the victim.
• Frenzy Way is focused on using charms that influence the emotional or mental state of others.

The Skinwalker

The "Witchery Way" is the best known form of Navajo witchcraft. Those who practice the Witchery Way, like all Navajo traditions, learn it from the elders of their family. Very little is actually known about those who practice the Witchery way, as very few Navajo are actually willing to speak about it. Every form of this witchcraft is based on death, and the Witchery way focuses on corpses. Although little is known about Navajo witches, witnesses have reported that they gather in caves or any secluded place where they go into "animal form". During these gatherings, they perform ceremonies similar to other Navajo ceremonies that involve rituals, dance and sand-painting. However, they perform these ceremonies with some dark alterations, such as using ash instead of sand, or modifying other Navajo rituals in "corrupted" ways. These gatherings are also rumored to include necrophilia and cannibalism.

"Skinwalkers" are the famous Navajo witches who follow the Witchery way and transform into animal form in order to take advantage of the unique characteristics and special powers of those animals. The Skinwalker is the most famous Navajo witch throughout western culture, due to recent books and movies. The accuracy and truth of these stories can only be judged by the Navajo who live as neighbors to the real world Skinwalkers in Navajo Nation. Witness sightings of strange creatures, and odd phenomenon, are common throughout this part of the country.

Some interesting witness accounts of real life skinwalkers are provided below:

• James Donahue published an article that describes a case where anthropologist Clyde Klukhohn reports an eerie event where he and his wife spotted a strange wolf standing in the yard. After disappearing, the couple learned that the wolf had left small female human footprints.
• John Salter III also reported that during the time he and his family lived in the Navajo nation in 1980, they were visited and spooked by practicing Skinwalkers.
• In 1996, an organization of scientists called NIDS decided to scientifically investigate the many outrageous claims reported at the "Skinwalker Ranch," and this investigation is outlined by reporter George Knapp and scientist Colm Kelleher in the book Hunt for Skinwalker. The book relates a number of witness accounts of real Skinwalker phenomenon that reflect aspects of the Witchery way.