14 Facts About Skinwalkers
1. A skinwalker is a person with the ability to transform into any different type of animal at will.
2. They are most frequently seen as coyotes, wolves, foxes, eagles, ow... View More14 Facts About Skinwalkers
1. A skinwalker is a person with the ability to transform into any different type of animal at will.
2. They are most frequently seen as coyotes, wolves, foxes, eagles, owls or crows.
3. Some can also “steal” the faces of different people, and could appear as someone you know.
4. If you accidentally lock eyes with a skinwalker, they can “absorb” themselves into your body and take control of your actions.
5. Rare skinwalkers can also have the ability to enchant the powder of corpses and use the substance as a poison dust on victims.
6. The legend of the skinwalkers originates from the Navajo, a southwestern Native American tribe.
7. In the Navajo language, the word “skinwalker” is yee naagloshii and translates to “he who walks on all fours.”
8. Skinwalkers have only entered the public discourse relatively recently compared to other phenomenon. In 1996, a team of scientists ventured to a Utah ranch to investigate a series of bizarre phenomenon.
9. If their other powers weren’t enough, Skinwalkers are also said to be able to run incredibly long distances — some say over 200 miles in one evening.
10. Skinwalkers have a tendency to hang around graveyards, and can dig up graves at an impossibly fast speed.
11. While they can take many forms, many people who see them today describe them as “hollowed out” dog-like animals.
12. Skinwalkers are said to recruit more skinwalkers themselves. There is some dispute in how this happens, but some say that there is an official ceremony and that skinwakers only take their form with a gathering of people and specific chants.
13. With all of their advantages, it is said that you can kill a skinwalker if you call them by their true (human) name.
14. Skinwalkers are most commonly encountered near native reservations, though they have been seen all over the United States (Skinwalker ranch in Utah is the most famous. Some people believe the “Rake” which is commonly encountered in the northeast is similar to a skinwalker.
The Skinwalker
There are many legends and myths surrounding the supernatural Skinwalker. This article refers to the Skinwalker as a medicine man as illustrated in the above 1832 George Catlin Skinwal... View MoreThe Skinwalker
There are many legends and myths surrounding the supernatural Skinwalker. This article refers to the Skinwalker as a medicine man as illustrated in the above 1832 George Catlin Skinwalker painting of a "Medicine Man, Performing His Mysteries over a Dying Man".
The tradition of the Medicine Man adopting the guise of an animal is believed to have started with the Great Plains Native Indians who used the skins of wolves as camouflage when hunting buffalo.
The culture and beliefs of Native American Indians were based on the doctrines of Animism, Ritualism, Fetishism and Shamanism. Taking these beliefs into consideration it made complete sense for Medicine Men, or Shamans, to include the guise of a Skinwalker to enhance the effect of Medicine Man's presence and power during rituals and ceremonies relating to Spiritual Healing, furthering the existing beliefs of the tribe.
Animism is a belief based on the spiritual idea that the universe, and all natural objects within the universe, have souls or spirits. It is believed that souls or spirits exist not only in humans but also in animals - refer to Animal Totems and Power Animals
Fetishism is a subordinate branch of animism encompassing the doctrine of spirits embodied, attached or conveying influence through, certain animals or material objects
Shamanism encompasses a range of beliefs and practices regarding communication with the spiritual world in which a religious leader, like a Shaman or Medicine Man, enters supernatural realms or dimensions to obtain solutions to problems afflicting the community including sickness. His role as a healer was an important element of the role of the Medicine Man and enhanced by his mysterious regalia including the Skinwalker costume
Skinwalker performing his mysteries over a dying man was painted by George Catlin in 1832. The Medicine Man, or Shaman, belonged to the Blackfoot tribe. The dominant impression of the Skinwalker is the bear skin that covers his body. However, this Skinwalker regalia contained many, many other items and these were described by George Catlin in his book entitled 'Letter and Notes on the Manners, Customs and conditions of North American Indians'. His description provides an insight into the rituals adopted by the Medicine Man Skinwalker and an idea of the effect he would have had on onlookers.
To set the scene of the Skinwalker story, belligerent Cree and Blackfoot Indians had gone to a fort in order to trade goods, staying in encampments outside the fort. As trading grew to a close a Cree Indian shot a Blackfoot chief - two musket bullets went through the center of his body. There was a skirmish, the Cree fled and the Blackfoot chief was lying on the ground in the agonies of death. The Blackfoot Medicine Man was called to perform a medicine or mystery ritual.
Several hundred Indians and traders were assembled near and around the dying man
An announcement was made that the Skinwalker Medicine Man was coming
Spectators were required to form a circle around the dying man leaving a space 30 feet in diameter around the man and free room for the Skinwalker to pass without touching anyone
His arrival was announced and a deathly hush fell over the spectators, nothing could be heard except the tinkling of the rattles on the Skinwalkers magical costume as he slowly moved through the avenue left for him
The Medicine Man Skinwalker entered the ring with his body in a crouching position imitating the stride of a bear making grunting and growling noises
His body was entirely covered with the skin of a yellow bear - his own head was inside the head of the bear which served as a mask
The huge claws of the bear dangled from his wrists and ankles
In one hand the Skinwalker shook a frightful rattle
In his other hand he brandished his medicine spear or magic wand
He made a rattling din and discord and made wild, startling jumps and leaps
To this the Skinwalker added the appalling grunts, growls and snarls of the grizzly bear and made guttural incantations to the Good and Bad spirits on behalf of the dying man who was rolling and groaning on the ground
As the dying man was moving around in agony the Skinwalker was dancing around him, jumping over him, pawing him and rolling him around in every direction
This ritual continued for over half an hour when the man died
The Skinwalker Medicine Man returned to his tepee and packed away his Skinwalker regalia
The Medicine Man was always paid for his ministries to the sick. If the patient died it was the will of the Great Spirit. If a person lived the Medicine Man Skinwalker gained the estimation of the tribe and great celebrity
The Costume of the Skinwalker
The Skinwalker costume is one of the greatest curiosities. A strange, mystical medley and mixture of gruesome objects from the animal and vegetable kingdoms.
Attached to the grizzly bear skin of the Skinwalker costume are the skins of many other animals - some had deformities which made them great medicine
There are skins of frogs, bats and snakes
Beaks, toes and tails of birds
Hoofs of deer and goats
Tips and tails of almost everything that flies, swims or runs
How the North Wind Lost His Hair
The howling old north wind is afraid to come to the country around the Gulf of Mexico. Only now and then does this cold fellow dare to come into the south, and when h... View MoreHow the North Wind Lost His Hair
The howling old north wind is afraid to come to the country around the Gulf of Mexico. Only now and then does this cold fellow dare to come into the south, and when he does he does not stay long. He is afraid of the strong young south wind. Once the two winds had a great fight. There are still signs of that fight in the southern woods. The Natchez and the Tejas Indians, who lived along the Gulf, had a story to tell about the north and the south winds and why the moss that grows in the trees is a sign of their fight.
The two winds hated each other. The
north wind was a strong, fierce old man with long, thick, gray hair. When he came into the southern woods, where the south wind lived, he would rush around blowing cold out of his mouth. His gray hair would fly behind him like a dark cloud. Nobody liked the old north wind. The Indians shivered in their tents and the flowers closed up and died when he came around. But everybody liked the warm young south wind, for he lived there. The flowers always opened up when he touched them with his soft hands and breathed upon their buds. The Indians would roam through the woods when he was with them.
From time to time the north wind and the south wind would grow angry with
each other. The old north wind would come down out of his country where he belonged and try to drive the south wind away from his home along the Gulf. Sometimes he would bring his blanket of snow with him and stay for weeks. When the south wind would try to drive him out of the woods and send him home again the north wind would puff up his red cheeks and blow cold air around, and his long gray hair would fly over his head.
One spring the old north wind came south and would not go away. He stayed for many weeks after the flowers should have been coming out and the birds should have been building their nests. It was so cold the leaves would not come out on the bare limbs of the trees. June came, but still the Gulf country looked as it looked during the winter months. The north wind kept blowing the south wind out over the Gulf, and because of this the spring weather would not come.
Finally the young south wind became tired of staying over the Gulf so long. He made up his mind to gather all his power and to enter into a great fight with the north wind that had driven him from his home. Filling his lungs with all the air he could hold, the south wind rushed across the water toward the land. He hit the north wind a mighty blow. When the two winds locked themselves in each other's arms and began howling in each other's faces the Indians ran into
their tents, thinking the Storm God was riding over their heads on his thunder bird that breathed out the lightning. The fighting winds knocked around the clouds in the sky and tore them to pieces as they fought. They pulled up trees; they caused great waves to dash on the beach, they whirled birds around in the air, they tore up the snow that lay on the ground. They ran through the trees, they rolled on the earth and they clawed and shrieked.
At last the young south wind began to get the better of the old north wind. The old fellow was out of breath, and because he was out of breath he lost his power. Then the south wind wrapped his arms in the north wind's long gray hair and began whirling him round and round over his head. He whirled him faster and faster. A strange thing happened. Part of the north wind's gray hair broke loose, and he flew howling through the air.
There stood the young south wind with his strong arms full of hair. He was so happy that he began dancing around and swinging the north wind's hair over the trees. The birds sang and the Indians shouted, for they were glad the south wind had come home again. As the south wind danced and whirled around he let the hair loose, and it fell all over the trees, and where it fell it took root. There it grew and it still grows today. It is called Spanish moss. It hangs from the magnolia, oak, gum, and other trees in long, gray beards that sometimes dip in the streams.
The north wind does not stay in the south any more. When he sees the moss he remembers that fight with the south wind and he leaves as fast as he can.
Juanita, Marianita, The Cat, and the Bear
O-way-way-ham-by-yoh, the meaning of which you already know, an Indian man and woman had two daughters, Juanita and Marianita. Juanita was older than Marian... View MoreJuanita, Marianita, The Cat, and the Bear
O-way-way-ham-by-yoh, the meaning of which you already know, an Indian man and woman had two daughters, Juanita and Marianita. Juanita was older than Marianita, so whenever their father and mother went to a fiesta – that is, a kind of picnic and dance – they always took Juanita and left Marianita at home with the cat.
One day the father and mother and Juanita went to fiesta to stay all day and all night. That afternoon when Marianita was cutting up meat to make a stew for her supper, the cat sat down beside her and begged for some of the meat. She gave him some; then she got him some water; she stroked his fur; and she did all sorts of nice things for him.Cats
That evening when it began to grow dark Marianita was afraid; for there was no one in the house with her, you know, but the cat.
“Don’t be afraid,” said the cat, “You fasten the door and the windows tight and I will take care of you.”
So Marianita locked the door and fastened the windows.
That night a bear came to the door and knocked. The cat peeped out through a crack to see who was knocking. He saw the bear – for cats can see at night – so he called out: “I am sorry we cannot open the door for you, Bear-man, but we are busy making a fire.”
The bear waited a while and then knocked again. But the cat said, “We are making bread now, so we cannot open the door.”
The bear waited and knocked a third time. “Open the door. I have presents for you.” This time the cat called, “I am sorry but we are baking the bread and cannot open the door.”
The bear grew tired of waiting. He tried to break the door down but it was too strong so he started away. Just then the cat opened the door and jumped out upon the bear’s back. It startled the bear so, that he dropped the bundle of presents. The bundle fell open and the most beautiful jewelry and dresses and fine things that Marianita had ever seen fell out.
The bear was so frightened that he ran away and Marianita went out and gathered up all of the beautiful things. She dressed the cat up in a pretty little dress and some beaded shoes, that just fitted him. Then she dressed herself in a new dress and put on all of the jewels.
When the father, mother and Juanita came home next morning, the cat ran out to meet them. They were surprised to see his dress and shoes and wondered what had happened. He told them, but they could not understand him. He told them again and they still did not understand, so they went into the house in a hurry to see what the cat meant. They were so pleased to see Marianita looking so fine that they hugged her up tight.Cats
“Where did you get these lovely things?” And Marianita told them all about the bear.
The next time the Indians had a fiesta, Juanita let Marianita go with their father and mother. She wanted to stay at home, so that the bear could bring her some pretty things.
That afternoon, when Juanita was cutting up meat for her stew, the cat sat beside her and begged for some of the meat; but Juanita would not give him any. Instead she struck at the cat with her knife and treated him mean.
The cat climbed up on the window and went to sleep. When it grew dark and Juanita began to feel afraid at being all alone, the cat pretended to still be asleep. He did not say anything to her about the door and windows and Juanita did not think to fasten them.
That night when the bear came to knock on the door, he found the door unlocked, so he walked right into the house. Juanita thought he had come to bring her some fine clothes, so she said, “Good-evening, Bear-man, won’t you have a seat?” and the bear sat down beside her.
“What makes your feet so big, Bear-man?”
“To walk the faster, little one.”
“Well, what makes your nose so long?”
“To scent the keener, little girl.”
“And what makes your ears so big?”
“To hear the better, my dear.”
“What makes your eyes so bright?”
“To see the farther.”
“What makes your teeth so long?”
“To eat you up.”
And the bear ran away with Juanita to eat her up.
But when the cat saw how Marianita grieved for her sister, he ran to the Bear’s den; jumped on the back of the Bear’s head; scratched out his eyes and took Juanita back home again.Cats
The Awa'uq Massacre or Refuge Rock Massacre, or, more recently, as the Wounded Knee of Alaska, was an attack and massacre of Koniag Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) people in April 1784 at Refuge Rock near Kodiak Is... View MoreThe Awa'uq Massacre or Refuge Rock Massacre, or, more recently, as the Wounded Knee of Alaska, was an attack and massacre of Koniag Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) people in April 1784 at Refuge Rock near Kodiak Island by Russian fur trader Grigory Shelekhov and 130 armed Russian men and cannoneers of his Shelikhov-Golikov Company.
Awa'uq Massacre
Part of the Russian colonization of the Americas and the American Indian Wars
Grigory Shelikhov's settlement is depicted in this 1802 lithograph. Three Saints was founded in 1784 just across the strait from Sitkalidak Island.
Grigory Shelikhov's settlement is depicted in this 1802 lithograph. Three Saints was founded in 1784 just across the strait from Sitkalidak Island.
Date
14 August 1784
Location
Sitkalidak Island, Alaska, Russian America
57°06′22″N 153°05′00″W
Since 1775 Shelekhov had been trading with Alaska Natives in the Kuril and Aleutian islands of present-day Alaska. In April 1784 he returned to found a settlement on Kodiak Island and the coast of the mainland. The people occupying the area initially resisted, and fled to the secluded stack island Refuge Rock (Awa'uq in Alutiiq language, approximate meaning 'where one becomes numb') of Partition Cove on Sitkalidak Island. It was across Old Harbor in the Kodiak Archipelago.
The Russian promyshlennikis attacked the people on the island by shooting guns and cannons, slaughtering an estimated 200 to 500 men, women and children on Refuge Rock. Some sources state the number killed was as many as 2,000, or 3,000 persons. Following the attack of Awa'uq, Shelikhov claimed to have captured over 1,000 people, detaining some 400 as hostages, including children. The Russians suffered no casualties.
This massacre was an isolated incident, but the violence and taking of hostages resulted in the Alutiiq becoming completely subjugated by Russian traders thereafter. Qaspeq (literally: "kuspuk"), was an Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) who had been taken as a child as a hostage from Kodiak; he was raised in servitude by the Russians in the Aleutians. Having learned Russian, he became an interpreter for them with the Alutiiq. Qaspeq had once betrayed the location of a refuge island just offshore of Unalaska Island.
More than five decades after the massacre, Arsenti Aminak, an old Sugpiaq man who had survived the massacre, reported his account of these events to Henrik Johan Holmberg (sometimes known as Heinrich Johann) (1818–1864), a Finnish naturalist and ethnographer. Holmberg was collecting data for the Russian governor of Alaska.
Aminak said:
The Russians went to the settlement and carried out a terrible blood bath. Only a few [people] were able to flee to Angyahtalek in baidarkas; 300 Koniags were shot by the Russians. This happened in April. When our people revisited the place in the summer the stench of the corpses lying on the shore polluted the air so badly that none could stay there, and since then the island has been uninhabited. After this every chief had to surrender his children as hostages; I was saved only by my father's begging and many sea otter pelts.
The years 1784–1818 were called the "darkest period of Sugpiaq history," as the Russians treated the people badly. They also suffered high mortality from infectious diseases unwittingly introduced by the Russians. In 1818 there was a change in the management of what was then known as the Russian-American Company, referring to Russians operating in North America
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just kidding. (or am I?) But on a serious note, Magick is real. It's all around us...a little bit like the 'Force'. Some have mastery of the Four Elements...it's the mastery of the Fifth that eludes us.
