In many Native American legends, a hiker (or skinwalker) is someone with the supernatural ability to transform into any creature they desire. To change, legends sometimes require walkers to wear animal skins. In most cases, this type of skin is not used in modern times as it is a sure sign that they are skinners. This is a common theme found in all cultures of the world and what anthropologists call metamorphosis. Today, these creatures are seen in interesting ways.
Many Native Americans dislike the appearance of Hikers in the modern media due to the superstition that mentioning them can cause them to follow the person mentioning them. That is also why they do not like to talk about this issue with non-native speakers.
Navajo Skinwalker
The Navajo have some of the most well-documented, and possibly the most fascinating, skinwalker legends.
People who have gained supernatural power by breaching a cultural taboo are the 'ánt'hnii (practitioners of witchery). A person is supposed to have the power to become a yee naaldlooshii after undergoing 'ánt'hnii initiation (which means "with it, he goes on all fours" in the Navajo language). This is accomplished through a dance/song ceremony used to curse rather than heal. Men are more typically initiated than women, even though both can become 'ánt'hnii. Only childless women are regarded to be capable of becoming witches. A witch is not always a skinwalker, but a skinwalker is always a witch.
People who have gained the highest rank are called clizyati, which signifies pure evil in certain accounts. This can be accomplished by murdering a close blood relative, engaging in incest, necrophilia, or engaging in other culturally taboo and terrible behaviors. After performing one or more of these actions, they are considered to lose their humanity and become fully initiated in the practice of witchcraft.
Although a skinwalker is most often seen as a coyote, wolf, fox, eagle, owl, or crow, the Yee Naaldlooshii is claimed to have the ability to take the form of any animal they want, depending on what talents are required. A skinwalker, for example, might take on the appearance of a bird to travel more quickly in pursuit, escape, or other situations.
Skin-walkers, according to certain Navajo, can steal a person's face. When they are in animal form, skinwalkers are thought to be white. This is how most people tell the difference between a skinwalker in animal form and a regular animal. If you ever lock eyes with a skinwalker, the Navajo believe they can absorb themselves into your body. Alternatively, some Navajos believe that making eye contact with a skinwalker causes your body to freeze in dread, which the skinwalker then uses to gain power and energy. Like many other malevolent stories, skinwalkers gain power by exploiting a victim's fear. Saying "Skin-walker" out loud is thought to lure them to you as if you've been marked.
Skinwalkers are usually exceedingly hairy in their human form and frequently wear animal pelts. Some Navajos describe them as a perfect representation of the animal in the issue. The skin could simply be a mask, as masks are the only garments worn in the initiation ritual. Many attempts have been undertaken to seek and kill skinwalkers since they are shunned and reviled. However, they are rarely successful. When a skinwalker is traced down, it usually leads to the tracker's house or someone he knows.
According to European werewolf lore, a human form will maintain any injuries suffered while in animal form, which is sometimes a useful way to identify a skinwalker hidden in your community. It is stated that if a Navajo wanted to know who was behind the skinwalker, they had to say the complete name, and that person would either fall sick or die three days later for the harm they had done. It was also thought that shooting a skinwalker in animal form in the neck with bullets dipped in white ash would kill it.
Some think skinwalkers can read people's minds. In addition, regardless of their current shape, they can create any human or animal noise they want. A skinwalker, like vampires, might imitate the voice of a relative or the cries of an infant to entice victims out of their houses.
Even in human shape, the yee naaldlooshi can be distinguished from other humans because their eyes sparkle like an animal's, sometimes even more so. They can be identified in animal form by moving stiffly and awkwardly or acting abnormally.
Skinwalkers utilize spells and charms to make their victims fearful and controllable. Human bone shards fired from blowguns, which can poison and kill the unfortunate victim, and human bone dust, which can induce paralysis and heart failure, are among the tools at their disposal. Skinwalkers have been known to find traces of their victims' hair and wrap it around a pot shard before putting it in a tarantula hole. The skinwalker has been known to employ live rattlesnakes as charms. A skinwalker might use personal items in ceremonial rites against the person they are doing evil to.
To poison victims, skinwalkers utilize a substance called corpse dust, also known as corpse poison, corpse powder, and án't'i. Ground infant bones, particularly those from the fingertips and back of the head, make up corpse dust, often found in twins. The yee naaldlooshi blow it into their victims' faces or down the victims' house chimney. The victim's tongue enlarges and blackens shortly after inhaling the dust. They have convulsions and die soon after.
Medicine men were thought to be so in sync with nature's flow that they would frequently adopt the form of a sacred 'totem animal.' Totem animals are gentle, loving animals who have become so important to humans that they are worshipped through dances, music, and artwork. Medicine men are not to be confused with yee naaldlooshi; whereas a skinwalker wants to hurt humans, lay curses, and practice evil wherever feasible, medicine men practice healing, blessings, and the removal of curses.
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