corpse powder

Corpse powder, also known as corpse poison, is reputedly derived from the remains of a dead human body and used by Navajo witches to produce sickness in intended victims. According to some versions of traditional Navajo beliefs, people who come into contact with a human corpse are likely to become ill physically, mentally, or both, which is why even today there remains a reticence toward dealing with or even speaking about the dead. Witches who intend to cause harm to another person can secretly feed corpse powder to their enemies or blow it in their faces. By infecting victims with this powder, the witch effectively contaminates them by literally exposing them to death.