Cultural Reference

In the fictional world of Tony Hillerman's Navajo detective series, witch skin is a reference to the wolf skin or other animal pelt an alleged skinwalker, Navajo Wolf, or witch might wear to signify his practice of dark and destructive magic.

A word that can be substituted for witchcraft, witching, sorcery, or magic, used by Tony Hillerman to refer to the work of people known in some Native American traditions as witches. It is useful to keep in mind that "witch" is a word imposed on some aspects of indigenous cultural traditions by anthropologists, who did not have the knowledge to understand or the language to describe what they witnessed in these traditions. In Hillerman's Navajo detective novels, witches are believed to cause imbalances associated with greed, violence, and other maladies associated with modernity.

In some versions of Navajo traditional beliefs, when people die, their ghosts, which are understood as their essence or spirit, can linger in the place of dying and possible cause harm to the living. The Navajo word for a ghost is “chindi," and chindi is associated with ghost sickness, a malaise that can manifest through a variety of physical, mental, or emotional symptoms. There are very specific precautions used to prevent ghost sickness, such as avoiding all contact with the deceased person's belongings, destroying the person's possessions whenever possible, and removing footprints from around the site of the grave. Additionally, if a Navajo were to die inside his/her dwelling place, their ghost is thought to be released into the room, where it can remain for a long time. If this happens, then the hogan would have to be permanently vacated in order to avoid potentially infecting any Navajo who entered it. In such cases, the dead person would either be left in the hogan or brought out of the structure through a hole made in the northern wall. After the deceased has been removed from the hogan, the house is never to be inhabited again in hopes that the ghost will eventually leave through the same hole that was made in the north-facing wall.

In the Navajo belief system, ghosts are generally not perceived as malevolent, but as a natural phenomenon that is part of the transformation entailed in the dying process. Right before death ghosts are often described as dark shadows, and after death they may reappear on earth in the form of an animal, whirlwind, or certain unusual sounds and movements. Ghosts tend to become malignant forces when the corpse is not handled properly in the prescribed manner set by traditional customs.

In the context in which Tony Hillerman tends to use the word "harmony," it refers to the Navajo concept of hózhǫ́, the state in which all living things are ordered, in balance, and walking in beauty. The opposite of hózhǫ́ is hóchxǫ́ǫ́, which refers to disorder and chaos in one’s life. In Hillerman's work, chaos and imbalance manifest as as physical or mental illness, infections of the body and souls contracted from contact with mainstream U.S. culture.

Carved bones are created by using a chisel or some other sharp tool to work animal, or even human, bones into shapes. Carved bones can also be embellished with surface designs. Carved bones have been used as ceremonial artifacts as well as tools, such as awls or needles.

Sherlock is a literary character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the 1880’s. He is a fictional consulting detective for Scotland Yard and is based in London, England. He uses his intelligence and logic reasoning to solve cases. Although not the first fictional detective, Sherlock's use of forensics and acute deductive reasoning makes him perhaps the seminal figure in the detective literary genre, and his methodologies continue to influence contemporary approaches to investigating and solving crimes.

Frenzy witchcraft is a form of witchcraft associated with the use of narcotic plants and “love magic” and is different than witchcraft associated with the “wolf” or other were-creatures. Frenzy witchcraft is often used to increase people's success of bewitching another human being in order to obtain favorable results with potential sexual partnership, for example, or when gambling. It causes people to become frenzied, or altered in their mental capacities, a state facilitated by the ingestion of sacred datura.

In the Navajo origin story, when the First Man, First Woman, Dawn Man, Dawn Woman, Sky Blue Man, Sky Blue Woman, Twilight Man, Twilight Woman, Darkness Man, and Darkness Woman, gather together for a meeting to create the earth, sun, moon, and stars, the Wind People are the creatures that breathe life into what was created.

In another Navajo story First Woman, First Man, Coyote, and all the other creatures including Water Buffalo, climb the female reed from the flooding Third World (Yellow World) into Fourth World (White World). However the flooding follows the group, and they discover that Coyote has stolen two babies, a male and a female, from Third World. After Coyote gave the male child back to Third World the water receded in Fourth World. The Wind People are creatures that help dry Fourth World once the water receded.

When Tony Hillerman's characters refer to a "blue policeman," they are referencing Navajo "Law and Order" officers. His use of this colloquial term is in reference to the blue police unifoms that they wear.

Witches are people, men or women, who practice witchcraft. In many cultures witches are typically believed to be female. In Navajo societies, witches are most often believed to be male, although older people and women without children are also believed to be witches. These witches cause harm or illness to the people they curse or who encounter them. This sickness can be cured by completing curing ceremonies.

In the Southwest, there are strong concepts of witchcraft for both the Pueblo groups and the Navajo. For the Navajo, witches may also refer to Navajo wolf, wolf, or skinwalker. In some Native American legends, a skinwalker is a person with the supernatural ability to turn into any animal he or she desires. In addition to transforming into animals, the skinwalker has other powers. He or she can read others' minds, control minds, bring forth disease, destroy homes, and even cause death. While Europeans warned of a wolf in sheep's clothing, certain tribal beliefs cautioned against a human in wolf's clothing. Literally, the Navajo wolf, or witch, can also be referred to as a skinwalker.