Talk:Skin-walker (disambiguation)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article has no references. Hipocrite - «Talk» 19:20, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

so go find some if thats so important to you.Gimmiet 19:27, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

No. It is the responsibility of people who add content to make sure that said content adheres to WP:V and WP:NOR. Hipocrite - «Talk» 19:32, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

well i didnt add any content, i rewmoved what wasnt true. simple as thast, nothing in the skinwalker myth that i was told eversaid the skinewalker was evil... and therres no such thing as a witch in native america,(entirely different concept)Gimmiet 19:34, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

My tag is not adressed at you. It is adressed at the article, which contains no cites. Hipocrite - «Talk» 19:48, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

why would it be so hardto go a lookin for souces tho? im lookin....Gimmiet 19:49, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

OK I've added some references but there is a bigger problem with the entry itself which is unfocused and possibly doesn't work in this form. Skinwalkers (no hyphen) are an important part of Native American folklore and as part of the broader shapeshifting myths. However, the other skin-walkers (is this term really ever used?) would be better off in their own sections. While some humans don animal skins to transform into animals some animals shed their animal skin (leading to a range of myths where a man steals a discarded skin an marries the woman stuck in human form) but taxanomically they fit within the broader shapeshifting myths of the region. For example there are a lot of Norse shapeshifters and having a mention of the people who change into bears by wearing bear skins here seems odd - it should be in an entry on Norse shapeshifting myths which includes people who transform using other means (it was often believed that cowards would turn into boars or pigs and run from the battlefield). Emperor 01:20, 2 Febuary 2006 (GMT)

Those references were great, exactly what was needed. If I were rewriting the article from scratch, I'd say you should cut all of the pop-culture stuff and focus on the various legends, perhaps with a "trivia" section that has all the alblums and crap below. Hipocrite - «Talk» 18:03, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes those changes make a lot of sense and make it neater (which is always better). I still think the bulk of this really needs to be in the Skinwalker section - the Norse material really belongs in the Berserker section while the Skinwalker is a very specific type of shapeshifting witch amongst the Navajo, Hopi and Ute (all the sources, pop cultural references and links refer to this type). We could keep this section to link through to the other entries on people who wear skins to change shape but it is only one method amongst many and its not the process that is the key factor in most of these legends it is the end result. (Emperor 20:50, 6 February 2006 (UTC))

[edit] Page move explained

There were too many disambig links at the top, breaking Wikipedia rules, so that a disambig page was needed for the three (soon, four probably) articles that have similar titles and did not disambig link to each other in the accepted Wikipedia pattern either. Since I thought that people are about equally likely to be looking for the legendary creature, the novel, or one of the two films, I decided that the name itself (Skin-walker) ought to be the disambig page. That's why the legendary creature article was moved, intact, to Skin-walker (mythology) instead of creating a Skin-walker (disambiguation) page. Mermaid from the Baltic Sea 15:37, 20 October 2006 (UTC)

Hope I did this right. There's a few more things that could be added to this page. Skin-walker weaponry could be added: corpse powder, bone or turquoise pellets, hallucinogens shot through a blow pipe and medicine bundles. There's no mention of the body pastes that are an important aspect of a Navajo skin-walker's disguise either. I believe all should be in Kluckhohn's book (my copy is missing or else I'd verify--my apologies).Bilagaana 21:21, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] More Mythology

Coming from the Four Corner's region myself, and having many Navajo friends, I'd like to note that it is also legend that if you talk about Skin-Walkers at night they are said to be around shortly, whether you are outside or inside. Though I moved from the area, i'm still scared as shit to say talk about them...or even see a movie based on them. -Ben- —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.166.83.213 (talk) 18:20, August 24, 2007 (UTC)

I have been raised among navajos my whole life and whoever is saying that Skinwalkers cant be evil has been sadly mistaken. Like it says if you kill someone in high power of the tribe they can become skinwalkers and guess what they are very evil. I have acctually seen one with my own eyes and had proof of it. So say what you will about them but the one I saw sure looked like it wanted me for dinner. 1-08-08 Jessica Cross —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.228.35.110 (talk) 03:40, 9 January 2008 (UTC)