Article October 27, 1997 Issue

How my Navajo friend was protected from witchcraft

Colleen Feldmann Douglass

Shi-Masana was in her mid eighties when we first met. She was full of life and love, laughed readily, and had a delightful sense of humor. I knew her for twenty years, and, in that time, her love for God never waned.

Life in the heart of the Navajo Nation hadn't been easy for her as a single parent caring for her family, her land in Canyon de Chelley, and her sheep, but she had been regarded as very successful in the traditional way of life. Ten years before our meeting, however, Shi-masana found herself growing increasingly listless and frail. Finally, she was at the brink of death.

As her health deteriorated, she discovered that a cousin was using witchcraft for the purpose of killing her. This same cousin spent many hours in Shi-masana's home, wanting to be with her—all the while mixing potions and performing rituals to bring about her death. In relating this story to me, Shi-masana's daughter was convinced that the cousin's reasons were simple: he was jealous of who she was and of what she had accomplished—that her herd was bigger than his. America's Fascinating Indian Heritage sums up the motive for this practice: "Usually, witches combine a desire for vengeance with desire for wealth."James A. Maxwell, ed., America's Fascinating Indian Heritage (Pleasantville, N. Y.: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.. 1978). p. 240.