Yeah, I know. Glad you chimed in. The spirits of the dead don't act as "possessors" so to speak but do cause illness in Navajo culture. This is why my inlaws were concerned when I came down with a tummy bug after they gave me some anasazi potsherds to photograph. The potsherds were still in the house and, therefore, there was concern that they were causing my illness.

We actually had a spirit attach to ourselves as well. About a dozen family members reported seeing this black shadowy thing lurking around us. We were all quite sick at the time (even my cats). After we moved from the home, it apparently followed us. My step granduncle in law (too long! lol) is a medicine man--a crystal gazer. He said that our old home on the reservation was built on an ancient burial ground and that we had an "anasazi" spirit attached to us during his crystal gazing. We ended up having a blessingway. Not as severe as what you experienced probably but definitely altering for me. I have a healthy respect for Navajo opinions on death as a result.

Stephanie


In every man there is something wherein I may learn of him, and in that I am his pupil.--Ralph Waldo Emerson