The folkloric elements contained in Tony Hillerman's Skinwalkers are noticeable and are essential to the basic understanding of the novel. As I started to read Skinwalkers I was very confused and the novel took a different approach than I was use to in novels. Hillerman jumped into the complex story from the get go, and basically intended his audience to understand the basics of the culture of the Navajos.
             Skinwalkers are witches. Native American witches from the Navajo tribe. But I am going to focus on the traditions more of the Navajo people and their interactions with one another. I found it very interesting of the reactions between Jim Chee, Leaphorn and the surrounding Navajo nation citizens. All of these interactions I feel directly influence the feel of the novel and the overall experience of the book.
             One folkloric element is when Leaphorn is talking to a local counsel woman about the conditions and the murders that took place earlier. The counsel woman is being fairly boring with her speech and Leaphorn, instead of interrupting her stays silent until he received the "sign" - a specific sign that allowed him to continue with his speech. This tradition is obviously universal within the Navajo nation, I am not sure if it is a specific male to female custom, or if it applies more generally.
             In chapter 3, Jim Chee remembers his sociology professor saying that modern dentistry had made crooked teeth an identifying mark of those who were born in the bottommost fringe of the American socioeconomic classes. (35) He relates that uncrooked teeth are a trademark for the 'white trash', but for the Navajo its uncorrected birth defects. The daughter of a murder suspect, had bent ankles which are one trademark of those uncorrected birth defects. This influences the story because it gives us outsiders a bearing to be able to feel more involved in the Navajo beliefs of other people. It also gives us a examp...