The hedgehog ansatz for spherically symmetric spacetimes in self-gravitating nonlinear sigma models and Skyrme models is revisited and its generalization for nonspherically symmetric spacetimes is proposed. The key idea behind our construction is that, even if the matter fields depend on the Killing coordinates in a nontrivial way, the corresponding energy-momentum tensor can still be compatible with spacetime symmetries. Our generalized hedgehog ansatz reduces the Skyrme equations to coupled differential equations for two scalar fields together with several constraint equations between them. Some particular field configurations satisfying those constraints are presented in several physically important spacetimes, including stationary and axisymmetric spacetimes. Incidentally, new exact solutions are obtained under the standard hedgehog ansatz, one of which represents a global monopole inside a black hole with the Skyrme effect. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.87.084049