Witchcraft Chapter 10

Introduction  Generally, witches are thought of as doing evil  But this is not true. Witchcraft can be good or bad  Remember, sorcery uses items and is evil and witchcraft uses psychic power and can be good or evil

Introduction  Witchcraft accusation reflects social tensions  It has also been connected to the idea of heresy

Witchcraft in Small-Scale Societies  Witchcraft is found around the world, but very commonly in small-scale, rural societies  In these societies witchcraft is evil and is explains unfortunate events

Witchcraft in Small-Scale Societies  Witches are the opposite of a moral person:  Cannibalism, incest, human sacrifice,  Hatred, lust, greed, jealousy  Accused witches are those who do not follow social rules or norms

Azande Witchcraft  Live in DRC  Witchcraft is a common occurrence  They call it mangu and it is a physical substance that can be passed down to child of same sex (mom  daughter and dad  son)  A person can have mangu and not act on it, or they can have it and not know they are performing witchcraft

Azande  Mangu is psychic and leaves the witch at night during sleep to enter a victim’s body  Witchcraft is how the Azande explain unfortunate events

Azande Example  Accusations are based upon social tensions  For example, in a polygynous marriage, if the 1 st wife becomes sick, the 2 nd wife may be accused of witchcraft  The husband would use the oracles (chapter 7) to accuse her  Rubbing-board  Chicken poison

Azande Example  When using an oracle to see if someone is a witch, the person singled out usually has antisocial behavior  They have 50/50 chance of being found guilty

Azande Example  The person can claim she did not know she had mangu, and she can perform a ritual to get rid of it  Witchcraft accusations promote social reform and social control

Azande Beliefs  Witchcraft explains events Westerners would call “bad luck”  Example: if the granary falls, it is not due to termites; the people underneath it had witchcraft against them  No such thing as coincidence in Azande culture

Azande Beliefs  However, witchcraft does not excuse incompetence, lack of skill, bad behavior, or adultery  These are seen as things the person could control or change

Witchcraft and AIDS  Sorcery and witchcraft help explain health and disease in many cultures with no modern medical knowledge  In Haiti, they call HIV sida and believed that jealousy caused a rival to pay a Vodou priest to inflict this disease  Witchcraft helped them explain a complex disease they had never seen before

Euro-American Witchcraft  Also sees witches as evil, but has been influenced by Christian ideas about evil  It is hard to explain why bad things happen when there is an all-powerful, benevolent God  The answer is Satan, and his demons

Paganism  Witchcraft and sorcery became entangled with invoking spirits  In addition to being antisocial, witchcraft is also seen as an act hostile to God  The only magic performed should be by Jesus, so others doing magic are committing heresy

Catholic Church and Heresy  The Catholic Church took on heresy with severe punishments  Burning was a common one, as was torture  Inquisitions involved bishops actively looking for heretics (specifically witches) and torturing them to confession

Witchcraze: Europe  Middle Ages  Both men and women accused of making a pact with the Devil (but women more common)  Accusations included orgies, sacrificing infants, cannibalism, and desecrating holy objects like the crucifix  Lasted around 200 years

Witchcraze: Europe  Was aided by the printing press  Malleus Maleficarum, or Hammer Against Witches, was published in 1458 by the Catholic Church and explained ways to identify witches  Can change shapes, fly, make magical potions  Torture was used to get confessions  Lasted until the 1700s

Witchcraze: England  No Inquisition, no Malleus Maleficarum  Was focused on witches harming livestock, causing diseases, and hurting children  s  English Civil War brought about anxiety and social unrest, which spurred witchcraze

Witchcraze: US  1600s  Salem  Began with two girls accusing women of being witches after a physician suggested they may be under a spell  Girls had convulsions, hallucinations  19 people were executed and more than 100 jailed

Witchcraze: US  The entire thing could have been a prank  Or they could have been acting under the power of suggestion  Or they could have had ergot poisoning (bacteria on grain)  Those accused were on the fringes of society

Witchcraze: US

 Witches are immoral and outcasts of society  Witchcraze helped define rules of Christianity and make the community more cohesive  Scapegoats also help fulfill the need to blame someone for misfortunes  hU_4m-g

Women as Witches  While both males and females were tried and executed as witches, the Witchcraze focused more on women  One reason is the cultural belief (Malleus Maleficarum) that said women were stupider, weaker, and more superstitious than men  Women were also more sensual and would more easily succumb to the Devil’s advances

Women as Witches  Additionally, the Plague wiped out more men than women, leaving many women living alone, which put them in a weaker social position  Midwives were commonly targeted and blamed if an infant died, was deformed, or was ill

Satanism  There is a difference between people labeled as worshipping Satan and those who label themselves as such  Most do not see Satan as evil or as a fallen angel  Most do not believe in the concept of hell

Satanism  In contrast to Judeo-Christian beliefs that make people suppress their feelings, Satanism focuses on hedonism and says that each person is responsible for his or her own life  “Sins” are stupidity and conformity  Rituals involve sex magic, healing, and destruction (for enemies)

ICA  Watch the video on Salem and complete the worksheet  Your HW is on website (“Searching for the Truth: The Poison Oracle”  Group Presentations due next class  Quiz #3 (last one) next class