Witchcraft in Africa

Beliefs about witchcraft in Africa

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In Africa, witchcraft refers to various beliefs and practices. These beliefs often play a significant role in shaping social dynamics and can influence how communities address challenges and seek spiritual assistance. Much of what "witchcraft" represents in Africa has been susceptible to misunderstandings and confusion, due to a tendency among western scholars to approach the subject through a comparative lens vis-a-vis European witchcraft.[1] The definition of "witchcraft" can differ between Africans and Europeans which causes misunderstandings of African conjure practices among Europeans.[2] For example, the Maka people of Cameroon believe in an occult force known as djambe, that dwells inside a person. It is often translated as "witchcraft" or "sorcery", but it has a broader meaning that encompasses supernatural harm, healing and shapeshifting; this highlights the problem of using European terms for African concepts.[3]

While some 19th–20th century European colonialists tried to stamp out witch-hunting in Africa by introducing laws banning accusations of witchcraft, some former African colonies introduced laws banning witchcraft after they gained independence. This has produced an environment that encourages persecution of suspected witches.[4]

In the Central African Republic, hundreds of people are convicted of witchcraft yearly, with reports of violence against accused women.[5] The Democratic Republic of the Congo witnessed a disturbing trend of child witchcraft accusations in Kinshasa, leading to abuse and exorcisms supervised by self-styled pastors.[6] In Ghana, there are several "witch camps", where women accused of witchcraft can seek refuge, though the government plans to close them.[7]

In west Kenya, there have been cases of accused witches being burned to death in their homes by mobs.[8] Malawi faces a similar issue of child witchcraft accusations, with traditional healers and some Christian counterparts involved in exorcisms, causing abandonment and abuse of children.[9] In Nigeria, Pentecostal pastors have intertwined Christianity with witchcraft beliefs for profit, leading to the torture and killing of accused children.[10] Sierra Leone's Mende people see witchcraft convictions as beneficial, as the accused receive support and care from the community.[11] In Zulu culture, healers known as sangomas protect people from witchcraft and evil spirits through divination, rituals and mediumship.[12]

In parts of Africa, beliefs about illness being caused by witchcraft continue to fuel suspicion of modern medicine, with serious healthcare consequences.[13][14]

Historian Jacob Olupona writes about religion in Africa: "...African religions are not static traditions, but have responded to changes within their local communities and to fluxes caused by outside influences, and spread with diaspora and migration". The people central to African religions, "including medicine men and women, rainmakers, witches, magicians, and divine kings ... serve as authority figures and intermediaries between the social world and the cosmic realm".[15]

## History

[edit]

Akose Babalawo prepares spiritual medicines recipes received from ancestral spirits for healing and removal of curses

Pre-colonial Africa saw the existence of indigenous witchcraft practices, with some societies attributing supernatural powers to certain individuals. These beliefs ranged from beneficial powers like healing to malevolent forces capable of harm. The arrival of European colonial powers introduced significant changes. Colonial authorities often viewed African witchcraft as superstitious and attempted to suppress or eradicate indigenous practices, leading to the criminalization and persecution of suspected witches. This colonial influence sparked a complex interplay between traditional beliefs and foreign religions like Christianity and Islam.[16][17][need quotation to verify]

In the post-independence era some African countries continued to grapple with witchcraft-related issues, including accusations and violence. Witchcraft remains a significant aspect of many people's lives, with varying perceptions of its powers and dangers. Legal responses have emerged in some nations to protect individuals from harm and discrimination due to witchcraft accusations, but the practice and beliefs continue to evolve in the context of modernization and globalization.[18][19]

## Forms

[edit]

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Power figure (nkisi nkondi) from Lower Congo is made to hunt witches[20]

African witchcraft beliefs are incredibly diverse, encompassing practices from healing and divination to the worship of ancestral spirits and deities. Some of the most notable African "witchcraft" traditions include Vodun, Hoodoo, Santería, and Candomblé, each with its unique blend of African, indigenous, and sometimes Christian or Catholic influences.[21][22] Many of these traditions have roots in specific African ethnic groups and have evolved over centuries in the diaspora, particularly in the Americas and the Caribbean. They often involve rituals, ceremonies, and the use of herbs, charms, and divination methods to connect with the spiritual world and address various aspects of life, including health, prosperity, and protection.[23] Conjure[clarification needed] in Africa and the Black diaspora can be used for negative and positive purposes. The positive purpose was protection against evil witches who cast spells on innocent people.[24]

### Diaspora

[edit]

While some traditions have faced stigmatization and persecution, they continue to thrive and adapt to changing societal contexts. Black people in the diaspora share experiences of racism and prejudice regarding their religious practices.[25][26] In the Black Diaspora, the word Juju is used to describe all forms of conjure and charms made and used in African Diaspora Religions and African Traditional Religions that incorporate conjure into their religious practices.[27] In the Caribbean, enslaved Africans utilized Obeah to attack their enslavers. The practice of Obeah was prohibited by Europeans out of fear and the ability of Obeah men and Obeah women to organize enslaved communities for slave rebellions.[28]

Scholars at Duke University have identified Bantu-Kongo cultural influences in Black populations across the Americas, particularly in the continuation of Nkisi and Nkisi Nkondi traditions and Kongo burial traditions among African Americans in the Southern United States. These practices, rooted in Kongo spiritual beliefs, were employed to ward off evil spirits, conjure spirits of the dead and ancestral spirits, and provide protection against withcraft. The Nkisi Nkondi is made by an nganga and the spirit of the Nkondi is used to hunt and punish evil witches.[29][30][31]

## Influence on witchcraft in Latin America

[edit]

Main article: Witchcraft in Latin America

Candomblé Divination Set in the Horniman Museum

African witchcraft beliefs have exerted a profound influence on practices called brujeria in Latin America, especially in regions with incoming African diaspora religions, such as Brazil, Cuba, and the Caribbean. This influence is marked by syncretism, where African witchcraft beliefs have merged with Indigenous, European, and Christian elements. For instance, in Brazil's Candomblé and Cuba's Santería, African Orisha worship is blended with Catholicism, allowing practitioners to maintain their African spiritual heritage while adapting to the dominant religious culture.[32]

## Present day by region

[edit]

Further information: Witchcraft accusations against children in Africa and Traditional healers of Southern Africa

### Azande

[edit]

Main article: Azande witchcraft

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Witchcraft plays a significant role in the beliefs and culture of the Azande people, located in North Central Africa, particularly in regions like South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Northern Democratic Republic of Congo. In Azande society, witchcraft is perceived as a potent force used to harm individuals, and it permeates every aspect of their lives. They believe that witchcraft is hereditary and can only be passed from parent to child of the same gender. This psychic power is believed to work at close range and can manipulate nature to cause harm, such as using animals or collapsing structures.

The Azande do not attribute human errors like mistakes in farming or moral crimes like lying to witchcraft. Instead, they primarily associate it with negative occurrences, such as disease and death. A witch will only use their powers against someone they dislike, with the process involving the transfer of the victim's soul to a group of witches. While the victim's relatives can prepare a defense, they must seek advice from an oracle before retaliating.

Oracles are crucial in Azande society for identifying those responsible for using witchcraft and predicting future tragedies. They employ various methods, such as the poison oracle (using a poisoned chicken), to determine if witchcraft is being used. The outcome of the oracle's decision influences the course of action taken by the community. Besides the poison oracle, there are also the termite oracle and the rubbing-board oracle, each with its level of reliability.

In addition to oracles, witch doctors are also consulted to predict disasters and identify witches. They undergo extensive training and perform rituals, often in front of a crowd of villagers, to locate the source of evil magic. Medicinal herbs play a crucial role in the power of witch doctors.

Early colonial observers often viewed Azande witchcraft as belonging to a primitive people, but anthropologist E. E. Evans-Pritchard's seminal work Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande challenged this perception. He argued that Azande witchcraft is a coherent and logical system of ideas, similar to other world religions, contributing significantly to the field of anthropology by conducting extensive fieldwork and studying Azande beliefs and practices in-depth. Evans-Pritchard's work has had a lasting influence on the study of "primitive thought" and has guided subsequent generations of anthropologists in understanding the complexity of witchcraft in Azande culture.

### Cameroon

[edit]

Rhumsiki crab sorcerer

The Maka people of Cameroon believe in an occult force known as djambe, that dwells inside a person. It is often translated as "witchcraft" or "sorcery", but it has a broader meaning that encompasses supernatural harm, healing and shapeshifting; this highlights the problem of using European terms for African concepts.[33]

### Central African Republic

[edit]

Every year hundreds of people in the Central African Republic are convicted of witchcraft.[34] Christian militias in the Central African Republic have also kidnapped, burnt and buried alive women accused of being 'witches' in public ceremonies.[35] Ngangas are spiritual healers in Central Africa and use divination to detect evil witches and perform rituals to remove witchcraft by making nkisi nkondi to hunt and punish sorcerers.[36]

### Democratic Republic of the Congo

[edit]

Further information: Kindoki

As of 2006[update] between 25,000 and 50,000 children in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, had been accused of witchcraft and thrown out of their homes.[37] These children have been subjected to often-violent abuse during exorcisms, sometimes supervised by self-styled religious pastors. Other pastors and Christian activists strongly oppose such accusations and try to rescue children from their unscrupulous colleagues.[38] The usual term for these children is enfants sorciers ('child witches') or enfants dits sorciers ('children accused of witchcraft'). In 2002, USAID funded the production of two short films on the subject, made in Kinshasa by journalists Angela Nicoara and Mike Ormsby.

In April 2008 in Kinshasa, the police arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic or witchcraft to steal or shrink men's penises.[39] Those accused of penis-snatching are often alleged to have done so to extort cash from their victim in exchange for a cure, sometimes amidst or resulting in a wave of panic.[40]

According to one study the belief in magical warfare technologies (such as "bulletproofing") in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo serves a group-level function, as it increases group efficiency in warfare, even if it is suboptimal at the individual level.[41] The authors of the study argue that this is one reason why the belief in witchcraft persists.[41]

Complimentary remarks about witchcraft by a native Congolese initiate:

> From witchcraft [...] may be developed the remedy (kimbuki) that will do most to raise up our country.[42] Witchcraft [...] deserves respect [...] it can embellish or redeem (ketula evo vuukisa)."[43] The ancestors were equipped with the protective witchcraft of the clan (kindoki kiandundila kanda). [...] They could also gather the power of animals into their hands [...] whenever they needed. [...] If we could make use of these kinds of witchcraft, our country would rapidly progress in knowledge of every kind.[44] You witches (zindoki) too, bring your science into the light to be written down so that [...] the benefits in it [...] endow our race.[45]

### Ghana

[edit]

Main article: Witchcraft in Ghana

Babalawo preparing spiritual medicines for good luck and healing

In Ghana women are often accused of witchcraft and attacked by neighbours.[46] Because of this, there exist six witch camps in the country where women suspected of being witches can flee for safety.[7] The witch camps, which exist solely in Ghana, are thought to house a total of around 1000 women.[7] Some of the camps are thought to have been set up over 100 years ago.[7] The Ghanaian government has announced that it intends to close the camps.[7]

Arrests were made in an effort to avoid bloodshed seen in Ghana in 1997, when twelve alleged penis snatchers were beaten to death by mobs.[47] While it is easy for modern people to dismiss such reports, Uchenna Okeja argues that a belief system in which such magical practices are deemed possible offer many benefits to Africans who hold them. For example, the belief that a sorcerer has "stolen" a man's penis functions as an anxiety-reduction mechanism for men suffering from impotence, while simultaneously providing an explanation that is consistent with African cultural beliefs rather than appealing to Western scientific notions that are, in the eyes of many Africans, tainted by the history of colonialism.[48]

### Kenya

[edit]

In Kamba culture some people are believed to be born with spiritual powers to heal or harm. Historian Deika Mohamed says this about witchcraft in Africa: "The practice of witchcraft is often divided between uwe and uoi, the former softly translated as witchcraft for healing and the latter as witchcraft for harm. Uwe, uoi and kithitu (oath-taking) possess nuanced meanings. Beyond violence, uoi may refer to a way-of-being, a substance or force and uwe is often used to remedy the ill-effects of uoi. Similarly, kithitu may also denote the employed objects during the oathing ceremony or empowerment of the oath itself; those who disobey forfeit their life by means of curse. By exploring the lexicography of witchcraft the reader is made aware of the important complexity of an otherwise essentialized subject".[49]

In 2008, Reuters reported that a mob in Kenya had burnt to death at least eleven people accused of witchcraft.[50]

### Malawi

[edit]

In Malawi it is common practice to accuse children of witchcraft and many children have been abandoned, abused, and even killed as a result. As in other African countries, both a number of African traditional healers and some of their Christian counterparts are trying to make a living out of exorcising children and are actively involved in pointing out children as witches.[51] Various secular and Christian organizations are combining their efforts to address this problem.[52]

According to William Kamkwamba, witches and wizards are afraid of money, which they consider a rival evil. Any contact with cash will snap their spell and leave the wizard naked and confused, so placing cash, such as kwacha, around a room or bed mat will protect the resident from their malevolent spells.[53]

### Nigeria

[edit]

Further information: Iyami Aje

In Nigeria several Pentecostal pastors have mixed their evangelical brand of Christianity with African beliefs in witchcraft to benefit from the lucrative witch-finding and exorcism business—which in the past was the exclusive domain of the so-called witch doctor or traditional healers. These pastors have been involved in the torturing and even killing of children accused of witchcraft.[54] In the states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River alone, around 15,000 children have been accused, with around 1,000 murdered between 2000 and 2010.[55][56] Churches are very numerous in Nigeria, and competition for congregations is hard. Some pastors attempt to establish a reputation for spiritual power by "detecting" child witches, usually following a death or loss of a job within a family, or an accusation of financial fraud against the pastor. In the course of "exorcisms", accused children may be starved, beaten, mutilated, set on fire, forced to consume acid or cement, or buried alive. While some church leaders and Christian activists have spoken out strongly against these abuses, many Nigerian churches are involved in the abuse, although church administrations deny knowledge of it.[57]

In May 2020 fifteen adults, mostly women, were set ablaze after being accused of witchcraft, including the mother of the instigator of the attack, Thomas Obi Tawo, a local politician.[4]

### Sierra Leone

[edit]

Among the Mende of Sierra Leone, trial and conviction for witchcraft has a beneficial effect for those convicted. "The witchfinder had warned the whole village to ensure the relative prosperity of the accused and sentenced ... old people. ... Six months later all of the people ... accused, were secure, well-fed and arguably happier than at any [previous] time; they had hardly to beckon and people would come with food or whatever was needful. ... Instead of such old and widowed people being left helpless or (as in Western society) institutionalized in old people's homes, these were reintegrated into society and left secure in their old age ... Old people are 'suitable' candidates for this kind of accusation in the sense that they are isolated and vulnerable, and they are 'suitable' candidates for 'social security' for precisely the same reasons."[58] In Kuranko language, the term for witchcraft is suwa'ye[59] referring to 'extraordinary powers'.

### Zulu

[edit]

Zulu healer dancing to remove pleurisy, South Africa, early 20th century

In Zulu culture, herbal and spiritual healers called sangomas protect people from evil spirits and witchcraft. They perform divination and healing with ancestral spirits and usually train with elders for about five to seven years.[60][12] In the cities, however, some offer trainings that take only several months, but there is concern about inadequately-trained and fraudulent "sangomas" exploiting and harming people who may come to them for help.[61][62][63][64] Another type of healer is the inyanga, who heals people with plant and animal parts. This is a profession that is hereditary, and passed down through family lines. While there used to be more of a distinction between the two types of healers, in contemporary practice, the terms are often used interchangeably.[65][66][67]

## See also

[edit]

* Bokor – Vodou priest or priestess
* Neopaganism in South Africa

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Okeja, Uchenna (2011). 'An African Context of the Belief in Witchcraft and Magic,' in Rational Magic. Fisher Imprints. ISBN 978-1848880610.[page needed]
2. ^ Bachmann, Judith (2021). "African Witchcraft and Religion among the Yoruba: Translation as Demarcation Practice within a Global Religious History". Method & Theory in the Study of Religion. 33 (3–4): 381–409\. doi:10.1163/15700682-12341522. Retrieved 12 April 2024.3–4&rft.pages=381-409&rft.date=2021&rft_id=info:doi/10.1163/15700682-12341522&rft.aulast=Bachmann&rft.aufirst=Judith&rft_id=https://brill.com/view/journals/mtsr/33/3-4/article-p381_6.xml&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Witchcraft+in+Africa" class="Z3988">
3. ^ Geschiere, Peter (1997). The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa. Translated by Peter Geschiere and Janet Roitman. University of Virginia Press. p. 13\. ISBN 0813917034.
4. ^ a b Igwe, Leo (September–October 2020). "Accused Witches Burned, Killed in Nigeria". Skeptical Inquirer. Amherst, New York: Center for Inquiry.
5. ^ "The dangers of witchcraft". Archived from the original on 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
6. ^ "Kolwezi: Accused of witchcraft by parents and churches, children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being rescued by Christian activists". Christianity Today. September 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
7. ^ a b c d e Whitaker, Kati (September 2012). "Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
8. ^ Kanina, Wangui (2008-05-21). "Mob burns to death 11 Kenyan "witches"". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
9. ^ Byrne, Carrie 2011. Hunting the vulnerable: Witchcraft and the law in Malawi; Consultancy Africa Intelligence (16 June):
10. ^ "Stepping Stones Nigeria 2007. Supporting Victims of Witchcraft Abuse and Street Children in Nigeria". humantrafficking.org. Archived from the original on 2012-10-17.
11. ^ West, Harry G. Ethnographic Sorcery (p. 24); 2007. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226893983 (pbk.).
12. ^ a b Cumes, David (2004). Africa in my bones. Claremont: New Africa Books. p. 14\. ISBN 978-0-86486-556-4.
13. ^ Kielburger, Craig; Kielburger, Marc (18 February 2008). "HIV in Africa: Distinguishing disease from witchcraft". Toronto Star. Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
14. ^ "Ebola outbreak: 'Witchcraft' hampering treatment, says doctor". BBC News. London: BBC. 2 August 2014. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2018. "citing a doctor from Médecins Sans Frontières: 'A widespread belief in witchcraft is hampering efforts to halt the Ebola virus from spreading'"
15. ^ Olupona, Jacob (2014). African Religions: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199790586.
16. ^ Bonsu (2016). "African Traditional Religion: An Examination of Terminologies Used for Describing the Indigenous Faith of African People, Using an Afrocentric Paradigm" (PDF). Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies. 9 (9): 108–121. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
17. ^ Bongmba (2015). African Witchcraft and Otherness A Philosophical and Theological Critique of Intersubjective Relations. State University New York Press. pp. 3, 58, 78–79\. ISBN 9780791490501.
18. ^ Tatira (2014). "Shona Belief Systems: Finding Relevancy for a New Generation" (PDF). The Journal of Pan African Studies. 6 (8): 106–118. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
19. ^ Mavhungu (2012). Witchcraft in Post-colonial Africa Beliefs, Techniques and Containment Strategies. Langaa RPCIG. pp. 1–8\. ISBN 9789956728329.
20. ^ "What is the doll?". Brown University. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
21. ^ Rucker, Walter (2001). "Conjure, Magic, and Power The Influence of Afro-Atlantic Religious Practices Slave Resistance and Rebellion". Journal of Black Studies. 32 (1): 84–103\. doi:10.1177/002193470103200105. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
22. ^ Bidi Norma (2023). The Evolution of African Witchcraft as a Response to Misfortune: A Qualitative Study of African Spirituality in Nairobi, Kenya and Black Diasporic Communities in London, United Kingdom (Thesis). York St John University.
23. ^ Redding, Sean (2019). "Witchcraft in Africa: Political Power and Spiritual Insecurity from the Precolonial Era to the Present". African History. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.441. ISBN 978-0-19-027773-4. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
24. ^ Olupona, Jacob (2014). African Religions A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 52\. ISBN 9780199790586.
25. ^ Troche (2008). Making Links Between Each Others' Oppressions: Witch-Hunts, Colonialism, and Globalization across Diasporas. Routledge. pp. 179–194\. doi:10.4324/9780203891681-18. ISBN 9780203891681.
26. ^ Timothy (2002). "(Re)Membering African Religion and Spirituality in the African Diaspora". Journal of Haitian Studies. 8 (1): 134–149\. JSTOR 41715122. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
27. ^ Hazzard-Donald, Katrina (2013). Mojo Workin' The Old African American Hoodoo System. University of Illinois Press. pp. 32, 65, 207. ISBN 9780252094460.
28. ^ Barima (2017). "Obeah to Rastafari: Jamaica as a Colony of Ridicule, Oppression and Violence, 1865-1939" (PDF). Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies. 10 (1): 165–166, 169. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
29. ^ "Kongo, Louisiana, & the Black South" (PDF). Duke University. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
30. ^ Vlach (1990). The Afro-American Tradition in Decorative Arts. The University of Georgia Press. pp. 20–28, 29–39, 40–42\. ISBN 9780820312330.
31. ^ MacGaffey, Wyatt (2000). Kongo Political Culture The Conceptual Challenge of the Particular. Indiana University Press. p. 88\. ISBN 9780253336989.
32. ^ Parés, Luis Nicolau; Sansi, Roger (2011). Sorcery in the Black Atlantic. University of Chicago Press. doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226645797.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-226-64578-0.
33. ^ Geschiere, Peter (1997). The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa. Translated by Peter Geschiere and Janet Roitman. University of Virginia Press. p. 13\. ISBN 0813917034.
34. ^ "The dangers of witchcraft". Archived from the original on 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
35. ^ Esslemont, Tom (26 November 2015). "Witch burning rebels stoke Central African Republic violence". Reuters. Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
36. ^ Viccars, John (1949). "Witchcraft in Bolobo, Belgian Congo". Africa: Journal of the International African Institute. 19 (3): 221. doi:10.2307/1156972. JSTOR 1156972. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
37. ^ Richard Dowden in Kinshasa. "Thousands of child 'witches' turned on to the streets to starve | World news". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
38. ^ "Kolwezi: Accused of witchcraft by parents and churches, children in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being rescued by Christian activists". Christianity Today. September 2009. Archived from the original on 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
39. ^ "Penis theft panic hits city." Reuters. 2020-11-09. Archived from the original on 2020-11-09. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
40. ^ "CNN – 7 killed in Ghana over 'penis-snatching' episodes – Jan. 18, 1997". 2008-10-05. Archived from the original on 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
41. ^ a b Nunn, Nathan; Sierra, Raul Sanchez de la (2017). "Why Being Wrong can be Right: Magical Warfare Technologies and the Persistence of False Beliefs". American Economic Review. 107 (5): 582–587\. doi:10.1257/aer.p20171091. S2CID 1039668. Archived from the original on 2021-04-03. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
42. ^ Janzen & MacGaffey (1974), p. 54b (13.9.12).
43. ^ Janzen & MacGaffey (1974), p. 54b (13.9.14).
44. ^ Janzen & MacGaffey (1974), pp. 54b–55a (13.9.16).
45. ^ Janzen & MacGaffey (1974), p. 55b (13.10.8).
46. ^ "My Mum is Not A Witch". Archived from the original on 2011-01-08. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
47. ^ 7 killed in Ghana over 'penis-snatching' episodes Archived 2008-10-05 at the Wayback Machine, CNN, January 18, 1997.
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51. ^ Byrne, Carrie 2011. Hunting the vulnerable: Witchcraft and the law in Malawi; Consultancy Africa Intelligence (16 June):
52. ^ Van der Meer, Erwin 2011. The Problem of Witchcraft in Malawi, Evangelical Missions Quarterly (47:1, January): 78–85.
53. ^ Kamkwamba, William. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Harper Collins. 2009. p. 14.[ISBN missing]
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55. ^ "Abuse of child 'witches' on rise, aid group says - CNN.com". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
56. ^ "Children abused, killed as witches in Nigeria - CNN.com". www.cnn.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
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58. ^ Gittins 1987, p. 199.
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### Works cited

[edit]

* Janzen, John M.; MacGaffey, Wyatt (1974). "An Anthology of Kongo Religion: Primary Texts from Lower Zaïre". University of Kansas Publications in Anthropology (5). Lawrence.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Adinkrah, M. (2015). Witchcraft, Witches, and Violence in Ghana. Germany: Berghahn Books. ISBN 978-1785335167.
* Ashforth, Adam (2000). Madumo, A Man Bewitched. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226029719.
* Ashforth, A. (2005). Witchcraft, Violence, and Democracy in South Africa. United Kingdom: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226029735.
* Bristol, J. C. (2007). Christians, Blasphemers, and Witches: Afro-Mexican Ritual Practice in the Seventeenth Century. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0826337993.
* Chireau, Y. P. (2006). Black Magic: Religion and the African American Conjuring Tradition. California: University of California Press. ISBN 0520249887.
* Moore, Henrietta; Sanders, Todd (2001). Magical Interpretations, Material Realities: Modernity, Witchcraft and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa. London: Routledge. ISBN 0415258677.
* Rio, Knut; MacCarthy, Michelle; Blanes, Ruy (2017). Pentecostalism and Witchcraft: Spiritual Warfare in Africa and Melanesia. Springer International Publishing. ISBN 978-3319560670.

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Magic and witchcraft

Types|

| Region|

* Africa
* Azande
* Ghana
* Witch smeller
* Asia
* Jhākri
* Philippines
* Europe
* Italy
* Akelarre
* Benandanti
* Cunning folk
* Greece and Rome
* Seiðr
* Völva
* Witch-cult hypothesis
* Anglo-Saxon England
* Britain
* Latin America
* Middle East
* Oceania
* Mākutu

|

Form|

* Chaos magic
* Goetia
* Hoodoo
* Medieval
* Neopagan
* Wicca
* Renaissance
* Solitary practitioner
* Warlock
* Witch doctor

Practices|

* Animism
* Apotropaic magic
* Black magic
* Ceremonial magic
* Magical formula
* Coven
* Curse
* Anathema
* Damnation
* Jinx
* Demon
* Divination
* Entheogen
* Evocation
* Familiar
* Gray magic
* Incantation
* Jinn
* Love magic
* Mediumship
* Moon magic
* Necromancy
* Occultism
* Shamanism
* Black
* Regional
* Yellow
* Sex magic
* Sigils
* Spiritism
* Spiritualism
* Sympathetic magic
* Witches' Sabbath
* White magic

Objects|

* Amulet
* Athame
* Broom
* besom
* Censer
* Cloak of invisibility
* Crystal ball
* Flying ointment
* Goofer dust
* Grimoire
* Incense
* Julleuchter
* Kitchen witch
* Love charm
* Magic carpet
* Magic circle
* Magic ring
* Magical weapons
* Magic sword
* Mojo bag
* Nkisi
* Nkondi
* Poppet
* Potions
* Sator Square
* Talisman
* Wand
* Witch ball
* Witch's ladder

Folklore and
mythology|

* Agamede
* Aradia
* Baba Yaga
* Circe
* Dayan
* Drude
* Elbow witch
* Hecate
* Huld
* Kalku
* Medea
* Morgan le Fay
* Muma Pădurii
* Nine sorceresses
* Obayifo
* Pasiphaë
* Sebile
* Sorginak
* Spearfinger
* Three Witches
* Witches of Benevento
* Witch of Endor
* Yama-uba

Major
historic treatises|

* Witchcraft and divination in the Old Testament (8th–2nd centuries BC)
* Directorium Inquisitorum (1376)
* De maleficis mulieribus (1440)
* Formicarius (1475)
* Summis desiderantes affectibus (1484)
* Malleus Maleficarum (1487)
* De Lamiis et Pythonicis Mulieribus (1489)
* Laienspiegel (1509)
* De praestigiis daemonum (1563)
* The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584)
* Newes from Scotland (1591)
* A Dialogue Concerning Witches and Witchcrafts (1593)
* Daemonolatreiae libri tres (1595)
* Daemonologie (1597)
* Magical Investigations (1599)
* Compendium Maleficarum (1608)
* A Guide to Grand-Jury Men (1627)
* The Discovery of Witches (1647)
* Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits and on Vampires or Revenants (1751)

Persecution|

| Modern|

* Jamyi Witch hiring controversy
* accusations against children
* India
* Nepal
* Papua New Guinea
* Witch camp

|

Early Modern|

| Americas|

* Maryland
* New York
* Salem
* Virginia

|

Eastern Europe|

* Hungary
* Northern Moravia
* Poland
* Russia

Northern Europe|

* Baltic
* Denmark
* England
* Finland
* Iceland
* Norway
* Scotland
* Sweden

Western Europe|

* France
* Geneva
* Italy
* Spain
* Basque

Classical|

* Witch trials in the Holy Roman Empire

Related|

* Witch hunt
* Witch's mark
* Pricking
* List of people executed for witchcraft

In popular culture|

* Magic in fiction
* Witches in fiction

Related|

* Witch (word)
* Witch (archetype)
* Christian views on magic
* Magical organization
* Maleficium
* Left-hand path and right-hand path
* Feminist interpretations of witch trials in the early modern period
* Folk religion
* Adept

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