Jump to content

Witchcraft

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Witchcraft is the use of alleged supernatural powers of magic. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic or supernatural powers to inflict harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning.[1] According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination", but it "has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world".[2] The belief in witchcraft has been found throughout history in a great number of societies worldwide. Most of these societies have used protective magic or counter-magic against witchcraft, and have shunned, banished, imprisoned, physically punished or killed alleged witches. Anthropologists use the term "witchcraft" for similar beliefs about harmful occult practices in different cultures, and these societies often use the term when speaking in English.[3][4][5]

Belief in witchcraft as malevolent magic is attested from ancient Mesopotamia, and in Europe, belief in witches traces back to classical antiquity. In medieval and early modern Europe, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have secretly used black magic (maleficium) against their own community. Usually, accusations of witchcraft were made by their neighbors and followed from social tensions. Witches were sometimes said to have communed with demons or with the Devil, though anthropologist Jean La Fontaine notes that such accusations were mainly made against perceived "enemies of the Church".[6] It was thought witchcraft could be thwarted by white magic, provided by 'cunning folk' or 'wise people'. Suspected witches were often prosecuted and punished, if found guilty or simply believed to be guilty. European witch-hunts and witch trials in the early modern period led to tens of thousands of executions. While magical healers and midwives were sometimes accused of witchcraft themselves,[7][4][8][9] they made up a minority of those accused. European belief in witchcraft gradually dwindled during and after the Age of Enlightenment.

Many indigenous belief systems that include the concept of witchcraft likewise define witches as malevolent, and seek healers (such as medicine people and witch doctors) to ward-off and undo bewitchment.[10][11] Some African and Melanesian peoples believe witches are driven by an evil spirit or substance inside them. Modern witch-hunting takes place in parts of Africa and Asia.

Today, followers of certain types of modern paganism identify as witches and use the term "witchcraft" or "pagan witchcraft" for their beliefs and practices.[12][13][14] Other neo-pagans avoid the term due to its negative connotations.[15]

Concept

[edit]
The Witches by Hans Baldung (woodcut), 1508

The most common meaning of "witchcraft" worldwide is the use of harmful magic.[16] Belief in malevolent magic and the concept of witchcraft has lasted throughout recorded history and has been found in cultures worldwide, regardless of development.[3][17] Most societies have feared an ability by some individuals to cause supernatural harm and misfortune to others. This may come from mankind's tendency "to want to assign occurrences of remarkable good or bad luck to agency, either human or superhuman".[18] Historians and anthropologists see the concept of "witchcraft" as one of the ways humans have tried to explain strange misfortune.[18][19] Some cultures have feared witchcraft much less than others, because they tend to have other explanations for strange misfortune.[18] For example, the Gaels of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands historically held a strong belief in fairy folk, who could cause supernatural harm, and witch-hunting was very rare in these regions compared to other regions of the British Isles.[20]

Historian Ronald Hutton outlined five key characteristics ascribed to witches and witchcraft by most cultures that believe in this concept: the use of magic to cause harm or misfortune to others; it was used by the witch against their own community; powers of witchcraft were believed to have been acquired through inheritance or initiation; it was seen as immoral and often thought to involve communion with evil beings; and witchcraft could be thwarted by defensive magic, persuasion, intimidation or physical punishment of the alleged witch.[16]

It is commonly believed that witches use objects, words, and gestures to cause supernatural harm, or that they simply have an innate power to do so. Hutton notes that both kinds of practitioners are often believed to exist in the same culture and that the two often overlap, in that someone with an inborn power could wield that power through material objects.[21]

One of the most influential works on witchcraft and concepts of magic was E. E. Evans-Pritchard's Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande, a study of Azande witchcraft beliefs published in 1937. This provided definitions for witchcraft which became a convention in anthropology.[19] However, some researchers argue that the general adoption of Evans-Pritchard's definitions constrained discussion of witchcraft beliefs, and even broader discussion of magic and religion, in ways that his work does not support.[22] Evans-Pritchard reserved the term "witchcraft" for the actions of those who inflict harm by their inborn power and used "sorcery" for those who needed tools to do so.[23] Historians found these definitions difficult to apply to European witchcraft, where witches were believed to use physical techniques, as well as some who were believed to cause harm by thought alone.[24][25] The distinction "has now largely been abandoned, although some anthropologists still sometimes find it relevant to the particular societies with which they are concerned".[21]

While most cultures believe witchcraft to be something willful, some Indigenous peoples in Africa and Melanesia believe witches have a substance or an evil spirit in their bodies that drives them to do harm.[21] Such substances may be believed to act on their own while the witch is sleeping or unaware.[22] The Dobu people believe women work harmful magic in their sleep while men work it while awake.[26] Further, in cultures where substances within the body are believed to grant supernatural powers, the substance may be good, bad, or morally neutral.[27][28] Hutton draws a distinction between those who unwittingly cast the evil eye and those who deliberately do so, describing only the latter as witches.[18]

The universal or cross-cultural validity of the terms "witch" and "witchcraft" are debated.[19] Hutton states:

[Malevolent magic] is, however, only one current usage of the word. In fact, Anglo-American senses of it now take at least four different forms, although the one discussed above seems still to be the most widespread and frequent. The others define the witch figure as any person who uses magic ... or as the practitioner of nature-based Pagan religion; or as a symbol of independent female authority and resistance to male domination. All have validity in the present.[18]

According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions there is "difficulty of defining 'witches' and 'witchcraft' across cultures—terms that, quite apart from their connotations in popular culture, may include an array of traditional or faith healing practices".[29]

Anthropologist Fiona Bowie notes that the terms "witchcraft" and "witch" are used differently by scholars and the general public in at least four ways.[19] Neopagan writer Isaac Bonewits proposed dividing witches into even more distinct types including, but not limited to: Neopagan, Feminist, Neogothic, Neoclassical, Classical, Family Traditions, Immigrant Traditions, and Ethnic.[30]

Etymology

[edit]

The word is over a thousand years old: Old English formed the compound wiccecræft from wicce ('witch') and cræft ('craft').[31] The masculine form was wicca ('male sorcerer').[32]

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, wicce and wicca were probably derived from the Old English verb wiccian, meaning 'to practice witchcraft'.[33] Wiccian has a cognate in Middle Low German wicken (attested from the 13th century). The further etymology of this word is problematic. It has no clear cognates in other Germanic languages outside of English and Low German, and there are numerous possibilities for the Indo-European root from which it may have derived.

Another Old English word for 'witch' was hægtes or hægtesse, which became the modern English word "hag" and is linked to the word "hex". In most other Germanic languages, their word for 'witch' comes from the same root as these; for example German Hexe and Dutch heks.[34]

In colloquial modern English, the word witch is particularly used for women.[35] A male practitioner of magic or witchcraft is more commonly called a 'wizard', or sometimes, 'warlock'. When the word witch is used to refer to a member of a neo-pagan tradition or religion (such as Wicca), it can refer to a person of any gender.[citation needed]

Beliefs about practices

[edit]
Preparation for the Witches' Sabbath by David Teniers the Younger. It shows a witch brewing a potion overlooked by her familiar spirit or a demon; items on the floor for casting a spell; and another witch reading from a grimoire while anointing the buttocks of a young witch about to fly upon an inverted besom.

Witches are commonly believed to cast curses; a spell or set of magical words and gestures intended to inflict supernatural harm.[36] Cursing could also involve inscribing runes or sigils on an object to give that object magical powers; burning or binding a wax or clay image (a poppet) of a person to affect them magically; or using herbs, animal parts and other substances to make potions or poisons.[37][38][39][21] Witchcraft has been blamed for many kinds of misfortune. In Europe, by far the most common kind of harm attributed to witchcraft was illness or death suffered by adults, their children, or their animals. "Certain ailments, like impotence in men, infertility in women, and lack of milk in cows, were particularly associated with witchcraft". Illnesses that were poorly understood were more likely to be blamed on witchcraft. Edward Bever writes: "Witchcraft was particularly likely to be suspected when a disease came on unusually swiftly, lingered unusually long, could not be diagnosed clearly, or presented some other unusual symptoms".[40]

A common belief in cultures worldwide is that witches tend to use something from their target's body to work magic against them; for example hair, nail clippings, clothing, or bodily waste. Such beliefs are found in Europe, Africa, South Asia, Polynesia, Melanesia, and North America.[21] Another widespread belief among Indigenous peoples in Africa and North America is that witches cause harm by introducing cursed magical objects into their victim's body; such as small bones or ashes.[21] James George Frazer described this kind of magic as imitative.[a]

In some cultures, witches are believed to use human body parts in magic,[21] and they are commonly believed to murder children for this purpose. In Europe, "cases in which women did undoubtedly kill their children, because of what today would be called postpartum psychosis, were often interpreted as yielding to diabolical temptation".[42]

Witches are believed to work in secret, sometimes alone and sometimes with other witches. Hutton writes: "Across most of the world, witches have been thought to gather at night, when normal humans are inactive, and also at their most vulnerable in sleep".[21] In most cultures, witches at these gatherings are thought to transgress social norms by engaging in cannibalism, incest and open nudity.[21]

Witches around the world commonly have associations with animals.[43] Rodney Needham identified this as a defining feature of the witch archetype.[44] In some parts of the world, it is believed witches can shapeshift into animals,[45] or that the witch's spirit travels apart from their body and takes an animal form, an activity often associated with shamanism.[45] Another widespread belief is that witches have an animal helper.[45] In English these are often called "familiars", and meant an evil spirit or demon that had taken an animal form.[45] As researchers examined traditions in other regions, they widened the term to servant spirit-animals which are described as a part of the witch's own soul.[46]

Necromancy is the practice of conjuring the spirits of the dead for divination or prophecy, although the term has also been applied to raising the dead for other purposes. The biblical Witch of Endor performed it (1 Samuel 28th chapter), and it is among the witchcraft practices condemned by Ælfric of Eynsham:[47][48][49] "Witches still go to cross-roads and to heathen burials with their delusive magic and call to the devil; and he comes to them in the likeness of the man that is buried there, as if he arises from death."[50]

Witchcraft and folk healers

[edit]
Diorama of a cunning woman or wise woman in the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

Most societies that have believed in harmful or black magic have also believed in helpful magic. Some have called it white magic, at least in more recent times.[51] Where belief in harmful magic is common, it is typically forbidden by law as well as hated and feared by the general populace, while helpful or apotropaic (protective) magic is tolerated or accepted by the population, even if the orthodox establishment opposes it.[52]

In these societies, practitioners of helpful magic provide (or provided) services such as breaking the effects of witchcraft, healing, divination, finding lost or stolen goods, and love magic.[53] In Britain, and some other parts of Europe, they were commonly known as 'cunning folk' or 'wise people'.[53] Alan McFarlane wrote that while cunning folk is the usual name, some are also known as 'blessers' or 'wizards', but might also be known as 'white', 'good', or 'unbinding witches'.[54] Historian Owen Davies says the term "white witch" was rarely used before the 20th century.[55] Ronald Hutton uses the general term "service magicians".[53] Often these people were involved in identifying alleged witches.[51]

Such helpful magic-workers "were normally contrasted with the witch who practiced maleficium—that is, magic used for harmful ends".[56] In the early years of the European witch hunts "the cunning folk were widely tolerated by church, state and general populace".[56] Some of the more hostile churchmen and secular authorities tried to smear folk-healers and magic-workers by falsely branding them 'witches' and associating them with harmful 'witchcraft',[53] but generally the masses did not accept this and continued to make use of their services.[57] The English MP and skeptic Reginald Scot sought to disprove magic and witchcraft altogether, writing in The Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), "At this day, it is indifferent to say in the English tongue, 'she is a witch' or 'she is a wise woman'".[58] Historian Keith Thomas adds "Nevertheless, it is possible to isolate that kind of 'witchcraft' which involved the employment (or presumed employment) of some occult means of doing harm to other people in a way which was generally disapproved of. In this sense the belief in witchcraft can be defined as the attribution of misfortune to occult human agency".[4]

Emma Wilby says folk magicians in Europe were viewed ambivalently by communities, and were considered as capable of harming as of healing,[59] which could lead to their being accused as malevolent witches. She suggests some English "witches" convicted of consorting with demons may have been cunning folk whose supposed fairy familiars had been demonised.[60]

Hutton says that magical healers "were sometimes denounced as witches, but seem to have made up a minority of the accused in any area studied".[51] Likewise, Davies says "relatively few cunning-folk were prosecuted under secular statutes for witchcraft" and were dealt with more leniently than alleged witches. The Constitutio Criminalis Carolina (1532) of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Danish Witchcraft Act of 1617, stated that workers of folk magic should be dealt with differently from witches.[61] It was suggested by Richard Horsley that 'diviner-healers' (devins-guerisseurs) made up a significant proportion of those tried for witchcraft in France and Switzerland, but more recent surveys conclude that they made up less than 2% of the accused.[62] However, Éva Pócs says that half the accused witches in Hungary seem to have been healers,[63] and Kathleen Stokker says the "vast majority" of Norway's accused witches were folk healers.[64]

Witch-hunts and thwarting witchcraft

[edit]
A witch bottle, used as counter-magic against witchcraft

Societies that believe (or believed) in witchcraft also believe that it can be thwarted in various ways. One common way is to use protective magic or counter-magic, often with the help of magical healers such as cunning folk or witch-doctors.[51] This includes performing rituals, reciting charms, or the use of talismans, amulets, anti-witch marks, witch bottles, witch balls, and burying objects such as horse skulls inside the walls of buildings.[65] Another believed cure for bewitchment is to persuade or force the alleged witch to lift their spell.[51] Often, people have attempted to thwart the witchcraft by physically punishing the alleged witch, such as by banishing, wounding, torturing or killing them. "In most societies, however, a formal and legal remedy was preferred to this sort of private action", whereby the alleged witch would be prosecuted and then formally punished if found guilty.[51]

Accusations of witchcraft

[edit]
Alleged witches being accused in the Salem witch trials

Throughout the world, accusations of witchcraft are often linked to social and economic tensions. Females are most often accused, but in some cultures it is mostly males. In many societies, accusations are directed mainly against the elderly, but in others age is not a factor, and in some cultures it is mainly adolescents who are accused.[66]

Éva Pócs writes that reasons for accusations of witchcraft fall into four general categories. The first three of which were proposed by Richard Kieckhefer, and the fourth added by Christina Larner:[67]

  1. A person was caught in the act of positive or negative sorcery
  2. A well-meaning sorcerer or healer lost their clients' or the authorities' trust
  3. A person did nothing more than gain the enmity of their neighbors
  4. A person was reputed to be a witch and surrounded with an aura of witch-beliefs or occultism.

Modern witch-hunts

[edit]

Witch-hunts, scapegoating, and the shunning or murder of suspected witches still occurs.[68] Many cultures worldwide continue to have a belief in the concept of "witchcraft" or malevolent magic.[69]

Apart from extrajudicial violence, state-sanctioned execution also occurs in some jurisdictions. For instance, in Saudi Arabia practicing witchcraft and sorcery is a crime punishable by death and the country has executed people for this crime as recently as 2014.[70][71][72]

Witchcraft-related violence is often discussed as a serious issue in the broader context of violence against women.[73][74][75][76][77] In Tanzania, an estimated 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft or accusations of being a witch, according to a 2014 World Health Organization report.[78]

Children who live in some regions of the world, such as parts of Africa, are also vulnerable to violence stemming from witchcraft accusations.[79][80][81][82] Such incidents have also occurred in immigrant communities in Britain, including the much publicized case of the murder of Victoria Climbié.[83][84]

Religious perspectives

[edit]

Ancient Mesopotamian religion

[edit]
A clay tablet from the Maqlû, outlining an ancient Akkadian anti-witchcraft ritual.

Magic was an important part of ancient Mesopotamian religion and society, which distinguished between 'good' (helpful) and 'bad' (harmful) rites.[85] In ancient Mesopotamia, they mainly used counter-magic against witchcraft (kišpū[86]), but the law codes also prescribed the death penalty for those found guilty of witchcraft.[85] According to Tzvi Abusch, ancient Mesopotamian ideas about witches and witchcraft shifted over time, and the early stages were "comparable to the archaic shamanistic stage of European witchcraft".[87] In this early stage, witches were not necessarily considered evil, but took 'white' and 'black' forms, could help others using magic and medical knowledge, generally lived in rural areas and sometimes exhibited ecstatic behavior.[87]

In ancient Mesopotamia, a witch (m. kaššāpu, f. kaššāptu, from kašāpu ['to bewitch'][86]) was "usually regarded as an anti-social and illegitimate practitioner of destructive magic ... whose activities were motivated by malice and evil intent and who was opposed by the ašipu, an exorcist or incantation-priest".[87] These ašipu were predominantly male representatives of the state religion, whose main role was to work magic against harmful supernatural forces such as demons.[87] The stereotypical witch mentioned in the sources tended to be those of low status who were weak or otherwise marginalized, including women, foreigners, actors, and peddlers.[85]

The Law Code of Hammurabi (18th century BCE) allowed someone accused of witchcraft (harmful magic) to undergo trial by ordeal, by jumping into a holy river. If they drowned, they were deemed guilty and the accuser inherited the guilty person's estate. If they survived, the accuser's estate was handed over instead.[85]

The Maqlû ("burning") is an ancient Akkadian text, written early in the first millennium BCE, which sets out a Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft ritual.[88] This lengthy ritual includes invoking various gods, burning an effigy of the witch, then dousing and disposing of the remains.[89]

Abrahamic religions

[edit]

Witchcraft's historical evolution in the Middle East reveals a multi-phase journey influenced by culture, spirituality, and societal norms. Ancient witchcraft in the Near East intertwined mysticism with nature through rituals and incantations aligned with local beliefs. In ancient Judaism, magic had a complex relationship, with some forms accepted due to mysticism[90] while others were considered heretical.[91] The medieval Middle East experienced shifting perceptions of witchcraft under Islamic and Christian influences, sometimes revered for healing and other times condemned as heresy.

Jewish

[edit]

Jewish attitudes toward witchcraft were rooted in its association with idolatry and necromancy, and some rabbis even practiced certain forms of magic themselves.[92][93] References to witchcraft in the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, highlighted strong condemnations rooted in the "abomination" of magical belief. Christianity similarly condemned witchcraft, considering it an abomination and even citing specific verses to justify witch-hunting during the early modern period.

Christian

[edit]
Illustration by Martin van Maële of a Witches' Sabbath and Black Mass overseen by a horned Devil, in the 1911 edition of La Sorcière, by Jules Michelet

Historically, the Christian concept of witchcraft derives from Old Testament laws against it. In medieval and early modern Europe, many Christians believed in magic. As opposed to the helpful magic of the cunning folk, witchcraft was seen as evil and associated with Satan and Devil worship. This often resulted in deaths, torture and scapegoating (casting blame for misfortune),[94][95] and many years of large scale witch-trials and witch hunts, especially in Protestant Europe, before largely ending during the Age of Enlightenment. Christian views in the modern day are diverse, ranging from intense belief and opposition (especially by Christian fundamentalists) to non-belief. During the Age of Colonialism, many cultures were exposed to the Western world via colonialism, usually accompanied by intensive Christian missionary activity (see Christianization). In these cultures, beliefs about witchcraft were partly influenced by the prevailing Western concepts of the time.

In Christianity, sorcery came to be associated with heresy and apostasy and to be viewed as evil. Among Catholics, Protestants, and the secular leadership of late medieval/early modern Europe, fears about witchcraft rose to fever pitch and sometimes led to large-scale witch-hunts. The fifteenth century saw a dramatic rise in awareness and terror of witchcraft. Tens of thousands of people were executed, and others were imprisoned, tortured, banished, and had lands and possessions confiscated. The majority of those accused were women, though in some regions the majority were men.[96][97]: 23 In Scots, the word warlock came to be used as the male equivalent of witch (which can be male or female, but is used predominantly for females).[98][99]

The Malleus Maleficarum (Latin for 'Hammer of The Witches') was a witch-hunting manual written in 1486 by two German monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. It was used by both Catholics and Protestants[100] for several hundred years, outlining how to identify a witch, what makes a woman more likely than a man to be a witch, how to put a witch on trial, and how to punish a witch. The book defines a witch as evil and typically female. It became the handbook for secular courts throughout Europe, but was not used by the Inquisition, which even cautioned against relying on it.[101] It was the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, after the Bible.[102]

Islamic

[edit]

Islamic perspectives on magic encompass a wide range of practices,[103] with belief in black magic and the evil eye coexisting alongside strict prohibitions against its practice.[104] The Quran acknowledges the existence of magic and seeks protection from its harm. Islam's stance is against the practice of magic, considering it forbidden, and emphasizes divine miracles rather than magic or witchcraft.[105] The historical continuity of witchcraft in the Middle East underlines the complex interaction between spiritual beliefs and societal norms across different cultures and epochs.

Modern paganism

[edit]

During the 20th century, interest in witchcraft rose in English-speaking and European countries. From the 1920s, Margaret Murray popularized the 'witch-cult hypothesis': the idea that those persecuted as 'witches' in early modern Europe were followers of a benevolent pagan religion that had survived the Christianization of Europe. This has been discredited by further historical research.[106][107][108][109][110]

From the 1930s, occult neopagan groups began to emerge who called their religion a kind of 'witchcraft'. They were initiatory secret societies inspired by Murray's 'witch cult' theory, ceremonial magic, Aleister Crowley's Thelema, and historical paganism.[111][112][113] The biggest religious movement to emerge from this is Wicca. Today, some Wiccans and members of related traditions self-identify as "witches" and use the term "witchcraft" for their magico-religious beliefs and practices, primarily in Western anglophone countries.[12]

Regional perspectives

[edit]
Prevalence of belief in witchcraft by country[114]
Socio-demographic correlates of witchcraft beliefs[114]

A 2022 study found that belief in witchcraft, as in the use of malevolent magic or powers, is still widespread in some parts of the world. It found that belief in witchcraft varied from 9% of people in some countries to 90% in others, and was linked to cultural and socioeconomic factors. Stronger belief in witchcraft correlated with poorer economic development, weak institutions, lower levels of education, lower life expectancy, lower life satisfaction, and high religiosity.[115][114]

It contrasted two hypotheses about future changes in witchcraft belief:[114]

  • witchcraft beliefs should decline "in the process of development due to improved security and health, lower exposure to shocks, spread of education and scientific approach to explaining life events" according to standard modernization theory
  • "some aspects of development, namely rising inequality, globalization, technological change, and migration, may instead revive witchcraft beliefs by disrupting established social order" according to literature largely inspired by observations from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Africa

[edit]

African witchcraft encompasses 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.[116] 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.[117]

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.[118]

In the Central African Republic, hundreds of people are convicted of witchcraft yearly, with reports of violence against accused women.[119] 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.[120] In Ghana, there are several "witch camps", where women accused of witchcraft can seek refuge, though the government plans to close them.[121]

In west Kenya, there have been cases of accused witches being burned to death in their homes by mobs.[122] 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.[123] In Nigeria, Pentecostal pastors have intertwined Christianity with witchcraft beliefs for profit, leading to the torture and killing of accused children.[124] Sierra Leone's Mende people see witchcraft convictions as beneficial, as the accused receive support and care from the community.[125]

Lastly, in Zulu culture, healers known as sangomas protect people from witchcraft and evil spirits through divination, rituals and mediumship.[126] However, concerns arise regarding the training and authenticity of some sangomas.

In parts of Africa, beliefs about illness being caused by witchcraft continue to fuel suspicion of modern medicine, with serious healthcare consequences. HIV/AIDS[127] and Ebola[128] are two examples of often-lethal infectious disease epidemics whose medical care and containment has been severely hampered by regional beliefs in witchcraft. Other severe medical conditions whose treatment is hampered in this way include tuberculosis, leprosy, epilepsy and the common severe bacterial Buruli ulcer.[129][130]

Americas

[edit]
Indigenous witch doctor or medicine woman of the Mayan Tzotzil tribe, 1894

North America

[edit]

North America hosts a diverse array of beliefs about witchcraft, some of which have evolved through interactions between cultures.[131][132]

Native American peoples such as the Cherokee,[133] Hopi,[134] the Navajo[5] among others,[135] believed in malevolent "witch" figures who could harm their communities by supernatural means; this was often punished harshly, including by execution.[136] In these communities, medicine people were healers and protectors against witchcraft.[133][134]

The term "witchcraft" arrived with European colonists, along with European views on witchcraft.[131] This term would be adopted by many Indigenous communities for their own beliefs about harmful magic and harmful supernatural powers. Witch hunts took place among Christian European settlers in colonial America and the United States, most infamously the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. These trials led to the execution of numerous individuals accused of practicing witchcraft. Despite changes in laws and perspectives over time, accusations of witchcraft persisted into the 19th century in some regions, such as Tennessee, where prosecutions occurred as late as 1833.

Some North American witchcraft beliefs were influenced by beliefs about witchcraft in Latin America, and by African witchcraft beliefs through the slave trade.[137][138][132] Native American cultures adopted the term for their own witchcraft beliefs.[139] Neopagan witchcraft practices such as Wicca then emerged in the mid-20th century.[131][132]

Latin America

[edit]

Witchcraft beliefs in Latin America are influenced by Spanish Catholic, Indigenous, and African beliefs. In Colonial Mexico, the Mexican Inquisition showed little concern for witchcraft; the Spanish Inquisitors treated witchcraft accusations as a "religious problem that could be resolved through confession and absolution". Anthropologist Ruth Behar writes that Mexican Inquisition cases "hint at a fascinating conjecture of sexuality, witchcraft, and religion, in which Spanish, indigenous, and African cultures converged".[140] There are cases where European women and Indigenous women were accused of collaborating to work "love magic" or "sexual witchcraft" against men in colonial Mexico.[141] According to anthropology professor Laura Lewis, "witchcraft" in colonial Mexico represented an "affirmation of hegemony" for women and especially Indigenous women over their white male counterparts in the casta system.[142]

Belief in witchcraft is a constant in the history of colonial Brazil, for example the several denunciations and confessions given to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of Bahia (1591–1593), Pernambuco and Paraíba (1593–1595).[143]

Brujería, often called a Latin American form of witchcraft, is a syncretic Afro-Caribbean tradition that combines Indigenous religious and magical practices from the Caribbean, together with Catholicism, and European witchcraft.[144] The tradition and terminology is considered to encompass both helpful and harmful practices.[145] A male practitioner is called a brujo, a female practitioner, a bruja.[145] Healers may be further distinguished by the terms kurioso or kuradó, a man or woman who performs trabou chikí ("little works") and trabou grandi ("large treatments") to promote or restore health, bring fortune or misfortune, deal with unrequited love, and more serious concerns. Sorcery usually involves reference to an entity referred to as the almasola or homber chiki.[146]

Asia

[edit]
Okabe – The cat witch, by Utagawa Kuniyoshi

East Asia

[edit]

In Chinese culture, the practice of Gong Tau involves black magic for purposes such as revenge and financial assistance.[citation needed] Japanese folklore features witch figures who employ foxes as familiars. Korean history includes instances of individuals being condemned for using spells. The Philippines has its own tradition of witches, distinct from Western portrayals, with their practices often countered by indigenous shamans.[citation needed]

Middle East

[edit]

Witchcraft beliefs in the Middle East have a long history, and magic was a part of the ancient cultures and religions of the region.[147]

In ancient Mesopotamia (Sumeria, Assyria, Babylonia), a witch (m. kaššāpu, f. kaššāptu) was "usually regarded as an anti-social and illegitimate practitioner of destructive magic ... motivated by malice and evil intent".[87] Ancient Mesopotamian societies mainly used counter-magic against witchcraft (kišpū), but the law codes also prescribed the death penalty for those found guilty of witchcraft.[85]

For the ancient Hittites, magic could only be sanctioned by the state, and accusations of witchcraft were often used to control political enemies.[148]

As the ancient Hebrews focused on their worship on Yahweh, Judaism clearly distinguished between forms of magic and mystical practices which were accepted, and those which were viewed as forbidden or heretical, and thus "witchcraft".[149]

In the medieval Middle East, under Islamic and Christian influences, witchcraft's perception fluctuated between healing and heresy, revered by some and condemned by others.[citation needed] In the present day diverse witchcraft communities have emerged.[citation needed]

Europe

[edit]

Ancient Roman world

[edit]
Caius Furius Cressinus Accused of Sorcery, Jean-Pierre Saint-Ours, 1792

European belief in witchcraft can be traced back to classical antiquity, when concepts of magic and religion were closely related. During the pagan era of ancient Rome, there were laws against harmful magic.[150] According to Pliny, the 5th century BCE laws of the Twelve Tables laid down penalties for uttering harmful incantations and for stealing the fruitfulness of someone else's crops by magic.[150] The only recorded trial involving this law was that of Gaius Furius Cresimus.[150]

The Classical Latin word veneficium meant both poisoning and causing harm by magic (such as magic potions), although ancient people would not have distinguished between the two.[151] In 331 BCE, a deadly epidemic hit Rome and at least 170 women were executed for causing it by veneficium. In 184–180 BCE, another epidemic hit Italy, and about 5,000 were executed for veneficium.[151] If the reports are accurate, writes Hutton, "then the Republican Romans hunted witches on a scale unknown anywhere else in the ancient world".[151]

Under the Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis of 81 BCE, killing by veneficium carried the death penalty. During the early Imperial era, the Lex Cornelia began to be used more broadly against other kinds of magic,[151] including sacrifices made for evil purposes. The magicians were to be burnt at the stake.[150]

Witch characters—women who work powerful evil magic—appear in ancient Roman literature from the first century BCE onward. They are typically hags who chant harmful incantations; make poisonous potions from herbs and the body parts of animals and humans; sacrifice children; raise the dead; can control the natural world; can shapeshift themselves and others into animals; and invoke underworld deities and spirits. They include Lucan's Erichtho, Horace's Canidia, Ovid's Dipsas, and Apuleius's Meroe.[151]

Early modern and contemporary Europe

[edit]
A 1613 English pamphlet showing "Witches apprehended, examined and executed"

By the early modern period, major witch hunts and witch trials began to take place in Europe, partly fueled by religious tensions, societal anxieties, and economic upheaval. One influential text was the Malleus Maleficarum, a 1486 treatise that provided a framework for identifying, prosecuting, and punishing witches. Witches were typically seen as people who caused harm or misfortune through black magic, and were sometimes believed to have made a pact with the Devil.[152] Usually, accusations of witchcraft were made by neighbors and followed from social tensions. Accusations were often made against marginalized individuals, women, the elderly, and those who did not conform to societal norms. Women made accusations as often as men. The common people believed that magical healers (called 'cunning folk' or 'wise people') could undo bewitchment. Hutton says that magical healers were sometimes denounced as witches themselves, "but seem to have made up a minority of the accused in any area studied".[51] The witch-craze reached its peak between the 16th and 17th centuries, resulting in the execution of tens of thousands of people. This dark period of history reflects the confluence of superstition, fear, and authority, as well as the societal tendency to find scapegoats for complex problems. A feminist interpretation of the witch trials is that misogynist views led to the association of women and malevolent witchcraft.[152]

Russia also experienced its own iteration of witchcraft trials during the 17th century. Witches were often accused of sorcery and engaging in supernatural activities, leading to their excommunication and execution. The blending of ecclesiastical and secular jurisdictions in Russia's approach to witchcraft trials highlighted the intertwined nature of religious and political power during that time. As the 17th century progressed, the fear of witches shifted from mere superstition to a tool for political manipulation, with accusations used to target individuals who posed threats to the ruling elite.[citation needed]

Since the 1940s, neopagan witchcraft movements have emerged in Europe, seeking to revive and reinterpret ancient pagan and mystical practices. Wicca, pioneered by Gerald Gardner, is the most influential. Drawing inspiration from ceremonial magic, historical paganism, and the now-discredited witch-cult theory, Wicca emphasizes a connection to nature, the divine, and personal growth. Similarly, Stregheria in Italy reflects a desire to reconnect with the country's pagan past. Many of these neopagans self-identify as "witches". Neopagan witchcraft in Europe encompasses a wide range of traditions.[citation needed]

Oceania

[edit]

The Cook Islands Māori term for black magic is purepure.[153] Native priests and folk healers are called ta'unga.[154]

It is estimated that 50–150 alleged witches are killed each year in Papua New Guinea.[155] A local newspaper informed that more than fifty people were killed in two Highlands provinces of Papua New Guinea in 2008 for allegedly practicing witchcraft.[156]

Belief and practice of witchcraft are prevalent in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea.[157] Unlike other provinces, Milne Bay and the Samarai Islands see much less violence against both those accused of witchcraft and women in general than other parts of the country.[157] It is suggested the history of witchcraft in the area contributes to a raise in status of women in the area overall.[157]

Witches in art and literature

[edit]
Albrecht Dürer c. 1500: Witch riding backwards on a goat

Witches have a long history of being depicted in art, although most of their earliest artistic depictions seem to originate in Early Modern Europe, particularly the Medieval and Renaissance periods. Many scholars attribute their manifestation in art as inspired by texts such as Canon Episcopi, a demonology-centered work of literature, and Malleus Maleficarum, a "witch-craze" manual published in 1487, by Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger.[158] Witches in fiction span a wide array of characterizations. They are typically, but not always, female, and generally depicted as either villains or heroines.[159]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ "If we analyze the principles of thought on which magic is based, they will probably be found to resolve themselves into two: first, that like produces like, or that an effect resembles its cause; and, second, that things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed. The former principle may be called the Law of Similarity, the latter the Law of Contact or Contagion. From the first of these principles, namely the Law of Similarity, the magician infers that he can produce any effect he desires merely by imitating it: from the second he infers that whatever he does to a material object will affect equally the person with whom the object was once in contact, whether it formed part of his body or not."[41]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Hutton (2017), p. ix; Thomas (1997), p. 519.
  2. ^ Russell, Jeffrey Burton; Lewis, Ioan M. (2023). "Witchcraft". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023. Although defined differently in disparate historical and cultural contexts, witchcraft has often been seen, especially in the West, as the work of crones who meet secretly at night, indulge in cannibalism and orgiastic rites with the Devil, or Satan, and perform black magic. Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination of contemporaries than in any objective reality. Yet this stereotype has a long history and has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world.
  3. ^ a b Singh, Manvir (2 February 2021). "Magic, Explanations, and Evil: The Origins and Design of Witches and Sorcerers". Current Anthropology. 62 (1): 2–29. doi:10.1086/713111. ISSN 0011-3204. S2CID 232214522. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Thomas (1997), p. 519.
  5. ^ a b Perrone, Bobette; Stockel, H. Henrietta; Krueger, Victoria (1993). Medicine women, curanderas, and women doctors. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0806125121. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
  6. ^ La Fontaine, J. (2016). Witches and Demons: A Comparative Perspective on Witchcraft and Satanism. Berghahn Books. pp. 33–34. ISBN 978-1785330865.
  7. ^ Davies (2003), pp. 7–13.
  8. ^ Riddle, John M. (1997). Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 110–119. ISBN 0674270266.
  9. ^ Ehrenreich & English (2010), pp. 31–59.
  10. ^ Demetrio, F. R. (1988). Philippine Studies Vol. 36, No. 3: Shamans, Witches and Philippine Society, pp. 372–380. Ateneo de Manila University.
  11. ^ Tan, Michael L. (2008). Revisiting Usog, Pasma, Kulam. University of the Philippines Press. ISBN 978-9715425704. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  12. ^ a b Doyle White, Ethan (2016). Wicca: History, Belief, and Community in Modern Pagan Witchcraft. Liverpool University Press. pp. 1–9, 73. ISBN 978-1-84519-754-4.
  13. ^ Berger, Helen A.; Ezzy, Douglas (September 2009). "Mass Media and Religious Identity: A Case Study of Young Witches". Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 48 (3): 501–514. doi:10.1111/j.1468-5906.2009.01462.x. ISSN 0021-8294. JSTOR 40405642.
  14. ^ Kelly, Aidan A. (1992). "An Update on Neopagan Witchcraft in America". In James R. Lewis; J. Gordon Melton (eds.). Perspectives on the New Age. Albany: State University of New York Press. pp. 136–151. ISBN 978-0791412138.
  15. ^ Lewis, James (1996). Magical Religion and Modern Witchcraft. SUNY Press. p. 376.
  16. ^ a b Hutton (2017), pp. 3–4.
  17. ^ Ankarloo & Clark (2001), p. xiii.
  18. ^ a b c d e Hutton (2017), p. 10.
  19. ^ a b c d Moro, Pamela A. (2017). "Witchcraft, Sorcery, and Magic". The International Encyclopedia of Anthropology. pp. 1–9. doi:10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea1915. ISBN 9780470657225.
  20. ^ Hutton (2017), p. 245.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hutton (2017), pp. 19–22.
  22. ^ a b Mills, Martin A. (March 2013). "The opposite of witchcraft: Evans-Pritchard and the problem of the person". The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 19 (1): 18–33. doi:10.1111/1467-9655.12001. JSTOR 42002806.
  23. ^ Evans-Pritchard, Edward Evan (1937). Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-0198740292.
  24. ^ Thomas (1997), pp. 464–465.
  25. ^ Ankarloo, Bengt; Henningsen, Gustav (1990). Early Modern European Witchcraft: Centres and Peripheries. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 1, 14.
  26. ^ Hutton (2017), pp. 18–19.
  27. ^ Iniobong Daniel Umotong. "Witchcraft in Africa: malignant or developmental?". www.nigerianjournalsonline.com.
  28. ^ Gbule, NJ; Odili, JU (2015). "Socio-Missiological Significance of Witchcraft Belief and Practice in Africa". African Research Review. 9 (3): 99. doi:10.4314/afrrev.v9i3.9.
  29. ^ "Witchcraft and human rights". Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
  30. ^ Adler (2006), pp. 65–68.
  31. ^ Harper, Douglas. "witchcraft (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  32. ^ "Home : Oxford English Dictionary". oed.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
  33. ^ "witch". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  34. ^ "hag (n.)". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  35. ^ "Definition of WITCH". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  36. ^ Levack (2013), p. 54.
  37. ^ Luck, Georg (1985). Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and Roman Worlds; a Collection of Ancient Texts. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 254, 260, 394. ISBN 978-0801825231.
  38. ^ Kittredge, George Lyman (1929). Witchcraft in Old and New England. New York: Russell & Russell. p. 172. ISBN 978-0674182325.
  39. ^ Davies, Owen (1999). Witchcraft, Magic and Culture, 1736–1951. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719056567.
  40. ^ Levack (2013), pp. 54–55.
  41. ^ Frazer, James (1922). The Golden Bough. Bartleby.
  42. ^ Burns, William (2003). Witch Hunts in Europe and America: An Encyclopedia. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 141–142.
  43. ^ Hutton (2017), pp. 264–277.
  44. ^ Rodney Needham, Primordial Characters, Charlottesville, Va, 1978, 26, 42 [ISBN missing]
  45. ^ a b c d Hutton (2017), p. 264.
  46. ^ Hutton (2017), p. 269.
  47. ^ Semple, Sarah (December 2003). "Illustrations of damnation in late Anglo-Saxon manuscripts" (PDF). Anglo-Saxon England. 32: 231–245. doi:10.1017/S0263675103000115. S2CID 161982897. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  48. ^ Semple, Sarah (June 1998). "A fear of the past: The place of the prehistoric burial mound in the ideology of middle and later Anglo-Saxon England". World Archaeology. 30 (1): 109–126. doi:10.1080/00438243.1998.9980400. JSTOR 125012.
  49. ^ Pope, J.C. (1968). Homilies of Aelfric: a supplementary collection (Early English Text Society 260). Vol. II. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. p. 796.
  50. ^ Meaney, Audrey L. (December 1984). "Æfric and Idolatry". Journal of Religious History. 13 (2): 119–135. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9809.1984.tb00191.x.
  51. ^ a b c d e f g Hutton (2017), pp. 24–25.
  52. ^ Hutton, Ronald (2006). Witches, Druids and King Arthur. London: A&C Black. p. 203. ISBN 978-1852855550. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  53. ^ a b c d Hutton (2017), pp. x–xi.
  54. ^ Macfarlane, Alan (1999). Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A Regional and Comparative Study. Psychology Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0415196123.
  55. ^ Davies (2003), p. xiii.
  56. ^ a b Willis (2018), pp. 27–28.
  57. ^ Grell, Ole Peter; Scribner, Robert W. (2002). Tolerance and Intolerance in the European Reformation. Cambridge University Press. p. 45. Not all the stereotypes created by elites were capable of popular reception [...] The most interesting example concerns cunning folk, whom secular and religious authorities consistently sought to associate with negative stereotypes of superstition or witchcraft. This proved no deterrent to their activities or to the positive evaluation in the popular mind of what they had to offer.
  58. ^ Scot, Reginald (1584). "Chapter 9". The Discoverie of Witchcraft. Vol. Booke V.
  59. ^ Wilby (2005), pp. 51–54.
  60. ^ Wilby (2005), p. 123.
  61. ^ Davies (2003), p. 164.
  62. ^ Davies (2003), p. 167.
  63. ^ Pócs (1999), p. 12.
  64. ^ Stokker, Kathleen (2007). Remedies and Rituals: Folk Medicine in Norway and the New Land. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-0873517508. Supernatural healing of the sort practiced by Inger Roed and Lisbet Nypan, known as signeri, played a role in the vast majority of Norway's 263 documented witch trials. In trial after trial, accused 'witches' came forward and freely testified about their healing methods, telling about the salves they made and the bønner (prayers) they read over them to enhance their potency.
  65. ^ Hoggard, Brian (2004). "The archaeology of counter-witchcraft and popular magic", in Beyond the Witch Trials: Witchcraft and Magic in Enlightenment Europe, Manchester University Press. p. 167[ISBN missing]
  66. ^ Hutton (2017), p. 15.
  67. ^ Pócs (1999), pp. 9–10.
  68. ^ Pearlman, Jonathan (11 April 2013). "Papua New Guinea urged to halt witchcraft violence after latest 'sorcery' case". The Telegraph. London, England: Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  69. ^ Ankarloo & Clark (2001), p. [page needed].
  70. ^ "Saudi woman beheaded for 'witchcraft and sorcery'". Edition.cnn.com. 13 December 2011. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  71. ^ "Saudi man executed for 'witchcraft and sorcery'". BBC News. Bbc.com. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  72. ^ di Giovanni, Janine (14 October 2014). "When It Comes to Beheadings, ISIS Has Nothing Over Saudi Arabia". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 16 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  73. ^ "A Global Issue that Demands Action" (PDF). the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) Vienna Liaison Office. 2013. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  74. ^ Diwan, Mohammed (1 July 2004). "Conflict between State Legal Norms and Norms Underlying Popular Beliefs: Witchcraft in Africa as a Case Study". Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law. 14 (2): 351–388. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  75. ^ Witch Hunts in Modern South Africa: An Under-represented Facet of Gender-based Violence (PDF). MRC-UNISA Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programm. 2009. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.694.6630. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  76. ^ "Nepal: Witchcraft as a Superstition and a form of violence against women in Nepal". Humanrights.asia. Asian Human Rights Commission. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  77. ^ Adinkrah, Mensah (April 2004). "Witchcraft Accusations and Female Homicide Victimization in Contemporary Ghana". Violence Against Women. 10 (4): 325–356. doi:10.1177/1077801204263419. S2CID 146650565.
  78. ^ "World Report on Violence and Health" (PDF). World Health Organization. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  79. ^ Bussien, Nathaly et al. 2011. Breaking the spell: Responding to witchcraft accusations against children, in New Issues in refugee Research (197). Geneva, Switzerland: UNHCR
  80. ^ Cimpric, Aleksandra 2010. Children accused of witchcraft, An anthropological study of contemporary practices in Africa. Dakar, Senegal: UNICEF WCARO
  81. ^ Molina, Javier Aguilar 2006. "The Invention of Child Witches in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Social cleansing, religious commerce and the difficulties of being a parent in an urban culture". London: Save the Children
  82. ^ Human Rights Watch 2006. Children in the DRC. Human Rights Watch report, 18 (2)
  83. ^ "Witchcraft murder: Couple jailed for Kristy Bamu killing". BBC News. Bbc.co.uk. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  84. ^ Dangerfield, Andy (1 March 2012). "Government urged to tackle 'witchcraft belief' child abuse". BBC News. Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  85. ^ a b c d e Hutton (2017), p. 49–50.
  86. ^ a b Reiner (1995), p. 97.
  87. ^ a b c d e Abusch (2002), p. 65–66.
  88. ^ Abusch, Tzvi (2015). The Witchcraft Series Maqlû. Writings from the Ancient World. Vol. 37. SBL Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-1628370829.
  89. ^ Abusch (2002), p. 15–16.
  90. ^ Sanhedrin 67b
  91. ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Witchcraft". Newadvent.org. 1 October 1912. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  92. ^ Green, Kayla. "The Golem in the Attic". Archived 25 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine Moment. 1 February 2011. 25 August 2017.
  93. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (10 May 2009). "Hard Times Give New Life to Prague's Golem". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013. According to Czech legend, the Golem was fashioned from clay and brought to life by a rabbi to protect Prague's 16th-century ghetto from persecution, and is said to be called forth in times of crisis. True to form, he is once again experiencing a revival, and in this commercial age, has spawned a one-monster industry.
  94. ^ Russell, Jeffrey Burton. "Witchcraft". Britannica.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  95. ^ Pócs (1999), pp. 9–12.
  96. ^ Gibbons, Jenny (1998) "Recent Developments in the Study of the Great European Witch Hunt" in The Pomegranate Archived 2009-01-26 at the Wayback Machine #5, Lammas 1998.
  97. ^ Barstow, Anne Llewellyn (1994). Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunts. San Francisco: Pandora. ISBN 978-0062500496.
  98. ^ McNeill, F. Marian (1957). The Silver Bough: A Four Volume Study of the National and Local Festivals of Scotland. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Canongate Books. ISBN 978-0862412319.
  99. ^ Sinclair, George (1871). Satan's Invisible World Discovered. Edinburgh.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  100. ^ Campbell, Heather M., ed. (2011). The Emergence of Modern Europe: c. 1500 to 1788. Britannica Educational Publishing. p. 27. ISBN 978-1615303434. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  101. ^ Jolly, Karen; Raudvere, Catharina; Peters, Edward (2002). Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: The Middle Ages. New York: A&C Black. p. 241. ISBN 978-0485890037. In 1538 the Spanish Inquisition cautioned its members not to believe everything the Malleus said, even when it presented apparently firm evidence.
  102. ^ "History of Witches". History.com. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  103. ^ Savage-Smith, Emilie (2004). Magic and Divination in Early Islam. Ashgate/Variorum. ISBN 978-0860787150. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  104. ^ Khaldûn, Ibn (2015). The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History (Abridged ed.). Princeton University Press. p. 578. ISBN 978-0691166285. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  105. ^ Savage-Smith, Emilie, ed. Magic and divination in early Islam. Routledge, 2021. p. 87
  106. ^ Adler (2006), pp. 45–47, 84–85.
  107. ^ Hutton (2017), p. 121.
  108. ^ Rose, Elliot (1962). A Razor for a Goat. University of Toronto Press.
  109. ^ Hutton, Ronald (1993). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers.
  110. ^ Hutton (1999).
  111. ^ Hutton (1999), pp. 205–252.
  112. ^ Kelly, A. A. (1991). Crafting the Art of Magic, Book I: a History of Modern Witchcraft, 1939–1964. Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications.[ISBN missing]
  113. ^ Valiente, D. (1989). The Rebirth of Witchcraft. London: Robert Hale. pp. 35–62.[ISBN missing]
  114. ^ a b c d Gershman, Boris (23 November 2022). "Witchcraft beliefs around the world: An exploratory analysis". PLOS ONE. 17 (11): e0276872. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1776872G. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0276872. PMC 9683553. PMID 36417350.
  115. ^ "Witchcraft beliefs are widespread, highly variable around the world". Public Library of Science via phys.org. Retrieved 17 December 2022.
  116. ^ Okeja, Uchenna (2011). 'An African Context of the Belief in Witchcraft and Magic,' in Rational Magic. Fisher Imprints. ISBN 978-1848880610.[page needed]
  117. ^ 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.
  118. ^ Igwe, Leo (September–October 2020). "Accused Witches Burned, Killed in Nigeria". Skeptical Inquirer. Amherst, New York: Center for Inquiry.
  119. ^ "The dangers of witchcraft". Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
  120. ^ "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 14 November 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  121. ^ Whitaker, Kati (September 2012). "Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2012.
  122. ^ Kanina, Wangui (21 May 2008). "Mob burns to death 11 Kenyan 'witches'". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  123. ^ Byrne, Carrie 2011. "Hunting the vulnerable: Witchcraft and the law in Malawi"; Consultancy Africa Intelligence (16 June):
  124. ^ "Stepping Stones Nigeria 2007. Supporting Victims of Witchcraft Abuse and Street Children in Nigeria". humantrafficking.org. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012.
  125. ^ West, Harry G. Ethnographic Sorcery (p. 24); 2007. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226893983 (pbk.).
  126. ^ Cumes, David (2004). Africa in my bones. Claremont: New Africa Books. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-86486-556-4.
  127. ^ 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.
  128. ^ "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'
  129. ^ "Social stigma as an epidemiological determinant for leprosy elimination in Cameroon". Journal of Public Health in Africa. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  130. ^ Akosua, Adu (3 September 2014). "Ebola: Human Rights Group Warns Disease Is Not Caused By Witchcraft". The Ghana-Italy News. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  131. ^ a b c Breslaw, E. G. (2011). "Witchcraft in Early North America". Journal of American History. p. 504. doi:10.1093/jahist/jar254.
  132. ^ a b c Berger, Helen A., ed. (2005). Witchcraft and Magic: Contemporary North America. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812219715.
  133. ^ a b Kilpatrick, Alan (1998). The Night Has a Naked Soul – Witchcraft and Sorcery Among the Western Cherokee. Syracuse University Press.
  134. ^ a b Geertz, Armin W. (Summer 2011). "Hopi Indian Witchcraft and Healing: On Good, Evil, and Gossip". American Indian Quarterly. 35 (3): 372–393. doi:10.1353/aiq.2011.a447052. ISSN 0095-182X. OCLC 659388380. PMID 22069814. To the Hopis, witches or evil-hearted persons deliberately try to destroy social harmony by sowing discontent, doubt, and criticism through evil gossip as well as by actively combating medicine men. ... Admitting [he practiced witchcraft] could cost him his life and occult power
  135. ^ Simmons, Marc (1980). Witchcraft in the Southwest: Spanish and Indian Supernaturalism on the Rio Grande. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803291164.
  136. ^ Wall, Leon and William Morgan, Navajo-English Dictionary. Hippocrene Books, New York, 1998. ISBN 0781802474.
  137. ^ Wallace, Dale Lancaster (January 2015). "Rethinking religion, magic and witchcraft in South Africa: From colonial coherence to postcolonial conundrum". Journal for the Study of Religion. 28 (1): 23–51. Retrieved 15 September 2023 – via Acaemdia.edu.
  138. ^ 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. S2CID 240055921.
  139. ^ Silverblatt, I. (1983). "The evolution of witchcraft and the meaning of healing in colonial Andean society". Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry. 7 (4): 413–427. doi:10.1007/BF00052240. PMID 6362989. S2CID 23596915.
  140. ^ Behar, Ruth (1987). "Sex and Sin, Witchcraft and the Devil in Late-Colonial Mexico". American Ethnologist. 14 (1): 34–54. doi:10.1525/ae.1987.14.1.02a00030. hdl:2027.42/136539. JSTOR 645632.
  141. ^ Lavrin, Asunción. Sexuality and Marriage in Colonial Latin America. Reprint ed. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1992, p. 192.[ISBN missing]
  142. ^ Lewis, Laura A. Hall of mirrors: power, witchcraft, and caste in colonial Mexico. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2003, p. 13.[ISBN missing]
  143. ^ (in Portuguese) João Ribeiro Júnior, O Que é Magia, pp. 48–49, Ed. Abril Cultural.[ISBN missing]
  144. ^ Herrera-Sobek (2012), p. 174.
  145. ^ a b Herrera-Sobek (2012), p. 175.
  146. ^ Blom, Jan Dirk; Poulina, Igmar T.; van Gellecum, Trevor L.; Hoek, Hans W. (December 2015). "Traditional healing practices originating in Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao: A review of the literature on psychiatry and Brua". Transcultural Psychiatry. 52 (6): 840–860. doi:10.1177/1363461515589709. PMID 26062555. S2CID 27804741.
  147. ^ Hutton (2017), pp. 47–54.
  148. ^ Hutton (2017), pp. 50–51.
  149. ^ Hutton (2017), pp. 51–52.
  150. ^ a b c d Dickie, Matthew (2003). Magic and Magicians in the Greco-Roman World. Routledge. pp. 138–142.
  151. ^ a b c d e Hutton (2017), pp. 59–66.
  152. ^ a b Ehrenreich & English (2010), pp. 29, 54.
  153. ^ Buse (1995), p. 372.
  154. ^ Buse (1995), p. 471.
  155. ^ "Papua New Guinea's 'Sorcery Refugees': Women Accused of Witchcraft Flee Homes to Escape Violence Archived 2017-03-20 at the Wayback Machine". Vice News. January 6, 2015.
  156. ^ Woman suspected of witchcraft burned alive Archived 2009-04-29 at the Wayback Machine CNN.com. January 8, 2009.
  157. ^ a b c Lawrence, Salmah Eva-Lina (2015). "Witchcraft, Sorcery, Violence: Matrilineal and Decolonial Reflections". In Forsyth, Miranda; Eves, Richard (eds.). Talking it Through: Responses to Sorcery and Witchcraft Beliefs and Practices in Melanesia. Canberra, Australia: ANU Press.
  158. ^ Simons, Patricia (September 2014). "The Incubus and Italian Renaissance art". Source: Notes in the History of Art. 34 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1086/sou.34.1.23882368. JSTOR 23882368. S2CID 191376143.
  159. ^ Hutton, Ronald (16 March 2018). "Witches and Cunning Folk in British Literature 1800–1940". Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural. 7 (1): 27. doi:10.5325/preternature.7.1.0027. hdl:1983/c91bdc34-80d8-49f6-92df-9147f2bef535. ISSN 2161-2188. S2CID 194795666. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

Works cited

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]