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The similarity between African and European witchcraft is the association to the elderly, seen in the Lugbara, Lovedu, Nupe, Luvale, Azande, Mesakin, Roman empire, England, Germany etc. Typically the elderly person preys on the young. The Navahos explain that the aged are near death and therefore are prepared to take chances in using witchcraft (MacFarlane 1970: 230), while the Azande saw witchcraft substance as becoming more potent and corrupt with age (Evans-Pritchard 1976: 7-8). Old age is associated with death, and many of us fear the comings of the process, where we are no longer at our prime, our skin losing its elasticity, while our body deteriorates. In the Mesakin, old age comes at twenty-two to twenty-four. This is because the Mesakin only distinguish between boys before puberty, youths before parenthood, and men without the separation of the really old. Because of this, men still in their twenties are abruptly taken away from fun activities such as wrestling, spear fighting etc. The Mesakin witch is therefore seen as “The older assailing the younger,
usually venting anger...” (Nadel 1952: 291-293). In places like Essex (England), during the time of the witch trials, old women with a wrinkled face, a furr’d brow and hairy lip were associated with witches. The older a woman was, the more likely she would be deemed as a witch, the selective age being from fifty to seventy years of age (MacFarlane 1970: 158-161). People who begged for money in England during this time, were also picked out as witches, fuelling the stereotype of the old witch, retirement not being the celebration it is today. When the old age pension was enacted, “...the need for personal charity definitely eased, and with it the communal obligations which fed the mumping witch and sustained her vindictive reputation” (Davies 1999: 291). The European witch was also boastful, miserable, malicious and had a wicked tongue (MacFarlane 1970: 158), which follows the same pattern in Africa; the Gisu tribe branding eccentrics as witches, while the Azande brand those who are glum and ill-tempered, and “...men fear to refuse requests lest a sponger bewitches them...” (Ibid: 227). This is the same as the Essex witch, for the rich accused the poor, people fearing to deny the poor what they asked, lest the envious cast a spell (Ibid: 150). The Lugbara also feared an old man who would eat alone but would pretend to be friendly to everyone, in case they believed him to be a witch (Middleton 1967: 60). However, in rare cases, children were also named witches: “From 1627, children also began to be hunted as witches such as the iron Bishop of Würzburg [Germany]...who executed his own young nephew” (Erik Midelfort 1972: 177), while children in certain African churches in places such as Britain and Nigeria today are branded as witches (Channel 4 [The link to this programme has since vanished. It was a programme called Dispatches: Saving Africa's Witch Children and I have found it since here, but you can also google it]).During the witch trials, Europeans accused mainly women of witchcraft, while Africans in the past and today tend not to pinpoint witchcraft on one particular sex. In Zandeland, witchcraft can be performed by either sex and is inherited through same sex linage (Evans-Pritchard 1978: 2), while the Lugbara believe only old men can be sorcerers, in which a son may follow in his father’s footsteps and is usually avoided (Middleton 1967: 61). However, Nupe witches are always women, the head witch usually being head trader. This may be caused because Nupe wives earn more than their husbands who are often heavily in debt to their partner. The trading occupation was originally reserved for childless women, but many women now leave their young children or practice abortion so that they are free to choose the trading occupation. Men are helpless to women who are gaining independence and seem to have reacted with the accusation of women who choose this life (Nadel 1952: 290). Like the Nupe, other case histories have shown that women who strive for independence are cause for accusation (MacFarlane 1970: 227). In Scotland, 85% of the accused were female, “...a figure which matches well with the data from most of the rest of Western Europe...”. The German and Roman strix was a woman, and in Welsh, the hag woman was called a Wrach (Hutton 2002: 25-26). In France, Jean de Wier said that women were more likely to be controlled by the Devil because they
were weaker minded than men (Baroja 1965: 110), while Germany believed that women were more susceptible to diabolical contracts because they were lustier than men (Erik Midelfort 1972: 178). In the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries, the amount of women not marrying increased while Nunneries declined, meaning that once the father died in the household, an unmarried woman would be removed from patriarchal control altogether. Unmarried or widowed women were therefore witches (Ibid: 181-182). However, Iceland, who held their own witch trials at the same period as the Scots, and was economically, socially and politically similar to Scotland did not tend to credit women with witchcraft. Oddly, Denmark who ruled Iceland at the time, and Norway who had settlers in Iceland both attributed women with the craft. Sweden did the same. Finland showed a parallel to Iceland until the Western European stereotype entered into their culture. An explanation for the phenomenon in Iceland may lie with the Saami who followed similar shamanism to the Siberians (Shamans being largely male). Their traditional home was Finland but they ranged far into Northern Norway who supplied settlers into Iceland. “...[T]he shamanic element in the Icelandic matrix is clear, and does provide an explanation for the distinction between the gender pattern of witchcraft accusations there...” (Hutton 2002: 26-29). Ironically, neo-paganism such as Dianic Wicca embraces women as being able to identify and have her own image in the likeness of a god, which previously only men could experience (Finley 1991: 354), while at the same time revealing themselves as practitioners of the craft.Mayer explains that witchcraft causes misfortune to neighbours or kinsman, never to strangers or people far away, working “...from envy, malice or spite, against individuals rather than in pursuit of material gain as such” (Mayer 1954: 56). Witchcraft is an explanation of misfortune and social control, the same as many religions. A Zande will attribute misfortune to witchcraft unless evidence suggests otherwise, witchcraft is the second spear, the bad luck that hits them (Evans-Pritchard 1978). At the same time, those who are accused of witchcraft go against the norms of the culture, such as those who are greedy and whose habits are dirty (MacFarlane 1970: 227). This is the same in the Lugbara whereby the witch brings sickness to those they resent because of success or because they have quarrelled, as well as explaining how that sickness came about (Middleton 1967: 59), or the Nyakyusa, who warn their children not to be “...quarrelsome or boastful or brusque in their manner, lest they arouse the anger of witches...Above all, witches are thought to attack those stingy with food...Well fed pythons stay quiet”, and in the 1950s, the light coloured familiars of Pondo witches were thought to match the colour-caste society whereby sex relations between whites and
blacks were a criminal offence in South Africa (Hunter Wilson 1951: 308-311). In European countries, witchcraft was more about explaining the misfortunes of illness and the spread of gossip, while Christianity was the social control. In fact there was pause in witchcraft accusations across every society that adopted Christianity as its sole religion, due to the theological argument “...that if the cosmos was controlled by a single all powerful and benevolent deity, then magic could not operate unless that deity willed it...”, however, by the end of the Middle Ages, Europe adopted the witchcraft belief once more , either because the cosmologies were too popular or because of the inner dynamics of Christian theology (Hutton 2002: 24-25). Yet, social control did crop up; an example being the succubus and incubus which came about “...when sexual repression was at its height, and intercourse even between husband and wife...”was looked down upon, “...the theory of attempted seduction by succubi provided a convenient excuse for men’s sexual fantasies, and in particular those of the celibate clergy”, witches were said to have sex with these demons – a form of bestiality (Kingston 1976: 134-137). In Scotland, the government actually encouraged witch-hunts in 1628, 1649 and 1661 as “...part of broader governmental initiative to punish crime, especially of a religious nature, the goal being to establish Scotland as a godly state” (Levack 2002: 171).As for witchcraft working at close range; it is harder for the accuser to accuse someone they have never seen. Strangers can be accused, but they only become strangers when they are noticed, at the same time, the accused will sometimes be those who have quarrelled or if there is hostility, which can only happen between people you know.
Mayer states that witches work in secret at night, they are not entirely human, they reverse all normal standards such as practicing incest, standing backwards, eating human flesh and digging up corpses, and they are always immoral (Mayers 1954: 56). Dreaming and eating, especially human flesh is a similarity for most African witches, but not so much in Europe. The Lugbara say that a witch’s body remains in his bed while the witch’s soul enters your dreams as a night animal such as a leopard or snake. One witch vomits blood on the victim’s doorstep whom become sick when they touch it. Lugbara witches like to eat (Middleton 1967: 59). Ceŵa sorcerers are necrophagous but may also eat you alive while you’re asleep, which has been connected to explain tropical ulcers. They employ familiars and fly around in baskets (Marwick 1967: 107-108). In both the Nupe and Gwari, witches attack sleeping victims with their shadow-souls, consuming victim’s life souls (Nadel 1952: 287), while the Nyakyusa witch lust for meat, especially human flesh which they eat in the victim’s nightmares (Hunter Wilson 1951: 308), and the Azande witch sends “...his soul on errands by night when his victim is asleep” (Evans-Pritchard 1976: 11). A European similarity to these examples is the Roman strix that was a woman by day, but turned into a bird-type creature that flew about screeching, at night, eating human flesh (Cohn 1975: 206-207). Mostly, however, European witches spread their wickedness through cursed words, minions to the Devil. As previously mentioned, prior to welfare benefits, the poor had to rely upon charity. “In 1582 a woman was believed to have bewitched the collector for the poor because he would not give her 12d for her sick husband”, another women in 1589 was deemed a witch for being a resident in the Almshouse (MacFarlane 1970: 151). Since the powers of a witch were immoral and unnatural, it was only logic that a witch was on the Devil’s side. Stories of witch’s flying on broomsticks (a common household object) circulated, and today it is believed that narcotics such as belladonna may have been used to stimulate a flying sensation (Cohn 1975: 220), whereas the ergot fungus which causes hallucinations may have attributed to the idea of demonic possessions (Goodare 2002: 53).In conclusion, Mayer’s (1954) work on the similarities of witchcraft provides a basis in which to draw deductions. He uses these ideas to show that witchcraft is used to explain deeper meanings of events in cultures (such as why Nupe witches are always women), as well as witchcraft being a force in social relations, something to dress up hostility and personal antipathy as well as people’s animosities. It is as Mayer says; society that creates the witch. However, his work is only a guideline in which to work from, and from many of the societies discussed in this post, witchcraft can be seen to be a vast array of differences from not only Africa to Europe, but in each continent themselves, although the many great divides happen between the two. On a side note; this essay has really only discussed witchcraft as explanation and as a past endeavour, but witchcraft is not as primitive as some believe. Although Christianity was around at the same time as witchcraft in mediaeval times, religion itself can be said to be another form of explanation and social control, people still believing today in the magic of God. Not only that, but witchcraft is still a fear for many, either because it is a deviation away from the central religion, many still seeing the witch as a worshipper of the Devil (Logo Resource Pages) or because witchcraft means death e.g. albinos in places such as Tanzania are being murdered, with parts of them being harvested for potions to help others gain riches, albino hair weaved in fishing nets are said to catch more fish (BBC News 2008, Soares 2008). Finally, neo-paganism is a belief and practice in witchcraft and should not be associated with the fear in witchcraft which this blog post has discussed, but can be used to understand a new dissimilarity between modern day witchcraft in Africa and Europe.
[NOTE: The idea of witches having green skin, depicted in certain countries around Europe and North America is an interesting question. I would like to research this further but for now I leave you with some thoughts in Why are Witches often depicted with green skin?]
References [This list will only compose of the references that aren't linked in the text to the original source, however, due to the difficulty of not being able to find the original source for the Dispatches programme, I will include the names of all internet sources so that they may be found again]
1. Baroja, J. C. (1965). The World of the Witches. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago
2. Cohn, N. (1975). Europe’s Inner Demons: An Enquiry Inspired by the Great Witch Hunt. Richard Clay Ltd: Bungay
3. Davies, O. (1999). Witchcraft, Magic and Culture 1736-1951. Manchester University Press: Manchester
4. Erik Midelfort, H. C. (1972). The Social Position of the Witch in Southwestern Germany. In Marwick, M. (1970). Witchcraft and Sorcery: Selected Readings, Penguin Books Ltd: Middlesex, pp. 174-189
5. Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1976). Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic Among the Azande. Claredon Press: Oxford
6. Finley, N. J. (1991). Political Activism and Feminist Spirituality. Sociology of Religion 52 (4): 349-362
7. Goodare, J. (2002). The Scottish Witchcraft panic of 1597. In Goodare, J., The Scottish witch-hunt in context, Manchester University Press: Manchester, pp. 51-72
8. Hunter Wilson, M. (1951). Witch Beliefs and Social Structure. The American Journal of Sociology 56 (4): 307-313
9. Hutton, R. (2002). The global context of the Scottish witch-hunt. In Goodare, J., The Scottish witch-hunt in context, Manchester University Press: Manchester, pp. 16-32
10. Kingston, J. (1976). Witches and Witchcraft. Aldus Books Limited: London
11. Levack, B.P. (2002). The Decline and End of Scottish witch-hunting. In Goodare, J., The Scottish witch-hunt in context, Manchester University Press: Manchester, pp. 166-181
12. MacFarlane, A. (1970). Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart England: A regional and comparative study. Routledge& Kegan Paul: London
13. Marwick, M. G. (1967). The Sociology of Sorcery in a Central African Tribe. In Middleton, J., Magic, Witchcraft, and Curing, The Natural History Press: New York, pp. 101-126
14. Mayer, P. (1954). Witches. In Marwick, M. (1970). Witchcraft and Sorcery: Selected Readings, Penguin Books Ltd: Middlesex, pp. 54-70
15. Middleton, J. (1967). The Concept of “Bewitching” in Lugbara. In Middleton, J., Magic, Witchcraft, and Curing, The Natural History Press: New York, pp. 55-67
16. Nadel, S. F. (1952). Witchcraft in Four African Societies. In Marwick, M. (1970). Witchcraft and Sorcery: Selected Readings, Penguin Books Ltd: Middlesex, pp. 286-299
Internet Sources List
1. Andrews, D. (2010). What Does the Colour Red Mean?
2. BBC News. (2008). Living in Fear: Tanzania’s Albinos.
3. Channel 4. (2008). Dispatches: Saving Africa’s Witch Children. [Television programme]
4. Logo Resource Pages. (Unknown). Witchcraft Today.
5. Soares, C. (2008). Crackdown on witchdoctors after albinos killed to harvest body parts.
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