Witchcraft
An explanation of events based on the belief
that certain individuals possess an innate
psychic power capable of causing harm,
including sickness and death.
Azande Witchcraft
 (1937) Witchcraft,
Oracles and Magic
among the Azande by
Evans-Pritchard.
 This publication put the
Azande (southern Sudan
and northeastern
Democratic Republic of
Congo) “on the map”
Anthropology-wise and
made Evans-Pritchard
famous.
Azande Witchcraft
 Witchcraft or mangu
exists within the body
of an individual. Passed
down from parent to
child of the same sex
(fatherson,
motherdaughter).
 Important to the
Azande is whether or
not a person is
consciously (or
unconsciously)
directing their mangu
to harm someone else.
Azande Witchcraft
 Witches are never strangers or those in a
superior social position.
 If someone is sick, various oracles are
consulted. If the oracles point to witchcraft
as the source of the sickness, authorities
confront the accused witch.
▪ In order to reverse the harmful affects of his/her
mangu the individual will perform a ritual that
involves taking water into his/her mouth and
then spitting it out, therefore cooling the mangu.
 Mangu is blamed when an unexpected
calamity occurs. The afflicted person must
be the object of a witch’s
hatred/jealousy/etc. in some way.
Navaho Witchcraft
 Unlike Azande Witchcraft, this is a taboo
subject not discussed in public. Witchcraft
must be learned, it is not inherent.
 Initiation into Navaho Witchcraft, is known
as initiation into Witchery Way
 Like the Azande, Navaho witchcraft is an antisocial and amoral behavior
 Witches thought to congregate in caves at night,
practicing incest and cannibalism, having sexual
relations with corpses and perform ritualistic
killings.
Navaho Witchcraft
 Learn Witchery Way from a relative, and it
often involves killing a close relative like a
sibling. Male witches are more common, as
are old women.
 Corpse Powder (made from bones and flesh of
a corpse) is used to kill their victims. Often
blown into the mouth and nose of a victim
while sleeping or during a ceremonial.
 Witches able to transform themselves and
travel fast over land, usually by night.
Navaho Witchcraft
 Identifying a witch:
 Follow unusual animal tracks to someone’s home.
 An unexplained gunshot wound, when, during
the previous day, an animal had been shot fleeing
the scene of the crime.
 If a witch is caught or captured, he or she is made
to confess. If confession is not forthcoming, he or
she is killed on the spot or later (presumably) by
lightning.
Navaho Witchcraft
 Witchcraft beliefs here function to:
 Provide a culturally acceptable manifestation of
bad/amoral behavior
 Defines what is “bad,” which consequently
defines what is “good.”
 Accumulation/hoarding of possessions usually
indicates wealth, so encourages people to
share/be modest in their possessions.
Witchcraft
Other Ethnographic Examples
• Gnani village (Ghana). Witchraft as
anti-social. Similar to Azande’s
concept of mangu. Also, divination by
Ordeal:
– Similar example from Zimbabwe
• The Sonora witches’ market (Mexico).
Witchcraft as anti-social. Similar to
Navajo culture’s idea of purposeful
witchcraft:
Witchcraft and Revival
 In North America, interest in and practice of
witchcraft have grown over the past thirty
years, often among highly educated
segments of society.
 Contrary to popular belief, witchcraft is not
concerned exclusively, or even primarily, with
working evil.
Witchcraft and Revival
 Neopaganism: pre-Christian religious
traditions that have been revived and are
practiced in contemporary times. A
revivalistic movement.
Witchcraft and Revival
 Wicca: Popularized by Gerald Gardner in
the1950s. An amateur anthropologist who
found and joined a coven of witches who he
believed to be one of the last from a line of
pre-Christian movements.
 Wicca is a polytheistic religion with varying gods and
goddesses. Gender equality is stressed. Rituals and
holidays often Celtic in nature.
 An Athame (ritual knife) and a Chalice are used in
ceremonies to represent the balance of
male/female.
 Magic is used, but only for good, unlike in Satanism.
Functions of Witchcraft
• Effective way for people to give a cause to
misfortunes without having to shoulder
blame.
• Provides an outlet for feelings of hostility
and frustration without disturbing the
norms of the larger group.
• Functions of Witchcraft mirror the
functions of religion as a whole…
Functions of Religion
Review
• Sanctions a wide range of conduct by
providing notions of right and wrong.
• Sets standards for acceptable behavior and
helps perpetuate an existing social order.
• Lifts burden of decision making from
individuals and places responsibility with
god.
• Plays a role in maintaining social solidarity.
Revitalization Movements
• Social movements, often of a religious
nature, with the purpose of totally
reforming a society.
• Ex: The Amish
Cargo Cult
Late 19th century-end of WWII in Melanesia
• “Cargo” in Melanesia, was seen to be made
by ancestors. The U.S. military had
somehow intercepted the goods meant for
the Melanesians. Cults emerged based on
prophets who had foreseen how to control
the cargo. Rituals were developed that
mimicked activities of the soldiers
(marching with sticks over their shoulder,
marking on paper, wearing European
clothes.) When these rituals failed, groups
went so far as to destroy sacred objects,
crops and food sources, thinking that cargo
would not arrive for them as long as they
had these items. Results were tragic.
Cargo Cult
Late 19th century-end of WWII in Melanesia
• 50 years
ago
• Present
day:
acculturatio
n has
occurred,
still keep
rituals of
original
cult, but the
mood is no
longer
desperate