Theological Matters 4

Throughout my research this year I noticed that whenever saying “witchcraft”, Salem, Massachusetts, and its witch trials were the first things that popped into people’s minds. It was a little irritating to hear the same response that only scratches the surface of what I’ve researched several times, but understandable. Though I wonder why we don’t learn about the Connecticut or Virginia witch trials, especially Virginia’s since not a single person was ever executed during the trials. Such information would be perfect for a lesson that compares the New England and Middle colonies. It should also be known that these trials did not spawn in a vacuum. In fact, there were witch hunts in Europe, around the age of exploration. Books were written on how to hunt, and hunters were paid for every Witch they caught. So a confession was very crucial to the confirmation of one being a Witch. The torture was brutal, and I won’t go into too much detail, and frankly, such confessions can’t be taken seriously in my opinion because the victims were just trying to end the torture. It’s debated whether any actual Witches were caught, or simply confessed to ending their suffering. Gerald B. Gardner, whose books I studied during my research, put on the first page of his Book of Shadows(a personal book of magic to be copied in a coven) steps on what to say during torture so as to not expose other Witches. It’s clear what side of the debate he is on. Although we may remember such a time as history, it has occurred much sooner in other parts of the world.

In Africa and Asia, many people who are desirable, or different, in the community or simply convenient to accuse are exiled, abused, maimed, or murdered from a witch accusation, “Recent media reports have highlighted the problem in Burkina Faso, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi Nepal and Tanzania”(Sleap 2011). Anyone can be a victim, even children, but old women are most common, “Although older men and younger women are sometimes targeted, in many cases, those accused are older women.”(Sleap 2011). Usually, older women are just killed outright or told to leave the village with the threat of violence. In one Tanzanian woman’s story that had received a letter telling her to leave the village, “Nyamizi, 73, was accused by a neighbour of bewitching his child… ‘Some time later I was returning home at night. Suddenly, someone came running towards me – he struck me with a machete and chopped off my arm and slashed my head.’”(Sleap 2011). Though in the eyes of the superstitious accusers, not all Witches are run out of town or executed, there can be ways to “save” the Witches through an exorcism; “Exorcism rituals and trials by ordeal to determine the guilt or innocence of suspected witches are often brutal… In extreme cases, children have been starved, scalded with hot oil or water, forced to sit on an open fire or had nails hammered into their skulls.”(Spindler 2009). These rituals are similar to those practiced in the Salem witch trials and European witch hunts, where the accused were thrown into rivers, and whether they sank(innocent) or floated(guilty) decided whether they were a Witch or not. As these superstitious people leave their countries of origin, they take their beliefs with them. Here are three examples of such practices that took place in the UK, “In 2000, Victoria Climbié, an eight-year-old child from Côte d’Ivoire, was abused and murdered by her relatives because they believed she was possessed by evil spirits. A year later, the torso of an African boy, known only as Adam, was found floating in the River Thames. He is believed to have been the victim of a ritual killing. In 2005, three adults were found guilty of child cruelty after abusing ‘Child B’ for months for being a ‘witch.’”(Spindler 2009). Though with different laws within these countries, accused Witches aren’t always protected nor given fair trials.

There are many organizations that are trying to help the accused Witches. One of them is called HelpAge International. They’ve outlined ways to prevent Witch hunts. Such as improving the quality of life for these villages in sanitation and technology. This will prevent diseases and other misfortune from being blamed on convenient victims. One example is using gas stoves, “red eyes, often associated with witchcraft, are actually caused by a lifetime of working over smoky cooking fires.”(Sleap 2011). Property laws should also be reviewed to avoid discriminatory land practices on the bases of sex and age, “Allegations are often linked to personal jealousy, and disputes between neighbours or family over land and inheritance.”(Sleap 2011).

When I learned of this during my research, it was daunting that in the U.S. people proudly proclaim to be Witches and have advocated for their religious rights legally. Yet there are other places in the world where the term ‘Witch’ is not an identity, but a weapon.

Sleap, Bridget. “Violence against Older Women: Tackling Witchcraft Accusations in Tanzania.” HelpAge International, Aug. 2011, Violence against older women: tackling witchcraft accusations in Tanzania

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and William Spindler. “Aid Worker Calls for Action to Protect Child ‘Witches’ from Abuse.” UNHCR, 8 Apr. 2009, www.unhcr.org/en-us/news/latest/2009/4/49dcbeb72/aid-worker-calls-action-protect-child-witches-abuse.html.