Witchcraft can be difficult to define, largely because beliefs and practices surrounding the occult vary from place to place. Even within a single community, beliefs are not typically organized into a coherent system. Still, the term retains a measure of conceptual coherence in practice. I propose the following definition, which I believe many Africans would accept: A witch is a human being who secretly uses supernatural power for nefarious purposes. Witchcraft, then, is the practice of secretly using supernatural power for evil—in order to harm others or to help oneself at the expense of others.32 Three features are critical to understanding witchcraft beliefs. First, sorcery is thought to be practiced in secret.33 Unlike American Wicca, African witchcraft is not a faith that people openly profess. Rather, it is a second-order term of accusation or suspicion. Anxiety over secret wrongdoing is stoked by the belief that occult practitioners are invisible, operating at night or in the shape of familiars.34 People who somehow do witness an act of sorcery are often said to suffer amnesia.35 Some believe that bewitchment happens subconsciously, so
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:43:04 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015