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The rise of witchcraft in Europe
Sociological imagination of witchcraft
The notion of witchcraft
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Introduction
Witchcraft has been rampant in various parts of Africa. However, the practice of witchcraft has been on the decline in modern society as compared to the period before the rise of colonialism (Toyin 250). In most part of Africa, there is a conglomeration of tribal healers, sorcerers, and wizard considered having different forms of powers in controlling the fate of society (Toyin 209). Consequently, this has led to the emergence of thousands of practitioners in different parts of Africa. The magic practitioners claim to have enormous powers such as the ability to create rains in times of drought, power to expel evil spirits, to recover lost things, and even to make one healthy (Sanders 338). On the other hand, this has led to the believers by millions of Africans on the monotheistic faith. In fact, most of the Africans believe the magicians have power over nature by the use of a spell or hidden incantations (Petraitis 1). Consequently, this has led to some of the communities lag behind in terms of development as the practice continues to be entrenched in the systems (Green and Mesaki 343). Moreover, the practice has been associated with the poor state of the economy in places that it is widely practiced. The practice has remained prevalent in Africa and Tanzania society (Toyin 297). For example, in the last two decades, thousands of Tanzania have been accused on witchcraft and even murdered by citizens due to the archaic practices (Petraitis 1). In the region, the practice is widespread among the female octogenarians. Moreover, those who practice witchcraft are believed to have certain characteristics such as Red eyes (Petraitis 1). The mark has been used notably in Tanzania to lynch octogenarians believed to pract...
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Missionlights. “Modern Tanzania Witch-Hunting.” Over-blog.com. Web. 03 November 2013. .
Petraitis, Richard. “The Witch Killers of Africa (2003).” Infidels.org. Web. 03 November 2013. .
Sanders, Todd. “Reconsidering Witchcraft: Postcolonial Africa”. American Anthropologist 105.2 (2003): 338-352. Print
Southern Africa’s Children. “Horrific African Witchcraft Is Big Business in Tanzania.” Southern-Africas-children.org. < http://www.southern-africas-children.org.uk/african-witchcraft.html>.
Toyin, Falola. “The Power of African Cultures.” Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom: University of Rochester Press, 2003. Print
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. No. 3 (1965): 524-540. http://www.jstor.org/stable/612097 (accessed December 1, 2013).
Modern witchcraft attracts believers from all corners of society, all over the world. “They come together to understand the life, nature, evolution and the mysteries of the universe through witchcraft”(The History of Wicca partly real; partly imaginary). Wicca does not acknowledge the concepts of sinning, sexual restriction, animal sacrifice, or misogyny. Many would argue that Witchcraft is a democracy because there is no strict credo or disciplined regime, except for a simple basis: we should not misuse the generosity of nature by disturbing the balance with wicked behavior. A true witch would never use his or her magic or spell to harm any animate or inanimate being. Witches believe in the strict Law of the Three, which means that whatever
In the tragedy of Macbeth, there are many different motifs used in the play. One of those motifs includes witchcraft and that is what I will be talking about during the course of this paper. Witchcraft is a topic that has been talked about and believed in for many centuries, especially in Shakespeare’s era. Witchcraft has been believed to be something associated with Satan and darkness. During the Burning Times, nine million women were killed for the accusation of being witches. Witches were greatly feared because they were known to have great power and magic as their weapon. Although they were greatly feared, they were also of great interest to many people. Till this day, people are still writing novels, making movies, and creating music about witches, witchcraft, and the great power that they possess which has come to be called magic. During the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth century, witchcraft was very strongly believed in and the consequences were barbaric if you were caught being involved with witches, the devil, or any sort of evil. In the Tragedy of Macbeth, the three witches were of his great interest because of their power and the prophecies they foretold. The prophecies they engaged him in allowed him to deceive himself. In Jacobean society, King James I believed in the Christian paranoia about witchcraft and banned all beliefs and activity involving witchcraft. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing three main points: witchcraft in Macbeth, witchcraft in Jacobean society, and then I will be comparing and contrasting the two topics.
To me, the other two major theories applied to the problems of witchcraft seem much to politicized to be considered as historical. As Sharpe states, addressing the gender issue first, “The crucial development here was the rise of the Women’s Movement in the United States and Europe”(9). He continues to say that these women “sought to construct a history of oppression which would help inform their consciousness in their ongoing struggle”(10). This theory absolutely reeks of ulterior motives. Though it cannot be denied that approximately eighty percent of the witches executed during these times were women, it seems odd that no scholars felt inclined to point this out as relevant until the 1970s when it fit into the “construction of a history.” History should not be constructed in order to suit the needs of the present, nor the future. Ac...
"I'll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!" The Wicked Witch of the West...
Witchcraft is said to be the most widespread cultural phenomenon in existence today and throughout history. Even those who shun the ideas of witchcraft cannot discount the similarities in stories from all corners of the globe. Witchcraft and its ideas have spread across racial, religious, and language barriers from Asia to Africa to America. Primitive people from different areas in the world have shockingly similar accounts of witchcraft occurrences. In most cases the strange parallels cannot be explained and one is only left to assume that the tales hold some truth. Anthropologists say that many common elements about witchcraft are shared by different cultures in the world. Among these common elements are the physical characteristics and the activities of supposed witches. I will go on to highlight some of the witch characteristic parallels found in printed accounts from different parts of the world and their comparisons to some famous fairytales.
Trupin, James E. West Africa - A Background Book from Ancient Kingdoms to Modern Times, Parent's Magazine Press. New York, 1991.
The study of witchcraft and its presence in the high middle ages of Europe and Central America is the fundamental significance in the understanding of mankind. It not only explores notions of theology, spirituality, social psychology, history of social protest but also highlights the issue that is the female position. This essay attempts to deal with the epidemic of Witch persecutions, how the phenomenon came about and to what degree and whom was it accepted. It will attempt to understand the context by which these measures were taken, and the societal pressure of the Catholic Church, the hand by which many woman and very few men were subject to emotional and physical torture and ultimately condemned to death.
In sub-Saharan Africa, thousands of languages, cultures, and geographical regions helped influence our African society. The ways in which we produce our artwork, spiritual ideals, and ritual performances are organic and raw. From the tropical regions of Congo and Ghana, to the arid regions of Mali; I pass through the global gateway into a domain where the Western world lost its roots and artistic imagination and grandeur. Africa appeals most to me for its ability to create a realm where the living, dead, and artistic ideals come into a single unit of tranquil philosophy.
“If anyone, deceived by the Devil, shall believe, as is customary among pagans, that any man or woman is a night-witch, and eats men, and on that account burn that person to death... he shall be executed” (Charlemagne) When the words witchcraft or magic are spoken, most people think of the Salem Witch trials or the popular television characters that we have today. But do we really know what happened centuries ago that caused the creation of these ideals and these characters we have grown to adore? Witchcraft still has a tight hold on the mind of many and continues to influence the gap between the popular and elite cultures of today.
Angeles, Los. (2009). African arts. Volume 28. Published by African Studies Center, University of California.
Ankarloo, Bengt and Henningsen, Gustav. Early Modern European Witchcraft. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
People." Research In African Literatures 37.4 (2006): 68-84. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. .
Throughout history, witchcraft has been shaped and distorted in many ways. The use of witchcraft is not always for evil but it is seen as so by society. Although witchcraft was started from innocence and its purpose was only to help the sick and bring good luck, it was changed into the complete
Bohannan, Paul, and Philip Curtin. Africa & Africans . Long Grove: Waveland Press, Inc. , 1995.