In today’s modern world, societies from all reaches of the globe are closer than ever. Events in one society often end up resulting in some kind of domino effect in which they end up occuring in another. Often ideas of witchcraft and sorcery tend to fade away as societies become more globalised and far greater connected. However, in some parts of the world , witchcraft and sorcery serves as a very real phenomenon. By means of various ethnographic examples, this essay seeks to show how witchcraft and sorcery can serve as an explanation for the occurance of various tragedies in a society and also manages to spread throughout the contemporary globalised world.
The first example of witchcraft refers to acts of sorcery ocurring in Sylhet in Bangladesh
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In this way, despite the fact that they are surrounded by global Western hegemony , Bengali expats still engage in witchcraft to feel some kind of connection to what they consider to be their kin ( Callan 2007 : 334 ).
The idea of kinship also plays a major role in witchcraft and sorcery in Africa specifically regarding the Maka in Southeast Cameroon. In Africa kinship is of utmost importance despite the fact that it has the ability to change continuously as well as maintains bridges between modernity and traditional views mainly concerning inequalities between the two ( Geschiere 2003 : 44 ). However, to many . witchcraft in terms of kinship is seen as some kind of act of disloyalty ( Geschiere 2003 : 47 ).
In terms of developement studies definition, kinship is often seen as some kind of ‘safety net’ in which nouveau rich or elite with humble backgrounds can fall back on when required ( Geschiere 2003 : 44 ). In fact to many , the secret to many people’s fortunes or success comes from djambe of riches or specifically some kind of sorcery that contributes to their wealth and this same mentality or idea of the power of witchcraft can lead to the downfall of these elites as well ( Geschiere 2003 : 47
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In this way, globalisation reaches them by means of these elites along with influence and power that local villagers do not possess ( Geschiere 2003 : 49 ). They were also the only people who could influence the local villagers in following through with their agreements so they became the middle men between old traditions and the modern world ( Geschiere 2003 : 49 ).
However, the combination of some kind of distance as well as some kind of kinship inclusion provides the perfect hotbed for sparks of witchcraft to ignite. Many elites claim that they have to keep their distance from their villages due to their fear of ‘being eaten’ ( Geschiere 2003 : 51 ). Just like with the Bangladeshi expats, although these elites have been reached by globalisation, they still firmly believe in the power of witchcraft as well as the effect that it may have on them.
The ideas of kinship as well as its connection to the pitfalls of success are expressed in the values involved in the capitalistic accumulation of wealth which generates some kind of tension in the moral economy ( Parish 2000 : 488 ). Witchcraft accusations develop as a result of not just a sense of entitlement as mentioned above but as a result of envy regarding kin who were seen to have succeeded ( Parish 2000 : 488
In the book Ancestral Line: The Maisin of Papua New Guinea and The Fate of The Rainforest by John Barker a concept that connects this book to what have been learned in class is the idea of kinship. I will be discussing what kinship and it’s two main components are, and how they relate to the book.
Davis gives various examples of the social norms that peasants lived under during the sixteenth century. When Sanxi, Guerre’s father, and his family decided to leave their village, Davis states that the majority of men who leave their village do so because they “were usually not heir to their family’s property, as was Sanxi Daguerre, but younger brothers who could not or would not remain in the ancestral household” (Davis 6). This highlights the idea that being the heir to the family’s inheritance is a great indicator of how one’s life as a peasant would carry on. It is very likely that if one is the heir, then the individual shall stay at their property and assume the role as head of the household once the “s...
The book begins with a brief history of the colonial witchcraft. Each Chapter is structured with an orientation, presentation of evidence, and her conclusion. A good example of her structure is in chapter two on the demographics of witchcraft; here she summarizes the importance of age and marital status in witchcraft accusations. Following this she provides a good transition into chapter three in the final sentence of chapter two, “A closer look of the material conditions and behavior of acc...
Witchcraft had always fascinated many people and been a very controversial topic in North America during (seventeenth) 17th century. Many People believe that witchcraft implies the ability to injure or using supernatural power to harm others. People believed that a witch represents dark side of female present and were more likely to embrace witchcraft than men. There are still real witches among us in the Utah whom believe that witchcraft is the oldest religion dealing with the occult. However the popular conception of a witch has not changed at least since the seventeenth century; they still caused panic, fear and variety of other emotions in people…………………….
Throughout the late 17th century and into the early 18th century witchcraft prosecutions had been declining. This trend was the result of a multitude of social developments which altered the mentality of society. One of the predominant factors in this decline was the Scientific Revolution, the most important effect of these advances was making society question concepts of witchcraft. Along with this new mental outlook, we see that the Reformation had a similar effect on social opinion concerning witchcraft and magic. These two developments changed societies view on the occult and this led to a wider scepticism concerning witchcraft, this favoured those who had been accused and therefore caused a decline in prosecutions. Beyond the two trends mentioned however, it is important to consider judicial reforms and an improved socio-economic situation which reduced tensions within society. These two changes were certainly not as influential as the Scientific Revolution and the Reformation but heavily altered the circumstances in which accusations were normally made. With the altered social attitudes and mental outlook these changes in living situations all contributed to bring about the decline in witchcraft prosecutions.
In all of human history, people have written about inhuman beings, many of which include gods, demons, wizards, sorcerers, sorceresses, and witches. Nowadays mystical beings are seen everywhere in media. Most of society stopped believing in these creatures years ago, but for 17th-century Salem, witchcraft became a living nightmare (Fremon, 1999).
1 Nachman Ben-Yehuda The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th Centuries: A Sociologist’s Perspective. The University of Chicago, 1980. 15. 2 Levack! 123.3 Levack 164.
During the early modern period Europe experienced a phase of vicious prosecution of the people accused of the crime of ‘Witchcraft.’ There has been an estimated death toll of up to 50,000 people during these Witch-hunt crazes, although the exact figures are unknown. What is known is that overall 75-80% of those accused were woman although this varies in different states. In this essay I will discuss the role of gender in witchcraft and why the majority of people executed as Witches were women.
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.
Sidky, H. Witchcraft, lycanthropy, drugs, and disease: an anthropological study of the European witch-hunts. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 1997.
What makes a piece of literature relevant or irrelevant to a society? There have been many debates on the relevance about particular pieces of literature, especially old literature, in the modern day. Their relevance can be judged by how they address issues happening in society when they were written compared to those same issues today. It can also be judged on whether the themes present can apply to the modern day. And even if a story portrays issues that are either resolved or irrelevant today it can still have value on how it portrays human nature The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is a relevant work for a person in modern times due to its themes on suicide, human recklessness, and violence and revenge.
Witchcraft, Magic and Rationality. Social Anthropology seeks to gauge an understanding of cultures and practices, whether they are foreign or native. This is achieved through the study of language, education, customs, marriage, kinship, hierarchy and of course belief and value systems. Rationality is a key concept in this process as it affects the anthropologist’s interpretation of the studied group’s way of life: what s/he deems as rational or plausible practice. Witchcraft and magic pose problems for many anthropologists, as its supernatural nature is perhaps conflicting to the common Western notions of rationality, mainly deemed superior.
Witchcraft persecution peaked in intensity between 1560 and 1630 however the large scale witch hysteria began in the 14th century, at the end of the Middle Ages and were most intense during the Renaissance and continued until the 18th century, an era often referred to as the Enlightenment or Age of Reason. Representation of witches, nay, representation in general is a political issue. Without the power ot define the female voice and participate in decisions that affect women -similar to other marginalised groups in society- will be subject to the definitions and decisions of those in power. In this context, the power base lay with men. It can be said that the oppression of women may not have been deliberate, it is merely a common sense approach to the natural order of things: women have babies, women are weak, women are dispensable. However the natural order of things, the social constructs reflect the enduring success of patriarchal ideology. As such, ideology is a powerful source of inequality as well as a rationalisation of it. This essay will examine the nature of witchcraft and why it was threatening to Christianity.
I. INTRODUCTION The Enlightenment and the emerging of modern rationalism have paved the way to a worldview where the suspicion of witchcraft is not needed to explain the mysterious phenomena of this world. This is not the case in Africa. The belief in the existence of witches, evil persons who are able to harm others by using mystical powers, is part of the common cultural knowledge. Samuel Waje Kunhiyop states, “Almost all African societies believe in witchcraft in one form or another.
III. Smithson, Jayne. “Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion.” Class lectures. Anthropology 120. Diablo Valley College, San Ramon 2004.