The chapter “The Notion of Witchcraft Explains Unfortunate Events” describes how Evans-Pritchard observed and analysed the world of witchcraft among the Azande tribe in Sudan. With his fieldwork in 1937 he wanted to look at how they used spirits, oracles, magic and witchcraft to explain unfortunate events and how they connected death these events to witchcraft (Eriksen, 2010, p.242).
In the first part of this chapter Evans-Pritchard writes how witchcraft plays an important role in everyday life among the Zande. He highlights that witchcraft is the root to any failure and misfortune. Eriksen summarises that, “The witchcraft institution provides answers to important question and explains why people suffer misfortunes. It cannot explain in general
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A clay pot cracking, a hut burning down or sickness can all be connected to their beliefs in what we call supernatural. A craftsman in one of the villages told Evans-Pritchard that when his stools or bowls split, he could be absolutely sure that it was witchcraft, and that it was the jealousy of his neighbours that caused the bowls to split. He answered that the craftsman was mistaken. Evans-Pritchard has been critiqued for his view that witchcraft cannot exist. Winch argued against Evans-Pritchard’s distinction between the supernatural and scientific notions and argues that “science – like witchcraft – is not inherently meaningful, but makes sense only within a particular, culturally created frame of reference” (Eriksen, 2010, p. 243). Meaning that the Zande’s connection to witchcraft seems to function in their lives and “that their relationship to witchcraft makes their existence meaningful, and that the system by and large is consistence” (Eriksen, 2010, p.244). Witchcraft is nothing to fear but to respect, meaning that the use of witchcraft helps to defuse local disputes. Witchcraft helps making peace among people, because no one will be accused of …show more content…
It is a mistake to say that the Zande tribes believe that witchcraft is the only cause of a phenomenon that occurs. What is interesting is that Evans- Pritchard shows the reader that witchcraft can be the missing link when it comes to the coincidence of events occurring, which by our western way of thinking, cannot be explained. The theoretical approach of the chapter can be looked at as structural functionalist. Evans-Pritchard observes the Zande tribe as a whole system connected together. He describes how their everyday life is based on the connection between unfortunate events and what they believe to be witchcraft. This means that even though Evans-Pritchard thinks differently about the notion of their supernatural beliefs, witchcraft to the Azande tribe is ordinary, and a part of their culture. It functions as both an explanation of what we might term coincidence but also as a way of regulating explaining social relations between individuals and groups. Witchcraft is therefore also one of the main structures of this society, meaning that it has a functional meaning to
This article is about witchcraft and its different varieties of practices in different cultures. This article explains how witchcraft exists and plays an essential part in structural and functional aspects of a society. It also sheds the light on the journey of witchcraft from being profane and wicked to acceptable part of a culture.
There are countless reports throughout history of occurrences where society feared one another, but rarely were there occurrences where society felt feared and confident of one another. There was once a society that feared accusation, but trusted their struggles would disappear with the help of another. Witchcraft was the incredible yet terrifying thing that was responsible for this great uproar in some societies. According to the text Identity, Race and Power, witchcraft is a belief system that serves as a method of social control by directing anger towards others (Miller et al. 2013:214).. Throughout history the individuals with political power would use witchcraft as an excuse to maintain order throughout a given society. Looking at particular societies in Malta and South Africa this paper seeks to provide evidence as to how witchcraft operates to maintain a sense of “order”.
to the witchcraft part of this play, but we can relate to the difficulties and conflicts that come
The purpose of this book was to examine the history and social life of Salem Village to try to figure out what was the cause of the events that occurred there. I believe that the authors achieved their objective at least they did to me. Boyer and Nissenbaum's explanation for the outbreak of witchcraft accusations in Salem hinges on an understanding of the economic,
The books thesis is based on why a person was accused of being a witch and the relative circumstances thereof. Marital status, sex, community standing, wealth, and relationships with others all play an important part of a person chances of being accused of being a witch.
Bever clarifies why he believes historians often focus only on the rise of witchcraft rather than their decline. He believes the reason this occurs is because, historians assume “their defeat seemed self-evident” (Bever, 2009, p. 264). The author explains how the rise of witches occurred, “chain-reaction trials started with a few stereotyped suspects but gradually widened to include previously unsuspected commoners and eventually friends” (Bever, 2009, p. 272). Bever also gives discusses of how witchcraft came to affect the society and how it became “an integral part of late medieval culture and society” (Bever, 2009, p. 288). The work relates more specifically to the field of the first centuries of colonization because, although some ideas presented in this article can be inferred, most are not that of the general
In addition to all of this, Karleson has established statistically, that women who were married but had no children, women who were married but had only daughters, and finally women who were daughters of parents who had no male offspring were more vulnerable to cause of witchcraft. (Page 101) What this shows is the clear linkage of economic interest and the importance of
Witchcraft was defined for the masses by the publication of the Malleus Maleficarium also known simply as the Handbook. Written by two Dominican friars in 1486 it’s purpose was to be used as a handbook to identify, capture, torture, and execute suspected witches. Opinions stated as facts and written in the Malleus Maleficarium, “handbook”, were based their faith, church doctrine, and the Bible. No doubt a religious masterpiece in it’s time this handbook is a neatly woven together a group of beliefs, experiences, wisdom of ancient writers, religious ideas, and God inspired writings that justify it’s purpose. Written by and used by Catholics this handbook proved useful for Protestants as well. Based on biblical interpretation and ideas the handbook provided Protestant Church leaders biblical authority to prosecute witchcraft as well. Translated into today’s vernacular phrases such as, “everybody knows that women are feeble minded” or “everybody knows that women are more superstitious than men” and “all women have slippery tongues” are included in the handbook and presented to the reader as foregone conclusions. Specific
The witchcraft phenomenon of the Renaissance period was shaped by a wide range of cultural factors; witchcraft was not necessarily subject to a single cohesive idea or concept, and it was often instead a conglomeration of many different societal concerns, concerns which spanned through all spheres of society. Textual evidence from this period provides insight into the way in which witches were conceived, and how witches were dealt with, while visual images present a companion visualisation of the tensions, which influenced created the witch, and the imagery, which came to be associated with witchcraft.
The witchcraft crisis through colonial New England is visualized through the work of Mary Beth Norton and Carol F. Karlsen. The scholars demonstrate deep understanding in the subject, and both present valid information through their overall theses. In order to understand the complete story of witchery in the seventeenth-century, these two books intrigue the reader in what the authors want to present. Although, their research seems bias, both historians similarly delve into the topic with an open mind, and successfully uncover information that has not be presented before. Not only does Norton’s In the Devil’s Snare and Karlsen’s The Devil in the Shape of a Woman both represent the study of witchcraft through feminist ideals, Karlsen’s
When analyzing all of the information provided in the two books, Witchcraft in Europe by Alan Charles Kors and Edward Peters and Magic and Superstition in Europe by Michael D. Bailey, there are a multitude of common themes that appear repeatedly in both pieces of work on the topic of witchcraft. These common themes vary in topic with some relating to the stereotypical appearance of witches, the actions witches performed, or even the legal procedures involving the conviction of witches. These themes do not only show themselves in those two pieces of work, but also in The Trial of Tempel Anneke by Peter A. Morton. While common themes can be seen in reference to Tempel Anneke’s trial, there are also many
The term witchcraft is defines as the practice of magic intended to influence nature. It is believed that only people associated with the devil can perform such acts. The Salem Witch Trials was much more than just America’s history, it’s also part of the history of women. The story of witchcraft is first and foremost the story of women. Especially in its western life, Karlsen (1989) noted that “witchcraft challenges us with ideas about women, with fears about women, with the place of women in society and with women themselves”. Witchcraft also confronts us too with violence against women. Even through some men were executed as witches during the witch hunts, the numbers were far less then women. Witches were generally thought to be
Prior to the fifteenth century, rural European women were highly revered and respected pillars of rural community life; not only considered mothers and wives, but seen as community leaders, physicians, and sources of strength and wisdom. Women had a special and imperative role in rural life, and even those that lived on the fringes of society were well respected as the village healers and wise women. These old women would possess the wisdom of the ages and pass it on to others. This respect for women quickly deteriorated, however, during the witch hunts. The belief spread that women were morally weaker than men and driven by carnal lust, therefore making them more susceptible to being tempted by the Devil, and thus practicing witchcraft. (Levack p. 126) As people took this belief to heart, it is apparent that society would be affected indefinitely by such intolerance.
two chains of causation intersected at a certain time and in a certain place, for there is no interdependence between them.” (Pritchard, pg. 70) To the Azande, the only explanation, of course, is witchcraft.
Peters Golden, the quote from an Azande man put many aspects of The Azande thought