Witchcraft

Everybody knows people don’t die a natural death. If the dead person’s relatives are willing to spend their money to hire a wizard, he can help reveal the truth: he will order strong young men to lift the dead person on their shoulders, and their feet will carry them to the door of the evildoer who bewitched that person. The wizard can point to the bad soul-eating sorcerer right away – and nobody will be surprised if it turns out to be the dead person’s own mother, his or her nephew or daughter. The thing is, when a sorcerer is going to treat his or her sorcerers’ society partners to a man’s soul, it is impossible to make an attempt on someone else’s property. Just as a good host won’t go stealing his neighbor’s hen when he entertains a guest, a sorcerer also must choose from his or her own family.

Certainly, sorcerers hide their nature. But if one gets caught, he is bound to suffer. At best, he will be heavily fined, or sued, or jailed. Of course, a powerful sorcerer can get away with it: they say, a sorcerer in the Ivory Coast once got into a tiny chicken cage during a legal investigation, then flew up in the air, as though in a helicopter – and was seen no more! That’s why many people do not lose time putting sorcerers on trial, but just impale them, burn them at the stake or bury them alive.

However, wizards and sorcerers are not the only people initiated to secret knowledge. Any real man must master magic, especially if he is a healer, a hunter or a village chief. It’s worth it for everyone to have an amulet, of course. If someone envies you and wants to ruin you by means of black magic, a good amulet will repel it, like a shield, and it will strike the person who sent it. It’s especially important to protect a small child with an amulet.

Neither Islam, nor Christianity could do away with African sorcerers and wizards. What is to be done if a Protestant pastor’s niece robs her own mother’s soul? They have to call a witch doctor. As for the Muslim clerics, they are themselves the most renowned wizards who are prompt to make an amulet or cast a spell on a rival.

Sorcerers keep up with the technical progress. Many people believe that they cover huge distances in their “magic planes”, for which human blood is used as a fuel. And this is not surprising: this is what the magicians themselves say during trials which are covered by governmental mass media.

Magic vessel. Mali. The Dogon. Second half of 20th cent.		Horn for a harmful magic pouder korte. West Africa, Mali		Spatula for making magic substances. West Africa, Mali, late 20th c.