In Africa, witchcraft served as a means by which to place blame for disastrous events at the feet of one person, to produce a scapegoat. This scapegoat, or “witch”, was often accused after a family had suffered a misfortune of some sorts. This misfortune usually entailed, but was not limited to, the death of a loved one or economic and political strife. Witchcraft in Africa, therefore, was the means by which people made sense of the world around them. Being able to pin their misfortunes on one person helped to relive the sense of being helpless in the face of their misfortunes and provided a physical target for their grief and frustration. Additionally, it was the belief in Africa that those who practiced witchcraft did so intentionally, with evil purposes in mind.[1] In Africa, witchcraft was and is today considered a very real phenomenon. Even in modern times there are periodic witch hunts, during which scapegoats are rounded up and summarily killed.[2] This African tradition of placing blame for misfortunes on witches using supernatural powers transfused into Colonial Latin American society. This practice of finding a witch, or “bruja” on which to blame misfortunes was not limited to whites accusing blacks. Thus, the issue was not one driven (primarily) by race. African communities in Latin America had a just as strong, if not stronger, culturally engrained belief in witchcraft, and were eager to rid themselves of any supposed witches lurking in their midst. [3]The fact that Paula claims that she was being accused because others were jealous of her supports the notion that it was some of her own peers (other enslaved Africans) that were accusing her of witchcraft.
[1]Thornton, John. “Cannibals, Witches, and Slave Traders in the Atlantic World.” The William and Mary Quarterly 60 (2003) pg. 273-294
[2] Palmer, Karen. Spellbound: Inside West Africa’s Witch Camps. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010. Pg.87
Did you find that African people's reaction to witchcraft, to explain thing they didn't understand, funnel over into the societies they later lived in? ( Like North America and other Spanish Colonies)
ReplyDeleteWere witches as taboo as they are seen by the Spaniards?
I did find that African people's reaction witchcraft funneled over into the societies they lived in. The Salem witch trials in North America, for example, show how people experiencing tragedies such as the illness and death of children lash out at those around them. Just like in African societies, those accused tended to be women living on the periphery of society. However, just like with Paula, there were women accused that were active members of the society and jealousy could have been a major factor. I found on youtube that there are videos of people being lynched even today in South America for supposed "witchcraft", which goes to show that even today African tradition has not faded. In Africa there are still frequent witch hunts. I do think that "witches" are as taboo as they are seen by the Spaniards, but only if there is enough political, economic, or social tension or misfortune to warrant a "witch hunt". These people that were accusing Paula were probably the same people that bought love potions from her on the sly.
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