Colonial Latin American Reaction to Witchcraft

     The reaction of those in Colonial Latin American Society to those who were accused of witchcraft and the reasons witches were accused is the best illustration of how African traditions and beliefs were adopted and assimilated into the fabric of life in the new world. Witchcraft in Colonial Latin America was not originally fueled by religious dissension, as some may believe. Rather, just like in African society, misfortunes fueled witch-hunts. The accusation that Paula killed an infant because it died shortly after she held it is similar to other accusations seen across Africa in which deaths of family members were blamed on the witchcraft of others.[1] However, the records of her trial convey a clear underlying concern dealing with religion, something that would not have been of primary concern in Africa. Paula’s confessions demonstrate her devotion to the Virgin, showing that she had begun to adopt the Westernized religion of Christianity. Having not been born in Africa, but rather in Cuba, she is a prime example of how the African communities of Latin America were not only contributing their own culture to the new world but also assimilating to beliefs and traditions held by those that inhabited their new home. After confessing that the devil “persuaded her to follow him” through a trick, she repented and was released. It was on July fifteenth, 1624 that she confessed she accidentally made a pact with the devil but not by giving him her soul but by giving him the food she was eating.

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[1] Bongmba, Elias Kifon. African witchcraft and otherness: a philosophical and theological critique. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.