The newest generation in western society is being partially raised by films, literature, and music. Pop culture is taking a bigger and bigger role in the upbringing of today’s children. Images like Harry Potter flying on his broomstick during a game of quidditch, or the old lady from Brave creating potions. To the majority of Western Society, these situations are used for entertainment purposes, but many tribes and villages still believe in the power of witchcraft and see it as an enormous threat. Weather witchcraft is still prevalent for religious reasons, old school beliefs, or economic motives, the fact still remains that it is used to show order and give power to those who are willing to give up a life to take it. With modern advancements becoming more widespread, many are trying to hold on to the traditional values of their tribes, and in result, pushing the idea of witchcraft onto the new generation in a very aggressive way. The Badyaranke tribe of Senegal believes witchcraft is responsible for many hardships including, health issues, economic troubles, and loss of religion (Simmons, 1980:447). While the population of seventeenth century Malta looked to magic when medical knowledge because inadequate, yet when a negative situation arose, killing those who were thought to use witchcraft was the logical choice (Cassar, 1993:329). Both nations used witchcraft to hold on to old school religious ideas, a way to propel themselves in their economic status, and as a scapegoat. These nations showed how witchcraft was used as a source of power and a way to maintain order.
Religion
Any group of people would find it difficult to let go of traditions, and even harder to allow a new idea of religion and morals into their lives. This is ...
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...sistance as the community develops. Every type of government wants to have control over the people they govern. They want to maintain some sort of societal order, and to do so, in this context, witchcraft was the most prominent way. Through religion, economic status and scapegoating, it was possible for seventeenth century Malta and the Badyaranke tribe to maintain a sense of order. By using witchcraft as a medium to strike fear into their communities, the leaders of said nations were able to keep the status they originally held.
Reference Cited
Cassar, Carmel
1993 Witchcraft Beliefs and Social Control in Seventeenth Century Malta. In: Journal of Mediterranean Studies University of Malta
Simmons, William S.
1980 Powerlessness, Exploitation and the Soul-Eating Witch: An Analysis of Badyaranke Witchcraft In: American Ethnologist University of California, Berkeley
Witchcraft was relentlessly thought as the work of the devil with only sinful and immoral intentions. Julio Caro Baroja explains in his book on Basque witchcraft that women who were out casted from society and unable to fulfill their womanly duties became witches as a way to compensate for her failed life. They were thought to be a threat to society as they dwindled in evil magic. This misunderstanding may have originated from the literary works of Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger, in their published book, “Malleus Maleficarum”. Accusations of being adulterous, liars and dealing with the devil materialized because of the...
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...
The witch hunts in early modern Europe were extensive and far reaching. Christina Larner, a sociology professor at the University of Glasgow and an influential witchcraft historian provides valuable insight into the witch trials in early modern Europe in her article 'Was Witch-Hunting Woman-Hunting?'. Larner writes that witchcraft was not sex-specific, although it was sex-related (Larner, 2002). It cannot be denied that gender plays a tremendous role in the witch hunts in early modern Europe, with females accounting for an estimated 80 percent of those accused (Larner, 2002). However, it would be negligent to pay no heed to the remaining 20 percent, representing alleged male witches (Larner, 2002). The legal definition of a witch in this time, encompassed both females and males (Levack, 1987). This essay will explore the various fundamental reasons for this gender discrepancy and highlight particular cases of witchcraft allegations against both women and men. These reasons arise from several fundamental pieces of literature that depict the stereotypical witch as female. These works are misogynistic and display women as morally inferior to men and highly vulnerable to temptations from demons (Levack, 1987). This idea is blatantly outlined in the text of the 'Malleus Maleficarum' written by James Sprenger and Henry Kramer in the late fifteenth century. This book is used as the basis for many of the witch trials in early modern Europe (Levack, 1987). The text describes women as sexually submissive creatures and while remarking that all witchcraft is derived from intense sexual lust, a women is thus a prime candidate for witchcraft (Sprenger & Kramer, 1487). In this time period, men are seen as powerful and in control and thus rarely...
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.
Karlsen, Carol F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New
Witchcraft accusations began in Massachusetts after people began to say that they saw others with different symptoms which includes “fits”, “spectral visions”, “mental distraction”, “pinching, pin pricking, and bites”, “lethargy”, and “death” (Carlson, xiii). These accusations spread rapidly and took off within Massachusetts due to the large number of people living in the area. The large population allowed for the idea of witchcraft to spread because of how rapidly the large population heard of these allegations. Through the word of mouth, friends told friends, family members told other family members, neighbors spoke among each other, community members were updated through each other. This is what caused the idea of witchcraft to gain so much momentum.
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 women and most of those who were accused and executed for being witches were women. Why were women there so many women accused of witchcraft compared to men? Were woman accused of witchcraft because men thought it was a way to control these women? It all happened in 1692, in an era where women were expected to behave a certain way, and women were punished if they threatened what was considered the right way of life. The emphasis of this paper is the explanation of Salem proceedings in view of the role and the position of women in Colonial America.
Bacon, Elizabeth E. “Witchcraft.” Encyclopedia Americana. Volume 29. Pages 83 – 84. Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1999.
The epoch of Medieval European history concerning the vast and complicated witch hunts spanning from 1450 to 1750 is demonstrative of the socioeconomic, religious, and cultural changes that were occurring within a population that was unprepared for the reconstruction of society. Though numerous conclusions concerning the witch trials, why they occurred, and who was prosecuted have been founded within agreement there remains interpretations that expand on the central beliefs. Through examining multiple arguments a greater understanding of this period can be observed as there remains a staggering amount of catalysts and consequences that emerged. In the pursuit of a greater understanding three different interpretations will be presented. These interpretations which involve Brian Levack’s “The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe,” Eric Boss’s “Syphilis, Misogyny, and Witchcraft in 16th-Century Europe,” and Nachman Ben-Yehuda’s “The European Witch Craze of the 14th to 17th centuries: A Sociologist’s Perspective,” share various opinions while developing their own theories. The comparison of these observations will focus upon why the witch trials occurred when they did, why did they stop when they did, why did the witch trials occur when they did, and who was persecuted and who was responsible for the identification and punishing of witches.
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).
Sidky, H. Witchcraft, lycanthropy, drugs, and disease: an anthropological study of the European witch-hunts. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 1997.
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.
Witchcraft is the use of these forces for negative ends, to extort evil, and magic asks for positive ends. Witchcraft has been found to exist in all corners of the globe at some point. It is no coincidence that during the Enlightenment, witch hunts in Europe and North America became common. The aim was to rid society of these people regarded as unreasonable and dangerous. By contrast self-proclaimed witches still have a function in some societies today, mainly in the developing world. Magic however is often a word used to describe certai...
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. Belief in witchcraft is the traditional way of explaining the ultimate cause of evil, misfortune or death.” The African worldview is holistic. In this perception, things do not just happen. What happens, either good or bad, is traced back to human action, including “ancestors who can intervene by blessing or cursing the living.” Witches, on the other hand, harm because they want to destroy life. Every misfortune or problem can be related to witchcraft, especially when natural explanation is not satisfactory.
III. Smithson, Jayne. “Magic, Witchcraft, and Religion.” Class lectures. Anthropology 120. Diablo Valley College, San Ramon 2004.