Witchcraft Among Africans

What is done to eliminate witchcraft among the Azande then? Evans-Pritchard writes about a few options. The first option is a public oration where the victim declares to the village that the oracle has disclosed the name of a witch and it is asked that the witch stop what he or she is doing. The name of the witch is not told to the public. In this way, the witch is given a chance to stop performing witchcraft and not be found out about. If the witchcraft continues, the witch knows that the name will be told to the public and no witch wants to be found out.

Another option is to send a deputy with a chicken wing to the door of the witch. This deputy will inform the witch what he or she is being accused of and asked to stop. Evans -Pritchard describes the action of the accused in this way, “Almost invariably the witch replies courteous that he is unconscious of injuring any one, that if it is true that he has injured the man in question he is very sorry.”

According to Omoyajowo, certain groups have made it their mission to combat witchcraft in Africa. A group called the Bamucapi traveled around and accused peoples of witchcraft and the accused houses would be searched. The accused were forced to drink a mixture that was supposed to cleanse them of witchcraft altogether. This group also sold protective charms and powders to combat witchcraft. A similar group existed among the Yoruba after World War 2, but they were banned by the government in 1951.

It seems that there is no concrete way to eliminate witchcraft among African peoples. Some prefer banishment, public humiliation, simply asking for it to stop, and magical drinks. It depends, much like everything in African Witchcraft, on which peoples one is studying.

To conclude, many questions have now been answered about African Witchcraft. Is Witchcraft a positive or negative phenomenon? Where does witchcraft come from? How does one become a witch? What exactly do witches do? How are witches stopped? The answers to these questions depend completely on which African peoples one is asking the questions of. It is almost impossible to generalize when it comes to Africans, as they are a diverse people with diverse beliefs. One thing they have in common though is that all African societies include some belief in witchcraft.