The Influence of Witchcraft and Wizardry on Society - Essay Example

Running Head: INFLUENCE OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY ON SOCIETY Sociology: The Influence of Witchcraftand Wizardry on Society Satyam Ramesh Abstract This is a compilation of reviews on six contemporary articles on witchcraft and sorcery in India. The reviews are presented in a chronological order, with the review of the latest article on the subject at the beginning. These reviews report on the contents of these articles, the main ideas expressed by the authors of these articles and an assessment of the contents of these articles by the author of this compilation. Sociology: The Influence of Witchcraft and Wizardry on Society Spell Bound This is the most recent article on witchcraft in India and details on its practice in a District named Nandurbar which is in the tribal belt north of the State of Maharashtra. This article was published in the Deccan Chronicle, a popular English newspaper in southern India in July 2005. Women in this District are reported to have been branded as witches since the days of the Aryans and are accused of possessing evil powers such as the power to curse, the power to utter dreadful maledictions and powers to even turn men into fauns. Once branded a witch, these women who belong to the lowest rungs of society are hunted down, stripped, stoned, beaten and forced to eat their own excreta. Very often, they are sentenced to gory deaths. The traditional sorcerer, who is locally known as 'Badwa Bhagat', is said to possess mystical powers to identify a witch. The sorcerers in this tribal belt are revered by people as they remain a source of probable solutions to all physical, mental and environmental problems. They capitalize on the superstitious nature of the people here. The motives to brand a woman a witch could be many and include old family feuds, jealousy or the desire to usurp her property and the sorcerer is bribed to declare a woman as a witch. In the tribal areas, even today, people believe that all mishaps are caused by some woman casting evil spells. The sorcerer claims to have the ability to detect a witch by playing over the head of a woman with a handful of grain with his eyes shut, head roving and pretending to be in a trance. He sometimes orders the chaining of the suspected woman's feet and orders her to walk and declaring her to be a witch if she fails to break the shackles. Once a woman is detected as a witch by the sorcerer, she is pulled by her hair, dragged to the village square and brutally beaten and stoned by the villagers. If she screamed in pain, the sorcerer alleges that it was the evil spirit that made her scream. Representatives from an NGO named Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (group for eradication of superstitions) that has been working in this area say that it is mostly women who are weak and incapable of defending themselves that are branded as witches. Women who are branded as witches are never sexually exploited as the people here fear that evil spirits could be sexually transmitted from the alleged witch to them. Women alleged to be witches are maimed, paraded naked in the village or even killed. The person who kills a witch feels proud of his deed and considers it an honor even if he were to be prosecuted or jailed. There are 11 Districts in Maharashtra where witch hunting is prevalent and over 400 cases have been reported from Nandurbar alone. The police stations are far away from the reach of most people. Most of the cases of witch-hunt goes unreported and those atrocities that come to the fore do so only when the witch hunt results in death. Many policemen are suspect of having belief in witchcraft and comply with the wishes of the sorcerer. The notorious sorcerer has considerable influence and it is difficult to bring him to justice. This is to some extent because there is no law that defines witch hunting as an offence. For 16 years, the Andhshraddha Nirmoolan Samiti has been advocating the need for an anti-superstition law to rein in on fraud god men for crimes based on superstitions like witchcraft, ghost-hunting, miracles, supernatural powers and paranormal claims. In 2003, the draft of a bill was prepared in consultation with well known personalities who have been working against belief in superstitions, but this bill is yet to be tabled in the Legislature as there is a lack of political resolve to clear the bill. (Chopra, Anuj, 2005) Members of Secret Sect Eat Human Flesh This article that appeared in the Times of India, the largest selling newspaper in India that was hosted on the website www.ambedkar.org This article reports on the practice of a new form of sorcery that it sees as an advanced form of banamati or sifli ilm by members of a nameless sect that have made consumption of human flesh as a part of the rituals they perform to find hidden treasures. The human flesh is said to be packaged along with other articles that are be required for a special ritual. The samagri, as the package is called, includes a 100 gram piece of roasted human flesh and is reportedly supplied to members of the sect through some agents in Hyderabad. The author of this article claims to have got to know about it from an interview he did with a member of the secret sect with whom he could meet at the time when he was doing a ritual in the periphery of Dadgi village in Humnabad Taluk of Bidar District in Karnataka State, India. Though the sect is reported to be in its initial formative stage, its practices are considered much more dangerous than banamati and sifli ilm, the two notorious forms of witchcraft and sorcery in the area that falls in the erstwhile Hyderabad State. Most of the members of this new sect reportedly hail from Hyderabad, Medak and Bidar Districts. The special ritual is said to be performed only at a secluded place and is usually said to be done in houses hired for this purpose in small villages in Medak and Bidar districts. Most of the times, the practitioners of this form of witchcraft are forced to leave the place once the villagers learn about their activities. In some instances, alleged performers of this weird ritual have been killed by villagers on suspicion of being practitioners of Banamati. Since 1999, seven such suspected practitioners are reported to have been killed by villagers in Medak District while 12 others were forced to leave the villages. Despite resistance, followers of this new sect are reported to be able to manage in finding places for rent such as small houses to perform the ritual. The 40-day ritual reportedly begins on a new moon day that falls on a Sunday. At the conclusion of the ritual, it is said that a supernatural figure that looks exactly like the person performing the ritual appears and leads the performer of the ritual to a hidden treasure. To ensure the success of the ritual, the person who performs the ritual is expected to eat human flesh. If he were not to do so in his first attempt, another ritual of the same duration is said to be conducted with a greater quantity of flesh. The first incident on this human flesh-eating practice is said to have come to light in Hallargaon village in Bidar district. Some villagers stormed the house of a person in the village on suspicion that he was practicing Banamati. They were shocked to find a few human bones and pieces of roasted flesh. A villager was said to have informed the author of this news report that the person suspected for practicing witchcraft was an outsider and he never returned to the village. (Ali, Shaik Ahmed, 2002). City graveyards source of human flesh This article is a sequel to an earlier article on the practice of witchcraft involving consumption of human flesh that appeared in the same newspaper. It informs that some graveyards in Hyderabad appear to be the possible sources of human flesh that is supplied to members of a secret sect for use in its voodoo rituals to find hidden treasures. A gang is said to be suspected for involvement in exhuming newly buried bodies from various graveyards in Hyderabad. These bodies are supplied to those indulging in the rites of this secret sect. The human flesh forms part of samagri (ingredients) that includes vermilion, lime and a mixture of ood and lobaan (local names of different kinds of incense). It is learnt that at least one body per month is exhumed for this purpose. One such reported case was that of the body of a six year old girl that was exhumed from the Amberpet Hindu burial ground that came to light in May 2001.The girl, Usha, who died after an illness at the Niloufer Hospital, was buried in the Amberpet burial ground on May 26, 2001. But when her father Srinivas Goud went to the grave the next day, it was found dug open with the body missing. Subsequently, the Kachiguda police arrested Yadaiah, the watchman of the burial ground. Though Yadaiah admitted to having exhumed the body, he did not reveal what he did with it. The police could not trace the girl's body despite searching for it in the neighbourhood of the burial ground or in the 2 kilometer long Amberpet drain that flows into the Musi river. Having failed to trace the body, the police declared Yadaiah to be insane for giving contradictory statements about the whereabouts of the body. Yadaiah was later referred to a hospital and then let off on bail. It is learnt that since his release on bail, Yadaiah has gone back to his village in Mahabubnagar. The fate of the body continues to be a mystery. This article concludes with the claim of a sorcerer in the business of treating Banamati cases that exhumation of bodies from a fresh grave takes hardly an hour and that it was possible to close the grave in such a manner that no one would be able to know about the absence of the body in the grave. (Ali, Shaik Ahmed, 2002) Witchcraft and Sorcery, The Atheist Centre Investigates This is an article written by Dr. G. Vijayam that was featured in The Open Society which is the Official Journal of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists & Humanists (Inc.) In April 2002, a team headed by Dr. G. Samaram, that included medical doctors, psychiatrist, hypnotist, magician, ventriloquist, scientists and social workers from Atheist Centre, an NGO organization from Vijayawada, was invited by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to investigate claims of witchcraft and sorcery in Rangareddy District of the State that adjoins its capital Hyderabad. The team was accompanied by the M.V. Ramachandra Raju, The District Superintendent of Police and other staff of the Police Department during the visit which was facilitated by them. 10 villages identified as "most affected" were toured extensively by the visiting team and persons who claimed to be victims were medically examined. The visiting team had discussions and interactive sessions with the villagers and conducted public meetings where the alleged victims and those accused of practicing sorcery were interviewed. The Atheist Centre has been sending similar teams on earlier instances on the invitation of the Inspector General of Police to other Districts in the Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Samaram headed all these teams that have worked since 1983 in dispelling superstitions and blind beliefs in the remote villages of the Districts in Telengana. The visiting teams from the Atheist Centre found that in Rangareddy District, like that in the other districts of Telengana, ignorance, illiteracy, ill health and a strong socio-cultural belief in witchcraft caused untold misery to the people. It sometimes leads to violent incidents such as plucking of teeth, chopping of limbs, slicing off tongues or burning to death of the person alleged to be a sorcerer. Practice of sorcery is the cause for gruesome murders of persons alleged to be sorcerers or their banishment from a village after torture. As the fear of witchcraft is so culturally rooted in the minds of the people that even lower rung employees of the police among others fail to take note of the offences that take place in the name of witchcraft and criminals escape punishment for their misdeeds on innocent people. Recently in a village of Rangareddy District, a man and woman were tortured and their tongues were cut off while in another village a score of teenage girls and women ran naked in the streets of the village due to mass hysteria. In other villages, persons alleged to be sorcerers were tortured and disfigured. The team from the Atheist Centre investigated and examined the victims and the accused. The visiting team gave demonstrations of sleight of hand in magic and on how narration of occurrence of certain incidents through suggestion and self hypnotism leads people to believe in many things which were not true. As medical facilities are not available in the villages, people fall prey to the advice of quacks who exploit the ignorance and ill health of people by attributing their bodily ailments to sorcery and witchcraft. The visiting team from the Atheist Centre suggested organization of awareness programmes, public demonstrations exposing superstitions, extending medical facilities in the villages in particular to those who claim to be victims of witchcraft, generation of employment opportunities in the villages and education to create awareness among the villagers. It suggested both long-term measures and immediate steps to rescue people from the scourge of superstition and penal action on those responsible for perpetrating crime under the garb of sorcery. (Vijayam, G., 2002) Fighting the Witchcraft Deaths in Telangana This is a news article that appeared in "The Hindu" which is one of the leading English language newspapers in India and reports on the recent initiatives of the Police and Atheist Centre in dealing with the problem of Banamati. The Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh that was under the rule of the Nizam in the pre-Independence era and is a stronghold of Naxalites (communists who despise democracy and believe in armed struggle for political power) has always had a violent and turbulent history. There is an aspiration in the people of this region for a separate State that they want to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh of which it is a part now. In some of the Telangana districts, even today people are lynched to death, as in mediaeval Europe, for alleged practice of sorcery or witchcraft and the problem assumes serious proportions. Outlining the gravity of the problem at a seminar on the subject organized by the Atheist Centre, Mr. M.V Ramachandra Raju, Superintendent of Police, Rangareddy district, said that it would require concerted efforts by social activists, NGOs, the police and the political parties to rid Telangana of superstitions relating to banamati. Citing the recent cases of lynching of alleged sorcerers (and sorceresses), belonging to the Scheduled Castes in the region, he said that he had enlisted the help of some Vijayawada-based doctors, magicians, hypnotists and psycho-therapists to lead a campaign against banamati and could achieve limited success during the past few years. In Rangareddy district thirteen alleged sorcerers had lost their lives since 1996 and 28 cases had been registered. More than 350 persons had been arrested in the district during the period. He said there should be greater awareness of the social evil prevalent in Telangana in the other regions of the State and other parts of the country. Dr. Vijayam of the Atheist Centre said that the Telengana region that was under the Nizam rule prior to Independence, wasn't able to get rid of problems caused by Banamati which he felt was a result of feudal hangover (implying that it was allowed to flourish during the rule of the Nizam) and that political parties were to blame for not taking the problem seriously. Dr Samaram said that the electronic media such as television was to be blamed for instilling superstitious beliefs in people through telecast of serials that affirm the faith of people in supernatural evil powers. He felt that the media ought to learn to be more responsible. (Fighting the Witchcraft Deaths in Telangana, 2002). Combating Witchcraft and Sorcery The Atheist Centre, an NGO that is inspired by the thoughts of Gora, a social reformer of repute and a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, celebrated the completion of fifty years of service in February, 1990 with the conduct of a three day International Conference at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. It brought out a Souvenir to commemorate this event and the article "Combating Witchcraft and Sorcery" first featured in this Souvenir. The mission of the Atheist Centre is headed by Dr. G. Samaram and Dr. G. Vijayam. This article recalls the events in history that bear testimony to the fact that hundreds and thousands of innocent people were killed in Europe in the name of witchcraft and sorcery in the 17th and 18th centuries and on how allegations of indulging in witchcraft and sorcery was used to eliminate political opponents, settle old scores and for extermination of persons found to be deviant from upholding religious beliefs. It refers to the monumental work of Johan Weyer and Reginald Scot who pioneered research of witchcraft and sorcery in Europe where it was widely prevalent. Such great men were persecuted for revealing their findings that dispelled notions that were held earlier on witchcraft through their books and invited the wrath of the rulers and religious authorities of those times. But with the progress of time and the increasing realization of the truth in the revelations from their work, the foundation for medical psychiatry to deal with witchcraft, people began to view witchcraft differently leading to its decline in Europe. But still in many parts of the world, particularly in the developing countries, practice of witchcraft and sorcery perpetuate fear, hatred and violence. Witchcraft thrives on the belief in the supernatural and the idea that one can harm another from a distance by their thought and action. It is the cultural milieu that fosters the belief in witchcraft and sorcery. In some tribes such as the Australian Bushmen there exists no fear of witchcraft and sorcery because their socio-cultural ethos is different. The people of India nourish beliefs in many traditions, primitive customs and practices. That is why, in spite of scientific advancements and social reform, many people still believe in witches and sorcerers. Witchcraft is known under different names such as 'Banamati', 'Chetabadi', Chillangi 'Hawa' , 'evil eye' and 'Halka'. The names may be different, but the practice is often the same. Particularly in rural parts of country, many people are still victimized, tortured or killed allegedly through the practice of witchcraft. The fear of witchcraft sometimes results in mass hysteria and abnormal behavior of a large number of people. As these people are uneducated, superstitious and steeped in tradition, they act on a suggestion from someone they believe in that fuels in them the fumes of hatred and revenge. The fury of the mob of people who tend to agree with such suggestion takes the form of plucking the teeth of the so-called sorcerers, on the belief that if they would not be able to chant the hymns to invoke evil spirits without their teeth. They burn the houses of the so-called sorcerers and witches and persecute them in myriad ways. Behind the accusations of witchcraft and sorcery lie hatred, jealousy, illicit relationships, love affairs, mental diseases, feeling of persecution, greed, ignorance, family feuds and machinations to have control over others. Unstable mind, psychological depressions, unfulfilled desires, hysteria, stubbornness and other such factors enable the growth of belief in witchcraft and sorcery. "Combating Witchcraft and Sorcery" gives a chronological listing of activities undertaken to dispel belief in witchcraft in the Telengana region of Andhra Pradesh over a period of about 15 years, prior to its publication. In 1976 Mededuppalapalli in Nalgonda Dist. of Andhra Pradesh, was the scene of mass hysteria due to the fear of witchcraft and sorcery. Twenty-six women and two men identified themselves as victims of witchcraft and sorcery, and they alleged that certain persons were the sorcerers. Dr. Raghu Rami Reddy the Superintendent of the Mental Hospital in Hyderabad, visited the village, examined the so-called victims and declared them as psychiatric patients who were subsequently treated. But in spite of this, fear had spread like fire and some people were persecuted for being sorcerers. In 1980, the fear of Banamati again came to the fore in Rangareddy District of Andhra Pradesh and in Bidar and Gulbarga districts of Karnataka State. The Karnataka Legislative Council constituted a committee to investigate into the problem. Dr, H. Narasimhaiah, Member of the Legislative Council headed this committee which included psychiatrists from the NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences) Bangalore. The findings of the investigative team revealed, in unmistakable terms, that Banamati and witchcraft was nothing but a fear complex perpetuated by vested interests that played havoc with the lives of the people. In 1983, the fear of Banamati gripped Medak District in Andhra Pradesh. Five people were murdered on the pretext of being sorcerers. Earlier four people were murdered and police had to open fire to prevent two people from being killed. Through the connivance of the village headmen with witch doctors and so-called holy men, money was extorted from poor and illiterate people for conducting ceremonies to drive away evil spirits. When the fear of Banamati reached epidemic proportions and turned into a problem in maintaining law and order, Mr. K. Arvind Rao, the then Superintendent of Police of Medak district and the District Administration invited Atheist Centre to help them to resolve the problem. The team from Atheist Centre that was headed by Dr. G. Samaram included a psychiatrist, a dental surgeon, a hypnotist, a magician, social workers and scientists and they toured the District extensively. Apart from conducting meetings, the so-called victims of Banamati, about 7000 persons were examined by medical doctors and interviewed by scientists in the team. The team organized practical demonstrations to dispel superstitious notions held by villagers. The medical doctors on their investigations established that a majority of people who were victims of sorcery and witchcraft, had been in fact, suffering from physical and mental ailments. They had symptoms of schizophrenia, depression, paranoia, hysterical neurosis, epilepsy, impotency and premature ejaculation. Some of them were suffering from illusions and delusions of the supernatural and the occult. The findings of the team from Atheist Centre were discussed in the State Legislature and the State Government sent doctors and psychiatrists to Medak District as a follow up. The fear of witchcraft and sorcery is being perpetuated by vested interests, to maintain their hold over illiterate, ignorant, gullible masses who are intoxicated by faith. Access to quality education, better medical facilities and psychiatric help are necessary to root out the belief of people in witchcraft and sorcery. The activities of Atheist Centre in dispelling witchcraft and sorcery received wide coverage in the press and radio and it was helpful in dispelling superstitions to some extent. Dr Samaram, leader of the team, and Dr. Rama Subba Reddy, a member of the team who is a neuro-psychiatrist, presented papers in the first Andhra Pradesh State Annual Conference of Neuro Sciences held at Guntur Medical College in April 1985. 'Probe India' published a special report in December 1983, on the 'Bane of Banamati.' 'The Week', published a special report on the investigative work of the Atheist Centre in their edition dated October 16, 1983. Many newspapers in Andhra Pradesh published special articles on the findings of Atheist Centre and invited readers to send in their views on witchcraft and sorcery, with the objective of raising awareness on different aspects of the problem. For nearly 6 months the topic was widely discussed in the press. Responding to a debate in the State Legislature that resulted from the awareness caused by the work of Atheist Centre, the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh stated that he would personally look into the problem and send a team of doctors to help the victims of Banamati. The investigative effort of the Atheist Centre caused better awareness among the people on Banamati and called for concerted effort to dispel superstitions, illiteracy and ignorance to safeguard against the recurrence of such mass hysteria in the future. 'Andhra Jyothi' a leading vernacular newspaper coined the caption, "Ill-health + Ignorance = Banamati". (Combating Witchcraft and Sorcery, 1990) References Ali, Shaik Ahmed (2002). Members of Secret Sect Eat Human Flesh & City Graveyards Source of Human Flesh, The Times of India, Times News Network, March 19, 2002. Retrieved on July 15, 2005, from http://www.ambedkar.org/News/News032102.htm Chopra, Anuj (2005). Spell Bound. Deccan Chronicle, Hyderabad, July 24, 2005. Combating Witchcraft and Sorcery (1990).Atheist Centre, Golden Jubilee International Conference Souvenir, Vijayawada, Retrieved July 15, 2005, from http://www.positiveatheism.org/india/s1990b11.htm Fighting the Witchcraft Deaths in Telangana (2002).The Hindu, Business Line, Internet Edition, 15 July 2002. Retrieved on July 15, 2005, from http://www.blonnet.com/2002/07/15/stories/2002071500991300.htm Vijayam, G. (2002). Witchcraft and Sorcery, The Atheist Centre Investigates, The Open Society, Official Journal of the New Zealand Association of Rationalists & Humanists (Inc.), Auckland, 75-3, 20-21, Retrieved July 15, 2005, from http://www.nzarh.org.nz/journal/spring02.pdf Read More