Impact of Black Magic in Bangladeshi Society (original) (raw)
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The Magic Art of Witchcraft and Black Magic
The belief in and the practise of magic has been present since the earliest human cultures and continues to have an important religious and medicinal role in many cultures today. The present study investigated about social representation regarding societal beliefs of witchcraft and black magic in North Eastern state of India.
Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 2013
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Black magic, divination and remedial reproductive agency in northern Pakistan.
Published in 2012 as a chapter in "Ethnographies of Islam: Ritual Performances and Everyday Practices" (Edited by Paulo Pinto, Badouin Dupret, Thomas Pierret, and Kathryn Spellman-Poots)., 2012
Anthropologists are increasingly and critically attentive to the symbolic, ideological and political dimensions of women’s observance and ritual practice of Islam throughout Muslim contexts. However, few researchers focus on the eclectic modalities inherent to Muslim women’s formal engagements with occult practices in Pakistan, notwithstanding growing research on sorcery in the South Asian Muslim diaspora. In particular, the available literature demonstrates a lack of attention to the impacts of sorcery on women’s sense of physical wellbeing, or to the cosmological mechanisms women employ to protect themselves from harm. In response, I draw on ethnographic fieldwork (2004–5) in Gilgit Town, the multi-sectarian capital of Gilgit-Baltistan, to explore Sunni women’s creative and agentive efforts to resolve the ailments associated with relational discord and “black magic”.
Understanding Witchcraft and it is Implication to Community Development
Understanding Witchcraft and it is Implication to Community Development, 2020
The Gospel tune “Omundu Omulosi” which means a ‘man who practices witchcraft” hit the charts in Kenya about six years ago and still is popular in many radio stations today. It laments the fact that witchcraft has destroyed a home. An educated man who had just come from United States come from overseas died unexpectedly and the only cow of the family also died leaving the family poor. But is witchcraft real? And is it an impediment to the advancement of the community socially and economically? The paper is going to use the theory of community development as advanced by Robert Chambers in 1983 and which posits that ‘people can only support that which they help build.’ The theory also continues to assert that the outsiders view of the communities is always ‘distorted and explained using our own language and experience.”(Chambers, 1983). This paper is going to examine witchcraft from the African perspective and its impact in community development. If the Bible is to be taken as the word of God – and if the Bible is true then as Christian we are cognisance of Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The questions this paper will attempt to address are: One, is witchcraft real or is it a creation of the wild imagination of the human mind? Two, how does witchcraft impact on community development? And finally three, what can we do as Christians to counter “forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The paper is going to explore literature available on witchcraft to define witchcraft. It will argue that witchcraft has its origin in Satanism. It will also examine the phenomena of witchcraft accusations and why it is taking root in modern day community life. It will also rely on personal testimonies of people who have had encounters with this phenomena. The paper will conclude that indeed “powers of this dark world” is still in force and that it is causing stagnation in community development in areas where this is practiced affecting both individuals and communities. It will also offer practical ways of ensuring that this powers are conquered. Key Words: Christian, Community Development, Satanism, witchcraft, witch accusations, demons, possession
Systematic reviews of ethnographic studies have established the presence of witchcraft beliefs in societies all over the world, with the first written record dating back to ancient Mesopotamia (Hutton, 2017). In many African societies, it is believed that witchcraft and other mystical powers cause unusual phenomenon like misfortune like accidents, wrangles, demise, domestic and public aggression, poverty, sickness and failure in life. The mystical powers are controlled by witches and wizards who possess powers which inhibit or influence the aforementioned phenomena. Belief and practice of witchcraft as this paper discusses has negatively impacted the social, economic, political and spiritual development in myriad African societies. The emanation and establishment of Christianity in Africa and other parts of the world by the western world seems not to provide lasting solutions over the belief. Mostly data collected unveils that some of those either suspected or caught in the practice are confessing Christians who are regular attendees of Saturday and Sunday church gatherings. Historically, missionaries convinced the Africans to join Christianity without first teaching them the causes of mystical happenings like death, accidents, loss of poverty, sickness and failure in the community (Chinua, 1958). Because of the Africans generosity, they dropped their social,-religious and cultural practices to join Christianity with a hope of practicing faithful Christianity which they thought could address their heart demands. This was because of the adequate teachings on factors and solutions to the aforementioned phenomenon. African Christians in spite of their commitment to Christianity still feel not secure in their personal, physical, health and property safety. This study utilized the social change theory developed by Lauren Fitzpatrick (1976). Social change is defined as a social process whereby the values, attitudes, or institutions of society become modified.
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 2018