WitchCraft
Witch is considered as an individual who have inborn ability to do mischievous acts, so that they can harm others. Witches do not always harm other intentionally, most of the time, they themselves are not aware of the fact they witch, and they may harm others unintentionally, as they do not have any idea that other individual will suffer badly because of this act. Witchcraft in the traditional societies is different than the witchcraft in the modern popular culture. The traditional beliefs regarding witchcraft are different as compared to the contemporary beliefs regarding witchcraft. There are several traditional concepts for witchcraft, for example, in the traditional societies sex is considered as responsible for the witchcraft. The small scale societies consider that the power of causing harm exists within an individual and there is no need of the rituals. They consider that the bad things simply take place. Witches are just the representation of the anti-social behavior, so any individual who possesses characteristics such as greed, hatred, and jealousy can be considered as witch.
The Azande is of the view that witchcraft plays its role in the everyday life via mangu, which is a physical substance present inside the witch’s body. The Navojo consider that witches a result of the antisocial behavior. According to this belief, corpse power is used for killing the witches, the witches are killed if they do not confess, and it is considered as their cure. In Europe, the idea of the witchcrafts is influenced by Christianity, which considers that witches have made associations with Devil. However, in the traditional belief of witchcraft, women are mostly accused to be witches because they are more superstitious. Childless women, those who are living alone, and unmarried women are belived to become witches to a larger extent.
But, the depiction of the witchcraft in the modern popular culture is completely different from the traditional views of the witchcraft. The modern popular culture considers the equality of the genders just like the Wiccan rituals and beliefs. Additionally, contemporary culture has emphasized on the flexible Goddess, which represent the group practices or individual practices, and allow addition of the rituals in order to suit the situations. It, however, considers the realm of the folk beliefs that are based on the culture and religion.
Witchcraft serves many important functions in the traditional societies. The witches are considered as immoral and anti-social. They are considered as the cause of the bad luck, and they form a scapegoat. In Europe, they are considered as anti-Christian because they have rejected the orders and the presence of God, and form coalitions with Satan, who is devil. But, in the modern popular culture it is believed that devil is a belief in Christianity and it is not linked to the witchcraft. There is no connection between the devil and withcraft.
The modern popular culture is also against the traditional belief that the women mostly have devil characteristics. It considers that both men and women have devil characteristics. Further, in the traditional witchcraft there is a concept of the evil eye that is considered as similar to the witchcraft. This concept still exists in many counties such as in India, Mexico, and in many parts Europe, etc. In these areas, there are many people who consider that the witches are the cause of the misfortune and illness, because they are envious.
In a nutshell, witches comprise of an innate ability of affecting other. Mostly, they do not perform these acts intentionally, because they are not aware of the fact that the act is harmful for others. The witchcraft in the traditional societies is different from the witchcraft in the modern popular culture. Traditionally, it is considered that the witches indicate anti-social behavior such as greed, envy, and jealousy. They exert their influence on the daily life of an individual, they are killed if they do not accept the fact, they have associations with the Satan, they always do evil acts, they are anti-Christian as they do not obey the God and just follow the instruction of a Satan. Further, the traditional view of witchcraft consider that majority of witches are women, because they become target due to their weaknesses such as inability of conceiving a child, being unmarried, and living alone. They adopt evil acts so that they can have child, get married, and get company of someone in order to secure their life. But, the popular belief have focused on the practices of the individuals and groups, and focused on the realm of the folk beliefs that are based on the religion. There are still many parts of the world, where traditional concepts of witchcraft are prevailing.
References
The Lecture Notes
