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Witchcraft: the story on HearLore | HearLore
Witchcraft
In the year 331 before the Common Era, a deadly epidemic struck Rome and the city's response was not to seek medical cures but to execute at least 170 women. These women were accused of causing the plague through veneficium, a Latin term that meant both poisoning and causing harm by magic. The Roman Republic had no concept of a distinction between poison and magic, viewing them as the same destructive force. This event marked one of the earliest recorded instances of a society hunting witches on a scale unknown anywhere else in the ancient world. The laws of the Twelve Tables, dating back to the 5th century before the Common Era, had already laid down penalties for uttering harmful incantations, but the epidemic turned theory into a bloodbath. A few decades later, between 184 and 180 before the Common Era, another epidemic hit Italy, and the state executed about 5,000 people for the same crime. These mass executions were not isolated incidents but part of a systematic legal framework that treated magic as a capital offense. The Lex Cornelia de sicariis et veneficis, passed in 81 before the Common Era, solidified the death penalty for killing by magic, ensuring that magicians would be burnt at the stake. This ancient Roman precedent established a terrifying legacy where the line between a healer and a murderer was drawn by the outcome of a disaster rather than the intent of the practitioner.
The Hammer of Witches
The year 1486 marked a turning point in the history of European witchcraft with the publication of the Malleus Maleficarum, or Hammer of the Witches. Written by German monk-inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, this treatise became the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, second only to the Christian Bible. The manual provided a detailed framework for identifying, prosecuting, and punishing witches, defining them as evil and typically female. It argued that women were more likely to be witches than men, a claim that fueled centuries of gendered persecution. The book was used by secular courts throughout Europe, though the Catholic Inquisition cautioned against relying on it, preferring its own procedures. The text described how to put a witch on trial and how to punish her, effectively creating a blueprint for the Great European Witch Hunt. This period saw tens of thousands of people executed, imprisoned, tortured, or banished, with the majority of the accused being women. The Malleus Maleficarum did not just reflect existing fears; it actively shaped them, turning social tensions into a legal mandate for destruction. The book's influence persisted for centuries, ensuring that the image of the witch remained synonymous with evil and female deviance long after the initial wave of executions had subsided.
The Cunning Folk
Common questions
When did the Roman Republic execute women for witchcraft during an epidemic?
In the year 331 before the Common Era, Rome executed at least 170 women accused of causing a deadly plague through veneficium. This event marked one of the earliest recorded instances of a society hunting witches on a scale unknown anywhere else in the ancient world.
Who wrote the Malleus Maleficarum and when was it published?
German monk-inquisitors Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger wrote the Malleus Maleficarum, which was published in the year 1486. This treatise became the most sold book in Europe for over 100 years, second only to the Christian Bible.
What is the difference between cunning folk and accused witches in historical Europe?
Cunning folk were magical healers who practiced apotropaic magic to protect communities, whereas accused witches were targeted for maleficium. Laws such as the Constitutio Criminalis Carolina of 1532 and the Danish Witchcraft Act of 1617 explicitly stated that workers of folk magic should be treated differently from witches.
How do the Maka people of Cameroon define witchcraft?
The Maka people of Cameroon believe in an occult force known as djambe, which dwells inside a person and is often translated as witchcraft or sorcery. This substance can act on its own while the witch is sleeping or unaware, driving them to do harm.
How many older women are murdered each year in Tanzania due to witchcraft accusations?
An estimated 500 older women are murdered each year in Tanzania following accusations of witchcraft, according to a 2014 World Health Organization report. These modern witch-hunts are part of a broader pattern of violence against women and marginalized groups.
Who pioneered the Wicca movement and when did it emerge?
Gerald Gardner pioneered the Wicca movement in the 1940s, which emerged as a new movement since the 1930s. This movement redefines the term witchcraft, transforming it from a symbol of evil to a badge of spiritual identity.
While history remembers the accused witches, it often forgets the cunning folk, the magical healers who were the true protectors of their communities. In Britain and parts of Europe, these individuals were known as wise people, blessers, or wizards, and they provided services such as breaking the effects of witchcraft, healing, divination, and finding lost goods. Unlike the maleficium practiced by the accused witches, the magic of the cunning folk was apotropaic, meaning it was protective and helpful. They were widely tolerated by the church, state, and general populace, even when orthodox authorities tried to smear them as witches. The English MP and skeptic Reginald Scot noted in 1584 that it was indifferent to say in English that a woman was a witch or a wise woman, highlighting the blurred lines between the two roles. Historian Owen Davies points out that relatively few cunning folk were prosecuted under secular statutes for witchcraft, and they were dealt with more leniently than alleged witches. The Constitutio Criminalis Carolina of 1532 and the Danish Witchcraft Act of 1617 explicitly stated that workers of folk magic should be treated differently from witches. Despite this, some cunning folk were denounced as witches, and their supposed fairy familiars were demonized, leading to their prosecution. In some regions, such as Hungary, half the accused witches seem to have been healers, while in Norway, the vast majority of accused witches were folk healers. These individuals were the unsung heroes of the witch trials, often caught in the crossfire of a society that feared magic but desperately needed it.
The Substance Within
Across the globe, the definition of a witch varies wildly, but in many parts of Africa and Melanesia, the concept is rooted in a physical substance inside the body. The Maka people of Cameroon believe in an occult force known as djambe, which dwells inside a person and is often translated as witchcraft or sorcery. This substance can act on its own while the witch is sleeping or unaware, driving them to do harm. The Dobu people believe that women work harmful magic in their sleep while men work it while awake. This belief system challenges the Western notion of witchcraft as a willful act of malice, suggesting instead that the power is innate and sometimes involuntary. In these cultures, the substance may be good, bad, or morally neutral, and it is the source of supernatural power. Anthropologists note that this distinction between the witch who uses tools and the witch who uses inborn power has largely been abandoned in Western scholarship, yet it remains central to the lived experience of many communities. The belief in a substance within the body has profound implications for how these societies deal with witchcraft, often leading to accusations that are not about personal choice but about the presence of an evil spirit. This internalized view of witchcraft creates a unique social dynamic where the community must find ways to ward off the harm without necessarily condemning the individual, as the substance may be beyond their control.
The Modern Bloodletting
In the 21st century, the ancient fear of witchcraft has not vanished but has evolved into a modern crisis of violence and human rights. In Tanzania, an estimated 500 older women are murdered each year following accusations of witchcraft, according to a 2014 World Health Organization report. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a disturbing trend of child witchcraft accusations has led to abuse and exorcisms supervised by self-styled pastors. In Papua New Guinea, it is estimated that 50 to 150 people are killed each year as a result of witchcraft accusations, with victims often being women who face torture, public shaming, or execution. The government of Papua New Guinea repealed the Sorcery Act in 2013, which previously allowed sorcery as a defense in murder cases, but enforcement of protective laws remains inconsistent. In Saudi Arabia, practicing witchcraft and sorcery is a crime punishable by death, and the country has executed people for this crime as recently as 2014. These modern witch-hunts are not isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of violence against women and marginalized groups. The belief in witchcraft continues to fuel suspicion of modern medicine, with serious healthcare consequences for diseases like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, tuberculosis, and leprosy. The persistence of these beliefs in the face of globalization and modernization challenges the standard modernization theory that suggests witchcraft beliefs should decline with improved security and health. Instead, rising inequality, globalization, and technological change may be reviving witchcraft beliefs by disrupting established social order.
The Reclaimed Identity
Since the 1930s, a new movement has emerged that redefines the term witchcraft, transforming it from a symbol of evil to a badge of spiritual identity. Wicca, pioneered by Gerald Gardner in the 1940s, is the most influential of these neopagan witchcraft movements, drawing inspiration from ceremonial magic, historical paganism, and the now-discredited witch-cult theory. This movement emphasizes a connection to nature, the divine, and personal growth, offering a stark contrast to the malevolent image of the witch. Neopagan groups began to emerge who called their religion a kind of witchcraft, creating initiatory secret societies inspired by Margaret Murray's witch-cult hypothesis. Today, some Wiccans and members of related traditions self-identify as witches and use the term witchcraft for their magico-religious beliefs and practices, primarily in Western anglophone countries. This reclamation of the term has been a powerful act of resistance against centuries of persecution, turning the witch into a symbol of empowerment and spiritual freedom. The movement has also sparked a broader interest in modern paganism, with traditions like Stregheria in Italy seeking to reconnect with the country's pagan past. While some neo-pagans avoid the term due to its negative connotations, the majority have embraced it, creating a vibrant community that celebrates the very figure that was once hunted to death. This shift in identity has transformed the witch from a victim of history into a protagonist of a new spiritual narrative.