Vodou in New Orleans

A History of Voodoo in New Orleans
By Julia Roslyn Antle

In America, New Orleans is often associated with two things: Mardi Gras and Voodoo. Although only approximately 15-20% of the population of Louisiana practices the religion of voodoo (also known as Vodou), its dark allure has captured the attention of many. Tourists visiting New Orleans regularly seek out voodoo attractions and shops selling voodoo-related items, tantalized by stories of voodoo dolls, possession by evil spirits, voodoo curses, and zombies.

While such fare undoubtedly serves to entertain tourists, it does an injustice to the true meaning of traditional voodoo. Some sects of modern voodoo are indeed occultist in origin, but traditional voodoo has much more in common with wicca and Native American beliefs, and even Christianity.

Traditional voodoo is intended to help practitioners achieve a higher state of consciousness through trancelike communions with the natural spirits of the earth, called Loa, and to attain peace and wisdom.

The reemergence of voodoo in New Orleans and its widespread acceptance in Louisiana can be largely attributed to Marie Laveau. Marie Laveau was the daughter of a Frenchman, Charles Laveau , and a Caribbean, Marguerite Darcantel, who was a practitioner of voodoo. Modern voodoo in New Orleans today is a combination of Marie Laveau's practices and other influences from Haiti, Christianity, and Native Americans.

While Marie Laveau was certainly not the first nor the last voodoo practitioner to be held in high regard, she was certainly one of the most influential during a time period when voodoo was beginning to be accepted again.

Marie Laveau was very well known for her expert knowledge of herbal remedies, and was sought out for her preparation of gris-gris bags. These were small pouches that contained a variety of herbs that were worn by the recipient, and were intended for a number of purposes. The correct combination of herbs could effectively ward off evil spirits or hexes, bring good luck to the wearer, or to cause harm to enemies. Gris-gris bags are still very common today in New Orleans, and can often be seen being worn attached to individuals belts.

Marie Laveau also told fortunes, captured evil spirits in specially prepared jars, and helped cleanse a home of negative energy and bad luck. Her fame spread far beyond the borders of New Orleans, and people traveled far to seek out her services. Her gravesite is a popular tourist attraction, but is well respected. Many who visit the location to pay their respects often make a wish as well, believing that Marie Laveau was so powerful that her spirit is still capable of granting help to those who require it.

Because of Marie Laveau, voodoo in New Orleans is taken very seriously, and there are many who fear its power. Voodoo is not something to be taken lightly and dabbled with by the uninitiated. It is a powerful force best left to those who possess a strong understanding of its natural aspects and are well versed in the sacred rituals.

Considered a Gythia (Asatru High Priestess) among her Coven, Julia Roslyn Antle is a master of divination and dream interpretation. Her wisdom is sought-after by her peers, her colleagues as well as the public. http://www.7witches.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julia_Roslyn_Antle

YouTube: Antiquus Research Group

Antiquus Research (Group) is an independent, non-profit organization and project devoted to the research, study, teaching, and cogent analysis of the ancient, ancestral, historical, archaeological, cultural-anthropological, sociological, religio-spiritual (theological, thealogical, theosophical), esoteric - metaphysical paths and practices of humankind who engaged in the vastness of Alternative Religions and Spiritualities (ARS) through modern times. Ancient Afrikan and Egyptian History, Anthropology, Archaeology, and Afrikan Traditional Religions (ATRs).

Here is a collection of some of our favorite films and videos:

http://www.youtube.com/user/AntiquusResearchGrp

Anthroposohia & Anthroposophy

I. Anthroposohia
"Anthroposophia, the emissary of this wisdom as revealed to the world by Rudolf Steiner....

Anthroposophia In The World

The challenge of our time is to manifest ever greater humanity in our thoughts and deeds. The head-centered knowledge of today has not been able to achieve this. What is needed is a wisdom of the heart. Only the heart is capable of uniting polarities and harmonizing discord. When the head is informed by the wisdom of the heart we will act on behalf of all humanity. This wisdom of the heart - the wisdom (Sophia) of mankind (anthropos) - is embodied in
Anthroposophy. It is a spiritual force bearing the wisdom both appropriate and necessary for our time. It is a seed for the future. Anthroposophia, the emissary of this wisdom as revealed to the world by Rudolf Steiner, is indeed 'the image of our true humanity'."

▪ Elizabeth Sevison

Source: http://www.anthroposophia.org/home.html

II. Anthroposophy
"Anthroposophy, a spiritual philosophy based on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner, postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world accessible to direct experience through inner development — more specifically through cultivating conscientiously a form of thinking independent of sensory experience.[1][2] In its investigations of the spiritual world, anthroposophy aims to attain the precision and clarity of natural science's investigations of the physical world.[1] Whether this is a sufficient basis for anthroposophy to be considered a spiritual science has been a matter of controversy.[3][4]

'Anthroposophy is a path of knowledge, to guide the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the universe.... Anthroposophists are those who experience, as an essential need of life, certain questions on the nature of the human being and the universe, just as one experiences hunger and thirst.[5]'

Anthroposophical ideas have been applied practically in areas including Steiner/Waldorf education, special education (most prominently the Camphill movement), biodynamic agriculture, anthroposophical medicine, and the arts.[6][3][1][7] The Anthroposophical Society has its international center at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy

III. The Anthroposophical Society
"The General Anthroposophical Society is an organization dedicated to supporting the community of those interested in the form of spiritual philosophy known as anthroposophy. The society was initiated during 1913 by members of the Theosophical Society in Germany, including Rudolf Steiner who was at the time General Secretary of the German section. The Society was re-founded as the General Anthroposophical Society in 1923/4 'to nurture the life of the soul, both in the individual and in human society, on the basis of a true knowledge of the spiritual world.'[1][2] It includes an esoteric school at its centre, the School of Spiritual Science. The Society's headquarters is in the Goetheanum, located in Dornach, Solothurn, Switzerland. The Society has national Societies in many countries, including every English-speaking country.[3] Its primary activities include organizing members' meetings and conferences, supporting research and providing communication channels for a variety of purposes. The Society also tries to encourage sustainable initiatives in the many practical fields in which its members are active.

The society has approximately 60,000 members as of 2008."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophical_Society

IV. Anthroposophy in the United States
"The Anthroposophical Society was founded by Rudolf Steiner in Switzerland in 1923. It seeks to support individuals who are working on their own inner development and who wish to bring the fruit of that inner work to benefit the wider world. As a modern path of knowing, its doors are open to all who seek its approach and who wish to support its activities. Today, anthroposophical activity is alive in communities around the world."

Source: http://www.anthroposophy.org

V. Theosophy
"Theosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and metaphysics originating with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891). In this context, theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the 'Spiritual Hierarchy' to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth. Together with Henry Steel Olcott, William Quan Judge, and others, Blavatsky founded the Theosophical Society in 1875."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy

VI. Theosophy (History of Philosophy)
"Theosophy (Greek: θεοσοφία theosophia 'knowledge of things divine', literally 'god-wisdom'), designates several bodies of ideas since Late Antiquity. The Greek term is attested on magical papyri (PMag. Leid. W.6.17: ἡ ἄγαν θεοσοφία)."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy_(history_of_philosophy)

*****Additional Information:
Theosophy Library Online
http://www.theosophy.org

"Esotericism, the Occult, and Theosophy"
By Dr. James A. Santucci
http://hss.fullerton.edu/comparative/Esotericism%20and%20Occultism%20.pdf

History of Witchcraft

History of Witchcraft

Hex Witch and History of Witchcraft forums have been combined and will now be known as History of Witchcraft. Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

▪ Aboriginal Witchcraft
▪ Afrikan Witchcraft
▪ Animalia (Familiars & Minions)
▪ Black Magick
▪ Blood Rituals
▪ Candle Magick
▪ Cauldron Magick
▪ Cemetery (Graveyard) Spellwork
▪ Chaos Magick
▪ Dark Witchcraft
▪ Demonology
▪ Fire Magick
▪ Goofer Dust (Graveyard Dirt)
▪ Heathenism
▪ Heka
▪ Hoodoo
▪ Magick (General)
▪ Minions (Fawning, Servile Spirit Entities & Mundane Human Assistants)
▪ Native American Witchcraft
▪ Necromancy
▪ Night Witches
▪ Occultism
▪ Polarity Magick (Yin-Yang, Gender, Duality)
▪ Psychic Domination
▪ Ritual Cannibalism
▪ Rootwork (Conjure)
▪ Satanism (LHP)
▪ The Nature of Evil
▪ Vampyrism (Vampirism)
▪ Vodou (Voodoo)

This eGroup is devoted to researching and tracing the historical, anthropological, sociological roots and panoramic history of Witchcraft as well as the Universality of Witchcraft (Global Magick and Witchcraft). The beliefs, traditions, customs, and practices of an earlier time throughout social history will be examined. A concrete study of the evolution of the words, for example, "Witchcraft, Witch, Wicca, and Magic(k)" will be conducted from the insights and perspectives of Alternative Religion Spiritualists. Our endeavors also include the origins (etymologies) of the words "Pagan, Paganism, and Neo-Paganism". From an independent and alternative research approach, topic and subject matter include: The Salem Witch Hunts and Witch Trials; Witchcraft Persecutions and Religious Zealotry; Medieval Magick; Renaissance Mages; Astrology in Antiquity; Religion and Magick During the Middle Ages; the Influence of Alchemy and Esoteric Mysticism on Early Witchcraft practices; Folklore; Grimoires and Book of Shadows (BoS); Spellwork, Incantations, and Rituals; Daemonology (Demonology); and human motivation as it relates to and influences spiritual consciousness. Last but not least, this a place where you will find hexes, curses, incantations, and all kinds of spells, rituals, and ceremonies of malcontent. Please share your curio with Hex Witch.

This forum is not for the squeamish, faint of heart, or those who are easily offended. You must be age 18+ to join.

History of Witchcraft

Visit this group

Antiquus Research

Antiquus Research:
An Alternative Approach to Independent Ancient Historical and Theological Research

▪ The Antiquus Research website has moved: Antiquus Research ▪

Antiquus Research is an independent, non-profit organization and project devoted to the research, study, teaching, and cogent analysis of the ancient, ancestral, historical, archaeological, cultural-anthropological, sociological, religio-spiritual (theological, thealogical, theosophical), esoteric - metaphysical paths and practices of humankind who engaged in the vastness of Alternative Religions and Spiritualities (ARS) through modern times. The scope and focus (both professional and avocational) involve conducting purposeful independent, original social scientific research utilizing technology, innovative qualitative and quantitative (statistical) research approaches and design methods.

Our research projects center upon Afrikan Traditional Religions (Ifá, Santería, and Vodou - Voodoo), Esoteric Mysticism, Hoodoo (an ethnocultural spirituality), Kemeticism (a modern reconstruction and interpretation of Ancient Egyptian religion), Magick, Native American Spirituality, Paganism, Rituals, Spellwork, Wicca (the religion}, and Witchcraft (the practice). If you are interested in contributing relevant research materials, then please feel free to apply at Antiquus Research.

Also visit our Yahoo! eGroup forum:
Antiquus Research Group

Witchcraft in Western Europe

The Witch-cult in Western Europe: A Study in Anthropology
By

Margaret Alice Murray

[1921]

This electronic text is worth one's serious perusal so as to be able to intelligently compare the early practices of Witchcraft and Paganism to what has been coined today--Wicca and Neo-Paganism.

Resources:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/wcwe/index.htm

http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/20411

Maya Civilization

NOVA (PBS) Documentary:
Cracking the MAYA Code
"The story behind the centuries-long decipherment of ancient Maya hieroglyphs"
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mayacode

Sumerian Mythology

PREFACE

The Sumerians were a non-Semitic, non-Indo-European people who flourished in southern Babylonia from the beginning of the fourth to the end of the third {sic "millenium" "millennium"} B. C. During this long stretch of time the Sumerians, whose racial and linguistic affiliations are still unclassifiable, represented the dominant cultural group of the entire Near East. This cultural dominance manifested itself in three directions:

1. It was the Sumerians who developed and probably invented the cuneiform system of writing which was adopted by nearly all the peoples of the Near East and without which the cultural progress of western Asia would have been largely impossible.

2. The Sumerians developed religious and spiritual concepts together with a remarkably well integrated pantheon which influenced profoundly all the peoples of the Near East, including the Hebrews and the Greeks. Moreover, by way of Judaism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism, not a few of these spiritual and religious concepts have permeated the modern civilized world.

3. The Sumerians produced a vast and highly developed literature, largely poetic in character, consisting of epics and myths, hymns and lamentations, proverbs and "words of wisdom." These compositions are inscribed in cuneiform script on clay tablets which date largely from approximately 1750 B. C.{xr. a} In the course of the past hundred years, approximately five {xr. b} thousand such literary pieces have been excavated in the mounds of ancient Sumer. Of this number, over two thousand, more than two-thirds of our source material, were excavated by the University of Pennsylvania in the mound covering ancient Nippur in the course of four grueling campaigns lasting from 1889 to 1900; these Nippur tablets and fragments represent, therefore, the major {p. viii} source for the reconstruction of the Sumerian compositions. As literary products, these Sumerian compositions rank high among the creations of civilized man. They compare not unfavorably with the ancient Greek and Hebrew masterpieces, and like them mirror the spiritual and intellectual life of an otherwise little known civilization. Their significance for a proper appraisal of the cultural and spiritual development of the Near East can hardly be overestimated. The Assyrians and Babylonians took them over almost in toto. The Hittites translated them into their own language and no doubt imitated them widely. The form and contents of the Hebrew literary creations and to a certain extent even those of the ancient Greeks were profoundly influenced by them. As practically the oldest written literature of any significant amount ever uncovered, it furnishes new, rich, and unexpected source material to the archaeologist and anthropologist, to the ethnologist and student of folklore, to the students of the history of religion and of the history of literature.

In spite of their unique and extraordinary significance, and although the large majority of the tablets on which they were inscribed were excavated almost half a century ago, the translation and interpretation of the Sumerian literary compositions have made relatively little progress to date. The translation of Sumerian is a highly complicated process. It is only in comparatively recent years that the grammar has been scientifically established, while the lexical problems are still numerous and far from resolved.

Excerpted from:
SUMERIAN MYTHOLOGY
A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C.
SAMUEL NOAH KRAMER
REVISED EDITION
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia
[1944, revised 1961]

[Scanned at sacred-texts.com, October 2004. John Bruno Hare, redactor. This text is in the public domain in the US because it was not renewed in a timely fashion at the US Copyright Office as required by law at the time. These files can be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact.]

Source:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/download.htm

Society of Egyptian Kemeticism

Mission Statement

The Society of Egyptian Khemeticism (SOEK) is an offspring of the Temple of Kheti. The major focal point of the Society of Egyptian Khemeticism is to explore, study, and research topics about the history, practice, re-creation, and reconstruction of the Ancient Egyptian religion in modern times now known as Khemeticism, a systematic belief system. The Society of Egyptian Khemeticism is part of the knowledge basis from which the Temple of Kheti draws its Khemetic doctrinal theology. For well over three thousand years, the civilization of the Ancient Egyptians developed, evolved, thrived, and prospered; and the history of this culture has spanned longer than Recorded History (i.e., history that has been recorded via the inscribing of characters onto a medium, such as--papyrus, vellum, linen, stone, etc., and/or by the use of language.

Topics of interest are drawn from the Ancient Egyptian texts, Ancient to Modern Afrocentric historiography and Egyptology:

Ancient Egyptian Language (AEL)
Ancient Egyptian Priesthood, Religious Piety, Pathways & Worship
Ankh (acrux ansata)
Amduat (Am-Tuat) - Book of the Secret Chamber, Vol. I
Book of Gates, Vol. II
The Books of the Other World, Vol. III
The Book of the Dead - Book of Coming Forth by Day
The 42 Laws of Ma'at
The Pyramid Texts
The Coffin Texts - Book of Two Ways
Khemetic Orthodox Religion
Book of Caverns
Book of the Earth
Historical Deceptions

In addition to this, related topics include reincarnation, mummification, the pyramids, hieroglyphics, pharaohs and pharaonic history, dynasties, theology, archaeology, geography, and anthropology drawing from a variety of academic and field study resources. Since this is such a massive, scholarly and unfunded undertaking (project) by all of our Temple members we will eventually get around to clearing up any ambiguities and misinformation presented on this web page and out website as time permits. Please feel free to assist us in our goal to present valid information by contacting us at: soek @ templeofkheti . org
_______________
▲ The Temple of Kheti.org

Occult Metaphysical Sciences Forum (OMSF)

This serves as an announcement of the formation of the Occult Metaphysical Sciences Forum (formerly known as the Kheti Metaphysical Institute) and forum:

"Occult" derives from the Latin word occultus, meaning clandestine, hidden, or secret, and referring to the "knowledge of the secret, hidden, and supernatural". OMSF will focus on the esoteric, curio, arcane, and mysticism of Alchemy, Alternative Spiritualities, Astrology, Magic(k), Neo-Paganism, New Age, Philosophy, Theosophy, and Witchcraft (not Wicca) for the purpose of research, study, history, investigation, and discussion. Informational and discussion topics include: Ancient Egyptian Cartouche, Anthropology, Applied Metaphysics, Archaeology, Astral Projection, Astronomy, A.A. Bailey, H.P. Blavatsky, R. Buckland, C. Castaneda, E. Cayce, Chakras, Chakra Attunement, A. Crowley, Dr. J. Dee, Divination, Dr. Doreal (Atlantean and Lemurian), Eschatology, C. Fort, D. Fortune, G. Gardner, Geomancy, Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus, M.P. Hall, Hermeticism, H. Hesse, Hexagram, Holistic Healing Modalities, Hoodoo, Kabbalah, Kachinas, Kameas (Magickal Squares), E. Kelly, Ley Lines, Eliphas Lévi, Magnetism, M. Murray, Nostradamus, P.D. Ouspensky, Dr. Papus, Paracelsus, Parapsychology, Pentagram, Philosopher's Stone, Principia Discordia, Psychometry, Quantum Touch, Radiometry, H.S. Redgrove, Rosicrucianism, Silva UltraMind, Sociology, Sorcery, R. Steiner, Turba Philosophorum, Symbology, Tarot, Thelema, Theosis, Theurgy, D. Valiente, Voodoo, Wizardry, and so forth. This forum is open to all levels of knowledge and experience, from newcomer to the most advanced.

"Witchcraft and Sorcery"

"Witchcraft and Sorcery"

Terms like "witchcraft," "sorcery," and sorcellerie are now generally used throughout Africa to indicate occult forms of aggression. The adoption of these Western terms has specific consequences. Especially important is the strong pejorative tenor of these terms, while the local terms which they are supposed to translate are often much more ambivalent: the latter refer to forces that in many situations are viewed as evil but that also may be used constructively. The general use of Western terms like "sorcery" and "witchcraft" therefore risks reducing a rich cosmology, in which the whole of the human environment is animated, to a negative, ugly core. Often a more neutral translation, such as "occult forces," would be preferable. However, terms like "sorcery" and "witchcraft" are now so generally used--by "Radio Trottoir" (i.e., gossip) and in newspaper accounts and discussions of development and politics as much as in local affairs--that it is difficult for social scientists to avoid them.

Another disadvantage of these Western terms is that they gloss over all sorts of local variations. There are important differences between local discourses, for instance, on the description of witches and their abilities and on how "witchcraft" is transmitted. Sometimes it is believed to be inherited; sometimes it is thought to be acquired later in life. Yet, there is a common core to these representations. A basic theme is that misfortune--and often also spectacular success--are attributed to hidden human agency. Witches and sorcerers are believed to use secret forces to hurt other people or to enforce their own success.

Witchcraft and sorcery are therefore closely related to jealousy, inequality, and the illicit search for power. Such ideas are, of course, not special to African societies; rather, they seem to reflect a basic fear that may be universal. Indeed, the strong popular reactions triggered by rumors of sexual child abuse in the West, or the recourse to esoteric expertise--be it of astrologers or public-relations experts--in the politics of modern democracies, show intriguing parallels with the responses to and reliance upon witchcraft in present-day Africa. The same applies to the flowering of all sorts of spiritualist cults, for instance, in the newly industrialized countries of East Asia. However, some traits seem to be particular to witchcraft in Africa. One is the heavy stress on the link between witchcraft and kinship in many African societies; another is the equation of witchcraft with eating. A basic image that haunts people in many parts of Africa is that of witches--both men and women--leaving their bodies at night and flying off to meet with others of their kind. At such meetings they deliver their kin, whose vital parts are often supposed to be consumed during cannibalistic banquets. In many African societies, the basic urge of witches is thought to be the eating of kin.

Since these discourses emphasize the use of hidden forces, there is always a close connection between witchcraft, sorcery, and divination. If one fears becoming the victim of a hidden attack, one has to look for the help of a specialist who is able to "see" what the witches have done and can force them to lift their spell. The diviner who "sees" and the counter-sorcerer who attacks the witches may be one and the same person or can be two different people. The conceptual triangle of bewitching/divination/countersorcery highlights the circular character of most witchcraft discourses. Only specialists can offer help, since they alone know their way in the world of the occult. The diviners must be able to "see" the witches, which means that they are themselves implicated. In many Bantu societies, acquiring "a second pair of eyes" is seen as the first step in one's initiation into the world of the witches.

Similarly, the power of the witch doctor to vanquish witches and force them to lift their spells is believed to derive from his or her own exceptionally developed witchcraft. Witch doctors are often described by the population as "superwitches." This makes them highly ambivalent figures. In the case of southern Cameroon, for instance, authors like Lluis Mallart and Elizabeth Copet-Rougier refer to a vague but widespread belief that one can become a nganga (healer, witch doctor) only by sacrificing a parent. Nganga themselves always emphasize that their "professor" has made them swear to use their power only in order to heal, never to kill. But the population is never sure of this: there is always the danger that the basic urge of the witch to kill his or her kin will break through. It is especially this circular reasoning characteristic of witchcraft discourses--the main protection against the witches is to be found in the world of witchcraft--that makes it so difficult to break out of these conceptions. This can also explain why these ideas seem to retain their relevance despite modern changes.

The inherent circularity of witchcraft discourses can also explain why the scientific distinctions that anthropologists and other social scientists have sought to apply in this field remain highly precarious. A good example is E. E. Evans-Pritchard's classic distinction between witchcraft, which he defined as an innate quality often unconsciously activated, and sorcery, which he understood to be the conscious use of an acquired technique. He deduced this distinction from his study among the Azande of the southern Sudan. Some later anthropologists have sought to generalize it, whereas others have insisted that this distinction simply does not fit their ethnographic data. One can doubt especially whether it is of much use to understand the modern transitions of these representations. It is, rather, the circularity of these discourses and the ease with which all sorts of possible conceptual distinctions are glossed over that make them so all-pervasive in present-day African society.

The Modernity of Witchcraft

One of the most striking aspects of social interactions in contemporary Africa is the omnipresence of witchcraft and sorcery discourses in modern settings. Rumors about the use of these hidden forces abound in politics as much as in sport or in the churches; at school as well as in relation to modern forms of entrepreneurship; in urban contexts as much as (or even more than) in the village. An often implicit assumption of many Western observers was, and still is, that witchcraft would necessarily disappear under the impact of modernization. In the 1970s European priests in Cameroon stated that "there is no sorcellerie where there is electricity." Since then, Cameroon has witnessed an intensive campaign of electrification, but nobody would repeat this statement now. On the contrary, one is struck--in Cameroon as in other African countries--by the dynamic and innovative character of the discourses on witchcraft. Rumors integrate, apparently without much difficulty, all sorts of borrowings: notions from other ethnic groups as easily as Christian or Islamic elements; "magical objects" sold by mail-order firms in Europe as well as medical knowledge or notions from books on Oriental wisdom. Witchcraft conspiracies are now supposed to be reproduced on a truly global scale: the witches are thought to have their professors in Europe, or to be linked to the Mafia. This gives notions of the occult a fairly unsystematic character--inconsistencies seem to abound--but it is precisely this elasticity that makes them retain their relevance in the face of new developments. A growing fear of the proliferation of witchcraft--of witchcraft "running wild"--is expressed especially in new social settings, where people are confronted with new and baffling inequalities.

This is especially clear in the rumors about novel forms of witchcraft that are explicitly related to new forms of wealth. In many parts of Africa, the newly rich are presumed to accumulate wealth by exploiting the labor of their witchcraft victims. An explicit opposition is often made between old forms of witchcraft, in which the victims are eaten, and new forms, by which victims are transformed into zombies who are put to work on "invisible plantations." In western Africa, whites are still believed to play a mediating role in this. Other elements of these beliefs suggest that they reflect the traumas of the slave trade and forced labor during colonial times. But they are now closely linked with the emergence of new entrepreneurs among the African population. Eric de Rosny suggests that these beliefs have such a hold over people's minds because they offer at least some explanation of the mysteries of the market: the spectacular successes of the few and the poverty and unemployment of the many. What is striking is that in some areas these beliefs seem to inspire determined attacks on the new rich, while elsewhere they seem to affirm or even legitimize their distance from the poor.

The role of these conceptions in politics and in relations to the state is equally filled with ambiguities. On the one hand, the representatives of the state seem determined to intervene against the proliferation of witchcraft. Postcolonial civil servants regularly admonish villagers to stop trying to sabotage government projects with their witchcraft. Indeed, in the official propaganda of many African regimes, witchcraft is branded as a particularly dangerous form of subversion. It is also seen as one of the major obstacles to realizing "development." At the end of the 1970s, such ideas inspired the Marxist-Leninist regime of Mathieu Kérékou in Bénin to instigate a true witch-hunt through radio broadcasts. The results of such propaganda were, and are, often contradictory. It evokes an image, as Jean-François Bayart emphasized in his earlier publications, of witchcraft as some sort of "popular mode of political action" against the authoritarian state and its hegemonic pretensions. Yet, in practice, it is often not clear that people try to use these beliefs in such a sense. It is, rather, the government's insistence on witchcraft as an omnipresent form of subversion that serves to politicize it.

The civil servants' denouncement of witchcraft seems to reflect their private fears of leveling attacks to undermine their new and highly enviable position. In several parts of Africa, members of the national elite say they are afraid of being "eaten" by their former fellow villagers; in such expressions there is a clear reference to the threat of witchcraft. This is hardly surprising. Ever since the 1950s, anthropologists have emphasized that in many African societies, witchcraft conceptions have a strong leveling effect on relations within the local community. The new elites' accumulation of wealth and power dearly surpasses traditional boundaries: it is no wonder that they fear leveling attacks coming from inside their own community. Yet here again, witchcraft appears to wear two faces. There are many examples of members of the new elite using the same witchcraft conceptions to protect and affirm the new inequalities. This is facilitated by the commodification of witchcraft and sorcery practices. In many settings, "medicaments," jujus, and other "charged objects" are literally for sale. Witch doctors offer their services to the highest bidder, who is generally a member of the new elite. Thus, witchcraft discourses, instead of having a leveling impact, can serve to affirm the new inequalities and make them seem self-evident. The continuing involvement of the elites with the occult makes the state offensive against witchcraft highly ambiguous in its effects.

A striking aspect of witchcraft rumors in new settings is the relative absence of women. In the older version of witchcraft, both women and men are thought to participate in hidden conspiracies. Indeed, many myths about the origin of witchcraft have women leading the way (although it is often added that the men soon followed). However, in speculations about the links between witchcraft and the new forms of wealth or the new power struggles, women are mostly absent. This may reflect the predominance of men in the new political and economic arenas. It may also relate to a tendency in many discourses on witchcraft to relegate women's activity primarily to the domestic sphere.

The Search for New Protection: Anti-Witchcraft Movements, the Church, and the State

The general fear of witchcraft running wild and the rumors about novel forms of occult aggression have encouraged an unremitting search for new forms of protection. The first reports on new, experimental anti-witchcraft movements date from before the colonial period. But the colonial period in particular saw a proliferation of such movements. They invoked a rich variety of forces and procedures in their struggle against witchcraft: poison ordeals, "traditional" jujus, Christian symbols. In the extensive literature on this topic, such anti-witchcraft "medicine" is often set apart from the occult forces of witchcraft itself. The supporters of such movements, of course, strongly emphasize this separation. However, if looked at over a period of time, such distinctions prove, again, to be quite unreliable. In a fascinating study on the northwestern Congo, Georges Dupré shows how an anti-witchcraft movement, initially directed against the witchcraft of the elders, has been appropriated by the latter, who use its shrine to extort heavy fines from young men and wage laborers in the village.

In postcolonial times, the struggle against witchcraft has notably been waged by Christian movements: Independent Churches, Jehovah's Witnesses, more recently by Pentecostal movements, and also by the mainstream churches. Especially within the Roman Catholic Church, a lively discussion is going on about how far its priests can go in this. Several black priests and even bishops have run into difficulties with the Catholic Church because they went beyond orthodox exorcism rites and tried to follow too clearly in the footsteps of the nganga, as in the case of the Zambian archbishop Emmanuel Milingo.

Of special importance is the growing pressure on the state to intervene. Ever since the establishment of the colonial state, people have reproached the state for protecting the witches because it forbade the use of poison ordeals and the execution of witches by chiefs or witch doctors. The postcolonial state elites seem to be more inclined to intervene against the witches--or at least have more difficulty in withstanding popular pressure in this respect. Kérékou's witch-hunt in Bénin was certainly not an isolated example. Isak A. Niehaus shows, for instance, that the African National Congress (ANC) has considerable difficulty keeping its younger members from becoming involved in witch-hunts in Lebowa as in other former "Bantustans."

An example of the state becoming directly involved comes from Cameroon. At the end of the 1970s, the state courts, especially in the Earl Province, suddenly started to convict witches, mainly on the basis of the expertise of witch doctors. This official recognition of the witch doctor constitutes a spectacular reversal of earlier jurisprudence. In colonial times and in the first decades after independence, witch doctors were always in danger of being prosecuted by the state courts (for defamation and breach of the peace). Now, they appear as witnesses for the prosecution. This reversal is clearly related to the state's campaigns against witchcraft. But there also seems to be strong popular pressure in this region--where local societies have long been highly segmentary in character--for the state to intervene. In this respect, it is noteworthy that such processes seldom occur in other parts of the country, such as in the west, where the chiefs' authority still has strong roots in local societies, or in the Islamized parts of northern Cameroon.

Direct interventions by the state seem to go together with the emergence of a new, more modern type of nganga. The witch doctors who work with the state are often intent on seeking publicity. They make ostentatious use of all sorts of modern symbols: sunglasses, books on Oriental wisdom, Christian elements, and medical knowledge. And they boast of their membership in new organizations, such as the more or less official national associations of "traditional healers," as well as elite societies like the Rosicrucians. Most important, they have a highly aggressive style in recruiting clients and unmasking witches. Often they approach people on their own initiative, warning them about dangers in their close surroundings and insisting that they should have their courtyard "purified." Thus, they play an important role in reinforcing the popular fear of a proliferation of witchcraft, all the more so because by so doing they may gain official recognition.

Analytic Approaches: Witchcraft and Morality

Even though witchcraft and sorcery have always been central themes in anthropological discourse, anthropologists have had surprisingly little to say--at least until very recently--about the modern transformations of these phenomena on the African continent. One reason for the long delay in confronting the modern dynamics of this old anthropological theme may have been the problems of the discipline's dominant paradigms.

In 1970 Mary Douglas noted some surprising shifts in the anthropological study of witchcraft and sorcery. Of course, she takes as her point of departure the undisputed classic in this field, Evans-Pritchard's Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic Among the Azande (1937), which studied the witchcraft beliefs of this southern Sudanese people in relation to questions of cognition and the social restraints upon perception. This work had a profound influence on later anthropologists but, as Douglas notes, in "directions not foreseen or even blessed by its author." For instance, in the series of monographs on central Africa by British anthropologists of the 1950s and 1960s, which profoundly influenced the study of sorcery and witchcraft (especially those by Victor Turner, James C. Mitchell, and Max G. Marwick, and the collection edited by John Middleton and E. H. Winter), Evans-Pritchard's problematic was refocused in a special sense. These authors concentrated not on issues of cognition but rather--in accordance with then-current functionalist theories--on the relation between witchcraft and the preservation of social order, and on micropolitics. They focused on witchcraft accusations, which were to be studied as a kind of "social strain gauge" (the term is Marwick's)--that is, as indicators of social tensions, especially in relations within the local kin groups where aggression could not be expressed in more direct ways.

Thus, witchcraft came to be seen as a "homeostatic control system": accusations of witchcraft were thought to be crucial to the reproduction of social order because they permitted hidden tensions to be expressed and dealt with, so that the local community could be reconstituted. This view of witchcraft, which dominated anthropological studies until the 1980s, had remarkable consequences. In her 1970 piece (an introduction to a set of conference papers by anthropologists and historians studying European societies), Mary Douglas notes with some irony a striking difference:

The anthropologists of the 1950s developed insights into the functioning of witch beliefs which seemed about as relevant to the European experience as if they came from another planet. Dangerous in Europe, the same beliefs in Melanesia and Africa appeared to be tame, even domesticated; they served useful functions and were not expected to run amuck. (p. xiii)

This anthropological view of witchcraft, as something "domesticated," seems to be of limited relevance for dealing with the increasing popular fears about its proliferation. In many parts of Africa, people today are convinced that witchcraft does indeed "run amuck."

Another problem with this "micropolitical" perspective is that the contents of the witchcraft accusations are neglected; the accusations are analyzed only as expressions of something else: hidden sociopolitical tensions. In his 1993 analysis of witch-hunts in Lebowa, South Africa, Isak Niehaus emphasizes instead the need "to take the perceptions informants themselves have of witches seriously." His "Comrades"--young rebels vaguely related to the United Democratic Front or even the ANC--made a clear distinction in their witch-hunts between witches and political opponents: the latter might be attacked but were not accused of witchcraft. In his view, the accusations had a specific aim: by denouncing witchcraft, the young men sought to affirm the legitimacy of their role in "the politics of public morality."

But the strong moralist tenor of the functionalist view on witchcraft also creates problems if one wants to understand the resilience of these notions in modern contexts. In the functionalist view, it was necessary to make a rigorous separation between the positive and negative expressions of occult forces. Often, this forced the anthropologist to impose a Manichaean distinction on more open local concepts. (A good example is Middleton's 1963 study of Lugbara witchcraft.) Only by isolating "witchcraft" as an unequivocally evil force could these beliefs be thought to function as a "homeostatic control system"--a kind of safety valve that permitted the expression of social tension without endangering the social order as such. But it is precisely the fundamental ambiguity of notions about the occult that allows them to remain relevant in modern contexts. Although "witchcraft" as such is certainly seen as evil, people often believe that the same forces can be used constructively, in order to accumulate wealth and power. It is the possibility of many interpretations that makes notions of witchcraft and sorcery such seductive tools for trying to understand the vicissitudes of life in the modern sectors. It is also why the use of a pejorative term like "witchcraft" poses serious difficulties.

Instead of starting from seemingly fixed conceptual distinctions, it might be more clarifying to study the different ways and means by which societies try to impose conceptual demarcations on what are basically highly diffuse and volatile notions. The ongoing struggle for reproducing conceptual distinctions in this treacherous field might be a key to a better understanding of the remarkable dynamics of notions of witchcraft in present-day Africa. This is a common theme emerging from the recent and quite sudden wave of witchcraft studies on modern Africa, such as Modernity and Its Malcontents (1993), edited by Jean and John Comaroff; Isak Niehaus's 1993 article in Africa; and the 1988 article by Michael Rowlands and Jean- Pierre Warnier in Man.

An important point of departure for understanding the pervasiveness of notions of witchcraft in modern contexts is the close conceptual link between witchcraft and kinship. Even in highly urbanized contexts, witchcraft remains the dark side of kinship: when treating a patient, witch doctors always try to bring the family together; the sources of aggression are sought primarily within the sphere of kinship and intimacy. This link can help one to understand both the continuing strength of the witchcraft discourse and the uncertainty it evokes. In many parts of Africa, kinship and the family still seem to provide the basis for social security, even for the urban elites. However, it is clear that kinship relations are under a growing strain: they have to bridge ever-wider inequalities between rich and poor, between city and village; often they seem to be stretched to the breaking point. This configuration may explain both the omnipresence of witchcraft rumors, despite the modern changes, and the desperate search for new forms of protection from witches in many parts of Africa.

-- Peter Geschiere

Source Citation:
"Witchcraft and Sorcery." Encyclopedia of Africa South of the Sahara. 4 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1997. Reproduced in History Resource Center. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/History

Document Number: BT2344200853

The Rosetta Stone

In the case of Ancient Egyptian archaeology, the Rosetta Stone has been one of those rare finds indeed. The stone itself is a large stele (slab or block) of black basalt (a hard, black volcanic igneous rock most commonly found in the Earth’s crust formed from molten, volcanic activity) measuring 3 feet 9 inches by 2 feet 4 inches wide by 11 inches thick (or 118 x 77cm) or 3 feet 9 inches in length and 2 feet 4.5 inches in width (or 114 x 72 x 28cm) as some sources have provided. Other sources claim that the stele was formed of granite.

The Rosetta Stone’s remains were found to be inscribed in three parts and in three ancient scripts:

Hieroglyphs (hieroglyphic), Egyptian Demotic (a cursive form of Ancient Egyptian writing also called Hieratic), and Ancient Greek. The stone had been carved and inscribed by Egyptian priests (and possibly priestesses), in 196 BCE, with a decree praising the great and spiritual works of Egyptian Pharaoh (King) Ptolemy V during his reign from 203 to 181 BCE.

It is claimed that the stone was discovered or unearthed by one of Napoleon Bonaparte’s military officers of the Engineering Corps, in July of 1799, during an invasion of Egypt by the French. As the story goes, the stone was partially buried in the mud during the excavation of a fort in the nearby village of Rashid (Rosetta)—near the city of Alexandria in Lower Egypt. The previously demolished fort, assumed to have been caused by Napoleon’s invasion, was to be rebuilt due to the discovery of the stone. From there, the stone was named after the village of Rosetta. Then the Rosetta Stone was later seized by the British, among other antiquities collected by the French, and was presented by King George III (1738-1820) to the British Museum in 1802. This stone became the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics and a foundation for the study of modern Egyptology.

The significance of the Rosetta Stone is based on the Egyptian hieroglyphics being accompanied with the Greek inscriptions which could be more readily translated and understood. A third inscription on the stone was written in the Demotic or Egyptian cursive script developed much later in Egyptian history—this script was used almost exclusively by Sem Priests (or sem), Male Servants of God (or hem netjer), Female Servants of God (hemet netjer) High Priests (hem netjer tepey), Lector Priests (kheri heb), Wa’eb Priest (or wa’eb), and Scribes (or sesh) for secular writings and documents.

Since the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone were difficult to translate, distinguished French linguist, Egyptologist, and professor Dr. Jean-Francois Champollion (living in France) decided to undertake the translation along with the distinguished British physicist and linguist Dr. Thomas Young (living in Britain) in 1814. Dr. Champollion's knowledge of the Greek and Coptic (the “final” evolution of the Egyptian language) was a major key in deciphering the Rosetta Stone. The Coptic language is a more recent evolvement of the much older Demotic script; back and forth comparisons and analyses were made between the two languages to assist in the translation of the Demotic portion of the stone. Again, other scholars and researchers claim that this project began in 1822.

Furthermore and according to some scholars and researchers:

The credit as to who first discovered and unlocked the method(s) of deciphering and reading the symbolic as well as spoken meaning of hieroglyphs is claimed for both Young and Champollion. A heated controversy over has been waged for many years regarding this matter. It has also been stated that some view that Young and Champollion secretly and simultaneously, and independently of one another solved the many secrets of the Rosetta Stone.

Many scholars of Ancient Egyptian history, archaeology, and Egyptology have attempted to translate the inscriptions on the Rosetta Stone and used the Greek language inscriptions as a guide to the stone’s decipherment since Young and Champollion or vice versa. However, there is no mention of the research produced and contributed later by the distinguished Senegalese Physicist, Egyptologist, Anthropologist, Sociologist, Historian, and Professor Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop (1923-1986).

Another truth and treatise for another time. To this day, the Rosetta Stone resides in the British Museum.

~ Dr. K.A. Sahure, Msc.D, D.D.

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