Term Paper on "Salem Witches Witchcraft Has Been a Popular"

Term Paper 6 pages (1839 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Salem Witches

Witchcraft has been a popular subject of discussion throughout many different societies throughout the world and religions. Many people have a belief in witchcraft, but choose to believe that it is something negative and even evil. In the United States (and throughout the world), witchcraft is practiced as a Pagan and Wiccan religion. This religion, or way of life, is based on a spiritual belief system of living in harmony with the earth and positive energy flow. Very little has to do with negative forces or bringing negative things onto the earth or its people. Yet society tends to view Paganism as very negative and even devil worshipping behavior.

This essay will briefly discuss witchcraft throughout societies and history. It will discuss the Salem, Massachusetts witch craze, the belief in witchcraft by some of the Navajo people and the belief and practice of witchcraft by the Ibibio people in Nigeria, Africa. Why do so many societies and cultures believe in supernatural forces and why is it looked upon as such a negative thing? How have societies reacted and have people suffered because of opinions and hysteria? These are questions, which will be answered throughout this essay, both in the description of the history, the facts surrounding the people and the conclusion.

Discussion

Witches of Salem, Massachusetts

The witch massacres of Salem, Massachusetts occurred in the spring and summer of 1692 and are one of the most famous documented occurrences of the witch craze during this time, and are still talked about today. Accusations, trials and executions occurred from June, 1692 until September, 1692. Many remained in jail for months at a time without even having trials and hundreds faced accusations. The hysteria was over with nearly as soon as it had begun.

In looking at the detailed accounts from the trials and researching what occurred, it is clear that the Salem witch trials were an unfortunate combination of economic conditions, congregational strife, boredom and personal jealousy in a time when Puritans were ruling the area. The winter in Salem, Massachusetts was exceptionally cold in February of 1692. At that time, a girl by the name of Betty Parris became strangely ill, complaining of fever and acting irrationally and strange. Later, it was speculated that the illness Parris was experiencing could have been caused by a disease called convulsive ergotism (this was mentioned in Linda Caporael's 1976 article in Science magazine).

Playmates of Parris began experiencing the same symptoms later on. Doctor William Griggs was unable to cure the girls of their illnesses and made the suggestion that their actions may be due to supernatural forces. A neighbor, Mary Sibley, proposed that a form of counter magic may be completed to cure the girls. From there, the hysteria began and spread throughout Salem. No one knows for sure what started the mysterious "symptoms," but what we do know today is that the hysteria spread fast. People began claiming they were seeing things that may not have been there, others experienced symptoms that were out of the ordinary and women began to confess to witchcraft. Many of the accused women were women who lived in a society that disapproved of some aspect of their life. For example, one of the first accused was a Bridget Bishop, nearly 60-years-old, who was the owner of a local tavern where patrons could drink cider ale and play shuffleboard even on the Sabbath.

The Ibibio Witches

The Ibibio people come from Nigeria. They are known for having an intense belief for supernatural, spirits and witches who cause disorders in societies. This belief system is very similar to what seems to have been occurring in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. Social dynamics, failures and natural disasters may be able to explain the relationship between spiritual forces. In 1963, more than two million people lived in south-eastern part of Nigeria. Their main export was palm oil and kernels and the people traditionally worshipped an all-powerful diety Abasi who rules over the physical universe, other supernatural entities and mankind, according to the Ibibio beliefs (Offiong, 1983).

Today, the Ibibio are predominantly Christian with a few Moslems. There are even fewer Pagans than Moslems (Offiong, 1983). In the Ibibio society, many believe that witchcraft explains a lot of things that occur, even though many are afraid of it. In 1978, a present-day Akwa Ibom state had an anti-witch craze, which was started by Akpan Edwong. Edwong claimed that many of the strange occurrences that were happening at the time were due to witchcraft. It was also claimed that Edwong had supernatural powers, which could detect witches. This crusade began the plan to remove witches from the society.

The Navajo and Witchcraft

The Navajo Indian Nation practice Navajo Witchcraft throughout their society. It is considered to be a type of spirituality, however, it is greatly feared by outsiders and rarely mentioned. Witchcraft within the Navajo society is separate from their spirituality. Navajo people believe that people should live in harmony and in peace with the earth. Mortals are earth people, but holy people are unseen spiritual beings. These unseen spiritual beings have the ability to help or harm mortals. The Navajo people in general believe that disorders and illnesses can be cured with herbs, prayer, song and other medicine. The practice of Navajo Witchcraft involves an attempt in directing spiritual forces.

Navajo spirituality has very little to do with European witchcraft and so it is important to separate the overall Navajo beliefs from Navajo Witchcraft, because not all Navajo people practice witchcraft. The basic parts of Navajo Witchcraft surround the idea that both good and evil exist within the religion, the witchcraft and society, and that these two forces must coexist and are a natural part of life.

There are four basic types of Navajo Witchcraft. Witchery Way focuses on corpses in all their rituals and ceremonies. Sorcery Way focuses on burying a victim's personal objects or body parts, such as hair, during ceremonies. Wizardry Way focuses on injecting foreign objects, like poison or supposed "cursed" darts into the person. Finally, frenzy way focuses on using charms in order to influence the emotional or mental state of others.

Anthropology of Witchcraft: Functions and Consequences

Most cultures throughout the world have supernatural beliefs. One of the interesting things is that though many believe in supernatural forces, those same individuals also hold a great fear for those forces and believe that they are forces, which exist, but should not be dabbled in.

There are some religions that do not believe that witchcraft can exist at all, yet in cultures such as the Native American Indian and Asian cultures, magic and witchcraft is looked upon in more of a positive outlook and is more widely accepted. If a Native American Indian uses herbs and chants to accomplish something, non-believers tend to simply look at what they're doing as part of their belief system and spirituality, however, if a white person practices the art of "witchcraft" (rituals, "spells," use of herbs and stones, etc.), that individual is looked upon as practicing black magic (by some). Witchcraft is very much stereotyped throughout the world, particularly when it comes to religion and the anthropology of witchcraft.

Divination is considered to be part of witchcraft and is practiced in many forms throughout the world. Shamans typically go into a trance to find answers from their spirit helpers. The ancient Romans believed that they could divine the outcome of battles and business deals. Today, divination is practiced throughout the United States and is popularly used among "psychics" and "profits" that even set up businesses to "divine" the future for their paying clients. Tea leaves, palm reading and tarot cards are all part of divination and may be used to divine the future for another individual.

In some instances, witchcraft may be used as a means of social control, when it is widely believed in a society. Anti-social behavior often viewed as behavior by a witch in these types of societies.

Conclusion

Witchcraft in any form is ultimately looked upon as evil or negative in most societies. Asian and Native American Indian societies are allowed to believe in these types of things, without it being viewed as negative or evil by most of society. Many may not believe that this type of religion or spiritual belief system is validated, but these people are not shunned from society or punished for it either. Paganism is more widely accepted in the United States and throughout the world within the Caucasian culture, however, it is still looked upon as negative or evil in some cases.

The Salem witch trials barely lasted a few months, but the hysteria that was created, based on some unexplained illnesses and the accusations of some bored Puritan housewives and children was enough to create mass hysteria for a few months. When individuals or societies get the idea that everything must be pure or that witchcraft is a negative supernatural force, which must be removed from their society.… READ MORE

How to Reference "Salem Witches Witchcraft Has Been a Popular" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Salem Witchcraft Hysteria Term Paper

Salem Witch Trials

The entirety of the Salem witchcraft hysteria centered upon the needs of the males to both assert and maintain their dominance within every element of their community.… read more

Term Paper 4 pages (1425 words) Sources: 8 Style: MLA Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Play? We're Heading Down to the Lake Essay

play? We're heading down to the lake."

"Nah."

"Are you the new boy?"

"I guess so."

"Don't talk much, do you?" The dark-skinned young boy sitting on the step warily… read more

Essay 10 pages (2745 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>