Exploring the mind: Witchcraft among the Azande
Taking ownership for our actions and reactions can feel very awkward, especially from challenging experiences. When we take a step back to ask ourselves the question ‘what am I learning from this?’ and hold ourselves accountable for the perspectives and emotions which we carry, this can aid the process of managing and understanding our thought processes better. Looking to the Azande people, the presence of witchcraft essentially took the form of ‘bad luck’ and was used to explain some of the challenging events within an individual’s life. Its presence throughout daily life, provided regular opportunities for an individual to check-in and take responsibility for thoughts and feelings in the process of being with others.
The Azande (also referred to as Zande or Asande) hail from parts of present day Sudan, Congo as well as the Central African Republic. The work of Anthropologist E.E. Evans-Pritchard gives an insight on the presence of witchcraft as well as accounts from various members of Azande communities on how its presence relayed in society. Witchcraft, oracles, and magic among the Azande is regarded as a key piece of anthropological work, some aspects from this body of work that help to understand the concept of witchcraft include:
Origins: Witchcraft can be seen to be the product of unacknowledged sentiments towards a person or situation which remain within a person’s subconscious, so much so that it influences the lives of others. Such sentiments relate to prolonged feelings of envy, resentment, anger, shame. The presence of witchcraft points to the consequences of not processing such emotions, which in turn is relayed somehow, in the case of the Azande through what they deemed as witchcraft (bad luck). Evans-Pritchard noted that “the older a witch the more potent his witchcraft and the more unscrupulous its use”, which indicates that the longer emotions were internalised the stronger its impact could be on others. The impact this had on the social structure can be seen through the belief that witchcraft could be passed down through lineage, and thus influence a person’s kinship. This has close similarities to the concept of epigenetics, the idea that the impact of internalised emotions can be inherited and relayed in the body from generation to generation. In the case of the Azande, ill feelings which a person internalised were passed down through his or her lineage, which in turn affected the experiences of future generations and emerged through encounters with witchcraft i.e. bad luck.
Power of an individual: Despite the ancestral link of witchcraft, Evans-Pritchard pointed out that “the Azande generally regard witchcraft as an individual trait and it is treated as such”. This draws attention to the power of the individual to determine their mindset in response to situations whilst recognising the impact of their thought processes on the wider community. He goes on to state that the “belief in witchcraft is quite consistent with human responsibility and a rational appreciation of nature”. From this perceptive the presence of witchcraft was, in part, a result of a failure to address emotions. This highlights the importance of taking responsibility to manage emotions instead of ignoring or attaching to them, this can help to reduce the impact of holding onto unaddressed emotions.
Distance: The importance of space among the Azande can be explained, in part, as a result of the presence of witchcraft. It was stated that “witchcraft does not strike a man at a great distance, but only injures people in the vicinity” which in turn influenced the desire to cultivate distance so as to not be susceptible to its impact. In Mission work among the Azande part of J.W Johnston’s observations pointed out that “these people do not build large villages. Instead they’re scattered over the country in separate, isolated dwellings, family by family”. Creating physical distance likely assisted in the process of not succumbing to the impact of witchcraft. This is particularly telling given that upon the introduction of British colonialism, many Azande dwellings were forced to adopt a housing arrangement which required a closer proximity to one another. It resulted in many fleeing to Congo to avoid this ruling.
The Domino effect: A popular belief documented by Evans-Pritchard from members of communities was that “witchcraft is like a fire, it lights a light”, and could therefore spread very easily. It helps to understand how quickly emotions could easily spread from person to person and acted as an unseen force that influenced the conscious realm, both on a small and large scale. It could exist in all aspects of life which promoted a strong awareness of the impact of clinging onto ill-feelings towards others. For the Azande, emphasis was placed not on how witchcraft could manifest but why it did. Therefore, in order to prevent its emergence and spread, steps needed to be taken at an individual level to address attitudes as opposed to clinging on to them and allowing them to impact one’s own life as well as the lives of others.
The points noted above draw attention to the many lesson’s that can be learned from the Azande social structure. Namely, to take responsibility and be curious about thought patterns towards particular people and situations. This is not to imply that the solution is to pretend and allude a sense of positivity which we may not even feel, but instead facilitating better understandings of self and each other. The Azande experience points to the human connection, whether we realise it or not, our emotions and thoughts impact those around us.
Sources
Witchcraft, oracles and magic among the Azande – E.E. Evans-Pritchard (1937)
Mission work among the Azande – J.W. Johnston (1921)
Do Your Grandmother’s Experiences Really Make It Into Your Genes? – Michael White
Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS) – Dr Joy Degruy