Makonde witchcraft and sorcery

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Traditional Makonde wood sculpture representing a shetani or spirit. Makonde sculpture Shetani 01.jpg
Traditional Makonde wood sculpture representing a shetani or spirit.

The Makonde people of northern Mozambique, southern Tanzania, and southeastern Kenya have a well-developed tradition of witchcraft and sorcery. [1] Magic plays an influential role in local culture, politics and economics. Makonde sorcerers are often community leaders and are feared and respected as healers and protectors. [2] [3] They are frequently accused of murder and cannibalism, and are known to sometimes draw people away from seeking medical attention or contacting the police, when trust in healing and magic outweighs confidence in Western medicine or law enforcement. Recently, Makonde sorcerers have been accused of trafficking in human organs for use in the preparation of magical substances. [4] [5] [6]

Contents

History

The Makonde have inhabited the area around the Rovuma River for centuries. [1] For over 200 years, they were raided by slave-traders who captured individuals for sale to Arab and Portuguese merchants, a practice which only subsided during the mid-19th century, when most European countries outlawed the slave trade. [7] The raids led the Makonde to restrict their contact with outsiders and to fortify their settlements, preserving their language and culture. During the Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992), the Makonde gathered into larger communities for protection and reorganized their leadership. In that period, Makonde sorcerers adopted the use of "magic landmines" and "magic invisible helicopters". [2] : 40–41 

Types of sorcery and sorcerers

Traditional Makonde wood sculpture representing a shetani or spirit. Head of a spirit carving.JPG
Traditional Makonde wood sculpture representing a shetani or spirit.

The Makonde refer to anyone who performs magic or sorcery as an mwavi (pl. vavi). To become a sorcerer, a person must undergo an apprenticeship of several years with an experienced mwavi, which culminates in a shipitu, an initiation rite, after which they can practice independently. [2] : 63  The Makonde consider magic (uwavi) as broadly divided into destructive magic, which is used to harm other people or to destroy property, and defensive or protective magic, which includes healing as well as divination. A Makonde sorcerer is capable of performing any kind of magic, although most vavi specialize in one form or another. Socerers who mainly do destructive magic usually work clandestinely and may be forced to go into hiding, to avoid attacks by other vavi or vengeance from their victims. Until a century ago, the Makonde regarded any death or illness as the result of sorcery. Following the conversion of large numbers of Makonde to Catholicism during the 1920s, many Makonde began to believe in "God's illnesses," diseases not caused by sorcery. [2] : 50  In Kenya and Tanzania, where many Makonde practice Islam, sorcerers incorporate texts from the Quran into their rituals. Some illnesses there are attributed to spirit possession by djinn, a concept borrowed from Arab culture. [2] : 222–226 

Destructive magic

Destructive magic is referred to as uwavi wa kujoa, ("dangerous sorcery"), or uwavi wa kunyata ("evil sorcery"), and includes uwavi wa kubyaa, or "sorcery of killing or murder" (also called uwavi wa kulogwa). It also includes uwavi wa lwanongo ("sorcery of ruin") when it is used to destroy someone's wealth or property. [2] : 45  Makonde sorcerers can animate corpses to create mandandosha (sing. lindandosha), or zombies, to attack others or to work for the sorcerer in other ways, [8] such as digging wells. [2] : 181–188  The Makonde believe that when a sorcerer kills someone, he or she absorbs power by consuming the victim's soul (mahoka). Makonde sorcerers, even good ones, are generally believed to practice cannibalism, and that, with time, they become addicted to the taste of human flesh. [2] : 46–47 

Defensive or protective magic

Defensive or protective sorcery is known as uwavi wa kulishungila ("sorcery of self-defense"). Divination, or the power to see events in the past or future, or events far away, is known as yangele. A sorcerer who specializes in identifying and destroying evil sorcerers is known as an ing'anga (pl. waing'anga). Evil sorcerers, once identified, can be neutralized by being given a drink containing shongo, which will explode inside them if they attempt to use magic again. [2] : 51 Waing'anga also make and sell small amulets or pendants known as dilishi (sing. ilishi) which protect the wearer from some types of magic. [2] : 52 

One who specializes in healing magic is known as an nkulaula (pl. vakulaula). Makonde sorcerers claim to be able to remove a deceased person's head and graft it onto a healthy body (a procedure known as takatuka), in cases where a person has suffered a fatal illness or injury. Makonde healers say they can transfer a wound from a person's body to a tree or an inanimate object (takatuka wanalyuva). [2] : 97  Sorcery may be used to accumulate wealth or power, and this is known as uwavi wa kushunga ("sorcery of enrichment or self-advancement"). Makonde settlement leaders (vahumu) use sorcery of construction (uwavi wa kudenga) to build or enrich a community, and to protect it from evil or destructive magic. [3] Sorcerers say they can transform themselves into animals, especially lions, and can order animals to perform tasks, such as spying or carrying messages. [2] : 45–46 

Magic substances

Makonde sorcerer in the process of transforming him or herself into an elephant. Note the bottle of ntela (a magic substance) in the sorcerer's left hand. Makonde elephant.jpg
Makonde sorcerer in the process of transforming him or herself into an elephant. Note the bottle of ntela (a magic substance) in the sorcerer's left hand.

Makonde sorcerers use a variety of substances derived from animals, plants, minerals, and humans to make medicines with magic properties, known as mitela (sing. ntela). These substances can be combined to create anti-sorcery landmines (lipande) which explode when a sorcerer or his servants come near them, or mashosha, magic landmines that can kill or injure ordinary people. [2] : 53, 72 Mitela are also used to make the sorcerer invisible (shikupi), [2] : 44  and in healing and divination. Some sorcerers specialize in creating and selling mitela, and these are known as vamitela (sing. muntela). Human blood, bones, and internal organs are used to create powerful spells, leading to a lucrative clandestine market in human body parts. [6] Although mitela is mostly made from naturally occurring materials, modern Makonde sorcerers have started including man-made substances such as Orange Fanta and battery acid. [2] : 43 

The invisible realm

The Makonde believe that the world has two parallel realms: the visible realm of everyday activities, and the invisible realm of magic, ghosts, and spiritual phenomena. The invisible realm mirrors the visible but exists separately in opposition and contradiction to it, and it is believed to exist around and above what we see and hear in our daily lives. Makonde sorcerers use mitela to enter and work within the invisible realm, primarily through shikupi, which makes the sorcerer invisible to those in the visible realm. [2] : 44  While employing shikupi, a sorcerer can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits (shetani) who occupy the invisible realm, and with other sorcerers who are also using shikupi. [9] : 21  Sorcerers often inflict harm on others, including other sorcerers, while invisible due to shikupi. A sorcerer may transform him or herself into an invisible lion to kill and eat their victims. [10]

Makonde sorcery in modern times

As in many other countries, accusations of witchcraft in present-day Mozambique have led to vigilante justice in which suspected witches or sorcerers have been killed by angry mobs. [11] [12] Belief in magic has led to a clandestine trade in human organs, [6] or human bones stolen from cemeteries. [13] Victims of attacks by wild animals are often believed to have been attacked by sorcerers who transform themselves. People may not seek medical treatment at a hospital because they believe that magic is more effective (particularly if they also believe that illnesses are due to sorcery), or they may choose to hire a sorcerer to avenge a suspected murder rather than go to the police. Kidnapping and assaults on albinos have increased, in the belief that their internal organs have magical properties, with over 100 such assaults recorded in Mozambique since 2014. [5] [14] For decades, there has been an ongoing debate in Mozambique as to whether traditional practices related to healing and magic should be regulated or suppressed. [15] Authorities in Tanzania have encouraged traditional healers to focus on herbalism rather than the supernatural, and have asked the public to seek spiritual guidance from Christian and Muslim clerics rather than private practitioners who use magic. [16]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Jorge Dias, Margot Dias, and Manuel Viegas Guerreiro, Os Macondes de Moçambique: Vida social e ritual. Vol IV. Portugal: Junta de Investigações do Ultramar, Centro de Estudos de Antropologia Cultural, 1970
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 West, Harry G. Kupilikula: Governance and the Invisible Realm in Mozambique. University of Chicago Press, 2005.
  3. 1 2 Harry G. West, Sorcery of Construction and Sorcery of Ruin: Power and Ambivalence on the Mueda Plateau, Mozambique (1882-1994), University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1997. May 19, 2009
  4. ↑ Jose Tembe, "'Witchcraft' arrest in Mozambique," BBC News, Maputo, 2 August 2007
  5. 1 2 "Southern Africa: UN, Mozambique host first-ever forum to fight trafficking of people with albinism," UN News, 19 May 2017
  6. 1 2 3 Junno Arocho Esteves, "Most Organ Trafficking in Mozambique Due to Witchcraft, Nun Says," Catholic News Service, 2 November 2016
  7. ↑ Israel, P. "The History of the Makonde of Mozambique." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History, March 20, 2024. Retrieved 20 Dec. 2025
  8. ↑ "Makonde / Maconde," Africa: 101 Last Tribes
  9. ↑ Harry G. West and Todd Sanders, eds. Transparency and Conspiracy: Ethnographies of Suspicion in the New World Order. Duke University Press Durham and London 2003
  10. ↑ Israel, Paolo "The War of Lions: Witch-Hunts, Occult Idioms and Post-Socialism in Northern Mozambique," Journal of Southern African Studies, 35:1, 2009; 155—174
  11. ↑ Carmeliza Rosario, "The Lion's War: Life Histories, Forgotten Art and Alternative Geographies. An Interview with Paolo Israel," Public Anthropologist, African Studies Association, April 9, 2021
  12. ↑ Ana Margarida Sousa Santos, "Violence, Rumor, and Elusive Trust in Mocímboa da Praia, Mozambique," Social Analysis, Vol 65:3, 1 Sep 2021
  13. ↑ Kofi Akosah-Sarpong, "Mozambique tackles Witchcraft and Human Sacrifice," Modern Ghana, 05 Aug 2007
  14. ↑ Alfredo Junior, "Poverty, Witchcraft Make Mozambique Risky for Bald Men," VOA News, June 15, 2017
  15. ↑ Helene Maria Kyed, "State Policing and Invisible Forces in Mozambique." Africa, Volume 84, Issue 03, August 2014, pp 424-443
  16. ↑ Walter Bruchhausen, "Repelling and Cleansing ‘Bad People’. The Fight against Witchcraft in Southeast Tanzania since Colonial Times." In book: Witchcraft in Modern Africa. Witches, Witchhunts and Magical Imaginaries. Schmidt B, Schulte R (Hg); DOBU Verlag, January 2007
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