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| European Witchcraft- Witchcraft in the European lands was not far from the Western beliefs, but they did have some big differences. Many potential Christians were comfortable with using magic daily in their lives, and thought that the Church would use magic in their assembles and duties, similar or more powerful then the old Pagan ways. But in fact the Church used holy relics and religious tools, a short step away from the Pagan Amulets and Talismans. Past witchcraft in European places even followed laws in the government because Witches were so believed in. Some rulers of cities or city-states actually banned Witch-Hunts and such because “Witch’s just don’t exist”. The form of “White-Magic” in Europe involved people called Cunning Men, Wise Women, Toad Doctors and other variations, and they were said to cure ailments that supposedly came from demonic entities, or just regular things ranging from tooth aches and head aches and various mundane ailments of the body. |
African Witchcraft- Witchcraft in the African district of the world is much more widely believed because of the spirituality known to the people of Africa. African religions incorporate many beliefs from different kinds of concepts such as god, magic and spirituality. They even misconstrued the word Witch Doctor to make it mean “a healer who uses witchcraft” from its original meaning of “one who diagnoses and cures and cures maladies that are caused by witches”. In South African traditions, there are three types of magic practitioners. The Thakathi is mostly translated into Witch, and is the one who works secretly to harm others. The Sangoma is a kind of fortune teller, used to diagnose symptoms of witchcraft and read the future, or used to find the guilty party in a court. And then there’s the Inyanga, or Witch Doctor who cures people of magical maladies and sells items of magical power for everyday use. |