sorry if this is the wrong place for this..

[mystic_zoe]

The Kasungu Magistrates Court on Friday sentenced a woman who admitted that she practises witchcraft and had tried to woo a child into the practice to two years imprisonment with hard labour.

The woman Salome Msolola, 65, allegedly went to do nocturnal business during the early hours of Thursday and targeted a seven-year-old girl to teach her witchcraft.

Kasungu Police public relations officer Andrew Gada said in an interview yesterday First Grade Magistrate Jackson Kawilo sentenced the woman to two years to deter others from committing the offence which, he said, is becoming common.

The woman pleaded guilty to the charge of practising witchcraft which is an offence contrary to Section 6 of the Witchcraft Act.

“The woman approached the child, believed to be protected with charms, in her dreams. As the child slept, the woman came in her lichelo (winnower) telling the child to join her. The girl refused and in the process fell down from her bed,”said Gada.

He said when other girls who were sleeping with the girl in the room saw her on the floor, she told them what she had gone through that night. In the morning she also explained the ordeal to her father.

Gada said when the woman was called to answer the allegations, she refuted the claims and when the girl insisted the woman accepted having approached the girl.

On Friday before the woman was taken to court, she astonished everyone when she said she cannot stop practising witchcraft because it is in her blood.

She also said witches target children for lessons in witchcraft so that they grow up thinking that the practice is a way of living.

Source: The Nation (http://mind-n-magick.com/source.php?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationmalawi.com%2Farticles.asp%3FarticleID%3D19642)

did anyone else read that on mind-n-magick? from what i understand she was arrested for practising witchcraft, i thought it wasnt illegal? im not sure i understand that part about her approaching the girl whilst she was in her bed? ...did she go to her window or something? and what is a lichelo (winnower) ?

xx

[Nitefalle]

If I read the site correctly, this took place in Malawi, in which case I'm not surprised there are anti-Witchcraft laws. You would be surprised at how many African countries have those beliefs and customs.
By saying that the girl was approached in her sleep, they mean that the woman was invading the girl's dreams, to which the woman apparently plead guilty.

[Phoenix Blue]

Also, witchcraft has an entirely different meaning over there. Not that this makes the laws right, but still.

[Fiamma]

if you look at the title of the section, and it's little blurb... "If you are not sure where you should post a PAGAN related question...post it here."

I think this is an ok place for the thread :-)


As for the article, what the others said. First off, as Nightfalle pointed out, this took place in Malawi, where laws are different.

Also, as phoenix_blue said, "witchcraft" takes on a different meaning in most if not all parts of africa. The word "witchcraft" is often used in reference to people trying to cause harm to others through supernatural and psychological means.

We also don't know if the English word "witchcraft" is the word that they used...or if it's simply the closest translation from one of their local languages. It's highly unlikely that this woman was practicing what you know as "witchcraft", and if she's doing something to a child, be it invading her dreams in some manner, or doing things physically, it sounds like she's doing something wrong here, call it witchcraft or call it whatever else you want.

Overall though, in stories like this, it's so important to keep in mind the cultural context, and the fact that a familiar word to us may be the closest translation of a word from another language where the english word is worlds apart from the original.

[mystic_zoe]

^^ oh yeah i wasn't trying to say what she did was ok or anything...i just didnt quite understand how it had all taken place..

thanks everyone.
xx

[Fiamma]

^^ oh yeah i wasn't trying to say what she did was ok or anything...i just didnt quite understand how it had all taken place..

thanks everyone.
xx


Ah, ok. Then I misread your question. No worries.

[Theres]

and what is a lichelo (winnower)?
a 'winnow fan' was a fan used to separate the grain from the chaff, a process known as winnowing.

symbolically this was also used during rituals involving the dead, usually having to do with purification, or the purging of ghosts or spirits from the home, temple, etc.
this could certainly be seen as an act of witchcraft in less developed cultures.