The Social Context of Cewa Witch Beliefs

Abstract

Opening Paragraph: Most Cewa believe that certain persons are witches (mfiti, sing, and pl.) who impoverish, harm, or kill their fellow beings by using destructive magic and by performing supernatural feats of various kinds. That they are greatly preoccupied with this belief and its various implications is shown by the frequency with which they attribute death and misfortune to witchcraft, and by their related tendency to take precautions against possible attacks by ‘witches’, e.g. by having their bodies and huts magically protected.