Sorcery tactics
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
by Anton Lutz
In my previous blog post, The Sanguma Story, we took a first look at one of the most interesting SARV words – sanguma. We learned that the word sanguma comes from the Monumbo word /tsangumo/ and that this word’s original meaning had to do with physical attacks (assault) against victims by trained human men.
This week, let us look more carefully at the English word “sorcery.”
Around the world, for thousands of years, people have believed that there were other powers in the world beyond what we can see and touch. Good powers, bad powers, trouble-making powers, powers that could appear as humans, or as animals, or powers that could cause volcanoes, earthquakes, bad weather, thunder and lightning or terrifying storms on the ocean. Powers that could bring health and wealth or sickness and death. Powers that needed to be satisfied or bribed through sacrifice or gifts. Powers that must be avoided by women and children.
On and on, so many different beliefs! The global and historical variation in ancient religion, magic, sorcery, proto-science, pseudo-science, modern religion, superstition and conspiracy theories is truly incredible – but it all comes down to – beliefs rather than facts!
Yumi klia, whenever something bad happens unexpectedly, Papua New Guineans try to figure out what the real reason might be. We try to discover who might have used some kind of magic or power or puripuri or posin to cause this to happen. Some people think that trying to find out the “real reason” something has happened is unique to Papua New Guinea, but it turns out humans all over the world have always tried to figure out why something has happened. When we look back at the explanations and theories people have invented and told to their children, sometimes these stories are so funny that we want to laugh.
Sorcerer
Okay friends, let us now look at the word of the day. In English, we have the word “sorcerer.” But what do we mean by this word? Good question. A sorcerer is a person who uses outside power to achieve a desired outcome. The person is in control of the power. The way that the person is able to do this is through the correct use of skills and words – sometimes called spells and rituals – and through techniques using the appropriate objects. Other similar words that you might recognize are wizard, shaman, magician and witchdoctor.
These sorcerer people are often respected in their communities because they are believed to be able to use the power to hurt their enemies, but also use it to protect their friends and heal sick people. Sorcerers are feared by their enemies and supported by their community where they are known as important people. Sometimes, sorcerers are the only people who are allowed to go to certain special places, or eat or drink certain special foods. They might be seen as the community’s link to the spirit world.
If we think about PNG’s diverse languages and cultures, I think many of us will now recognize that sorcery was a part of traditional life in many places. Many villages had a special person, usually a man, who performed this role for the community. He had special knowledge which he had learned from his elders and teachers. He used special leaves, or stones, or animal parts to accomplish his goals. When the Gospel came and the sorcerer decided to become a Christian, he brought his sorcery equipment into public and destroyed it, promising never to practice sorcery again.
In other places, sorcery beliefs and practices were different. Sorcery was used by the whole community, with even women using special leaves for protection or singing songs to make sure their husbands did not leave them and that their children grew up strong and healthy.
Today, of course, many of these beliefs and practices have changed. Sorcery beliefs and practices today may include new objects, like batteries, mobile phones, cash or tinfish. In many villages, even though all the local sorcerers became Christians long ago and stopped practicing sorcery, many Christians still teach their children that ‘sorcery is true’ even though the Bible proclaims God’s ultimate power and prohibits God’s people from entertaining sorcery beliefs and practices. Strange, right? In upcoming posts, we will definitely look at how Christianity and the Bible have dealt with these beliefs and practices.
Putting on our thinking caps
People have believed sorcery is effective and have tried to practice sorcery for thousands of years. Most people in the world today now realize that even though their ancestors tried to use chicken feathers to control the rain and the thunder, those techniques were misguided and did not actually work.
With the development of science, satellite images of the planet allow us to see that weather patterns are caused by temperature and water and wind, not by sorcerers waving chicken feathers. Advanced imaging techniques allow us to see the cancer growing deep within the human body, and we have come to know that hiring a sorcerer from Mendi to bring his kambang and sing his tumbuna type songs will have no measurable effect on curing the cancer.
Science is a technique for testing and correcting our ideas about the world. Science uses evidence – which is defined as physical measurable results of repeatable tests – to correct and improve our knowledge about how the world works. So, this is a real challenge to us. If we are educated, we now understand that we can no longer just claim that there is ‘spiritual or invisible evidence’ that proves that sorcery is really real. If there is evidence, then there is evidence. If not, then nogat.
However, many Papua New Guineans, even those who have been to school, continue to think that the posin lain in their home village can really control the rain, or transform themselves into a shark or an invisible snake. “OK, gutpela,” we must say, “that’s your belief, but, tru o giaman, that does not give you an excuse to break the law and hurt your fellow Papua New Guineans.”
Yu ting wanem? Bai yumi senis?
In our next post, we’ll address whiteman witches.