What would you do if … you were being brutally tortured, your skin cut by bush knives and your body burnt with hot iron?

Real testimony of a woman tortured because of sanguma accusations

Have we ever thought about what we would do under extreme torture? Most likely, not. At least, I can admit I haven’t, probably because one never imagines that life will take him or her down that path. But, what if…? After reflecting quite deeply, I am confident that I would say anything! Anything they want to hear and that can save my life. Whatever can release me from the agony.

The following story makes us think.

I heard many Papua New Guineans complain about this “new trend” of torturing and killing people who have been accused of sanguma (a term commonly used to refer to witchcraft or sorcery). They admit that the belief in sorcery and witchcraft in Papua New Guinea is intrinsic to the culture and constitutes a very important part of their daily lives and traditional customs. However, many Papua New Guineans are horrified by the way this belief is generating kinds of extreme violence that were not practiced before and it is dangerously spreading to areas where it did not previously exist.

Unfortunately, recent weeks have been remarkable for bringing to us several cases of women accused of sanguma. People in Enga, Hagen and Port Moresby had the opportunity to witness such awful situations. Some of these women escaped, others were badly tortured and the most unfortunate were brutally killed.

Father Philip Gibbs, an expert on the topic and an impressive activist, followed some of these cases and had the privilege to interview the survivors. Here we want to present you the literal words of one of these women. We do this with the intention to help shed light on the situations of the women who have been accused and tortured, seeing through their own words what are the motivations of their torturers and the reasons for their supposed “confessions” of sanguma.

John must have died around 5:30pm. We were returning back from a court case over a car accident, telling stories along the way. When we reached the hilltop, we heard that Laura’s husband died and we did not believe it. My father in-law came and we straightened up the dead body and around 6:30pm, we took the body to the hospital. At night, in the funeral house, all the people left and only the wife of the dead, her sister and myself remained there and slept.

Some people had called for a “glassman” who told them that the person responsible for John’s death had many children and had lost weight. Next day, during the funeral, people suspected me and another woman because we have many children. The other women in the clan have only two to three children. They also suspected me because I was growing skinny.

We ate and when I was about to lie down to take a nap, the son of the deceased and other men asked me to come out. When I asked why, he used a 10 50 (bush knife) to cut me. Then I asked him, ‘why are you doing this. If you suspect that I did it, explain to me properly. I do not know how someone takes out and eats another person’s heart’. But he replied, ‘you took it and ate it, so give it back now’. I didn’t know what he meant so I asked what was the thing I took out and ate. Even after I had said that, they still insisted that I had eaten the heart and wanted it returned.

All the women were ordered to go out of the funeral house except for the married women. We had to remain in the house. Then, they asked a lot of questions and they booted me right here before I talked. Then they hit me on this side. They poked my body and used 10 50 (bush knives) on me. No part of my body remained untouched.

I knew that I was dying, so in my heart I prayed and said. ‘Oh God, you know my heart and mind. I am sorry for the lie I am going to tell now’. Then, I lied and said, ‘I ate it’, and I continued to say it. They asked, ‘you ate it and whom did you share it with’? I replied, ‘no, I did not share it with anybody. I ate it myself’. They asked if I had shared with my husband’s second wife and I said ‘no, it was only myself’. They further asked if I had shared with any of the women and I said, ‘I do not want to mention anybody else’s name for no reason. I ate it myself’.. I kept saying that I ate it myself and they all felt tired so they tied my legs and hands and took me away. I was taken to an empty house where the dead man’s clothes were.

Around 1:00am – 2:00am, I prayed to God. I kept praying but a bit later my hands were so painful from the rope that I asked them to release them. I told them that what they were suspecting was not true and that I was innocent: ‘You tortured me and forced me to say that I have eaten his heart and that’s what I said to prevent further harm, so now come and release my hand’. I remained like that till daybreak. In the morning, they prepared old tyres, kerosene and ropes to burn me. Then, one of my small kids came and stood outside and said, ‘Mother, they are coming to burn you so if you can find a way to escape, then go’. I called back to the child, ‘let them burn me. My life is in God’s hands. If I am burned to ashes, I can accept it. But where will you go if I die that way?’

Right after that, a group of young men arrived and took me to my younger brother in-law’s empty house.. Then a young man said, this situation shouldn’t have happened. Some people accused me and my husband’s second wife because they suspected we had sanguma, so they wanted both of us to be burnt. I only listened and remained silent but I thought to myself that they too would not escape. Then, they said that I was innocent, released me and I went home.

 At night, people came to watch over me. They said, people who practice sanguma turn into rats, dogs or cats during the night and go to the graves. For this reason, they closely watched me for such signs. They killed any dog that came their way thinking that they were killing me. After killing or cutting a dog, one of them would come near the house and call my name ‘are you okay?’. I replied that I was sleeping well. Realising that I wasn’t a sanguma, the young men came to me. I told them that I forgive them for what they did to me.

 After I had reached my place, I heard that my sister (second wife of her husband) was also tortured just like me. It would be good if the people involved had been called and questioned to find out the truth. Instead, they accused the two of us because they saw that our bodies were skinny from having too many children. Because of that they suspected and tortured us.. I have referred my case to the law to decide.

This woman was rescued by a merciful couple who took her to the hospital, hosted and looked after her. We will give you more details on the next article. If you are interested on knowing more about this story, you can subscribe to our blog to receive updates. Meanwhile, please share your comments and opinions.

 Philip Gibbs is the author of this interview and the owner of the copyright. Please, get in touch in case you would like to use part of the text or specific quotations.