Black Magic
- Thread starter Jolly Rodger
- Start date
Chairman_meow
Registered Senior Member
black magic is freaky yo.
what do you know chair man
Jolly Rodger said:
JollyR,
Many people do not realise that Witchcraft is not limited to the sensationalised hag on her broomstick, who was burnt at the stake in Slalom.
Anthropologists have studied forms of witchcraft in many primitive and tribal cultures, including the Koori (Australian aboriginals). Witch doctors are prevalent in many primitive cultures, and serve an important roll in the symobilic belief systems of thier society. Black magic is not concerning black and white witches as some might think. It is focussed on ritual attempt to stave off dark and 'evil' spirits. The concept of good and evil is largely relative between different belief systems, but the intent of warding off the unknown influences of the mind, the adverse weather conditions on the crop, and the protection of witch doctor status becomes a deeply religious concept. And for modern man, our uncertainties and 'demons' may appear different to the cannibals of Papua New Guinea, but we still turn to Him in the hour of our need. Such is the state of the human psyche.
If you are interested, I can publish my academic book list of anthropoligical studies in tribal witchcraft. Malinowski and Radcliffe-Brown are a couple from the late 20th century.
www.exoscience.net
blackcat said:
Or even the ones burnt in Salem.
blackcat said:
For indigenous peoples that have a tradition of magic, it is Very often considered responsible for just about anything that causes change -either good or bad. Sometimes the change is purely perceived and has no basis in reality. In 1990, in Nigeria, there was a mass hysteria relating to genital theft often triggered by incidental body contact with a stranger in a public place, after which the "victim" would feel strange scrotum sensations. The stranger would be openly accused in public and even beat nearly to death. Even when the accuser verified that his penis was intact, he would claim that it was smaller or "not quite right."
In Bankok, this year, a politician placed a "curse" on garbage bins to keep theives from stealing them.
The Nupe of Africa have a witchcraft tradition in which only the women can be witches (their neighbors, the Gwari, hold that either gender can be witches). To them, all witchcraft is black. And, for the Nupe, only the men are affected by witchcraft. Interestingly enough, the women are traditionally traders and travel to other villages -sometimes overnight- while the men are traditionally farmers -staying at home. There often arises the case where the woman has power over the man in economic terms an also the suspicion of infidelity. The accusation of witchcraft seems to be a method of redistributing power from the woman back to the man, since the Nupe is a patrilochal-patrilineal society.
Magic and magical thinking is present in all societies to some degree and often the delineation isn't made between "black" or "white."
Imitative Magic is that which is based on the principle that "like produces like:" imitating thunderstorms to produce rain; placing fake salmon in a stream to bring about a run; the old wives-tale that pregnant women should avoid standing in doorways or lying cross-ways on a bed; etc.
Contagious Magic is that which is based on the principle of contact and that objects/people can share fates after they've been in contact. A man wounded by an arrow might wrap the arrow in the same holistic treatment of leaves/herbs as he would the wound; voodoo practitioners slowly burn a piece of cloth to cause harm to the former wearer.
Incantation Magic - the right words and order can bring about a desired result; if the result doesn't come, it is blamed on mistakes of incantation, etc.
Repetitive Magic - if something worked before, it is repeated. Such as with the good-luck rituals of atheletes
Written letters/words/pictures - which includes even nonsense words like "abracadabra;" sandpaintings by Navajo; etc.
blackcat said:
Sorry, "him" who? I missed the person that pronoun referenced.
If you are interested, I can publish my academic book list of anthropoligical studies in tribal witchcraft. Malinowski and Radcliffe-Brown are a couple from the late 20th century.
blackcat said:
"exo" science? No such thing. Even that which people believe is outside the realm of science can be studied by science. An example is the anthropology of witchcraft, magic and religion.
Enough Skin,
I think we both know we agree here. Let's leave it that.
You don't need to pick on my typo's and intentional use of 'Him'. I knew you would dislike that. I was simply suggesting that even today, in a scientific world, people still turn to a belief system (a God) when the going get's tough. That shows just how week the human psyche can be. Another interesting take on it is Velikovsky's view of traumatic effects on the human psyche.
You obviuosly have not been on this forum long enough if you don't know the many meanings of exoscience.
Before Sciforums was Sciforums, it was www.exosci.com, and the original forum was called ExoScience.
I think we both know we agree here. Let's leave it that.
You don't need to pick on my typo's and intentional use of 'Him'. I knew you would dislike that. I was simply suggesting that even today, in a scientific world, people still turn to a belief system (a God) when the going get's tough. That shows just how week the human psyche can be. Another interesting take on it is Velikovsky's view of traumatic effects on the human psyche.
You obviuosly have not been on this forum long enough if you don't know the many meanings of exoscience.
Before Sciforums was Sciforums, it was www.exosci.com, and the original forum was called ExoScience.
Exo - outside
exoscience - outside of science
But you're right. I did understand what you meant by "Him," but it's always important to realize that not everyone considers, shares, or believes in the same worldviews. "Him" is a religiocentric term being used in a universally common description of human magical thinking.
exoscience - outside of science
But you're right. I did understand what you meant by "Him," but it's always important to realize that not everyone considers, shares, or believes in the same worldviews. "Him" is a religiocentric term being used in a universally common description of human magical thinking.