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HEALING: THE DIVINE ART |
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PART ONE: THE HISTORICAL ROAD TO THE METAPHYSICS OF MEDICINE CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNINGS OF METAPHYSICAL HEALING THE WITCH DOCTOR -- THE FIRST PRIEST-PHYSICIAN-PSYCHOLOGIST -- CANDIDATES FROM THE SELECTED NEUROTIC -- TRANCES AND DREAM CONSCIOUSNESS -- DISEASE AS A SPIRITUAL MYSTERY -- THE PRESTIGE IN MASKS -- MASKS AS AN ESCAPE FROM SELF -- MEDICINE SONGS AND DANCES -- EARLY MEDICATION BY FETISHES AND HERBS -- ORIGIN OF THE RELIC -- THE WITCH DOCTOR'S PRACTICES NOT EVIL -- INEXPLAINABLE MODERN WITCHCRAFT -- DOCTORS AS THE FIRST ADMINISTRATORS OF LAW -- THE USE AND ABUSE OF MAGIC -- DEVIL DOLLS. THE WITCH DOCTOR WHEN a child falls down, and the parent kisses the little injury to "make it well," this is a magical ritual that is one in spirit with the ancient miracles of the Witch Doctor. His power over evil forces was conceived in a veneration for age, which was fundamental to primitive religion -- it is reasonably clear that all religion originated with veneration for the old -- and an encompassing belief that all forces invisible to the eye or beyond average mind comprehension were supernatural. But this is not all that is known about the Witch Doctor; clear traces of his influence remain in our healing methods today. He is thus entitled to our respect, and our worthy purpose of seeking a better understanding of his methods, his place, and his position in the advancing march of civilization. It is a mistake to assume that our remote and savage ancestors enjoyed the boon of good health. The aborigine lived a hazardous and afflicted existence. All about him were huge animals whose strength vastly exceeded his own, and smaller reptiles and insects whose cunning he could not match. The anthropological Adamite man who was to become so great in his latter times was the weakling of the prehistoric world, with little to be thankful for, and not much to be thankful with. He was entirely without knowledge of the natural causes of disease. No reasonable connection had been established between his mode of living and the condition of his health. And so, to him, all sickness was of supernatural origin. He could see that the good and the bad were stricken together, the old and the young knew the same pain, the rich and the poor wasted away side by side. He did not know why. Out of this deep unknowing, fear was born. It was fear of everything, of everyone; fear of the great animals which roared in the jungles; fear of the little shining things that buzzed in the swamps; fear of the thunder that rumbled in the sky, and the lightning that filled the heavens with greenish fire; fear of floods and of droughts; fear of earthquakes and tidal waves. Most of all, fear of darkness, that strange and fatal gloom that covered the earth for a part of every day. Night had a thousand terrors for shivering creatures huddled in their caves and huts through the long hours of darkness. Outside were strange sounds; and if one of the bravest went forth to seek the origin of the sounds he returned no more. In the morning the others found him, dead, and usually partly devoured. Darkness was filled with life that struck and destroyed, that slunk on padded feet, and had green eyes that shone in the darkness; it was life that barked, and grunted, and whined, and hissed, life ever waiting, always to do harm. Fear, oldest and cruelest of man's emotions, heartless and senseless in itself, is the source of endless pain and misery. In a fear-ruled savage world, courage was but an instant of resistance followed by disaster. The more men fought against the unknown the greater was their fear, for nature opposed each time became more terrible than before. The venturesome and courageous crept back to their dens like whipped curs, to ponder with untutored minds the misfortunes of their state. THE FIRST PRIEST-PHYSICIAN-PSYCHOLOGIST Out of this old, dark night of the mind which preceded the dawn of reason came the Witch Doctor. We have no record of the origin or of the processes that produced this fantastic hierophant of the earth's first healing cults; the first priest, the first physician, and the first psychologist. If to our more sophisticated minds the Witch Doctor was a horrible monstrosity, he was to the savage world that produced him the beginning of hope, the first of the long line of adventurers who have dared to shape inevitables to meet the human need. Many scholars, who have deeply pondered old peoples and their lores, have tried to explain the Witch Doctor; of these the psychologists appear to be the most successful, for they have recognized their distant kinship with him and with his methods. But psychology opens only on a small part of the broad vista of philosophy, and a better look at the Witch Doctor can be had from philosophy's wider perspective; its viewpoint should enable us to discern more clearly the forces that fashioned him, the larger motions that directed his course. The physical origin of religion, to my mind, is the veneration for age. Those who have lived long have experienced the most. Tradition is the record of the long-lived. Not many reached to great age in primitive times and among savage peoples, there were too many hazards in the way; so most of the races respected the old, and accorded them dignities and honors equal with the gods and spirits. For, in the first state of human society, those who reached fullness of years excelled in simple thoughtfulness -- the survivor was the superior man. The savage has never been one to preserve the useless. It was not love for his fellowkind that induced him to feed and protect the old warriors who could no longer provide for themselves; the considerations were entirely utilitarian. These old men knew the ways of the jungle and the hill. They had been to far places, they had hunted the forests and crossed the rivers on floating logs. They had known heroes of previous generations, and they were the custodians of words of wisdom spoken by men long dead. In the beginning man honored only strength of arm, but slowly this changed. Another kind of strength had proved that it might have the tribe when valor failed; this other strength was wisdom. And wisdom belonged to the old ones who had lived long. The hereditary chief, young and in the fullness of his powers, honored for his strength, had behind him the old ones, venerated for their wisdom; and it was of greatest benefit for the young chieftain to consult with them and profit by their counsel. Thus came into being the dual form of government that existed throughout antiquity; it came to full flowering in the Egyptian culture -- the government of the priest and king. Thus had the fathers become the priests by long and mysterious processes of veneration and tradition -- as even today, it is the custom of the Catholic to call his priest "Father." And the word Pope, from the Greek papas, literally means Father. It is well known to psychology that the small child bestows upon its parents -- if they do not disillusion it too young -- the same veneration that the child will transfer later to its concept of God. Father is God, and God is Father. How many parents realize that when their small boy bumps his knee and comes running to them for sympathy and help, he is expressing the primary religious instinct of mankind? In later life, when tragedies disturb the soul, the afflicted person takes his pain to God through the ritual of prayer, with the firm belief that he will find comfort and strength. Primitive man had no way to perpetuate his knowledge and the records of his deeds except by oral tradition. In time he learned to draw crude pictures on the walls of cliffs; but long before that the Witch Doctor was an institution. Likenesses of him, variously garbed in the skins of animals, are included in the earliest form of art. CANDIDATES FROM THE SELECTED NEUROTIC Always, men have wanted to be remembered and have their deeds to live on after them. So the old ones, when they felt that they had not much longer to live, sought for others that they could instruct in their lore and history. Thus it came about that the neurotic became the savior of his tribe, later, of his race. The old men, seeking suitable disciples, turned to the quiet and more thoughtful youths, because their minds were better suited to the perpetuation of tradition than the lustier and more belligerent types. Having discovered someone to his liking, the old man then devoted his closing years to the task of transferring his knowledge, and with it, of course, an ample description of his own personal exploits. When the old teacher joined the ghosts of his fathers, the young disciple was, so to speak, ordained to carry on his wisdom, and probably in the name of the older man rather than in his own. A new condition now presented itself. Veneration was no longer merely a respect for years, it was directed to a person of any age who had the knowledge of the "olds." But just as in modern time it is impossible to divide learning entirely apart from the personalities of the learned, so did the younger men then share in the respect accorded to their knowledge. This was the next step in the development of the priesthood, when the ones who knew received special privileges. They sat with the warriors when matters of importance were discussed, these wise men who were too valuable to be exposed in battle and whose pursuits did not equip them for warlike exploits. They wore various distinguishing marks and badges. Their advice was sought in all things pertaining to the happiness and security of the tribe. It was inevitable that sickness should be brought to the consideration of the wise ones; for there was no other direction in which the sufferer could turn. From the wise ones the sick learned of the experiences of their ancestors under similar conditions. Whatever means had helped in the past were repeated, and faith in the old ways undoubtedly brought a measure of relief. Memory kept such records as it could, and being a faculty closely linked to imagination, these records grew and flourished in many curious ways. Metaphysical elements were most certainly present in this old pattern, for the psychic sensitiveness of primitive people is established beyond intelligent dispute. The savage is very close to nature, and close to the animal life about him, and most animals possess a higher development of instinct than does man; instinct may have been the beginning of mysticism. And it is not at all impossible that some of the "olds" were natural spiritists and had a crude form of mystic vision. Then at some very remote time it was discovered that this sensitiveness could be increased by fasting and vigils that exhausted the physical strength. Those who have lived the longest close to savage tribes are the most convinced that not all the powers of the Witch Doctor are psychological or imaginary. TRANCES AND DREAM CONSCIOUSNESS Dreams probably played an important part in the development of the aboriginal mystic. The mysteries of the dream life never have been fully explained, but it is well known that a person is most likely to dream about those things that are uppermost in his mind. It is thus quite possible that the tribal prophets were visited in their dreams by the "olds" who had been their teachers. If these dead did not actually appear, they could seem to come in dream consciousness, thus linking the past with the present through the mystery of sleep. Trances are but artificial sleep, induced by drugs, suggestion, or autosuggestion; and their avowed purpose is to give easier access to the dream state and its phenomena. Here then, are all the elements necessary to produce the Witch Doctor. Time perfected the process. Fainter and fainter in the distance of untrained memory grew the "olds"; they became the great spirits who had lived in the long ago, who now dwelt in some strange ghost land where the seer could seek them in his dreams and trances. And the lore of the tribe thus became its religion, and the faith was as cruel and primitive as its believers. It is impossible to understand the Witch Doctor in the terms of our present standards of right and wrong. He was part of his world as we are part of ours, and they are two worlds that have little in common. In sleep we come closer to the old one, but even our dreams have been largely conditioned by our conscious thinking. We cannot know the Witch Doctor, but let us at least respect him -- in the deep realization that without his strange powers modern civilization could not be as it is. We cannot appreciate his healing methods, without understanding the religion of the Witch Doctor. In its theological aspect, a religion is an attitude toward life, a series of beliefs and conclusions bearing upon the relationship of the individual to the spiritual world and its creatures. On the moral, or ethical side, religion is the rule of conduct -- things that can be done, and things that cannot be done. In primitive society those actions which violated the tribal law were punished in proportion to the magnitude of the offense. And so we can readily understand that the first religious ethics were mostly taboos, and only after thousands of years of refinement was ethics evolved into the dignified standards of today. DISEASE AS A SPIRITUAL MYSTERY In the beginning, religion was little more than organized fear. Gradually, certain distinctive practices began to appear, bearing witness to specialized attitudes and convictions. Savage theology had this basis: All that is invisible to the untrained eye or is beyond the understanding of the untrained mind is supernatural. Disease, therefore, was a spiritual mystery, one to be approached only by those who had power over spirits and their evil force. So far as we know, these were the tribal convictions as they applied to sickness and disease:
It is to be noted that no mention has been made of gods as causes of physical misfortunes. This is because in those remote times there was no clear concept of superior deities, nor was there the conception of disease as retribution for sin. The nearest approach was the fear of offending powerful spirits; but no ethical motives were imputed to the spirits, and ethics had little to do with appeasing their wrath. Some writers refer to the practices of the Witch Doctors as Black Magic. This is incorrect, for there can be no perversion of power so long as no standard of right exists. Witchcraft became a negative and perverse force as civilization developed standards of integrity which it violates. The term Witch Doctor therefore is incorrectly interpreted as one inferring evil; it applies only to a savage, or primitive magician. Masks always played an important part in the Witch Doctor's rites. What was the origin of these weird masks? I believe they were originally the likenesses of the "olds." Most of these masks are to us grotesque and horrible, but the strange designs were probably things of beauty and dignity to the primitive men who made them, and full of subtle meaning. THE PRESTIGE IN MASKS In the mask cults it was believed that to put on the mask was to take upon oneself the spirit which the mask represented. If then, the Witch Doctor put on the face of the "old" he became the embodiment of the "old," spoke with his voice, and possessed his authority. The animal heads worn by the Egyptian priests had the same meaning, and may have originated in totemism -- the priest wearing the mask of his spirit-animal. The fear produced by the mask may also have played an important part in this ancient religious custom. The Witch Doctor increased his prestige immensely by changing his appearance into something unearthly. The natives knew of course that a mask was used, but still it produced considerable emotional reaction. Years ago, at Darjeeling in Northern India, a number of Devil Dancers wandered up to our hotel to stage a performance. Among them was a little boy, about eight years of age, who soon became the darling of the resident tourists. In the evening when the dance was given, all of the performers, including the youngster, were masked to represent Tibetan demons. In the midst of the dance the young boy, wearing the papier-mache head of a bull, rushed toward the crowd, which broke and ran with cries of alarm. All knew the boy, and many of them had been feeding him candy during the afternoon, but in the scramble the educated whites outran the natives. It was primordial logic to suppose that if the mask frightened mortals it would have a similar effect upon evil spirits. These, terrified by the awesome spectacle, would depart in haste and remove their evil forces from the village. This belief is at the root of some of the Tibetan ceremonies, and is recorded in many accounts of Witch Doctors and their methods. The savage saw no reason to suppose that spirits were any more intelligent than himself; what frightened him should also frighten ghosts. MASKS AS AN ESCAPE FROM SELF There is also a deeper psychological meaning to masks. Their designs come out of the unconscious, or deeply subconscious parts of the human intellect. Possibly the designs were brought over from dream life and are evidences of strange impulses locked in the further recesses of the mind. The religious art of savage peoples has a dramatic integrity that should give the psychologist much to think about. The mask was an escape from self. The wearer became someone else, and in many ways lived another life, with all the implications of such new identity. In some American Indian tribes persons who have suffered from a long series of misfortunes change their names to escape further misery. A new name means a new personality; the Indian becomes someone else; and the spirits who disliked the previous name will have no cause to plague the new one. Any stage or screen actor who uses make-up will understand this psychology. When costumed and be-whiskered to look like King Lear, he should feel like King Lear; and if he does not, he is a poor actor. If then, some crepe hair and a little grease paint can make a man feel like Lord Beaconsfield, why cannot the mask of a superhuman make the wearer feel a little more like that superhuman being? -- in fact make that spirit seem very close and real. Analytical research should be done in this direction; it is a most provocative subject. Various types of noise-makers have always been part of the Witch Doctor's paraphernalia. His rattle, another means of frightening spirits, or of commanding their attention, also aroused the sick person, made him aware of the presence of the magician, thus focussing his mind on the treatment he was receiving -- a process important in what is called suggestive therapy, or healing by suggestion. Many of these rattles were ornamented with symbols resembling streaks of lightning; in this is a possible indication that the sounds they made were intended to represent thunder. The savage is always profoundly impressed by loud sounds, and to his sensitive ears the noise is much louder than it would seem to us. An experiment made a few years ago proved that a certain American Indian could hear the ticking of a watch in a man's pocket more than fifty feet away. Drums, flutes, and other primitive instruments also served the Witch Doctor in his rituals. Different tribes evolved their own special practices, but in principle all were the same. The antiquity of the Witch Doctor is registered in the universal distribution of his methods. There are no primitive peoples in the world today among which he does not flourish, and there is no civilized race whose spiritual culture docs not bear witness to his original presence. It is more than a possibility that both music and the dance began with him, used as means of frightening away evil spirits, or conjuring up benevolent ghosts. MEDICINE SONGS AND DANCES Music began in the mimicking of natural sounds, such as the cries of animals and the songs of birds. After the Witch Doctor had put on the mask of some creature, it was part of the procedure that he should imitate the sounds made by that creature. The endless repetition of similar tones and notes resulted in simple rhythms. At some parts of his ceremonies the magician needed greater emphasis, and in the midst of his chanting he would agitate his rattle or beat his drum; and thus was accompaniment born. As time passed the various medicine songs were more or less standardized, and musical composition thus came into existence, its form and rhythm fixed by tradition. Placement keys resulted from the natural differences in human voices, and the various pitches of primitive instruments. As late as the Greeks, each member of a chorus sang according to the comfort of his own voice; harmonics was unknown until the time of Pythagoras. From the earliest available records it appears that the dance had its genesis in the efforts of the Witch Doctor to imitate the motions of the creatures whose faces he wore. When he wore the mask of an elephant some inner force impelled him to assume the manner of an elephant, and his step was slow and dignified. But if his mask was that of a bird he hopped about and tried to give the impression of flying. Then the wild abandon of his first efforts was gradually modified by the rhythms of his rattle and drum; he preserved the basic motions of the creatures he represented but he brought them within the limits of his other rituals. Gradually the gyrations became symbolical rather than literal. The dance forms, like the songs which usually accompanied them, then became traditional. The dance has always been part of religion, first as a magical rite, and later as pageantry and aesthetic ritual. The theatre also began with the Witch Doctor; as sacred drama it continued until the collapse of classical civilization. It was later revived in the medieval mystery plays of the Catholic Church, which are still to be seen in isolated regions. The Penitentes of New Mexico include to this day sacred representations from the life drama of the Christ among their strange rites. When the Witch Doctor lived out the personalities of his masks he became an actor, and as he gained ever greater skill in pantomime and impersonation, there was a corresponding increase in the psychological results from his treatments. Much of his early acting was while in a state of ecstasy or light trance, and so we know that his theatrics were from his own subconscious nature. In the Egyptian and Greek Mystery rituals the actors were always masked, and those portraying gods were generally accepted as the divinities themselves. When ancient writers stated that they had spoken to certain gods it generally meant that they had spoken to priests wearing the masks of those gods. This was not imposture on the part of the priests, as many moderns have assumed. The masks were known to be covering a human face, but it was an old belief that the gods abode in the likenesses of themselves. In this we find the true explanation of idols and sacred images. EARLY MEDICATION BY FETISHES AND HERBS The fetish was the beginning of formal medicine; it was the first compound used in the treatment of disease. A fetish may be defined as any material object in which a spirit, or a spiritual power is present. The fetish was some natural substance which by its appearance, or peculiar properties, appeared unusual, or it was bone, stone, or wood crudely carved into the likeness of some creature, or some ceremonial object or sacred relic. Most frequently a fetish is composed of several magical or non-magical elements, as pebbles, feathers, hairs, bones, twigs and beads, and has special virtue because of certain rites performed in the assembling of the parts, or because the particular pattern composed has traditional sanctity. Commonly the fetish is either worn on the person, or placed in the living quarters as a protection against malignant forces. Fetishes made from small objects and from herbs were sometimes swallowed; they were even inserted under the skin to increase their efficacy. This is probably the earliest form of medication. Herbs were originally used as fetishes only, but as time passed they were chewed, or they were boiled and the brew drunk, not for the sake of its chemical action but in order that its 'spirit' might thus be captured and held. Through trial and error it was gradually discovered that certain of these plants were more effective than others, and some ailments responded to one herb and some to another, thus a pharmacology was built up. Magic was the motive, medicine was the result. The evolution of fetishes is an interesting phase of the history of magical practices. As nations refined their beliefs the fetish gradually changed into the amulet. Among the Egyptians there was a wide variety of amulets -- small figures of gods, goddesses, and sacred symbols, cut from stone or molded from clay baked and glazed. These figures were pierced, so that they could be hung about the neck on a cord. So great is the number of these little charms found in the ruins of Egyptian towns that they must have been worn in profusion, many by a single person. The amulet was a charm of protection against various evils; the theory of its use was that any spirit or witch that attacked the wearer would be confronted by the likeness and power of a protecting deity. The crucifix worn by many Christians is either a symbol or an amulet, according to the motive of the wearer. If he believes that the symbol protects him in any way, the cross becomes an amulet. The amulet evolved into the talisman. This is a magical charm decorated with cabalistic formulas or mystical designs calculated to protect the owner against physical or metaphysical hazards. It is usually of metal -- silver preferred. Talismans of one class, shaped to resemble parts and organs of the body, were worn to ensure, or to restore health in the parts which they represented. Such talismans were sometimes hung in the temples or churches, as votive offerings or as appeals for help. In oriental countries, especially, will be found a third type of talisman. These are small cases containing prayers or extracts from the sacred writings, and are worn by holy men, or those making pilgrimages to important shrines. Also among Islamic peoples are many talismanic jewels, beautifully inscribed. A small charm in the shape of an open hand is a favorite among the Arabic nations; it represents the hand of Fatima, daughter of Mohammed. It may be well to note that in considerable volume charms are manufactured for use in trading with savage tribes. These fetishes include most of the desired types, those popular in different districts, and all are made according to the best native specifications. These charms are made in England for use throughout the colonial empire, and the traveler should remember this when he is searching for aboriginal religious trinkets. It is quite likely his rare old juju from West Africa originated in London. ORIGIN OF THE RELIC It is only a short step from the talisman to the holy relic. This important object in modern religious practice also had its origin in the world of the Witch Doctor. When the savage slew an exceptionally powerful animal, or killed a renowned warrior in battle, he would keep some part of the body of the vanquished, that he might in this way gain strength from its spirit. Frequently the Witch Doctor's magical instruments were formed from human or animal bones. Bowls and drums made from human skulls are to be seen on Tibetan altars, and decorations of bones adorn the fronts of the Witch Doctors' huts. Buddhism makes much of relics, and the tooth of Buddha in Calcutta is the object of annual celebrations. (A parade through the streets to the temple of the Sacred Tooth was once held for my benefit). Most Buddhist shrines have been built over remains of great arhats, and small reliquaries containing bits of bone or the ashes of some saint are carried about by both the priest and the laity. As in the Christian faith, these relics are believed to have the power to cure disease and bestow sanctity. When European kings grew weary of bestowing the 'Royal Touch' for scrofula, these thoughtful princes devised the scheme of coining touchpieces to accomplish the cures. These golden coins are a combination of talisman and relic: their magical powers were talismanic, but they were relics by association with the king who could heal by 'Divine Right.' These touchpieces are still occasionally met with in Scotland, where they are regarded as excellent remedies for some ailments, especially those of the skin. THE WITCH DOCTOR'S PRACTICES NOT EVIL The practices of the Witch Doctor are now called witchcraft, but this is misleading, in the present meaning of the word. Witchcraft is the survival of the old dark magic of Lemuria. Wherever in the world the black people are to be found, the shadow of the Witch Doctor hangs over them, and his wild spirit is in their blood. Witchcraft, as practiced by savage races, is not a perversion of mystical doctrines, as most persons think. It is the way that was old long before men had recognized and differentiated between good and bad. As some races grew more rapidly than others and refined their beliefs, it became the custom to regard primitive beliefs as evil. If this is sound theology, it is not a very enlightened attitude -- to assume that the priest of any cult other than your own is the servant of the devil. Believing that disease was a spirit wandering about in the nights seeking for something to afflict, the Witch Doctor was faced with a delicate problem when he forced such a spirit out of his patient. If the spirit was left without habitation it might reasonably resent its condition, attack the entire village, destroy the inhabitants and their flocks. So the spirit had to be kept happy, even when deprived of its victim. There was only one way: it had to be coaxed into finding a new abode, one as desirable as possible. An old method was to select a scapegoat and sacrifice him for the good of the whole tribe. All sacrifices were originally made to appease the wrath of spirits and ghosts. Another way was to capture the spirit in some fetish and leave the charm where another would find it, and thus become the victim of the spirit's desire for lodgings. This might not seem exactly ethical, but self-preservation was the law of the wilds; so whoever found the fetish had to find his own way to get rid of the unwelcome guest. The reputed power of the Witch Doctor to assume the forms of various animals and birds probably originated from his use of masks and costumes. This belief spread to every corner of the earth, in universal acceptance of were-wolves, were-tigers, were-bats, and were-owls. The form assumed by the Witch Doctor was determined by the local attitude toward animals and the fauna of the vicinity, but the principle remained the same. Lycanthropy is folklore associated with the name of Lycaon, mythical king of Arcadia, who was changed into a wolf by Zeus who was offended because the king made him an offering of human flesh. In many myths persons are changed into animals as punishment for evil deeds, but in most cases these merely signify that the animal nature dominates vicious persons and they become human beasts. Accounts of lycanthropy do not imply that the physical body of the wizard or witch changed into a wolf, but rather that the soul or 'double' of the sorcerer assumed the appearance of the wolf.
A story reached me recently about a were-owl in one of the American Government Indian Schools some few years back. The story is vouched for by a participant in the incident. Several boys were sleeping on an enclosed screen porch when they were awakened by a screech-owl that in some way had gotten through the screen. The boys immediately decided that it was a were-owl, and attacked it with shoes and sticks -- finally killing it. The Indian boys then dressed and took the bird into the forest nearby, and then traveled some three miles to the house of the suspected witch. As they approached they heard the old woman howling and crying out as if in great pain. They threw the dead owl on her front steps and returned to the school. The next day they learned that the old woman was dead. All agreed they had killed a witch. When witches planned to go to the Sabbat, become werewolves, or vampires, or to travel to distant places, they threw themselves into trances or comas and went forth in spirit bodies or doubles. If they were injured in this magical body the physical form suffered the same misfortune. Here is an indication that at least one phase of the witchcraft doctrine belongs to the phenomena of the subconscious mind. If research in thought transference fulfills the present expectancy, it is possible that the mental purposes of the sorcerer might be felt by the intended victim; and he might see, in his dreams, the form which the witch had desired to assume. INEXPLAINABLE MODERN WITCHCRAFT The mental effect of believing oneself bewitched is demoralizing to persons who are not ordinarily superstitious. Many white men have been driven out of primitive countries by the workings of Witch Doctors. The human mind is very sensitive to phobias and fixations, even when the beliefs are against every conviction of the conscious intellect. Many times, men and women have emphatically stated to me that they did not believe in witchcraft; then added that it is just as well to leave it alone, and not stir up mysterious things. A planter returning from Java told me that to excite the animosity of the natives was a serious misfortune. When these people are angered strange things happen which cannot be explained by any knowledge that we have today. He told me how the family of one plantation owner was tormented into leaving the island -- a stream of mud and filth fell in the various rooms of the house; it seemed to come through the ceiling, in showers of refuse that plagued them for months. Much witch lore is susceptible of reasonable explanation and has no foundation in the practices of the Witch Doctor. The celebrated Brocken, the mountain of the witches in the Black Forest of Germany, was a figment of ecclesiastical imagination and fanaticism. The Brocken, regarded as the site of the infernal Sabbat, was really a place where the old pagans kept up their pre-Christian rites long after the rise of the Church. As all the old Mysteries were institutions of Satan, according to the Fathers, it did not take long for their pronouncements to infect the public mind. The result was a belief in sorcery that is without parallel in history. Thus we see that from the jungle hut of the savage's Witch Doctor together came forth sciences and superstitions, arts and artifices, spirits and sprites, ghosts and goblins, faiths and fetishes. Like the fabulous Banyan tree of India, whose branches fell to earth and taking root became trees in their turn, the primitive magic of the Witch Doctor extended itself throughout the world. Most of the respected beliefs of modern times are but a refinement of his old doctrines. It would seem that we also owe to this jungle sorcerer the discovery and first use of intoxicating beverages, when he found that certain herbs affected his mind and made easier the trances that he needed in his ministry. The Egyptians believed that the blood of ancient warriors fell into the earth and was absorbed by the roots of the grape; to them drunkenness was possession by the spirits battling in the veins of the drinker, as they once had in life. Even into classical times wine was regarded as the blood of Dionysus, and the frenzies which it caused were sacred to the rites of that god. The use of wine in modern sacraments is the direct descent of a rite from the Dionysiac Mysteries of Greece. DOCTORS AS THE FIRST ADMINISTRATORS OF LAW In the beginning of his power the Witch Doctor used his knowledge largely for the preservation of his tribe, so as time went on it became also his duty to punish those who violated the taboos. He was therefore the first administrator of the law. Tribal organization demanded complete obedience to the traditions, the ways of the "olds." To disobey was to depart from the tribe. If the violation was slight, it might be punished in some lesser way; but if the fault was of large import, death was the penalty. Somewhere in this mystery conscience was born. The inner-voice warning to obey was coupled to fear of the consequences of departure from the hereditary laws. The supernatural powers attributed to the Witch Doctor played an important part in the development of conscience, for it was believed that he could tell the thoughts of men and the schemes in their hearts. In The Emperor Jones, the play by Eugene O'Neil, the wrongdoers punish themselves by their own sense of guilt; in long ago times the Witch Doctor gained the credit. We know conscience as a kind of fear that will defeat a man even if he is immune to other forms of punishment. Conscience was the first-born of taboos. Somewhere in the long ago the Witch Doctor came to realize the fuller possibilities that his position offered. Because there was no evidence of honesty in the universe about him, no incentive or example to direct the course of magical arts, he was tempted to use his mystical powers for his own gain. It was natural that the sorcerer should exploit the fear and respect in which he was held, and thus make himself master not only over the spirits of his people, but their bodies as well. Whatever wealth the tribesmen had, finally came to him in payment for his numerous services. The Witch Doctor seldom aspired to be a chief; he was content to rule the rulers. That gave him added protection for himself. And in the natural course of things he was inevitably inspired to 'make friends and influence people.' Because he could, and did, curse his enemies, make spells to bewitch them, transfer disease to them, these were ways to so intimidate the poor savages that they were afraid to refuse any of the magician's wishes. This development complicated the practice of the reputable Witch Doctor, and vastly increased the prestige of the unscrupulous practitioner. It was now necessary to fight one spell with another, and the primordial man through most of his life was either bewitched or under treatment. The Witch Doctors had many an occult battle among themselves, vieing with one another to concoct infernal brews and diabolic enchantments. This was the beginning of those strange, evil practices that were to chill the hearts of Europeans for more than fifteen hundred years when the witch cult was revived in the opening centuries of the Christian era. In Africa, the missionary and the Witch Doctor are still struggling for control over the soul of the Dark Continent. A converted native appeared for help recently at one of the mission stations. The old gods were angry, because this man had joined the new faith; a demon had appeared in the house and was tormenting the negro and his family. The evil spirit had hair like whiplashes, and beat the converts with its head until their bodies were masses of bleeding welts. What did the missionaries do? Well, what could they do? They were representatives of a faith that has long taught miracles, and the casting out of devils; but these well meaning men lacked the power to perform even one small miracle that would benefit this afflicted family. THE USE AND ABUSE OF MAGIC Some degree of primitive ethics is nearly everywhere present in the forms of witchcraft that exist in our world of today. Perversions of magical powers are regarded with general disapproval, even by remote African tribes, and hatred for the Witch Doctor suspected of evil practices is now quite common, even among his own followers, for the processes of growth are at work everywhere in nature, and in human nature. The Vodun, or Voodoo, rites of Haiti abound in witchcraft and wizardry, being of African origin. But a clear line is drawn between the use and abuse of magic. The houngan is the wonder-working priest of the Vodun cult; the bocar is the wizard or sorcerer. In his recent work, The Haitian People, James G. Leyburn writes: "A respectable houngan will not permit himself to dabble in evil magic, destined to bring misfortune to someone else; but such work is the stock in trade of the bocar, who knows the dangers of his profession yet is willing to run the risk for the sake of high profit." DEVIL DOLLS One of the most common forms of Black Magic, based on old beliefs, are the 'devil dolls.' These are small images of a person, carved from wood, or merely made by stuffing cloth with straw or sawdust and drawing the face of the victim on the knob representing the head. I have had opportunities to examine a number of these dolls, and in a few cases photographs of the person against whom they were to be used had been cut out and pasted on the doll. This practice is founded in the belief about masks and idols, that the victim is attached to the doll by the sympathetic magic of likeness. But to further assure the effectiveness of the 'devil dolls' it is customary to include in their assembly something that has belonged to the object of the intended sorcery. A strand of hair or fingernail parings are first choice, but a bit of clothing or a piece of a shoe will do. Thus is the living victim further bound to the doll by the psychic effluvium remaining in bits of his personal belongings. With the doll completed, certain rites were performed over it, the magical powers of nature invoked to aid in the evil work. Then the doll was variously tortured; pins were stuck into it, cuts were made in the arms and legs, red-hot irons were put against its body, and at last a knife or pin was thrust through the region of the heart. According to magic, the victim, regardless of distance, suffered all the pains that were inflicted on the doll, and with the last thrust of the knife or pin -- he died. When Catherine de Medici brought the Ruggieri from Italy to be her sorcerers, she learned from them the secrets of the 'devil dolls.' This Queen of France went so far as to break these little effigies on a miniature rack, in order to increase the suffering of the enemies they represented. It was a common belief that she disposed of many persons in this way. There was a troubled moment in France when one of these dolls was found made to represent the Queen herself. From the Court of Catherine it is a long way to some little pueblo of the American southwest, but here the 'devil dolls' are still to be found, performing their same weird duties -- as in the case of an Indian woman who, jealous of the skillful fingers of another rug weaver, made a doll and broke its hands, thus to destroy her rival's skill. The fear that savage peoples have of being photographed or even painted rests in the belief that any harm that may come to the pictures will react upon them. They do not even like to tell their names nor will they give to strangers intimate personal belongings unless they are certain of the individual's integrity. The man of today's civilization feels that he has outgrown the magic of the primordial world. When he hears of hexing in Pennsylvania, voodoo in Louisiana, or of an outbreak of witchcraft in New Mexico, he smiles indulgently, wonders how such things can be in enlightened times. His belief is sincere that in the newer and saner way of life he has left behind forever the chanting and the drums. But he cannot escape hearing them; the very basis of modern jazz is the African rhythm, the response to it is mankind's reawakening to old, very old memories. The modern world is young, the jungle is old; the jungle ways were once our ways, and they are not easily forgotten. Within each of us lingers something of the older magic; somewhere in each of us the old ways are calling, calling us back to the dance and the drum. If science fails us, we seek again the Witch Doctor with a strange deep confidence that magic cannot fail. Though we deny miracles, we live each day in full expectancy of the miraculous. Sober reason is our outward boast, but our inner conviction harkens back to the wailing chant of the Witch Doctor. We deny him with our tongues, but in our hearts we still believe in his magic. He is part of our racial heritage, part of the blood and bone of our kind. Many a proud edifice of modern learning is but the lengthened shadow of a jungle den, where Witch Doctors of old burned the bones of the great cave bear ... so that ghosts could come and hover in the smoke. |
