Zambezia (1980), VIII (ii).WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWIN ZIMBABWE*G.L. CHAVUNDUKADepartment of Sociology, University of Zimbabwe|jTHE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY has beenin existence since the establishment of jthis university. I am, therefore, in a happy position of having behind me the work Iof my predecessors, Professor J. Clyde Mitchell and Professor D.H. Reader and \others who have worked in my department over the years. Their solid andpenetrating research and publications have brought sociological studies here to avery high level. Because the Sociology Department has been in existence for along time, I will not give you a formal description of the content of this subjectwhich, I believe, is now widely known; instead I will focus narrowly upon onearea of sociological researchŠwitchcraft and the law in Zimbabwe.The subject of witchcraft continues to create controversy here and in manyother parts of the world. Whenever discussion on this issue begins people usuallyfall into two groups. In the first group are those who say witches do not exist, andin the second group are those who say witches do exist. I suspect that this is theposition today.In Zimbabwe this difference of opinion extends to the courts of law. There isconflict on the subject of witchcraft between the traditional courts and the formalcourts.1 Traditional courts agree that witches exist while the formal courts saywitches do not exist. My object is to attempt to resolve this conflictbetween traditional courts and formal courts. In doing this I shall draw togethersome of the important points about witchcraft that have been made, not only bysociologists and social anthropologists, but also by traditional medical practi-tioners and the courts of law. My material will be drawn mainly from Zimbabwefor three reasons. The first reason is that witchcraft ideas are not universal,although they are widespread, but belief in witches does exist here. Secondly,whether anyone ever tries to be a witch and actually performs witchcraft is aquestion that has to be separately determined in each society that one studies. Wehave information on this matter in Zimbabwe. The third reason is that my mainemphasis, as I have already indicated, will be on the two different approaches tothe problem of witchcraft taken by the courts in Zimbabwe.Traditional courts, as I have already pointed out, accept the view thatwitches exist In the past, once an individual was found guilty of practisingwitchcraft, he or she was sentenced by the court The sentence took various* An inaugural lecture delivered before the University of Zimbabwe on 2 October 1980.1 At present traditional courts apply customary law. Any village headman can hold a court totry to solve conflict within his community. If the headman cannot solve a case it is taken to a wardheadman or sub-chief. The highest court in the traditional legal system is the Chiefs court The formallegal system consists of the District Commissioner's court, Magistrate's court and the High CourtThese courts apply the law of Zimbabwe although District Commissioners' courts apply or attempt toapply customary law as well. There is also a Court of Appeal for African civil cases and the AppellateDivision.129130WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWforms. In extreme cases the witch was beaten or even killed. Other witches wereordered to leave the village and had their houses destroyed. Ostracism was themildest form of punishment Some witches were cured. In such a case a doctorwas ordered to neutralize or eliminate the evil spirit that possessed the witch.Although many traditional courts as well as family gatherings still try certaincases of witchcraft, legally they are no longer permitted to do so. According to thelaw of Zimbabwe such cases must be referred to the formal courts. Cases ofwitchcraft now come under the Witchcraft Suppression Act (Cap. 73), originallypassed in 1899, which has remained unchanged to this day (see Appendix).The Witchcraft Suppression Act is regarded by the traditional courts as avery unjust piece of legislation because the aim of the Act is not to punish witchesbut those individuals who name others as witches. In 1899 the legislature made itclear in the Act that, although certain people may genuinely believe in witchcraft,it regarded the whole practice of witchcraft as a pretence and a sham, somethingwhich in actual fact has no real existence at all. Thus in the Act witchcraft isreferred to as 'so-called witchcraft'. The Witchcraft Suppression Act is aimed atfive categories of persons. Firstly, any person who names or indicates any otherperson as being a witch is guilty of an offence. The second category of personsaffected by the Act are persons referred to as 'witch-doctors'; any person whonames or indicates any other person as being a witch and is proved at his trial to beby habit and repute a 'witch-doctor' or witch-finder faces a heavy sentence.Thirdly, it is an offence to employ or solicit any other person to name or indicatethieves and other wrong-doers by means of witchcraft; similarly, a person whoemploys someone to advise him or any other person how by means of witchcraftsuch thieves or wrong-doers may be identified, commits an offence. The fourthgroup of persons affected by the Act are those who claim to have a knowledge ofwitchcraft or of the use of charms; it is an offence to advise someone how tobewitch any person or animal or to supply someone with what the Act callsŁpretended means of witchcraft'. Lastly, anyone who, 'on the advice of a witch-doctor or witch-finder or any person pretending to have the knowledge ofwitchcraft or the use of charms, or in the exercise of any pretended knowledge ofwitchcraft or of the use of charms, uses or causes to be put into operation suchmeans or processes as he may have been advised or may believe to be calculatedto injure any other person or any property, including animals, shall be guilty of anoffence' (section 7). In other words anyone attempting to practise what the Actrefers to as 'so-called witchcraft' is also guilty.Thus officials of the formal courts of Zimbabwe see their job as eradicatingthe belief in witchcraft which some people hold. To them the witch does not exist,and any person who purports to locate him and render him harmless is the realpublic enemy.This is not to say that officials of the formal courts agree completely with theWitchcraft Suppression Act. Some African lawyers, for example, appear to havesome doubts in their minds concerning the correctness of the Act. In one case anindividual, whom I shall call John, was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonmentwith hard labour for accusing another person of being a witch. The womanaccused of witchcraft by John became so unhappy that this brought her to a pointG.L CHAVUNDUKA 131where she actually contemplated taking her life. This factor influenced themagistrate in passing sentence. John's counsel, an African, was not happy withthe sentence passed by the magistrate. He asked that the case be referred to theHigh Court. In his submission to the High Court, John's counsel argued that inarriving at his conclusion the magistrate attached insufficient weight to theelement of witchcraft in the case. The counsel went on: 'Had the accused'simputation been baseless, it is unlikely that the complainant would havecontemplated so drastic a step as suicide'. This submission by counsel angeredthe judge of the High Court. The judge pointed out that the implication of thosewords was clear. The counsel, said the judge,is suggesting that the imputation made might well have been justifiedand that this court should not pay too much attention to the misery shehas suffered as a result of it. I find it disturbing that such a submissionshould have been made by Counsel in this court. I hope that I shall notagain hear a submission of this nature from Counsel. This submissionindicates the hold which witchcraft has in this country and the need fordeterrent sentences to stamp out the attendant evil practices.2This conflict on the subject of witchcraft between the traditional courts andthe formal courts is due to a number of reasons. The first reason concerns thedefinition of witchcraft. In the Witchcraft Suppression Act, witchcraft is definedas, "the throwing of bones, the use of charms and any other means or devicesadopted in the practice of sorcery'. As a matter of fact, this definition, which hasremained unchanged to this day, says nothing about witches and witchcraft.Throwing of bones is not necessarily done to identify or drive out witches, as manycourt officials now realize.3 Throwing of bones is a means of divination, that is tosay, a means by which a diviner or medical practitioner determines, or attempts todetermine, who or what caused an illness or other misfortune complained of by anindividual or a group. Another widely employed means of divination in traditionalmedical practice is spirit possession. Illnesses or misfortunes are not alwaysattributed to witchcraft. There are other possible causes of illness such asancestor spirits, angered or aggrieved spirits, bacteria and germs. Once the causeof the illness is discovered, treatment may be with medicines, ritual, or acombination of medicines and ritual. In some cases no medicines or ritual may berecommended.Many charms have nothing to do with witchcraft. A large part of thetraditional healer's practice is concerned with prescribing remedies and preventivecharms. Some of these charms confer or are believed to confer immunity againstspecific types of illness or to protect the individual against misfortune. Other2 Timothy Chivanga v. S, Judgment No. A.D. 149/2l:Crim. Appeal No 646/71 IwouMiiteto thank the Attorney-General, Mr Brendan Treacy, who allowed me to read records of witchcraftcases in his custody. I am also indebted to DrM.F.C. Bourdillon, Dr A.P. Cheater MrA. Hodza,Mr J. Kumbirai and Professor M. Gelfand for discussing certain aspects of witchcraft and totcttywith me.J Tredgold, J. (as he then was) pointed out thafit is not every aspect of the practice of witchcraftwhich is punishable under chap. 46. It is only certain practices which endanger human lift or affectproperty', Rex v. Maposa 1943 S R 194.132 WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWcharms confer or are believed to confer positive benefits such as physicalstrength, attractiveness to the opposite sex and other desirable qualities. Thereare other charms that are believed to protect an individual or a group ofindividuals against witchcraft.Another source of misunderstanding in the field of witchcraft was the failureon the part of the legislators to make a distinction between witchcraft and sorcery.Both terms are used interchangeably throughout the Witchcraft Suppression ActBut these are two different concepts. A witch is defined in social anthropology asa person in whom dwells a distinctive and inherent evilness, whereby he harms hisfellows in mysteriously secret ways. Often it is thought that the witch need merelywish to harm his victim and his witchcraft then does this, or it may be enough forhim merely to feel annoyance or jealousy against someone for the power to setitself in operation without his being aware of the fact that it has done so. Witchesare thought able to do extraordinary things which are beyond the capabilities ofordinary human beings. They are thought capable of travelling great distances atnight, or of having the ability to turn themselves into hyenas, or of going out inspirit and killing a victim while their bodies remain at home in bed.4While witchcraft is seen as something intrinsic to the person, to his soul orhis personality, sorcery is intrinsic tothese entities, being merely a technique or atool employed by an individual under certain circumstances. Recourse to sorceryis always on a deliberate, conscious, voluntary basis. A sorcerer may causeillness or kill his fellows by blowing medicine towards them; by putting poison inhis victim's food, drink or tobacco; or by concealing the poison or the poisonousobjects on a path where the victim will pass.The Shona or Ndebele term for a witch has also led to misunderstandings inthe practice of law. Muroyi or umthakathi means a witch, a sorcerer, a poisoner,a person who fails to carry out the necessary rituals for his dead relatives, a personwho commits an anti-social act or even just a troublemaker.5 Thus when a Shonaor Ndebele person accuses another person of witchcraft, he may well be right,because in society there are troublemakers; there are people who commit anti-social acts such as incest; there are people who burn or attempt to burn otherpeople's property secretly at night; there are people who fail to carry out thenecessary rituals for their dead relatives, and so on.The two types of courts recognize these social aspects of witchcraftaccusation.6 Traditional courts, for example, know that sometimes it is nothelpful to try and prove whether an individual accused of witchcraft is in fact awitch. They have discovered from experience that in many cases it is more usefulto examine the events that led to the accusation of witchcraft and to attempt to4 J. Middleton and E.H. Winter, Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa (London, Routledge&Kegan Paul, 1963), 3.5 When pressed to make a distinction between a witch and a sorcerer, the Shona and Ndebeleusually describe a witch as one who operates at night and a sorcerer as one who operates during theday.'The formal courts have now ruled that merely calling a person a witch is not an offence. Forexample, a witch-doctor who indicates any other person as a witch commits no offence unless he alsoimputes to such person the use of non-natural means in causing any disease in any person or animal orin causing any injury to any person or property. Rex v. Nyomoceke 1947 (3) S A 9 (S.R.).G.L CHAVUNDUKA 133solve the social problems involved. I observed in one traditional court where Iworked that many people who came to the court to accuse others of witchcraftwere not seeking a legal decision on the matter. They came to the court to look forassistance in resolving their social problems. Although formal courts alsorecognize the social functions of witchcraft accusations, no attempt is usuallymade to identify and to try to solve the underlying social problems.Accusations of witchcraft are almost always preceded by tension andconflict within the household, village or community. This tension may be theresult of conflict over succession, or may come from misunderstandings over thedistribution of family wealth or some other dispute. Tension created in this waythen finds expression in accusations of witchcraft, especially when other avenuesof expression are sealed off, or costly, so that the "witch', that is, the personcausing the trouble, can be publicly identified and dealt with.Those who accuse one another of witchcraft or sorcery are people who oughtto like each other but in fact do not There is tension between them. When such atension becomes insupportable, the only ways to resolve it are reconciliation orrupture.7 Reconciliation can be achieved in three main ways: by discussion at thefamily or village level, by asking for forgiveness, or by going to court Wherereconciliation is not preferred, an attempt is made to break off relationsaltogether. Relations may be broken off by techniques such as divorce, by leavingthe neighbourhood, or by an open legal challenge. If this does not give satisfactionor is inappropriate, the individual may resort to sorcery or witchcraft There areinstances where legal mechanisms for settling a dispute are lacking; then sorceryor witchcraft becomes the only possible form of action.The distinction already made between witchcraft and sorcery is importantbecause it can be demonstrated fairly easily that sorcerers exist in this society.Medicines used by sorcerers to harm otherpeople are derived from plants that canbe pointed out and examined. Nowadays some sorcerers use arsenic cattle dip,insecticides and other poisons. Thus when a Shona or Ndebele person accusesanother person of witchcraft, in this case meaning sorcery, again he may well beright.In Zimbabwe sorcery techniques fall into three broad types. First there arethose techniques which involve the use of medicines or poisons. Here the sorcererputs medicine or poison in the victim's food, drink, tobacco pipe, and so on.Formal courts, in fact, often investigate this type of sorcery, although these casesare not labelled as such. Where an individual had died and it is believed that apoison may have been used the courts usually make an attempt to discover theactual cause of death. In such cases formal courts usually rely on the post-mortemexamination. Many people have been sentenced for murder or attempted murder,rather than sorcery or witchcraft, as a result of such investigations. Where thesorcerer has indicated to the police the plants or roots used to harm anotherindividual, such plants or roots are sometimes tested in order to determinewhether they are poisonous. But there are many sorcerers who escape conviction.One problem is that many subjects to such sorcery do not die in hospital and7 U.P. Mayer. Witches (Grahamstown. Rhodes University, inaugural lecture, 1954). 8.i134WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWtherefore no post-mortem examination is carried out before burial. Anotherproblem is that many accusations of witchcraft or sorcery are made long after thedeath of an individual and as a result nothing suspicious may be revealed at thetime of the post-mortem examination if it i s attempted. The third problem, relatedto the previous one, is that many organic poisons are in any case hard to detect atpost-mortem.The second and third types of sorcery often do psychological rather thanphysical harm to those who believe in sorcery. The second type is where thesorcerer plants poison or dangerous objects on a path or in the victim's home sothat people coming into contact with them become sick. The third type of sorcerytechniques is of those which are said to operate at a distance without actualphysical contact; an example is the gona in Shona country, which is usuallyan animal's horn with medicines in it The gona itself is harmless, but it is anoffence to use such a charm for the purpose of injuring somebody because throughfear it can cause injury to persons or property or do psychological harm to thosewho believe that it possesses occult powers.8 Similarly poison or poisonous objectsor harmless roots placed on a path or in someone's home sometimes do causepsychosomatic illness especially when coupled by threats. There are certainconventional phrases often used in the heat of an argument which are alwaysconstrued as threats of sorcery or witchcraft and there are instances of personswho become sick as a result of being convinced that they have been so bewitched.Let me summarize this first part of my discussion. When an individual in thissociety accuses another of witchcraft he may well be right, bearing in mind theNdebele and Shona definitions of witchcraft Firstly, he may be saying that theaccused is a bad person who ought to be helped to conform, such as a wife whocannot be easily controlled by her husband; a man who is envious of others; aperson who goes his own way despite the objections of neighbours; a person whorefuses to meet important obligations to his kinsmen and so on. Secondly when anNdebele or Shona person accuses another of 'witchcraft', he may in fact bereferring to direct sorcery and again he may well be right Sorcerers exist althoughthey are perhaps not as numerous as we are led to believe. Lastly, a person whoaccuses another of witchcraft may be referring to 'indirect' sorcery, that is,medicines, poisons or strange objects planted somewhere with the intention ofharming those who see them or come into contact with them. These aretechniques which can injure or do psychological harm to those who believe inthem.I now turn to the 'real' witches, that is, those people who are said to eatcorpses, dance naked in the fields at night and cause sickness, death and othermisfortunes. This is the most controversial category in this broad subject ofwitchcraft and sorcery. Accepting a basic premise of Western academic thought,a premise expressed in many sociological and anthropological studies, the formalcourts have taken the view that witchcraft is a myth; that witchcraft beliefs arebased upon an essentially mistaken view of the world; that witches do not existexcept in the minds of certain people. Professor E.H. Winter, an authority on" See, for example R. v. Wirimayi 1956 (1) S A 223.G.L CHAVUNDUKA 135witchcraft in Africa, has stated that, 'there is no reason to think that anyone does infact practise witchcraft or even that anyone could practise it'.* More recentlyanother authority on African societies, Professor I.M. Lewis of LondonUniversity, also declared:I certainly do not believe in witchcraft. I make this declaration becauseone of my aims in this discussionis to show that we do not need to shareother people's beliefs in order to understand them sympathetically: wecan see the sense in beliefs even when we are convinced they are based onfalse premises.10Thus in my discipline the study of witchcraft is almost exclusively theobjective study of the beliefs which people have about the capabilities andactivities of others and the actions which they take to avoid attack, or to counterattacks when people believe that they have occurred. This approach was clearlystated by Professor Philip Mayer of Rhodes University when he said:Social Anthropology then, is concerned with finding out what is thebasic reality underlying witchcraft ideas. When I say reality I do notmean physical fact Even the most optimistic fieldworker does notexpect to see anyone flying on those well-known broomsticks. The kindof reality we are searching for is social and psychological. Thewitchcraft belief, and the persecution of witches, are a response tosocial and psychological strains. The more exactly we can identifythese strains, the better we can hope to understand the response."The basic social and psychological realities underlying witchcraft ideas havebeen well documented by fieldworkers since the pioneering days of Evans-Pritchard.12 It has been shown that accusations of witchcraft usually expressareas of tension in social relationships. At times these accusations act as a forcebuttressing the moral code of society. Many studies have also emphasized theimportance of witchcraft beliefs in explaining misfortune. The witchcraft idea issometimes invoked as a concept for explaining the deeper or indirect causation ofevents which seem unnatural. Thus an individual who believes in witchcraft mightattempt to understand by reference to it why for instance his child died suddenly.In the few pages that follow I would like to examine other aspects of thewitchcraft problem that lead to the continuing controversy in Zimbabwe betweenbelievers in witchcraft and the non-believers. In many societies witches are ofvarious types and these types need to be separately examined. It is also importantto make a clear distinction between the various concepts such as witchcraft powerand the practice or attempted practice of witchcraft, between a psychic act and aphysical act, between ritual and medicine.In Zimbabwe there are three main types of witches. The first type of witch isone who is possessed or is said to be possessed by a spirit of a deceased member of9 E. H. Winter' The enemy within: Amba witchcraft and sociological theory', in Middleton andWinter, Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa, 280.10 I.M. Lewis, Social Anthropology in Perspective (Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, 1976),68.11 Mayer, Witches, 4-7.12E.E. Evans-Pritchard, Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande (London,Oxford, 1937).136WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWthe family who was also a witch; or a grandchild inheriting it from hergrandmother and so on. The second type of witch is one who is possessed or is saidto be possessed by a stranger or alien spirit This kind of witchcraft may or maynot become hereditary. A stranger or alien spirit is the spirit of a person from someother clan or tribal group who died uncared for, or perhaps was not properlyburied according to custom. It is believed that the spirit of such a person maywander restlessly until it settles on someone. An individual possessed by an evilspirit, either an ancestral or an alien spirit, may or may not be aware that he is awitch. Usually when such an individual is possessed by the spirit he doeswhatever the spirit demands of him. The third type of witch is one who wassponsored by a practising witch. Any person can be made a witch by anotherwitch. In this case the individual who wants to become a witch is given somemedicine and also serves some sort of apprenticeship. Some later receive or claimthat they have received from their sponsors an evil spirit for use at nightLet me describe in some detail the activities of a sponsored witch becausethis type of witch has not been adequately studied in the past.'3 A number of suchwitches in fact make confessions about their activities in church, in court, orduring the course of investigations by police into the commission of criminaloffences. In one case, for example, three women, Mazvita, Puna and Netsayi,were committed for trial on a charge of attempted murder or alternatively ofcontravening Section 7 of the Witchcraft Suppression Act.14 The charge wasmade as a result of the death of Mukhozo, the husband of Mazvita The threewomen admitted both at the traditional court and in the High Court, firstly, thatthey were witches, and secondly, that they bewitched Mukozho. They were,however, acquitted by the High CourtMukozho became sick about the beginning of October 1958. His stomachwas swollen as well as his legs. By 4 December, he was very sick; his face wasnow swollen as well and he had open sores on his lips. He died on 8 December1958. The three women told both the traditional court and the High Court that thedeath of Mukozho was planned by them at a meeting they held at the beginning ofOctober. It was agreed at the meeting that each woman would prepare somemedicine for this purpose. On the agreed date the three women went to the spotnear the village where they always met before their evening excursions. Onewoman produced pounded roots of a bush which she said has no proper name butis known locally as mushonga (medicine) for bewitching. The second womancame with powder which she said was the ground skin of a snake, and the thirdwoman produced a powder which she said was the heart of a lioa Thesemedicines were mixed with beer and placed in an open calabash. I will let Mazvitadescribe how they bewitched her husband:The three of us went to the hut where my husband was sleeping. He wason his left side and we turned him so that he lay on his back with his head13 M Gelfand, The African Witch (Edinburgh, E. and S. Livingstone, 1976), 25, andR. Crawford, Witchcraft and Sorcery in Rhodesia, (London, Oxford Univ. Press, 1967), 111, makethe point that a person can be made a witch by another witch but they do not separately examine thistype of witch.14 ft v. Mazvita and Others: extracts from the recordofthe preparatory examination have beenreproduced in more detail by Crawford, Witchcraft and Sorcery in Rhodesia, 49-56.G.L CHAVUNDUKA 137slightly to one side. Puna held my husband's mouth open and I madehim drink. After he had drunk we laid him in the position in which wehad found him. We covered him with a blanket and then left him. Iremained with my husband. We did not do anything further. After fourdays I found that the deceased was ill.Statements made by Netsayi and Puna were very similar to that made byMazvita. Part of Netsayi's statement was as follows:I live in the same kraal as Mazvita and Puna. I have been very friendlywith these two women for the last two years. Early this year, 1958,Puna approached me and asked whether she could give me mushonga(medicine) to enable me to 'travel atnight', that is, to be able to bewitchpeople. I agreed to do this and I was instructed to meet her and Mazvitaat a certain place in the bush near the kraal in the vicinity of three trees. .. That same night after dark I went to the area of the three trees andthere I met Puna and Mazvita. I was instructed to sit down with myback to one of the trees with my knees bent Puna then approached me. Icould see her rubbing something in her hands and this appeared to be awhite ointment. She rubbed this ointment all over my face and as shedid so she said she wanted me to accompany them in their nightexcursions so that we should be three.Referring to the night when the three women said they bewitched Mukozho,Netsayi said:The three of us entered the hut of Mazvita Mukozho, the deceased, waslying on the floor asleep on his side. I assisted Puna in holding thedeceased's body upright It was then that I saw Mazvita with thebillican lid which I now saw contained what appeared to be beer. Sheheld this to the deceased's mouth and forced him to drink the contents.He appeared to be asleep. He drank all the contents... After the beerhad been given to the deceased, Puna and I returned to our respectivehuts. After this night the deceased became ill.On 12 December 1958, the three women indicated to police officers certainevidence in support of their submission. The police were taken to a stream nearthe village where they were shown three trees where the women said they alwaysmet before going on their night excursions. Each woman indicated to the policeher own tree and stood near it The police were also taken to a place in the bushclose to the village where they were shown a plant which the women said was usedfor bewitching people. Another plant was also indicated to the police in a bushnear the village but in the opposite direction to that previously taken. The policeexamined these various plants but reported that they were not poisonous." Andnothing suspicious was revealed by the post-mortem on Mukuzho. There aremany cases reported similar to the one that I have just described.Advocate Crawford, who has examined many cases of witchcraft confessionin the formal courts of Zimbabwe, discovered a number of similar features in15 The first plant was identified as Teramnus liabialis (L.f.) Spring; the second as Acalphaalenii Hutch; and the third as of the Dolichos species. The women reported that the medicine forbewitching is prepared by taking off the outer skin of the main root, waiting until it becomes dry andthen grinding it into powder which is then mixed with a fluid, Crawford, Witehcrafi and Sorcery inRhodesia, 56.138 WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWthese accounts.16 The first interesting feature is that these witches tend to operatein groups. Secondly, many witches of the type already described say they usemedicines to bewitch their fellows at night in much the same way as sorcerers do.The third striking feature of the evidence is the degree of corroboration betweenthe various witnesses. Lastly, it may be asked why they confess at all. In theformal courts such persons are not forced to confess, since this sort of evidence isusually regarded as of doubtful relevance. Crawford writes: 'These cases [ofwitchcraft confessions] also raise the interesting problem as to why people shouldmake a confession of witchcraft which, from its nature, cannot be objectivelyvalid and which can attract only odium upon the person concerned.'17We are not yet in a position to answer all of these questions satisfactorily.Many of the plants and medicines that people say they use at night to bewitchothers have not yet been collected and examined. On the question of the highdegree of corroboration in the evidence presented by witnesses, we cannotpostulate a communal dream to account for this similarity between variouswitnesses' evidence. The more likely explanations, which need to be investigated,are that the witnesses told the truth, or that they exchanged ideas prior to theirarrestOn the question of confessions, studies have tended to look for the reasonswhich might motivate a person to make a confession of witchcraft in a court oflaw, and a number of hypotheses have been advanced. One possibility is thatpeople who confess to witchcraft are insane; they are emotionally unstable andthus attempt to vent their feelings of frustration by seeking to cause sensation.18But the cases which I have examined indicate that the persons who made theconfessions of witchcraft were sane. They were certainly considered sane enoughto give evidence or to stand trial in the formal courts of Zimbabwe. Moreover, as Ihave already pointed out, such people tend to work in groups and the evidencepresented by individual members of such groups is very similar in many cases. Itis hardly possible, as Crawford has pointed out, that a group of persons should besimilarly attacked by identical forms of the same mental disorder.19Another possible explanation for voluntary confession is that people mightsay that they are witches in order to make others fear and obey them; that suchindividuals are attempting to build up a reputation as powerful individuals.20 It istrue enough that some persons say that they are witches in order to make othersfear and obey them. I have met persons who fall into this category. After all, to befeared has many advantages. But an analysis of witchcraft confessions revealsmany exceptions; some persons who have made such confessions were alreadyimportant people of high and respected status. A third hypothesis concerningconfession is that persons who confess to witchcraft are mainly women who wantto enhance their status in the community.21 It has been argued, for example, that16 Ibid 59-65 " Ibid, 40."See, for example, M.J. Field, Search for Security (London, Faber, 1960), 149." Crawford, Witchcraft and Sorcery in Rhodesia, 60.20 See for example, T.O. Beidelman, "Witchcraft in Ukaguru', in Middleton and Winter,Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa, 62; Gelfand, The African Witch, 46.21 Crawford, Witchcraft and Sorcery in Rhodesia, 61-2.G.L CHAVUNDUKA 139since a very high value is placed on the bearing of children in traditional Africansociety, women who have lost children or are barren are therefore of littleaccount Confessed witchcraft might therefore raise their status in the community. Itis also pointed out that in general it is very difficult for a woman in traditionalAfrican society to enhance her political or social position. Because of the fewavenues open through which a woman can increase her status, the temptationmust exist to enhance her reputation by calling herself a witch, thus earning therespect that fear brings. But again this explanation is not adequate. Some womenwho make confessions of witchcraft enjoy relatively high status in their families orcommunities. Witchcraft confessions have been made by the old, the young,widows, married people, the poor and the rich, women and men.One hypothesis which in my view has not been adequately considered is thatwitchcraft, or at least certain types of it, is objectively valid.22 There is no doubt,however, that some people attempt to practise witchcraft In addition to courthearings, it is well known that there are confession meetings at which peopleconfess to witchcraft and even exhibit human bones, poisons, hair, fingernails andso on, which they say they have used. Moreover, as the activities of sponsoredwitches seem to indicate, witchcraft is not always a psychic act. The claim bysome people accused of witchcraft that they ate people, that they have exhumedthe body of the newly dead and eaten the flesh, has generally been dismissed in thepast as fantasy or as a psychic act Indeed there are many instances where theeating of flesh by witches is a psychic act In one case three women who claimedto be witches told the court that they went at night to the grave of a man who diedin their village, exhumed the body and cut off a piece of flesh which they tookhome where it was cooked and eaten. After this report the man's body wasexhumed by the police and was subjected to a post-mortem but no trace ofinterference with the body was found.23 This situation is explained among thosewho believe in witchcraft, by saying that when witches are possessed by certainspirits they can eat the flesh of a dead person but leave no visible signs of injury tothe body. However, in another case the police confirmed that parts of the bodyhad been eaten. In the case of a woman who was committed for trial at Tjolotjo,"she told the court:I am a witch, I bewitch people ... I went with my sister Neiwa to theaccused's kraal in the night when people were asleep. The accusedcame to call us. We went to the spot indicated by the accused. We founda dead baby, we cut the child in half at the waist We left the towerportion of the body in the pit and covered it up again as we had found itMy sister and I took the upper portion of the child... On reaching mysister5 s kraal with the upper portion of the body we cooked it all and ateit The bones were soft, we were able to chew them.22 This consideration will neither invalidate the other kinds of explanation, nor will itadequately replace them. It seems to me that no single explanation covers all cases, since there is aconsiderable variety in the type of person and the type of confession involved.23 R. v. Dawu (extracts from the court records are found in Crawford, Witchcraft and Sorcery inRhodesia, 45-9).24 R.v. Zalepi (committed for trial at Tjolo^o, 2 Nov. 1959); see Crawford, Witchcraft andSorcery in Rhodesia, 114.140 WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWThe policemen who went to investigate this case reported that theyrecovered only the lower portion of the infant's body; the upper portion, said thepolice, was eaten by two women who stated that they were witches. In fact, casesof this' nature are reported from time to time in the press of various Africancountries.There is also no doubt that the power of the witchcraft idea often leads toillness or other misfortune. We now have many accounts of the effect ofwitchcraft beliefs. Many people become sick or die as a result of being convincedthat they have been bewitched. Walter Cannon, who analysed this phenomenonin another society, came to the following conclusion:A persistent and profound emotional state may induce a disastrous fallof blood pressure, ending in death. Lack of food and drink wouldcollaborate with the damaging emotional effects, to induce the fataloutcome. These are the conditions which, as we have seen, areprevalent in persons who have been reported as dying as a consequenceofsorcery They go without food or water as they, in their isolation, waitin fear for their impending death. In these circumstances they mightwell die from a state of shock, in the surgical senseŠa shock induced byprolonged and tense emotion.25Cases of witchcraft confession that I have examined seem to indicate thatsponsored witches practise their art using methods ofsorcery. The claim by someof these witches (or sorcerers who operate at night), that they fly at night, possessfamiliars, or keep hyenas for riding on their night excursions, may be a myth, butthe claim that they sometimes use medicines or poisons to harm others certainlyneeds further investigation.It remains for me to review briefly by way of summary and conclusion someof the implications of this discussion for the Witchcraft Suppression Act ofZimbabwe. Firstly, there is a need for a clear definition of the problem. As I havealready mentioned, the terms 'witchcraft' and 'sorcery' are used interchangeablythroughout the Act and at times the term 'wizard' is used to include both witchesand sorcerers. The Witchcraft Suppression Act regards both witchcraft andsorcery as superstition. But sorcery is practised by some people in this society.Direct sorcery is easy to demonstrate, since the medicines used by sorcerers arederived from plants or other ingredients that can be pointed out and examined. Apost-mortem examination is also an important source of evidence. Theadministration ofsorcery medicine may be accompanied by ritual; the ritual itselfmay be harmless, but the medicine used may be real enough. Recently, forexample, a woman who lives near Salisbury admitted in court that she was awitch. She killed a child with arsenic cattle dip. After poisoning the child shethrew the bottle which had contained the arsenic into a hole. The bottle wassubsequently found by the police resting on bones from at least two chickens.Some of the bones still had dried flesh on them.26 No doubt a ritual was held and" Walter Cannon, "Voodoo death". American Anthropologist (1942). XL1V. 179. See alsoD Mechanic, Medical Sociology (New York Free Press. 1968). 53. and R.M. Coe. Sociology ofMedicine (New York, McGraw-Hill, 1970), 127.«/? v.Sophie (tried before the High Court Salisbury. 28 Sept. 1960). Crawford, Witchcraftand Sorcery in Rhodesia, 79.G.L. CHAVUNDUKA 141was regarded as an essential element of the administration process. Sorcerytechniques that are said to operate at a distance without actual physical contactI can also cause injury to persons or property or do psychological harm to thosewho believe that they posses occult powers. It should continue to be an offence touse such charms or objects for the purpose of injuring others.As regards witchcraft, three points may be made. The first point is that theclaim made by some people that they fly at night, and so on, may be a myth, but itseems to me that a distinction should be made in these claims between the purely1 bizarre, in imagination and symbolic action, which can be associated perhapswith psychosis or an extreme form of cults of affliction, and intentions to causeharm, which should come under the cover of the law. The second point is thatsome people in fact attempt to practise witchcraft Thus penalties should beprovided for persons who are found to be in possession of any instruments orarticles commonly used in practising witchcraft The third point concerns what Ihave called sponsored witches. This kind of witchcraft is possible. Thus when anindividual in this society accuses another of witchcraft, again he may well be rightThere should be a law against witchcraft and sorcery, not only because manyinnocent people are accused by others of witchcraft or sorcery, but also becauseother people become sick or die as a result of the activities of certain people.1 It seems to me that in dealing with cases of witchcraft and sorcery twoimportant aspects need to be borne in mind; the cultural, social and psycho-logical aspect and the legal aspect The consequence to the person named as witchor sorcerer can be serious and it is the duty of the courts to protect individualsf from violent or non-violent reactions that may follow. On the other hand manypeople who accuse others of witchcraft or sorcery are not seeking a legal ruling onthe matter. The accusation may be a response to situations of anxiety and stress,| or a means for the expression of social strains and tensions. At other times the, accusation may be a means of social control or of social rupture, or a means ofi adaptation to rapid and disruptive social change.27 These are not legal issues; theyare cultural, social and psychological issues that nonetheless call for urgentattention. Traditional courts are usually able to deal with these cultural, socialand psychological issues effectively.28 This is because the main aim of a' traditional court, wherever possible, is to reconcile disputing parties within thecommunity and to restore social harmony, rather than merely to rule on the overtdispute which has been brought to court The reason for this approach has been; explained by a number of writers.29 In traditional society a spirit of interdepen-dence between members of local communities is dominant, and a split within acommunity threatens essential collective activities in social, religious, politicaland economic life. Consequently, the courts have as their primary aim thereconciliation of disputing parties rather than merely deciding on the legal aspects27 Middleton and Winter, Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa, 49.28 This is not to say that these traditional courts are always fair in settling such disputes.29 See, for example, J.F. Holleman, Shona Customary Law (London, Oxford Univ. Press,1952), 42; A. L. Epstein, Politics in an Urban African Community (Manchester, Manchester Univ.Press, 1958), 211; M.F.C. Bourdillon, Shona Peoples (Gwete, Mambo Press, 1976), 152;andG.L.Chavunduka, A Shona Urban Court (Gwelo, Mambo Press, Socio-Economic 14, 1979), 12.142 WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWof the case in terms of law. Thus traditional courts, as long as they continue tofunction, must be allowed to try those cases of witchcraft that require thereconciliation of the disputing parties for their resolution. Formal courts can, ofcourse, also deal with the cultural, social and psychological aspects of witchcraftaccusations by making use of anthropologists, psychologists, social workers orsociologists. The use of such specialists in our formal courts should beencouraged. Social workers are in fact already playing an important role in thelegal process, particularly in cases involving juvenile delinquents.Reconciliation of the disputing parties may not be an adequate solution incertain cases of witchcraft accusation. For example, in some parts of the countrya person who is habitually surly, who builds his house in the bush far away fromother people, who neither invites others to eat with him nor accepts invitationsfrom neighbours to share their food or drink, is likely sooner or later to be accusedof witchcraft or sorcery by someone.30 He will be accused of witchcraft or sorcerybecause he is a deviant Such accusations are likely to continue until theindividual is encouraged to conform to accepted standards of social behaviour ofthat area, such as friendliness, good manners, hospitality and generosity.Where the legal aspect of the case is more important than the cultural, socialand psychological aspect, the case should be dealt with by the formal courts.31Traditional courts are not suited for this role. Methods of detecting a witch or asorcerer which are commonly used, such as the boiling water test, divinationeither by spirit possession or the throwing of bones or the poison ordeal, are veryunsatisfactory. Such methods often lead to the punishment of innocent indivi-duals. In the boiling water test the accused person is normally instructed toremove an object from a pot of boiling water. If no injuries result the person undersuspicion is deemed innocent The other common method beside divination is thepoison ordeal. Here ritual is involved in the preparation of the poison. If a personto whom the poison is administered vomits the poison she is believed to beinnocent but if she retains the poison she is defined as a witch.The last important problem is that of controlling witches and sorcerers. Thesuggestion that the only solution to the problem is the abandonment by people oftheir beliefs in witches and witchcraft makes no sense. It is as if one were to tell aphysician engaged in public health work that he could eradicate malaria merelyby denying its existence.32 Many people in Zimbabwe do not see the problem asone of eliminating the ideas but one of eradicating the witches and sorcerers. Aswe have seen they are right, at least in part The Witchcraft Suppression Act hasundoubtedly removed the most dramatic dangers to life and liberty. Diviners andothers are now more cautious about imputing witchcraft out of fear of prosecu-tion, and court proceedings have consequently become infrequent. But the Acthas also brought other problems in its wake. The main effect of severe sentenceshas been to drive the practice of witchcraft underground. Many diviners, forexample, when faced with a case of witchcraft are reluctant to name the witch for30 Middleton and Winter, Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa, 52.31 In fact many traditional courts already make the distinction between the legal and the socialaspects of a witchcraft case. See, for example, Chavunduka, A Shona Urban Court32 Middleton and Winter, Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa, 288.G.L. CHAVUNDUKA 143fear of prosecution but they do indicate to the patient who the witch is, in a waywhich leaves no doubt in the patient's mind as to his identity. The divinerindicates someone in general without specifying a name. For example, he says,'one of your co-workers', 'one of your neighbours', 'one of your wives', and thepatient fixes on some definite person, whom he already thinks has reason to wishhim harm.33 The suspect is then pursued as a private enemy by his victim or self-styled victim.As I have tried to point out in this discussion, we are still unable to answer anumber of questions concerning witchcraft and sorceryŠquestions relating totypes of witches, the kinds of medicines that people say they use in bewitchingothers, the reasons for the confessions that some people make in the courts of law,and so on. In fact it is difficult at the present time to decide whether Ndebele andShona witches are indeed witches or sorcerers.34 It could be that those who claimto operate at night all use medicines and plants in much the same way as sorcerersdo. This inability to answer some of the questions adequately is, in my view, dueto three main factors: the need for a discipline boundary, professionalism, andspecialization. When Professor Mayer said social anthropology was concernedwith the social reality of witchcraft and not with the physical fact,35 he wasdemarcating a field of study. Every anthropologist or sociologist uses thisprocedure to isolate a manageable amount of data in order to proceed with hisown research and analysis. This means cutting off a manageable field of realityfrom the total flow of events by putting boundaries round it, both in terms of whati is relevant to his problems and in terms of how and where he can apply hisŁ techniques of observation, interview and analysis. As Gluckman said:! every anthropological study of a tribal society begins from the fact that) rain falls in certain quantities at certain times, and this affects thegrowth of crops and grazing and therefore social life, but no enquiry ismade into what determines the rainfall and the growth of crops.Anthropological studies of factories take for granted that there ismachinery, but they do not worry about how it works, though they areconcerned with how the technological process affects social relations."In other words, certain events are taken for granted as given facts and thefield worker proceeds with his research and analysis. Thus in the field ofwitchcraft, sociologists and social anthropologists have largely confined them-selves to a study of beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery, the function of these beliefs in3 3 S. Epstein, 'A sociological analysis of witch beliefs in a Mysore village', in J. M iddleton (ed.),Magic, Witchcraft and Curing (New York, The Natural History Press, 1967), 136; G.LChavunduka, Traditional Healers and the Shona Patient (Gwelo, Mambo Press, 1978), 14.34 Sister Mary Aquina, who worked among the Karanga of Zimbabwe, writes: *a female muroyiis believed to be a woman who is possessed by a witch shave, a spirit which shows her medicines,muti, to harm people. All varoyi, both men and women, are believed to work through such charms,never through the mere intention to cause evil. The Karanga, therefore, often equate witchcraft orsorcery with poisoning. This means that even female varoyi are not strictly speaking witches butsorceresses', 'A sociological interpretation of sorcery and witchcraft beliefs among the Karanga',NADA (1968), IX, v, 50.35 Mayer, Witches, 2.36 M. Gluckman, Closed Systems and Open Minds (Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd, 1964), 163.I144 WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWsocial life, the tensions and conflicts which lead to witchcraft accusations, and thepattern and nature of these conflicts. In fact, one anthropologist stated recentlythat:Sociologists are interested in sorcery and witchcraft beliefs in so far asthese act as social sanctions controlling anti-social behaviour. Becausesociologists are exclusively concerned with the effects of these beliefson the social life of the people, they do not discuss the question whetheror not witchcraft and sorcery beliefs correspond to metaphysicalrealities. They leave such discussions to theologians.37There is a danger in using this approach, particularly where, as in the case ofwitchcraft and sorcery, there is an absence of research by other specialists.Drawing a boundary at a particular point on a continuum can create paradoxes; itcan lead to polarization of knowledge, mirror identifications, and endlessrepetitions of mistaken views.38 In fact, Professor Gluckman39 was aware of thisdanger. Where the sociologist, in the absence of research by another specialist,nevertheless has to make a judgement on some complex issue in order to proceedwith his analysis, he should be careful that he does not build more of his analysison the judgement than it can warrantably carry. Thus, although we can now saymany significant things about witchcraft and sorcery, and have many explana-tions and theories about witchcraft and sorcery that make sense, the reserving ofjudgement and the open-mindedness of which Professor Gluckman speaks, in myview, make for greater exactness in scientific inquiries. No professionals of anydiscipline should be content with the mere logical consistency of a theory at agiven moment in time.I am arguing that sociologists and anthropologists must, where necessary,shift from the social to the physical aspects of the problem under investigation.Where these physical aspects of the problem fall outside the competence of thesociologist or social anthropologist, co-operation with other specialists should beattempted. Shifting our analysis to the physical reality of witchcraft and sorcerywill not invalidate the sociological analysis itself but it may help us and thegeneral public to understand more fully some of the puzzling aspects of the societyin which we live. This approach is beginning to bear fruit in the field of traditionalmedicine, for example. In the past, traditional medicine appeared to manypeople to be a hotch-potch of odd plants and roots. Thus the activities oftraditional medical practitioners were distrusted to such a degree that attemptswere made by both the Government and Christian churches to suppress them.Thanks to the work of some sociologists, social anthropologists and medical37 Sister Mary Aquina, 'A sociological interpretation . . . ', 47. Consider also her followingstatement: "The use of chitsinga (by sorcerers) has important social consequences. Since only theperson who has revenged himself through it can cure the sickness which it has caused, the victim mustcome to him politely and submissively, without accusing him in any way, and beg him to withdraw hischitsinga. This the sorcerer usually promises to do for a payment of some $4 to $6. This means, thatthe person who revenged himself must be reconciled with the victim before a cure can be effected.Sorcery, therefore, brings social tensions to the surface and enables people to settle their differences',ibid., 50.31R. Holland, Self and Social Context (London, Macmillan, 1977), 272." Gluckman, Closed Systems and Open Minds, 164.G.L CHAVUNDUKA14Sscientists, we now know that traditional medical practitioners cure a number ofillnesses. The traditional system of medicine is beginning to be taken seriously byboth researchers and members of the public. Medical sociologists are no longercontent with demonstrating the logical consistency of traditional medical beliefsand practices; some now examine the physical reality of traditional medicine andpractice as well.The subject of witchcraft will undoubtedly continue to create controversy;what I have attempted to do, by introducing a new perspective and explanatoryframework, is to ensure that those who engage in this def»ate do not continue totreat it as something which is too obvious to warrant systematic investigation.AppendixTHE WITCHCRAFT SUPPRESSION ACTTo suppress the practice of pretended witchcraft(18th August, 1899)1. This Act may be cited as the WitchcraftSuppression Act (Chapter 73).2. In this Act'witchcraft' includes the'throwing ofbones', the use of charms and other means ordevices adopted in the practice of sorcery.3. Whoever imputes to any other person the use ofnon-natural means in causing any disease in anyperson or animal or in causing any injury to anyperson or property, that is to say, whoever names orindicates any other person as being a wizard or witchshall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine notexceeding two hundred dollars or to imprisonmentfor a period not exceeding three years, or to whippingnot exceeding twenty lashes or to any twDormore ofsuch punishments.4. Whoever, having so named and indicated anyperson as a wizard or witch, is proved at his trialunder section three to be by habit and repute a witchdoctor or witch finder shall be liable, on conviction,in lieu of the punishment provided by section threeto a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or toimprisonment for a period not exceeding sevenyears or to whipping not exceeding thirty-six lashesor to any two or more of such punishments.5. Whoever employs or solicits any other personŠ(a) to name or indicate any other person as a wizardor witch; or(b) to name or indicate by means of witchcraft or bythe application of any of the tests mentioned inparagraph (b) of section eight or by the use ofany non-natural means any person as the per-petrator of any alleged crime or other actcomplained of; or(c) to advise him or any otherpersonhowbymeansOrd. 14 1899Short Title.Interpretation of term.Punishment for impu-tation ofwitchcrPunishment for impu-tation of witchcraft byhabitual or reputedwitch doctor or witchfinder.146WITCHCRAFT AND THE LAWof witchcraft or by any non-natural meanswhatsoever the perpetrator of any alleged crimeor other act complained of may be discovered;shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine notexceeding fifty dollars or, in default of payment toimprisonment for a period not exceeding six months.6. Whoever, professing a knowledge of so-calledwitchcraft or of the use of charms, either as a witchdoctor or witch finder, advises or undertakes toadvise any person applying to him how to bewitch orinjure any other person or property, includinganimals, and any person who supplies any otherperson with the pretended means of witchcraft, shallbe guilty of an offence and liable to the punishmentsprovided by section four.7. Whoever, on the advice of a witch doctor orwitch finder or any person pretending to have theknowledge of witchcraft or of the use of charms, or inthe exercise of any pretended knowledge of witch-craft or of the use of charms, uses or causes to be putinto operation such means or processes as he mayhave been advised or may believe to be calculated toinjure any other person or any property, includinganimals, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to thepunishments provided by section four.8. WhoeverŠ(a) by the exercise of any witchcraft, conjuration,use of charms or of any other unnatural meanspretends to discover where or in what mannerany property supposed or alleged to have beenstolen or lost may be found or to name orindicate any person as a thief or perpetrator ofany crime or any other act complained of; or(b) in the pretence of discovering whether or notany other person has committed any crime orany other act complained of, applies or advisesthe application or causes to be applied to suchperson the 'boiling water test' (that is to say thedipping by such other person of any of his limbsor portion of his body into boiling water),whether such dipping is voluntary or compelled,or administers or advises or causes the admini-stration of, to such other person, with or withoutconsent, any emetic or purgative;shall be guilty of an offence and liable to thepunishment provided by section four.9. Any money, animal or other thing received byany person by way of payment or reward for or inrespect of any exercise or pretended exercise of so-called witchcraft or of the use of charms, or for or inrespect of advising any person as to any mode ormethod of bewitching or injuring, by non-naturalmeans, any other person or property, includinganimals, or for or in respect of indicating any personwho by non-natural means is supposed to havePunishment for witchdoctor or witch finderpractising witchcraft orsupplying witchcraftmaterials.Punishment for apply-ing means or processesof witchcraft for injuryof persons or property.Punishment for thenaming or indicatingof thieves, etc., bywitchcraft, charms, etc.Money, etc., receivedas payment or receivedfor practice of witch-craft, etc., shall bedeemed to have beenreceived by fraud, andpunishment for suchfraud.G.L CHAVUNDUKA 147bewitched or injured any other person or anyproperty, including animals, or for or in respect ofthe performance of any of the acts mentioned insection eight, shall be deemed to have been obtainedby fraud, and the person so receiving such money,animal or other thing shall be liable tobe prosecutedfor fraud and to suffer such punishment as is by lawprovided for such offence.