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Sveto says she was recruited into practicing witchcraft without her knowledge and left behind at the Highfield home after refusing to carry out ritual orders to kill her brother in law. At around 6am Sveto was discovered naked last Sunday at a house in Harare’s high density suburb of Highfield. Her explanation for this…she was left behind by her father in law and aunt after allegedly refusing to perform rituals as commanded by the two to kill her brother in law who lives at the Highfield house. So it is punishment for refusing initiation into the deadly art of withcraft, she says. [1]
A Harare magistrate found Sveto guilty of public indecency; she was found naked in a relative's yard, and sentenced to a suspended prison sentence of 12 months.
The unnamed ZBC reporter proceeds to make a number of assumptions about Sveto, witchcraft and witches.
"On the surface Sveto appears to be a common witch but how should society respond to a situation, if it is true, that she was forced by her father in law into practicing the dark art of witchcraft unwittingly and without her consent. The issue of her morality has also provoked debate as she says she refused to kill her brother in law." ... "In Zimbabwe, witches can expect no mercy if they are caught practicing their craft. Assault, divorce, and even death have been the fate of witches and in many cases those suspected of engaging in the feared practice."
Whilst the report carefully attempts to detail 2006 amendments to Zimbabwe's 1899 Witchcraft Suppression Act, he (or she) fails to critically examine Sveto's actual confession. It does more than just stretch credibility. It turns the table on hundreds of years of scientific evidence.
A more recent ZBC report covering a call by the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) to draft a document that will provide guidelines in dealing with cases of witchcraft in both legal and traditional courts, not only defies evidence, it defies rational logic. The report recounts the story of Sveto as one example in a body of collected reported evidence that witchcraft is real.
" While people may debate what can be done to the witches and whether the practice is right or wrong, what is clear now is that witchcraft is not an uncivilised superstitious belief but is real, and people can really fly and use snakes to bewitch others. The question that remains is that, what should be done to a person who confesses that they are practicing witchcraft. Is there any evidence to prove it in the courts? Well ZINATHA together with the judiciary, police force are looking into the issue." [2]
If the expert testimony of the ZINATHA traditional healer and vice president Sekuru Nelson Jambaya, who testified in Regina Sveto's trial, is evidence of what ZINATHA intends to codify in their draft guidelines in dealing with cases of witchcraft, witchcraft accusations are not likely to decrease any time soon.
Regina Sveto, 21, “hissed like a snake” and “went into a trance” as Sekuru Nelson Jambaya, the vice president of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) testified that witches can travel as far as South Africa during the night and “fly back as soon as their mission is accomplished”. [3]
Jambaya told the court "According to my knowledge, if the woman said she flew from Murehwa in a basket, then she is a witch. Witches do a lot of this and they are known to travel naked at night."
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In response to a South African Witch who complained that her broom has never flown, I suggested purchasing a 'made in Zimbabwe' winnowing basket. It's so bad up there that even the indigenous grasses appear to have learned to overcome gravity in an attempt to escape the stupidity. I suppose the trees and reeds feel the same way, so perhaps making a broom made from genuine Zimbabwean grass and wood will work just as well. One of the North Berwick witches was accused of going to sea in a sieve to raise storms. Just as credible in my opinion. We all know Berwick sieves were sick of listening to King James go on and on about how he had almost drowned. They say the urge to escape is very contagious.
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References:[1] Woman found naked in botched 'witchcraft mission'
[2] Let's draft document that deals with witchcraft cases - ZINATHA
[3] Naked basket flight woman a witch - expert
He quotes a Tanzanian theologian Fr. Laurent Magesa who explains that belief in witchcraft in Africa will never be eradicated because witchcraft is an essential part of the African world-view - "Evil originates not merely from the breaking of taboos and other laws, but from spiritual, mystical powers at work in the universe... in African Religion, witchcraft must be understood as part of the mystery of the human person. Witchcraft is therefore central to the understanding of morality and ethics among Africans."
One must assume that holding the fundamentalist belief that "evil, in the African perception, is always incarnated; it does not exist except as it exists in the evil person, that is, in the witch.", that the price for Africa's continuing morality and ethics must remain and be the subjugation of Witches. In many African states, that means subjugation by any means necessary. In many African countries where witchcraft-related violence has become epidemic, Africans themselves however have been calling for an end to the belief in witchcraft.
In an effort to stamp out witchcraft in Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete encouraged Tanzanians to identify those responsible for killing albinos to obtain their body parts for use in magic. Kikwete is reported to have said the murders brought shame on the country. [2]
Leo Igwe, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Humanist Movement, who was recently attacked by 200 members of a Christian church at a conference he had organised on Child Rights and Witchcraft, [3] calls witchcraft "a primitive superstition which predates the advent of Christianity."
"Witchcraft is a 'real belief' in what is unreal - witches and wizards. Witches are imaginary entities without any real existence. Africans need to wake up to the fact that there are no witches or wizards. That witchcraft is superstition and has no basis in reason, science or common sense. The time has come for Africa to do away with this primitive superstition."... "And like all superstitions, witchcraft is a belief informed by fear and ignorance. For centuries witchcraft has been used to perpetrate and justify atrocious acts and human rights abuses. Witchcraft has corrupted efforts to explain issues, understand and tackle problems commonsensical. Today efforts to eradicate this mistaken belief and the problems it is causing in Malawi and in other African countries are being undermined by Christian fanatics who use the Bible to justify, fuel and incite witchcraft accusation, witch persecution and killing." Leo Igwe. [4]
In Gambia President Yahya Jammeh is reported to have invited "witch doctors" from Guinea to find and neutralise witches, because he believed that witchcraft was involved in the death of his aunt. [5] Reuters and Amnesty International reported that witch doctors and security forces in Gambia detained up to 1,000 people on suspicion of being witches, and forced them to drink hallucinogenic substances.
One of the unnamed victims told Amnesty "I experienced and witnessed such abuse and humiliation. I cannot believe that this type of treatment is taking place in Gambia. It is from the dark ages." [6]
In Zimbabwe a former member of parliament representing chiefs in Mashonaland West fled his village after a witch-hunting ceremony implicated his close relatives. The chief had allowed the traditional healers, known as Tsikamutanda, to cleanse the villages of witchcraft. Villagers accused of witchcraft were forced to pay fines of maize-meal, chicken, goats, sheep as well as cattle. [7]
In South Africa the Catholic Diocese of Tzaneen intends to canonize a Catholic named Benedict Daswa who was killed in 1990 for opposing the belief in witchcraft because he believed "it led to the killing of innocent people accused of witchcraft activities." [8]
South Africans who are self-identified Witches, by virtue of their very existence, publicly challenge firmly entrenched and prejudicial African beliefs concerning Witchcraft. [9] They also contradict the attempts by rational humanists, like Leo Igwe, to eradicate a belief in witchcraft in Africa by claiming that "there are no witches".
Is there a single predominant narrative on Witchcraft in Africa? To be fair, there are hundreds of thousands. Every witch-hunter and every victim has one. If there is a predominant lesson, it must surely be that the prejudice, intimidation, violence and suppression that such a 'belief of necessity' engenders can be neither moral nor ethical.
Reference:
[1] 'Africa: Why Belief in Witchcraft Remains Strong Among Africans' by Henry Makori
[2] Tanzania 'witch-naming' under way
[3] British Humanist Association: Anti-witchcraft conference attacked by Christian church in Nigeria
[4] 'Towards A Humanist Awakening in Africa' by Leo Igwe
[5] Rights group: 1,000 seized in Gambia 'witch-hunt'
[6] Hundreds accused of 'witchcraft' persecuted in The Gambia
[8] South Africa: Anti-Witchcraft Catholic May Become Saint
[9] Witchcraft and Reclamation in South Africa
Minority voices in South Africa are excluded from participating in public debate on issues which directly affect them because the media and press have deduced that we do not have a right to be heard.
The S.A. press and media have, despite so-called self-regulation, made and continue to make inappropriate, distorted, exaggerated and misrepresented references to Witchcraft; references which reinforce dated assumptions and insensitive stereotyping. Journalists hide behind editors who hide behind self-regulating press ombudsman's, who believe that when discussing Witchcraft, fairness and due process should be sacrificed on prejudicial principle.
The practice of publishing distorted, prejudicial and pejorative propaganda against Witchcraft not only contravenes the Press Code, with respect to avoiding discriminatory or denigratory references to people's religion, but also contravenes the Bill of Rights with respect to the right of religious communities to practice their religion, and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act with respect to publishing, propagating or advocating prejudice that could reasonably be construed as demonstrating a clear intention to be hurtful and to promote or propagate mistrust of Witches and Satanists.
Section 16 (2.3) of the South African Bill of Rights determines that whilst everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including freedom of the press and media, the right to freedom of expression does not extend to a right to advocate hatred based on religion. [1] Whilst one could argue that publishing factually incorrect and misleading articles on Witchcraft does not amount to advocating hatred against an existing religious minority, the refusal to permit correction or fair comment amounts to nothing more than intentional sanction against the right of South African Witches to freedom of expression.
Biased reporting on Witchcraft inspires prejudice against Witches themselves because such reporting reinforces, whether deliberately or unintentionally, generally espoused misconceptions and untruths regarding Witchcraft. When the group identity is defamed, individuals who share in that identity, i.e. Witches, suffer a loss of dignity.
When publishing defamatory content on or against Witchcraft, both journalists and editors alike justify their disregard for the reputation and dignity of Witches, by appealing to freedom of the press and public interest. In South Africa freedom of expression is regarded as an entitlement only to certain approved sectors of society.
Politicians are permitted to make accusations of Witchcraft against their political opponents with impunity. [2] Members of Provincial Parliament are permitted to express derogatory opinions regarding the right of Witches to challenge legislation that contradicts the Bill of Rights of the South African constitution. [3]
An ex-police official, who has built a questionable reputation for having special expertise on the occult, is permitted to express his biased and wholly speculative opinions on what constitutes evidence of interest and involvement in the occult. [4] But Occultists themselves, including Witches, Wiccans and Satanists, are denied the right to either correct inaccurate statements or to challenge self-ascribed credentials as "occult expert".
Since January 2009 the general population who consumes this unedited and factually variant smorgasbord of prejudicial content against Witchcraft have learnt the following:
1. "Witches use black chickens and dogs and colourful candles to kill their targets." Schoeman Xulu - Traditional Healer
In this article a traditional healer named Schoeman Xulu is reported to have alleged that the abhorrent abuse and injury of a border collie puppy was the work of Witches. Xulu’s allegation is based on his alleged personal admission that the modus operandi was an attempt to "trap someone to death". "The perpetrators were trapping someone to death. Witches use black chickens and dogs and colourful candles to kill their targets. I feel sorry for whoever the practice was directed at," said Xulu. [5]
2. Trusted community members become monsters [Witches] at night. Maniki Motloutsi - Inyanga
In this article inyanga Maniki Motloutsi is reported as saying, "I have caught many witches here in my yard and you will be surprised who does these thing as these are usually trusted community members who become monsters at night... Evil exists, what that witch is doing to the child is evil and must be stopped as soon as possible, she is not an inyanga but a killer". Motloutsi makes allegations against an unnamed traditional healer, who does not self-identify as a Witch, with whom he is in competition. [6]
3. Witchcraft can cause women to give birth to crockery. Aulerio Demoraz - Traditional Healer (Mozambican Association of Traditional Healers)
In this article (published by both IOL and Dispatch Online) it is alleged that an unnamed 18 year old Mozambican woman gave birth to three cups. The president of the Mozambican Association of Traditional Healers (Ametramo) Aulerio Demoraz is reported to have stated that "similar cases had occurred in other parts of the world due to witchcraft." [7]
4. Witches are responsible for drugging cats in the western Cape. Marlene Neethling (Die Burger reporter)
Reporter Marlene Neethling falsely attributes a statement implicating Witchcraft involvement in the drugging of a cat to Mr. Andries Venter - Chief Inspector of the SPCA. In a letter to the editor of Die Burger, Mr. Venter denies having personally stated that Witchcraft was being considered as a possible cause of a cat’s intoxication on opiates. This statement was never published and Die Burger never published a correction. [8]
5. The right to challenge institutional prejudice against a religious minority is arrogant. Adrian Williams (Mpumalanga MP)
Mpumalanga ANC MP Adrian Williams accused the South African Pagan Rights Alliance of being arrogant in pursuing the reclamation of the terms Witch and Witchcraft by challenging the 1957 Witchcraft Suppression Act. [9]
6. "[Witches and Satanists] seek power or strength to manipulate people". Kobus Jonker (self-proclaimed Occult expert).
Judge Flip Hattingh postponed the trial against Morne Harmse, a school boy who murdered a fellow school pupil with a sword, to allow time for expert witnesses to interview the accused. The state had lodged a draft order seeking to secure the evidence of "occult expert" Dr (sic) Kobus Jonker. Jonker is quoted as saying "They seek a power. They want to say 'I have a power or strength to manipulate people'." [10]
All attempts to challenge these false and (falsely accredited) statements and allegations made about Witchcraft have been dismissed by the editors of The Witness, News 24.com, IOL, Dispatch Online, Die Burger, iafrica.com, eyewitnessnews, SABC News and E-TV News on the grounds of freedom of expression.
The Press Appeals Panel Chairperson Judge Ralph Zulman and the South African Press Ombudsman Mr. J. Thloloe have found no just cause for complaint or appeal against reported bias against Witchcraft, despite the fact that each of the articles clearly contravenes the South African Press Code. [11]
Thloloe and Zulman have rather determined that religious minorities in South Africa do not have the right to news coverage of their religion that is truthful, accurate or fair, and that Witches who seek to correct published misinformation are merely proselytising their religion. [12]
Reporters and editors have become a law unto themselves, determining who shall and who may not be heard, solely on the basis of their own personal prejudices (call it 'space' if you will).
Clearly, everyone does not have the right to freedom of expression in this country.
References:
[1] Bill of Rights Section 16
Section 16 (entitled Freedom of Expression) of the South African Bill of Rights states,
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes
1. freedom of the press and other media;
2. freedom to receive or impart information or ideas;
3. freedom of artistic creativity; and
4. academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.
2. The right in subsection (1) does not extend to
1. propaganda for war;
2. incitement of imminent violence; or
3. advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.
[2] Sexwale and Zuma and other - accusations of witchcraft against political opponents
[3] Adrian Williams on the South African Pagan Rights Alliance.
'Mixing politics and witchcraft' by Buyekezwa Makwabe. Published in The Times and the Sunday Times on 08 August 2009.
[4] Kobus Jonker on Morne Harmse
[5] 'Witchcraft: Dog spell to trap victim' by Witness Reporter. Published 31 July 2008 by The Witness.
[6] 'Inyanga to rescue possessed child' by Lerato Serero. Published 07 August 2008 by News24.com.
[7] 'Woman gives birth to cups' Published 14 August 2008 by IOL.
(and) 'Mozambican teen gives birth to three cups' - ' Woman gives birth to cups’ republished 15 August 2008 by Dispatch Online.
[8] 'Kat dalk in heksedaad bedwelm' by Marlene Neethling. Published 25 March 2009 by Die Burger.
[9] 'Mixing politics and witchcraft' by Buyekezwa Makwabe. Published 08 August 2009 by The Times and the Sunday Times.
[10] 'Harmse was seeking 'a power to manipulate' Published 01 September 2009 by IOL.
[11] The South African Press Code
2. Discrimination and Hate Speech
2.1 The press should avoid discriminatory or denigratory references to people's religion.
2.2 The press should not refer to a person's religion in a prejudicial or pejorative context except where it is strictly relevant to the matter reported or adds significantly to readers' understanding of that matter.
[12] Mr Damon Leff, Director of the South African Pagan Rights Alliance, v.s. Various Publications. 15 May 2009.
(and)
Press Appeal Panel discriminates against Witchcraft. 20 July 2009.
Williams, a confessed eclectic Wiccan and Pagan, has relinquished his constitutional right to call himself a Witch (which he is) because he says "the issue needs to be treated with sensitivity in South Africa".
The "issue" at stake concerns the right of a religious minority to name themselves, in a country in which the majority of South Africans, whether Christian or African tradionalist, still believe that Witches are a primary source of misfortune and that Witchcraft must be suppressed.
"I don’t call myself a witch. I distance myself from those terms because they are highly offensive to the vast majority of people in this country. In South Africa, a witch is someone who comes into your house, kills your children and cuts off their genitalia." Adrian Williams
The sensitivity Williams would have us Witches show toward those who claim a cultural or religious right to prejudicial and harmful beliefs concerning Witches and Witchcraft, is, in effect, a call for us not to challenge the beliefs that motivate violent witch-hunts against innocent citizens in South Africa
Williams merely echoes a false urban legend surrounding muti-murders - in which the object of the murder is the removal of human body tissue for use in magic. Muti is a term that means "medicine". On the contrary, easily verifiable evidence reveals that unregistered Inyangas (traditional African herbalists) not aligned with credible traditional healing organizations have actually been found guilty in courts of law of trading in human body parts. [4]
No self-defined Witch in South Africa has ever been charged with or found guilty in any South African court of law for the practice of human mutilation, nor for the trade in human body parts, because actual Witches do not engage in such practices.
Does Williams want Witches to appease the Witch-hunters among us by suppressing the evidence for the sake of a fabricated scape-goat? Does he really want Witches to bear the cross of 'false witness' to appease the masses who support the ANC and its Communist Party allies?
Or perhaps Williams does not know that African traditional healers (isangomas - diviners and inyangas - herbalists) do not self-identify as Witches nor as Witch-doctors, and do not call their traditional magical and religious practices Witchcraft?
Williams calls South African Witches arrogant for wishing to repeal the Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957, an act that was originally drafted by the apartheid Christian Nationalist government to suppress indigenous traditional healing and magical practices which they erroneously identified as 'Witchcraft'.
"Go to Limpopo and declare that you’re a witch and see how long you survive... It does not undermine any right except the right to define yourself... I just think it’s very arrogant of white pagans in South Africa to push for rights they know will be detrimental to the majority." Adrian Williams
Clearly Williams believes that the majority are correct and justified in their intolerance for Witches in Limpopo and elsewhere. I suppose losing one's delusions and fantasies about Witches and Witchcraft could certainly be detrimental to those who profit from beliefs that motivate and justify Witch-hunts; who find accusations of witchcraft a convenient way to persecute an unwanted neighbour or troublesome member of one's own family.
Contrary to Williams, Witches who seek to maintain their constitutional right to continue to define themselves as Witches believe that no person has the right to perpetrate acts of violence against another on the basis of their cultural or religious beliefs.
No person is guilty of practising Witchcraft on the basis of an accusation. Perhaps Williams does not know that in South Africa accusations of bewitchment are rarely based on sound evidence or fact, but are often motivated through fear, superstition, jealousy, envy and spite.
If Williams intends to use his office to promote the right to equality and dignity for all South African citizens without prejudice, he's going to have learn to differentiate between detrimental and constructive rights.
"The nature of oppression and exploitation consists mainly in removing from the oppressed and exploited the ability to name themselves and their reality ...[]... At the initial stage, it is immaterial whether or not such self-naming is right or wrong in the estimation of the observer. What matters at this stage is the ability to say with full conviction and confidence, "This is who I am. This is what affects me. My world is such and such". Laurenti Magesa [5]
References:
[1] Adrian Williams - ANC MP Mpumalanga
[2] South African Pagan Rights Alliance
[3] Mixing politics and witchcraft
Buyekezwa Makwabe
[4] Body-part 'salesman' in court
2009-07-16
[5] Laurenti Magesa - Africa's Struggle for Self-Definition During a Time of Globalization
(August-September 1999) Significance of naming one’s reality
Further Reading:
SAPRA Press: ANC MP wants Witches to stop calling themselves Witches?
http://www.paganrightsalliance.org/press.h
The South African Pagan Council
http://www.pagancouncil.co.za/node/438
The Pagan in South Africa's Parliament
http://wildhunt.org/blog/2009/08/the-pag
The Pagan in South Africa's Parliament
http://www.topix.com/religion/pagan-wicc
Pax has invited Pagan bloggers to write about Pagan Values.
In June the sun is at it’s height in the Northern Hemisphere and nearly hidden from view in the Southern Hemisphere. Midsummer and Yule, festivals of fire and of light. Let us then use our hearts and minds and words, invoking the fires of inspiration; let us write of the virtues and ethics and morals and values we have found in our Pagan paths, let us share how we carry these precious things forward in our own lives and out into the world. Join me, in the month of June 2009 in writing about Pagan values.
Source June 2009 as International Pagan Values Blogging Month
The morals and ethics espoused and lived by divergent Pagan individuals, groups and communities today are constructed on the same virtues valued by our collective ancestors, irrespective of religion, ethnicity or culture. Life is precious and must be preserved.
Despite our differences in belief and practice and in spite of the absence of any single unifying pagan theology or philosophy we Pagans share by default the same values treasured by every preceding generation. We all aspire to love and to caring for those we love.
Pagans everywhere share the desire to acquire and preserve individual and collective liberty. We jealously treasure our right to freedom of belief, religion, conscience and speech.
The quests for life, love and liberty lie at the heart of Pagan and neo-Pagan debates on origin, identity, definition, determination and authenticity. They challenge those to the left, centre and right of all political and religious dialogue, encouraging agreement and fueling disagreement.
Pagan values are human values. Collective human values such as equality, truth and justice inform our virtues and define the context within which we exercise our morals and ethics. Our compassion toward others (equality), our willingness to cooperate for mutual benefit (truth) and our generosity of spirit in permitting difference (justice), are among the common virtues that maintain the generation and survival of every species on our planet.
May the approaching fires of the Winter solstice and sunrise in the southern hemisphere and of the Summer Solstice in the north, beckon to the hearts and minds of every Pagan, whether reconstructionist or syncretic eclectic, to honour in remembrance the virtues of life, love, liberty, equality, truth and justice.
Simon Magagula (30)
Mamlothana Ndoda
Manqoma Novumile Tyebisa
Makhemu Ngema (65)
Mbhejile Sibiya (28)
Hlengiwe Ntuli (20)
Samukelisiwe Masikane (7)
Khanyisane Ngema (6)
Siyabonga Masikane (3)
Maria Ngcobo (76)
Amoni Mokoena (67)
Lina Magagula
Matome Molele (67)
Grace Chabalala (80)
Hlalaphi Malandula (45)
Mphatsi Mazibuko
August Micas Khoza (65)
Madudu Shandu (57)
Bongekile Zungu (59)
Ntombizanele Combo (45)
Sibulele Combo (6)
NONE of these victims were or are Witches!
This is by no means a complete list of victims of Witchcraft accusations in South Africa. Many reported cases do not mention the victim’s names. Most incidences of Witchcraft-related violence are not reported as Witch-hunts.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world!
South African law prohibits making accusations of Witchcraft.
But South African politicians keep making accusations of Witchcraft publicly on party-political platforms…
On 15 December 2008 Jacob Zuma, President of the African National Congress (ANC), addressing thousands of ANC supporters in Dan Qeqe stadium in Zwide, Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape), called the leaders of the newly formed rival political party, the Congress of the People (COPE), Witches. “It is better when you have an enemy that you don't know. If you know the enemy, then it is more difficult. In Zulu we refer to a form of witchcraft called ukuphehla amanzi, where your enemy would mix dirt from your body in a calabash and stick a spear into the mixture to cause you sharp body pains. When the witch is a family member, we know that it's more dangerous than an enemy from outside." Zacob Zuma
On the same day, Ntombizanele Combo (45) and her grand daughter Sibulele Combo (6) were burned to death by two men in a Christmas day Witch-hunt in Timane village near Dutywa (Eastern Cape).
"Our mothers are taken, house to house, they are also paraded on TV, these people are performing witchcraft with our mothers....They are liars. You can't have respect for people who use older people in that fashion.” Tokyo Sexwale
January 2009. Sexwale was speaking at an ANC rally in Zwide township, outside Port Elizabeth.
The South African Press Code determines that the press should avoid discriminatory or denigratory references to people's religion and refrain from referring to a person's religion in a prejudicial or pejorative context.
When a border collie puppy, which had been buried alive with two spears inserted into its body, was discovered at Camps Drift near the Msunduzi River, The Witness reported that a well-known Imbali-based traditional healer Schoeman Xulu viewed the discovery as the worst form of witchcraft. Xulu is quoted as saying, “The perpetrators were trapping someone to death. Witches use black chickens and dogs and colourful candles to kill their targets. I feel sorry for whoever the practice was directed at." July 2008
When a traditional herbalist suspected his rival of being more popular than him, The Vaal Weekly reported the unnamed inyanga as saying "I have caught many witches here in my yard and you will be surprised who does these thing as these are usually trusted community members who become monsters at night... Evil exists, what that witch is doing to the child is evil and must be stopped as soon as possible, she is not an inyanga but a killer". August 2008.
But the South African press claims the right to defame Witches through negatively stereotyping Witchcraft by publishing fabricated hearsay as evidence.
The South African Bill of Rights prohibits hate speech against religious minorities.
But South African intellectuals promote hatred of Witches by defining them as a threat to society.
The Ralushai Commission’s report defined the term Witch to mean a person who …through sheer malice, either consciously or subconsciously, employs magical means to inflict all manner of evil on their fellow human beings. They destroy property, bring disease or misfortune and cause death, often entirely without provocation to satisfy their inherent craving for evil doing. 1995.
"A witch is a person who is endowed with powers of causing illness or ill luck or death to the person that he wants to destroy.“ Professor Ralushai. 1999.
The Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill define Witchcraft as …the secret use of muti, zombies, spells, spirits, magic powders, water, mixtures, etc, by any person with the purpose of causing harm, damage, sickness to others or their property. 2007.
Throughout Africa Witches are feared and reviled.
In Malawi in March 2007 five children between the ages of 2 and 11 were found naked outside their home. It is reported the children claimed to have been involved in a witchcraft plane crash.
In Kenya in May 2008 Kenyan police arrested 86 people in connection with killing 11 elderly people suspected of being witches.
In 2008 and 2009 Nigerian Evangelical pastors accused hundreds of children of being Witches and increasing numbers of children are being forced to live on the streets as a result of being banished from their homes.
In January 2009 Tanzania banned Witchcraft.
In February 2009 Gambian authorities rounded up over 1,000 people and forced them to drink hallucinogens in a witch-hunt campaign.
The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights declares that every human being shall be entitled to respect for his or her life and integrity of his or her person, and that all forms of exploitation and degradation shall be prohibited.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees that everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he or she has had all the guarantees necessary for his or her defense.
If you are a Witch, or accused of being a Witch in Africa, no matter what your human rights are, you will NOT receive a fair trial, you will NOT be afforded an opportunity to protest your innocence, and you WILL suffer the consequences of centuries of cultural and religious prejudice and fear against Witchcraft.
Witch-hunts are motivated by beliefs. Beliefs lead to action.
Beliefs that instill fear often motivate violence in response to a perceived threat, whether or not that threat is real of merely imagined.
Maintaining and reinforcing discriminatory and prejudicial definitions of Witchcraft promotes violence.
Prejudice against Witchcraft in Africa is motivated by cultural and religious beliefs that are based on false and defamatory urban legends.
Cultural practices and religious beliefs that promote the murder of innocents on the basis of belief must not be tolerated in any society!
Freedom of belief and religion does not mean freedom to falsely accuse and persecute others.
Those who use their beliefs to motivate or justify prejudice, discrimination, intimidation, assault, arson and murder against suspected Witches are guilty of crimes against humanity.
“Ubuntu is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to dehumanize them.” Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
WITCHES ARE PEOPLE!
In Africa the only people who use the word ‘Witch’ to define themselves are South African citizens who call their religion ‘Witchcraft’.
In South Africa Witches constitute a small but visible religious minority.
In 2007 a majority of South African Witches elected to reclaim the terms Witch and Witchcraft.
South African Witches define Witchcraft as a Pagan mystery religion that employs the use of sympathetic magic, ritual, herbalism and divination.
We demand our constitutional right to freedom of belief and religion.
We demand the right to live and work in safety.
We demand the right to equality and dignity.
30 days of Advocacy against Witch-hunts
29 March to April 27 2009
Speak out against religious discrimination and end Witchcraft-related Violence in Africa.
29 March to April 27 2009
Speak out against religious discrimination and end Witchcraft-related Violence in Africa.
Download a free copy of ‘A Pagan Witches TouchStone’.
PP Presentation 'Africa's Shameful Secret' prepared by Damon Leff on behalf of TouchStone Advocacy.
Penton Pagan Magazine devotes this entire issue to examining Witch-hunts in South Africa.
This TouchStone Advocacy campaign is supported by the South African Pagan Council and the South African Pagan Rights Alliance.
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Maseko is recorded in the minutes of the Conference as saying,
We need to strive for unity. We need each other more than ever. This is a revolution. Join hands against the tribulation. Samora Machel said, “The act of liberating yourself is within you”. Be prepared to face tribulations. Who else can do it but yourselves? Stand up! Command your coming together to strategize. The People want you to come out. The challenge is to educate the public. We need to know we have sisters and brothers in you if you want us to walk with you. THO and Forum need to stand together! Remember that no legislation can stop you from believing in your belief. The 1957 Act never stopped us in our belief. Many were killed. Your blood will fertilize the struggle. Stand up. Fight to ensure that you are in control. The THO will go the journey with you. But we need to know you. We have come to understand that WC is positive in your belief. It means ‘wise’. From the African point of view it is the opposite. This was caused by the disparities of colonization, poverty, etc. You need to reclaim the word Witch. It is going to be a lot of work. The THO will support you in your definition of yourself. [1]
In September 2008 Maseko reaffirmed her undertaking on behalf of the THO, in front of representatives of the SA Law Reform Commission, Lawyers for Human Rights, the SA Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) and the SA Pagan Council (SAPC), that traditional healers will no longer make accusations against Witches.
It therefore came as a surprise to members of SAPRA and the SAPC when in an article entitled 'Muti killings up ahead of 2010?' by Tshwarelo eseng Mogakane and published on News24.com, Maseko is reported to have stated the following with regard to human mutilations,
Traditional Healers Organisation (THO) national co-ordinator Phephisile Maseko was reluctant to comment on the report. "I can't speak for others, but our members are well-informed. They would never participate in muti killings and don't believe in it. We heal, we don't kill," she said. "I have heard reports of muti killings but I have never personally seen it. Those who do that are witches who don't belong to any organisation. They haven't been trained so they do as they please," she said. [2]
Given the alarming prevalence of Witchcraft violence in South Africa in 1995 the Ralushai Commission and several successive national and regional Conferences since 1995, recommended encouraging Traditional healers to “emphasise the curative and preventative aspect of medicine, instead of pointing out so-called witches.”
When challenged by SAPRA to honour her committment to refrain from making further accusations against Witches, Maseko stated in correspondence to SAPRA,
"I know i have loosely used this name but it was local language interview which is loosely translated to witch in english. This had nothing to do with your organisation neither its members but a lot to condemn this practice (muti murders) which is mistaken to be a profession associated to us." [3]
In response, SAPRA reminded Maseko that the general public do not understand the language nuance and would most likely accept the written word as fact, and therefore, will accept that Maseko had told them, in her capacity as a healer, that solitary Witches are indeed responsible for muti murders.
The prejudice of traditional healers against Witches is reaffirmed in a document published on the THO's website. The following quote, written in English, still appears on the website of the THO, despite the THO having twice undertaken not to make accusations against Witches, and despite SAPRA having requested in 2008 that this document be edited to remove any reference to Witchcraft or Witches.
"People still confuse witchcraft – the abuse of the gifts God has given to cause harm, or influence another’s life and energies, to their own benefit – with THs. A true Healer cannot take part in any action that can harm or negatively influence another person." [4]
Existing evidence will show that the 'muti' murderers themselves are not Witches, but are most often criminals paid by unscrupulous and unregistered traditional healers (who do not self-define as Witches) to harvest human body parts and tissue. [5]
Traditional healers, afraid that they too might become the object of the witch-hunter's gaze might in private acknowledge that every South African has the right to freedom of belief, but dare not publicly defend the right of Witches to be presumed innocent before being condemned.
References:
[1] Phephsile Maseko, National Coordinator and Spokesperson for the Traditional Healers Organisation (THO) - SAPC Pagan Conference Minutes. Melville. September 2007
[2] Muti killings up ahead of 2010? (March 2009)
[3] Phephsile Maseko (THO)
Correspondence from THO to SAPRA dated 13 March 2009
[4] Why are People Embarrassed and Afraid?
[5] Recorded cases of 'muti murders' indicating traditional healers, NOT Witches, as being responsible:
4 KZN women shot dead
20/05/2007 18:48 - (SA)
Genitals, tongue removed
Muti victim owes R200 000
23/08/2006 21:17 - (SA)
'Muti-murder' bishop gets bail
25/05/2006 16:32 - (SA)
Riot Hlatshwayo and Wilson Dzebu
Muti murder: Bishop in court
03/05/2006 13:45 - (SA)
Riot Hlatshwayo
Media statement on the release of the report of the Task Team on ritual murders in Limpopo
26 October 2006
Suspect (84) in muti murder case denied bail
Article By: Wilson Dzebu
Date: 09 December 2005
"Doctors of Death" spend Christmas in jail
Article By:
Date: 13 January 2006
The original legend can be found on the following two sites, and no-where else!
Way of the Rede
which was cited from ...
The Tricky Witchy Society
quote:
WARLOCK - The word is a derivative from the old Viking word and quite literally means "Protector of the Law". In 923, during the reign of king Rollo of the Vikings, queen Poppa, dismayed at the misinterpretation of Viking law, called together a group of judges whose task it was to travel throughout the Viking empire ensuring that the Law was correctly applied. She called these judges, her Warlocks. During the next 400 years, most of the Pagan religions had been absorbed by the advancing Christian doctrine. Only Witchcraft (Wicca) stood firm. In 1318 Pope John XXII declared Witchcraft to be heresy and punishable by death. The Warlocks now became defence attorneys for those accused of Witchcraft. In 1484 Pope Innocent VIII turned the fury of the Inquisition against Witches. The Warlocks defended them, with great success. Rome declared the Warlocks to be traitors to the Catholic faith. When the Warlocks argued that they could not be traitors because they had never been Christian to begin with, Pope Gregory XXIII declared them to be oath-breakers. In 1647 Matthew Hopkins was appointed Witchfinder General. Dismayed at the success achieved by the Warlocks, he determined to rid the world of Warlocks by declaring that "Only a Witch would defend a Witch", thereby insinuating that the Warlocks were actually male Witches. In the south of France alone, 52 000 Warlocks were executed. This left the Witches without defence. Then began the `Burning times'.
end quote.
Historical evidence shows that, far from being a Pagan, Poppa was a Christian.
quote:
A wife or mistress of Rollo of Normandy, and mother of Rollo's son and successor William "Longsword", her name is reported only by the often unreliable Dudo [ii, 16 (pp. 38-9); iii, 36 (p. 57)] and by sources depending on him (hence the quotes around her name). The only certain fact that is known about her comes from the contemporary (or nearly so) Planctus of her son William, which states (without naming her) that she was a Christian, and that her son William was born overseas. Poppa was said by Dudo [ii, 16 (pp. 38-9); iii, 36 (p. 57)] to be of Frankish origin, daughter of a certain count Bérenger. end quote.
http://sbaldw.home.mindspr
It is highly unlikely therefore that she organised male Witches (whom she is alledgedly said to have called Warlocks) to "travel throughout the Viking empire ensuring that the Law was correctly applied" ?
'Wicca' did not exist prior to the 1950's, so 'The Wicca' could not possibly have resisted the advance of Christianity in Europe.
Matthew Hopkins famously declared that "only a Witch would defend a Witch" in order to dismiss and prevent anyone from defending accused Witches. It was, in many countries, illegal to defend an accused against accusations of Witchcraft. Hopkins certainly never meant by that statement that actual 'Warlocks' were acting as defence counsel to accused Witches.
Actual historical record shows NO evidence of the murder of "52 000 Warlocks" in the south of France at any time during the 1600's, the period in which Hopkins and other Witch-finders operated.
The commonly accepted etymology derives the word 'warlock' from the Old English warloga meaning "oathbreaker" or "deceiver". A derivation from the Old Norse varð-lokkur, "caller of spirits" has also been suggested, however the Oxford English Dictionary considers this etymology inadmissible as there is no evidence to back it up. The Oxford English Dictionary also provides the following meanings of the word: Warlock v1 Obs. (ex. dial.) rare, also warloke: To secure (a horse) as with a fetterlock. Warlock v2: To bar against hostile invasion. (Wikipedia)
Those male Witches who do self-define as Warlocks will find their own justification for doing so. They certainly have every right to define as they please. This article should therefore not, in any way, be construed as an attack against this right to self-definition.
On 15 December 2008 Jacob Zuma, President of the African National Congress (ANC), addressing thousands of ANC supporters in Dan Qeqe stadium in Zwide, Port Elizabeth (Eastern Cape), called the leaders of the newly formed rival political party, the Congress of the People (COPE), Witches.
The National Post and the Star reported Zuma as saying, “It is better when you have an enemy that you don't know. If you know the enemy, then it is more difficult. In Zulu we refer to a form of witchcraft called ukuphehla amanzi, where your enemy would mix dirt from your body in a calabash and stick a spear into the mixture to cause you sharp body pains. When the witch is a family member, we know that it's more dangerous than an enemy from outside." [1]
The Star concluded its report, “In Bloemfontein, Lekota told delegates that the ANC's response to the formation of COPE had left sections of society paralysed with fear akin to the terror that gripped the nation under apartheid leaders, John Vorster and
PW Botha.” [2]
Terror Lekota’s statement may prove to be an exaggerated response to political intimidation by ANC cadres intent on discrediting ex-ANC members now disillusioned with the ANC. Indeed, the election tone of the ANC’s 2008/9 campaign, like no other campaign before it, has largely focused on verbally abusing and denigrating the dignity of defecting ANC members, many of whom have chosen to join COPE, by publicly vilifying them, referring to them as traitors, dogs, snakes and baboons.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Themba Ndaba the chairperson of the Sedibeng ANC Youth League branch secretary told an interviewer, “People like Terror Lekota and all those people who want to destroy the history of the organisation (ANC), they behave like cockroachesand they must be destroyed”. [3] When asked what was meant by the word destroyed Ndaba responded, “We must kill them.”
Independent Democrat President Patricia de Lille cautioned the ANCYL secretary against using hate speech against COPE by reminding him “of the use of the word cockroaches by Hutus to describe Tutsis in the months before the Rwandan genocide.” [4]
Here one must pause and consider the influences and consequences of emotionally charged bias on a political platform with unfettered access to the media. In a country struggling to come to terms with opposition to the status quo, the unthinkable curse of almost every African democracy on the continent looms ominously on the rainbow horizon.
The African National Congress, which considers itself the rightful heir to power in South Africa for having delivered the country from apartheid in 1994, is terrified by COPE. [5]
The divisive figure at the centre of this new counter-revolution is Jacob Zuma, and its generals in waiting are ANCYL President Julius Malema and Cosatu secretary general Zwelinzima Vavi, both of whom have publicly pledged to kill for Zuma.
“Let us make it clear now: we are prepared to die for Zuma. Not only that, we are prepared to take up arms and kill for Zuma.” Julius Malema [6]
In an ongoing attempt by Zuma supporters to protect their party’s President from facing 16 corruption and fraud charges, including racketeering, corruption and money laundering [7] Kwazulu-Natal Cosatu secretary warned South Africans that if Zuma is tried on corruption charges “there will be blood all over in the country”.
The almost cult following of the populist Zuma has drawn sharp criticism from politicians. When Ace Magashule, the ANC's Free State chairperson claimed that “Zuma had been persecuted like Christ” [8] , Patricia de Lille demanded the ANC “stop using Jesus Christ, the Bible and Christianity in general to garner votes from the poor and the vulnerable.” [9]
At an early election rally in Polokwane, Limpopo Province, in November 2008 Zuma had referred to those who had left the ANC to join COPE as being "like the donkey on which, according to the Bible, Jesus rode into Jerusalem." Zuma said, "The people were waiting for the Son of Man who was on the donkey. The donkey did not understand it, and thought the songs of praise were for him."
According to Zuma, the donkey later tried to return to Jerusalem on its own in order to once again experience that moment of glory, but the people chased it away. In the same way the Congress of the People (Cope) leaders will find they are nothing without the ANC, Zuma said. [10]
Bushbuckridge Mayor, Milton Morema [11] is reported to have said to a crowd of supporters at a rally, "I am here on behalf of the ANC to remind you of election time. There is only one party that led you from the hands of the Pharaohs in Egypt to Canaan. Since van Riebeeck landed here in 1652 the whites have oppressed the blacks. White people took away our land. The ANC has led the politics of resistance and many people have died in the struggle. The ANC follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. When Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem he identified with the poor. That is what the ANC does. Jesus Christ suffered because he wanted to see people sheltered. The ANC provides Bushbuckridge with houses. Jesus Christ would have loved to see people living in healthy situations. The ANC provides clinics and food parcels. Jesus fought poverty and suffering in his preaching. The ANC provides grants to stop people from suffering. Like the Pharaohs, God did not support the Apartheid government. That is why they did not last. But God supports this government. It does what Jesus does. It will rule till Jesus comes back." [12]
As the model custodian of the Moral Regeneration Movement, Jacob Zuma has assumed the position of High Priest in the minds of former liberators and according to his followers, he can do no wrong. Is our constitutional democracy, under a Zuma government, preparing to shed the principles of equality and dignity in which leaders are elected to serve and protect the constitution, for an all-inclusive ANC Christian hegemony?
We can only hope that all this bluster is merely bluff, but one would be foolish to ignore or dismiss the depth of racial, ethnic and religious bias fueling this rabid fervor. Where there is substantial bias, there is always the potential for prejudice to evolve into discrimination and violence, especially when strong and positive leadership is absent. Incidences of intimidation and violence have already started between ANC, COPE and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) supporters. [13]
"For many observers of this slowly unfolding count-down to South Africa’s 2009 elections the ANC’s aggressive election campaign is a reflection of deep-seated anxiety among the ruling elite and ordinary citizens are beginning to feel the consequences of this political insecurity. In every region of the world, it seems that human rights are being rolled back. Frustration and bitterness are fuelled by economic policies which make the rich richer and the poor poorer. And governments seem unwilling or unable to do anything about it. … But they are prepared to go to great lengths to cover up their crimes." Pierre Sané, Amnesty International Secretary-General
Read the rest of this study in bias, prejudice and discrimination here:
http://www.paganrightsalliance.org/Witch
References (Part One):
[1] Zuma calls COPE leaders Witches
War of words hots up
Published Monday 15 December 2008
http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fA
Split threatens South Africa's ruling ANC party
Peter Goodspeed, National Post Published Tuesday 16 December 2008
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/s
[2] War of words hots up
http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fA
[3] ID’S Patricia de Lille slams ANC and COPE for Hate Speech
26 November 2008
http://www.id.org.za/newsroom/press-rele
2008/news_item.2008-11-26.6841022608/?se
[4] Ibid.
[5] Can South Africa's ANC COPE with real opposition?
Clare Byrne - Africa News Published 16 Dec 2008
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/a
[6] Julius Malema is a child of the ANC
http://historymatters.co.za/2008/06/20/j
[7] Jacob Zuma corruption charges reinstated
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/1
[8] Zuma 'persecuted like Christ'
Henry Cloete
30 November 2008
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Afric
[9] ID’s Patricia De Lille Slams Anc For ‘selective Use Of Christianity To Further Political Goals’
1 December 2008
http://www.id.org.za/newsroom/press-rele
2008/news_item.2008-12-01.4301765788/?se
[10] Cope like Jesus's donkey - Zuma
Carien du Plessis
Beeld Published 19 November 2008
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Afric
[11] DA: Suspend Morema immediately
Published 22 April 2008
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&c
[12] The ANC and Religion
Gareth van Onselen
Published 1 December 2008
http://realanctoday.wordpress.com/2008/1
[13] Election intimidation and violence
ANC, IFP tensions boil over
Published 1 February 2009
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Afric
Cope members say ANC using intimidatory tactics on them
Rochelle de Kock
The Herald Online Published 7 February 2009
http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n
A few days before Christmas, on December 21, Pagans in South Africa celebrated the Summer Solstice, a celebration of the Sun as the Supreme source of Life and Light. But, as usual, the press chose to ignore this Pagan observance in favour of more Christmas talk. The topic of conversation you've heard before - 'the Pagan origins of Christmas'.
Radio 702 - Monday 29 December - 2pm - The Pagan origins of Christmas
Do a quick Google and you'll probably be left believing that Christmas is simply a Christianized version of a pagan Yule and that both Pagans and Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, a Jew. But scratch through the veneer of new-age pop and you'll discover that things are not always as they seem. Christmas does not have Pagan origins. Christmas has Christian origins.
The Mass of Christ has been celebrated since the second or third century by Christians, not Pagans. Early Christians were not in agreement on exactly when Jesus was born. Some Christians assigned the date of his birth to 20 May, others to 19 or 20 April and still others to 6 January. In 350CE Pope Julius I declared the birthday of Jesus as 25 December.
Pre-Christian pagan peoples celebrated several religious festivals on or near the Winter Solstice. These may or may not have influenced early Christians to finally settle on 25 December as the date of choice for the birth of Jesus.
In ancient pagan Rome the Saturnalia was a public winter festival originally celebrated on 17 December in honour of the pagan agricultural God, Saturn. The celebrations included the making and giving of small gifts. The Saturnalia was later supplanted by the feast of Sol Invictus (a Roman name for the God of the Victorious Sun) which was celebrated on 25 December.
The 25th of December was also reputed by pre-Christian pagans to be the birthday of the Greek God of the Vine and Wine, Dionysus. The Roman solar feast of Natalis Invicti, also celebrated on 25 December, was a celebration of the birthday of Mithra, an imported eastern deity popularly worshiped amongst Roman soldiers.
Pagan Germanic peoples named their Winter Solstice celebrations Yule after the month in which they were celebrated (December). Yule is the name most (but not all) modern Pagans give to the Winter Solstice today. In 730CE the English historian Bede wrote that the Anglo-Saxons marked 25 December as the festival of módraniht, meaning Mother's Night.
Although we may observe the sharing of several activities in the celebration of both Yule and Christmas - such as the gathering together of family and the renewal of familial bonds, and whilst some customs originally observed by pagan cultures, such as the exchange of food and gifts and the lighting of fires, were later adopted as customs of Christmas, this does not make the customs of exchanging food and gifts and the lighting of fires exclusively pagan. These and other customs associated with both Yule and Christmas are perfectly natural human expressions of solidarity and veneration - neither exclusively Christian nor Pagan, and yet used by every known religion in one form or another for different theological reasons.
Christmas is not a Christian Yule, and Yule is not a Pagan Christmas.
Many customs associated with modern Christmas were progressively absorbed into later Christian observations. Christmas was not celebrated as a holiday with gift giving until the Victorian era. The pagan Germanic tradition of dressing an Ash tree was only introduced to England as the Christmas Pine tree by Prince Albert in 1841. Santa Claus finds his origin in the Roman and Orthodox Catholic worship of saints. Santa Claus is St. Nicholas, the Christian patron saint of children. Saint Nicholas of Myra (part of modern-day Turkey), also known as Nicholas the Wonderworker, had a reputation for secret gift-giving. Over the centuries the image of Santa Claus has evolved into that of Father Christmas - a very Christian archetype.
Yule and Christmas are celebrated for different reasons. Whilst both Yule and Christmas may share a philosophical reflection on the promise of rebirth from death, Yule is not Christmas, and Christmas is not Yule.
Yule focuses on the observation and celebration of an agricultural and seasonal event - the Winter Solstice and the death of Nature. In the southern hemisphere Pagans celebrate Yule in June - the time of the Winter solstice. The Gods and Goddesses venerated by Pagans at the Winter Solstice are agricultural and chthonic.
Christmas is focussed on the birth of Jesus, the Son of a God, who is born to bring salvation from mortal sin for those who believe. Hardly a celebration of the agricultural cycle or of the death of Nature during the dark winter months.
In the southern hemisphere Pagans celebrate the Winter Solstice on or near the 21st of June, not in December at the height of the summer solstice. Pagans celebrate Yule by burning a symbolic log of Oak, Ash or Pine, and by hanging Holly and Mistletoe above entrances to the home to bless and protect the home and its occupants from the cold dark night of the winter solstice. Modern Pagan celebrations of the Winter Solstice focus on honouring our pagan ancestors, the Gods and Goddesses of the earth and of agriculture, gift giving and communal feasting.
Perhaps next year, instead of fixating on Pagan commentary of a Christian public holiday celebration, the South African media might think of exploring Paganism and Pagan celebrations for their own intrinsic value or for their contribution to the spiritual and religious lives of South African Pagans.
Although we're grateful that Traditional healers, traditionally the Witch-hunters in African societies, have undertaken to end the persecution of 'Witches', we're not entirely convinced that seeking to criminalize persons suspected or accused of 'butsakatsi practices' will result in an end to Witch hunts under a different guise.
The THO has defined 'butsakatsi' as "including the use of harmful medicines, harmful charms, harmful magic and any other means or devices in causing any illness, misfortunes or death to any person or animal, or in causing any injury to any person, animal or property."
In September 2007 the Mpumalanga Premier's Office stated that the Mpumalanga Provincial Government have a mandate to draft legislation to prevent ritual murder and human mutilations, and prevent accusations of Witchcraft which lead to violence. I'm of the considered opinion that the scope of the envisioned 'Control of Butsakatsi Practices Bill' proposed by the THO extends beyond this stated mandate in that it seeks to control the use of medicines and the use of charms and magic.
Medicines and related controlled substances (including poisons) are already legislated and regulated in a number of ways, including legislation such as the Medicines and Related Substances Act, professional Boards of regulation established to protect the public from malpractices from a range of health professionals including Traditional Healing, Therapeutic Aromatherapy, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Phytotherapy, Ayurvedic and Chinese Medicine, the implementation of the objectives of the National Drug Policy and Essential Drugs Programme and Primary Health Care Standard Treatment Guidelines.
Charms and magic fall within the ambit of belief and can not be proven to have any real effect outside of the realm of belief. A charm is defined as a decorative pendant, amulet or talisman, often a representation of an animal, symbol, or sign of the zodiac, but including natural objects such as shells, stones and crystals, often worn on a bracelet, necklace or earring, or suspended in the home above a window or door, that is believed to bring good luck, protect against misfortune, or attract a desired magical effect to the wearer, such as wealth, love or success. The efficacy of a charm is dependent on whether or not the wearing believes it has magic power. Magic is defined as any ritualized act believed to cause a change in consciousness or facilitate the manifestation of a desired outcome. Pagans in South Africa are opposed to the drafting of any bill, or the introduction of any legislation, which will in any way criminalize South African citizens on the basis of belief.
The definition of butsakatsi as "any other means or devices in causing any illness, misfortunes or death to any person or animal, or in causing any injury to any person, animal or property" is, in my opinion, broad enough to encompass actions and activities already regulated and legislated against in South African common law, including negligence in the administering of medicines or medical treatment, negligence in the caring for domestic animals, uncontrolled household and industrial pollution, and may include as ‘devices’, jewelery, weapons, cooking utensils and cutlery.
The use and definition of the term butsakatsi fails however to address the two primary concerns of the mandate of the Mpumalanga Provincial Government and Legislature, namely, to prevent ritual killings and to prevent accusations of Witchcraft which lead to violence.
Ritual murders and human mutilations are not confined to South Africa. Any legislation which seeks to prevent and punish these crimes must be drafted with due consideration to existing international legal and forensic evidence. Human mutilations and the illegal trade in human body parts have been linked with human trafficking. Legislation must take cognizance of existing assessments of trends in human trafficking conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It should be noted that existing common law in South Africa already prohibits both murder and the trade in human body parts.
Existing legal and forensic evidence does not prove the complicity of self-defined Witches in the activity of human mutilations. Any legislation against ritual murder and human mutilations should neither implicate self-defined Witches, not portray Witchcraft as criminally responsible for such activities.
Maintaining and reinforcing a discriminatory and prejudicial definition of Witchcraft that is by its very nature, predisposed to eliciting violence against alleged Witches, constitutes a violation of the right of self-defined Witches to freedom of religion. Historically the words 'Witch' and 'Witchcraft' have been used in South Africa to incorrectly describe evil or criminal practices associated with ritual killings, human mutilations and misfortune in general. The promotion of the terms ‘Witch’ and ‘Witchcraft’ to describe such criminal practices by religious leaders, politicians, academics, traditional leaders and traditional healers only serves to incite further malice and violence against innocent South Africans suspected or accused of either being Witches or of using Witchcraft.
Existing legislation (Witchcraft Suppression Act – Act 3 of 1957) has failed to prevent violence against suspected or accused Witches. The portrayal of Witchcraft as a criminal offense in Act 3 reinforces general societal prejudice against Witchcraft. Act 3 does not take cognizance of Witchcraft as a constitutionally protected religion. It should be noted that the criminal activities associated with witch-hunts (accusations of bewitchment) and related violence against suspected and accused victims, including defamation, assault, attempted murder, murder and arson, are already prohibited by common law.
South African Pagans will not participate in the drafting of a 'Control of Butsakatsi Practices Bill' as proposed by the THO because such as Bill as envisioned in this proposal will seek to regulate belief and religion rather than identified criminal activities, seek to develop the law of evidence to facilitate the introduction of spectral evidence in a court of law to support allegations of criminal activity, establish ‘witchcraft courts’ to review allegations of ‘practicing an already defined and internationally recognized religion’, namely Witchcraft, facilitate the hearing of matter relating to Witchcraft by traditional courts, duplicate existing legislation and common law with regard to medicines and related controlled substances (including poisons), and including the prohibition of murder and attempted murder, and the trade in human body parts, and fail to address the mandate of the Mpumalanga Legislature with regard to preventing human mutilations and witchcraft-related violence.
The author does not permit comments, so I am commenting on this particular blog here.
In response to It's evil - but it's under conntrol (sic)
quote: It's interesting to note that amidst of all this political talk about "the New South Africa" and "African solutions to African problems", the Witchcraft Suppression Act was made part of South African law in 2007. The Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill (2007) contains the following interesting paragraph:
end quote.6 Any person who conducts himself in the manner below shall be guilty of an offence:-
1 (a) Imputes to any other person the causing, by supernatural means, of any disease in or injury or damage to any person or thing, or who names or indicates any other person as a wizard;
(b) In circumstances indicating that he professes or pretends to use any supernatural power, witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or disappointment of any person or thing to any other person;
(c) Employs or solicits any witchdoctor, witch-finder or any other person to name or indicate any person as a wizard;
(d) Professes a knowledge of witchcraft, or the use of charms, advises any person how to bewitch, injure or damage any person or thing, or supplies any person with any pretended means of witchcraft;
(e) On the advice of any inyanga, witch-finder or other person or on the ground of any pretended knowledge of witchcraft, uses or causes to be put into operational any means or process which, in accordance with such advice or his own belief, is calculated to injure or damage any person or thing; and
(f) For gain pretends to exercise or use any supernatural powers, witchcraft, sorcery or enchantment.
The Witchcraft Suppression Act became law in South Africa in 1957, not 2007.
The Wikipedia entry [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpumalanga
The Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill of 2007, which was based on the 1957 Witchcraft Suppression Act, was successfully prevented from becoming law by the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA), the South African Pagan Council (SAPC), and hundreds of South African citizens who self-define as Pagan Witches. Even the Traditional Healers Organisation (THO) objected to the draft Suppression Bill.
See an official response from the Mpumalanga government.
Please note to the following:
Sapra September 2007 Review
http://www.paganrightsalliance.org/press.h
- 16 September 2007
The democratically elected Executive Committee of the Alliance has received the following mandate from its members:
i. Appeal for legislative reform of the 1957 Witchcraft Suppression Act.
ii. Pursue the reclamation of the terms 'Witch' and ‘Witchcraft’.
iii. Support the initiatives of the South African Pagan Council.
The Alliance determines that the right to define the words ‘Witch’ and ‘Witchcraft’ rests with Witches themselves and no one else. The Alliance will not, in seeking to protect the democratic rights and freedoms of South African Witches, seek to support the criminalisation of any other person or minority group, irrespective of race or ethnicity, on the basis of belief or religion. The Alliance will continue to ensure that no legislation will ever be drafted which will in any way prohibit or criminalize South African citizens on the grounds of belief or religion, or as the result of automatic inference of criminality.
In executing its mandate, the Executive of the Alliance has taken the following actions:
The Executive has submitted a formal appeal to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development to (a) review the 1957 Witchcraft Suppression Act, and (b) ensure that the Mpumalanga Legislature does not draft any legislation which will in any way prohibit or criminalize South African citizens on the grounds of belief or religion, or as the result of automatic inference of criminality. This appeal was submitted to Minister B.S. Mabandla on 10 July 2007. The Minister has refered SAPRA’s appeal to prevent the Mpumalanga Legislature from drafting any legislation which will in any way prohibit or criminalize South African citizens on the grounds of belief or religion, irrespective of race or ethnicity, or as the result of automatic inference of criminality, to the Minister of Provincial and Local Government. The Minister has refered SAPRA’s appeal for legislative review of the 1957 Witchcraft Suppression Act to the Parliamentary Legislative review committee for further investigation.
The Executive has submitted an appeal to the South African Law Reform Commission to initiate urgent legislative reform to the Witchcraft Suppression Act (Act 3 of 1957 as amended by Act 50 of 1970) in order to prevent any further or future unfair discrimination and prejudice against citizens of a free and democratic country founded on the recognition of human dignity, equality for all - irrespective of religion or belief, and the advancement of human rights and freedoms for all South African citizens equally. This appeal was submitted to Mr W. Henegan: Secretariat of the South African Law Reform Commission on 10 July 2007. The South African Law Reform Commission has acknowledged that it is currently reviewing the Alliance’s appeal to initiate legislative reform of the 1957 Witchcraft Suppression Act.
The Executive has submitted objections against the proposed Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill drafted by the Mpumalanga Legislature, to the MEC C. Mashego-Dlamini of the Mpumalanga Provincial Government, and has appealed to the MEC to consider the ramifications of permitting acceptance of the Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill on residents of Mpumalanga Province who do define themselves as Witches and who do define their religion as Witchcraft. These citizens of the Republic of South Africa will be denied their constitutional rights to religious freedom, expression, equality, liberty, dignity, security and their right to choose and practice their occupation within the Province of Mpumalanga. These objections were delivered to the Provincial Executive Committee of the Department of Local Government and Housing (acting on behalf of the MEC) in person on behalf of the Alliance by Mr. Luke Martin (a member of SAPRA and Convenor of the South African pagan Council) on 10 August 2007.
The Executive has submitted substantial objections against the proposed Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill to the Mpumalanga Legislature. Three separate submissions in objection to the Suppression Bill were submitted on 5, 7 and 9 July 2007. It should be noted that the Alliance registered as an Interested and Affected party with the Office of the Premier – Mpumalanga Provincial Government, on *25 June 2007*.
NOTE:
The Mpumalanga Provincial Government and Legislature have stated that they will not proceed with legislation against Witchcraft.
Witchcraft is already a recognised belief system and religion in South Africa and as such, Witches are already accorded all rights, protections and privileges enshrined in the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of South Africa [Act 108 of 1996] by virtue of South African citizenship. Section 9 (3) [Act 108] reads: (3) The state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.
The Mpumalanga Provincial Government and Legislature have absolutely no intention of pursuing the draft Witchcraft Suppression Bill.
The Mpumalanga Premier's Office has stated that the Mpumalanga Provincial Government have a mandate to draft legislation to:
(i.) prevent ritual killings, and
(ii.) prevent accusations of witchcraft which lead to violence.
The Executive submitted a request to the Commission on Gender Equality for a formal ‘Commission of Enquiry’ into the ongoing persecution of innocent persons falsely accused of being witches and of practicing witchcraft in South Africa. The letter of appeal is dated 12 February 2007. The Executive submitted the same request for a formal ‘Commission of Enquiry’ to the South African Human Rights Commission. The letter of appeal is dated 19 February 2007. The Executive submitted the same request for a formal ‘Commission of Enquiry’ to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development. The letter of appeal is also dated 19 February 2007.
PRESS COVERAGE - July 2007
Witches are not criminals, but have religious and spiritual rights too.
July 2007
That's the argument the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (Sapra) wants to use to protect the belief of witchcraft against a newly proposed bill, The Star newspaper reported on Friday.
Read: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Afric
Battle over witches' rights
July 2007
Read: http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Afric
S.Africa witches fight for rights
July 2007
JOHANNESBURG, July 20 (Reuters Life!) - A group representing South African witches says it wants their beliefs protected against a proposed law to suppress witchcraft in the country, often called a model of human rights. The South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) -- an organisation representing what it says are between 3,000-5,000 witches in the country -- said on Friday it would fight a proposed bill to criminalise witchcraft in one of the country's nine provinces. "We think that this is a serious violation of our constitutional rights and in fact the bill is in contradiction with at least 11 clauses in the bill of rights," SAPRA convenor Damon Leff told Reuters. The clauses, Leff said, include the right to equality, freedom of association, choice of occupation or profession and the freedom to choose a religion or culture, among others.
Read: http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL
Witches need protection, says Sapra
July 2007
By Louise Flanagan
Witches are not criminals, but have religious and spiritual rights too.
Read: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&c
Healers, pagans oppose new witchcraft bill
July 2007
Riot Hlatshwayo
Mpumalanga’s proposed Witchcraft Suppression Bill came under fire during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting this week. The Traditional Health Organisation (THO) and the South African Pagan Council (SAPC) opposed the bill. About 50 THO members, led by its national president, Nhlavana Maseko, met the Local Government and Housing Department.
Read: http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.as
Paganism is a diverse reconstruction and resurgence of European pagan religions. In South Africa Paganism includes syncretic neo-Pagan religions, including Wicca.
Etymology: pagan / Pagan / Paganism
The word Pagan comes from the Latin words 'pagani', meaning 'rural', and 'pagus', meaning 'country-district'. It was used in a Christian inscription of the early fourth century to describe rural civilians of Rome who had not converted to Christianity.
The 'pagani', more often than not, practiced ancient Roman, Greek, Celtic, Teutonic and Egyptian religions, religions very closely associated with Nature (as is evidenced in what we now know about their beliefs, their Gods and Goddesses and their relationship to natural places, elements and forces (wind, wave, rain, fertility etc.).
The general use of the word in ancient Rome however made no direct reference to religion at all. A pagan (or heathen) was simply a person who dwelt in the country and in this Roman context may have referred equally to members of very divergent belief systems and spiritualities.
Within a fourth century Christian context a pagan referred specifically to non-Christians not only in Rome but throughout the Mediterranean world. Colonization and the work of Christian missionaries broadened the usage of the words pagan and heathen to include pre-Christian and non-Christian religions of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The reader should bear in mind that adherents of these religions did not refer to their faiths as paganism or heathenism.
What is the difference between paganism and Paganism?
paganism, with a small 'p', is a term used as a form of derision by Christian Missionaries and Churches in reference to pre-Christian religious belief systems and practices. Today the term is commonly used to collectively define very diverse and divergent pre-Christian cultures and religions, cultures and religions which do not necessarily define themselves as pagan.
Paganism, with a capital 'P', refers to the modern renewal and revival of the ancient religious, spiritual and ritual practices of pre-Christian peoples. Modern Pagans have reclaimed the term 'Paganism' as an over-arching definition for reconstructed pre-Christian European religions (also refered to as Ethnic European Religions) and post-Christian neo-Pagan syncretic religions. Modern Paganism is characterized by a diversity of spirituality, belief and religious practice, and by tolerance of religious and theological diversity.
Note: The word 'Heathen' is a North-European equivalent of the Latin-derived 'Pagan', having similar connotations, i.e. dweller of the heath / country-side, and is the preferred term of many modern Pagans who adhere to Teutonic Traditions.
What is Witchcraft?
Witches define Witchcraft as both a magical practice and a religion.
The South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) defines Witchcraft as:
a) a craft (magical occupation) that employs the use of sympathetic magic, ritual, herbalism and divination, and
b) a religion.
Many Witches also define their religion as 'Wicca'.
What is modern Wicca?
Wicca is an initiatory, polytheistic (with exceptions), Pagan mystery religion inspired by various pre- and post-Christian western European beliefs and spiritual practices, whose central deity is either a Mother Goddess or a God and a Goddess of Nature. Wicca was popularized in England in the 1950's by Gerald Gardner. An initiate of the Wicca is one who traces his or her initiatory lineage back to Gerald Gardner or one of his initiates.
Are Wicca and Witchcraft the same thing?
Wicca and Witchcraft are not necessarily the same thing. Although the Anglo-Saxon word for a male witch was 'wicca', and for a female witch, 'wicce', in modern usage the word 'Wicca' is used to describe both male and female initiates of the Pagan mystery traditions of 'the Wicca'. Today the term 'Wicca' refers to many different modern Pagan mystery religions whose members adhere to an ethical code of conduct that requires its adherents to refrain from harming others. Not all Witches define themselves as 'Wicca'.
Paganism in South Africa Since 1995
Since 1995 Paganism has received fairly positive television and media coverage and a number of Pagans have taken the opportunity to express their pleas for religious tolerance and an end to the discrimination of Pagans and Witches in South Africa. Many new Pagan groups (religious communities) have been formed, each of which have and are contributing toward building, through networking, sharing and teaching, the Pagan community of South Africa.
My involvement in the birth of the public Pagan movement in South Africa began in 1995 with the publication of Penton Pagan Magazine. The first issue in December 1995 featured articles on the Horned God and Nature, the Gardnerian revival of Wicca and Goddess spirituality. Subsequent issues explored Paganism and Pagan related spiritualities and paths.
In its second year of publication Penton was approached by Donna (Darkwolf) Vos and requested to publish a questionnaire on a proposal to form the first representative Pagan Federation of South Africa (not affiliated to Pagan Federation UK or Pagan Federation International South Africa).
The Pagan Federation of South Africa (PFSA) was formed in 1996. Its first Annual National General Conference took place in Cape Town in June 1996 at which Donna Vos was elected its first President. Norman Geldenhuys (Quasimodo) took over as President from Vos in 1999.
Many diverse Pagan groups have been formed since 1996, reflecting the independent spirit of diversity so characteristic of the modern Pagan movement in South Africa. No one person or group may be said to speak for all Pagans in South Africa.
The most visible of these groups include:
The Grove was founded in 1996 in Gauteng by Druid Morgainne Emrhys and Damon Leff. The Grove is an eclectic South African Pagan Mystery School dedicated to the exploration of Pagan gnosis and the practice of neo-Paganism. The order is an initiatory tradition founded on the praxis of ancient and modern Pagan traditions. The Grove is currently administered by High Priestess Shannon McCardle (Tamra).
CORD was founded in Gauteng in 1997 by Mayrek, Rufiki, Era and Spiral. In 2000 CORD began networking nationally with the Pagan community, co-ordinated gatherings with other established Pagan groups and facilitated in the sharing of information and ritual experiences with other groups in Johannesburg and Pretoria. The coven "went public" in 2001 and began publishing the CORD Newsletter. CORD was dissolved in 2003.
The Clan of the ShaddowHorse was founded in Gauteng by Carol Nowlan (Epona Moondancer) in 1998. The Clan is no longer in existence but members went on to form the House Ouroborus which has Clans in Cape Town, Durban and the UK.
The Clan of Ysgithyrwyn was founded by Damon Leff in 1998 in the southern Cape. The Hearth of Ysgithyrwyn was formed as a Pagan circle of fellowship and ceremony and is the foundation stone of an eclectic Pagan Coven.
The Lunaguardia Tradition was founded in December 2000 by Aurelius Rex Maximus and Morgause Fontléve in Nelspruit. Lunaguardia is an eclectic coven aimed at personal identification with Divinity and the Solitary path.
The Circle of the African Moon (CAM) was founded in 2001 by Donna Vos, President of the Pagan Federation of South Africa from 1996 to 1999 and author of ‘Dancing under an African Moon ‘ (Struik, 2002). CAM promotes itself as a proactive educational network dedicated to correcting misinformation about Paganism through interaction with the media and engaging in dialogue and interfaith activities.
Celestine Circle was founded in 2001 by Fey Fand in Kwazulu-Natal.
The House of Ouroborus (THO) was founded by Epona Moondancer and Arias Indlovu in 2001. In 2002 the Temple Of Epona was registered as the first Pagan Church in South Africa. The House of Ouroborus has continued to adapt with time and aims to remain a useful entity to the South African Pagan Community
In 2002 the Correlian Nativist Church (CNC) was launched in South Africa with a visit from Ed Hubbard, founder of the American Correllian Nativist Tradition. A number of Correllian Temples have been formed in Gauteng and the Western Cape since 2002.
The Pagan Freedom Day Movement was founded on 11.11.2003 through the cooperative efforts of the Pagan Federation of South Africa, CORD, The Grove, Lunaguardia, The House of Ouroborus and other non-alligned Pagans. The Pagan Freedom Day initiative was launched to facilitate an annual national and regional Pagan celebration of 10 years of Religious Freedom in South Africa on Freedom Day 27 April 2004. In January 2004, this initiative was formerly chartered as the Pagan Freedom Day Movement (PFDM).
The South African Pagan Rights Alliance (Sapra) was founded by Damon Leff in 2004 as a Pagan human rights activist alliance. In 2006 Sapra was reformed as a democratically constituted body with an elected executive. The Alliance was constituted to promote the guaranteed liberties and freedoms enshrined for all South African Pagans in the Bill of Rights, Chapter 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act 108 of 1996), and to assist South African Pagans, whose constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms have been infringed due to unfair discrimination, to obtain appropriate redress. SAPRA is a registered Religious Organisation with the Department of Home Affairs and may designate Pagan religious marriage officers.
The Clan of Kheper Temple was formed by the Rev Raene Adams in Cape Town in 2005. The Clan of Kheper is a Temple of the Correllian Tradition dedicated to the study of Correllian Philosophy and Training in the Correllian degree's of Clergy.
In 2006 Aurelius and Morgause founded the South African Pagan Council (SAPC). The SAPC is a registered Religious Organisation with the Department of Home Affairs and may designate Pagan religious marriage officers, and as a Non-Profit organisation with the South African Revenue Services.
Census
Paganism is not the fastest growing religion in South Africa. To date (2007) – up to and including the 2001 Census - there is no accurate census of the number of Pagans in South Africa. Official government Census’s have not listed Paganism as a census choice. It may be assumed that Pagans, who registered for the 2001 Census, were collectively lumped with ‘others’ under either one of these listed figures: Other beliefs 283815 - No religion 6767165 - Undetermined 610974
No official or definitive South African census on the number of self-defined Pagans exists.
Community Structure
Each Pagan community is bound by its own religious rules, regulations, and codes of conduct, traditions and religious theology.
Most communities define themselves as Witches. Others define their Pagan path as Wicca. Others again may define their path as Shamanism, Druidry, Hellenism, Asatru etc.
Conversion
Entry into many of these communities involves an initiatory rite of entry into the mysteries of their chosen Pagan path. Initiation, the introduction or admittance of an individual into a group, religion, or spiritual consciousness could be described as (a) the transformation of one's ideals and values into the ideals and values of a particular chosen path, but it is also (b) the moment of inner realization of greater spiritual awareness, one facilitated through Pagan ritual.
Paganism is not a proselytizing movement. If the Pagan path is right for you, you will find your way to it, whether through devotion to Nature, reading published books on Paganism and Pagan paths, or through actual apprenticeship to an initiate of an already established Pagan tradition, Coven (a community of Witches), Grove (a community of Druids), Lodge (a community of Magicians), or Pagan study group.
Common Pagan Beliefs and Practices
1. No central authority
Paganism nationally and internationally has no central religious authority.
2. Religious hierarchy is localized or absent
Pagan religious communities are governed by initiatory hierarchy or by democratic consensus.
3. No central religious theology
Paganism has no central doctrine or theology and embraces a number of theologies and belief systems including but not restricted to polytheism, monotheism, pantheism and animism.
Paganism draws spiritual and religious inspiration from many credible and authentic ancient and modern sources of religious doctrine, theology and philosophy. Modern Pagan theology is composed of beliefs and practices originating in many distinct pre- and post-Christian religious traditions. Modern Pagans may embrace all or part of this tapestry of belief systems.
Pagans may explore their family and ethnic heritage to discover the indigenous practices of their distant ancestors. Others do respectfully incorporate indigenous practices that belong to a wide variety of cultures. Many Pagans create new practices which in turn may form part of a new Pagan tradition.
4. A reverence for Divinity and Nature
Modern Paganism encourages a strong environmental ethic. This is expressed in our veneration for the Divine Feminine (God as Goddess), most often portrayed as 'Earth Mother' or as the 'Goddess of the Earth'.
Paganism encourages a personal inner relationship with the Divine, in and through Nature, whether through the worship of a Goddess, or through worship of a God and Goddess, or through the worship of many Gods and Goddesses.
Pagans venerate Nature by observing seasonal changes through religious ritual and ceremony. Most Pagans in South Africa celebrate eight religious holy-days called Sabbats which occur on the solstices, equinoxes and four seasonal mid-points between them. These are the festivals that celebrate the seasons and the turning of the Wheel of the Year in the southern hemisphere.
The 8 Pagan Festivals:
1. Samhain
Also known as Halloween.
This sabbat celebrates the start of the new spiritual year with the veneration of the ancestors.
Date: 30 April / 1 May
2. Winter Solstice
Also known as Yule.
This sabbat celebrates the Winter Solstice Sun.
Date: 21 June (or on the date of the winter solstice)
3. Imbolc
Also known as Imbolg.
This sabbat celebrates the end of Winter and the quickening of stem and field to new life.
Date: 1 August
4. Spring Equinox
Also known as Ostara.
This sabbat celebrates the Spring Equinox and new life.
Date: 21 September (or on the date of the spring equinox)
5. Beltane
Also known as Beltain.
This is a fertility sabbat in honour of Sun and Earth.
Date: 31 October / 1 November
6. Summer Solstice
Also known as Litha.
This sabbat celebrates the Summer Solstice Sun.
Date: 21 December (or on the date of the summer solstice)
7. Lughnasadh
Also known as the Festival of First Fruits
This sabbat celebrates the First Fruits Harvest.
Date: 2 Feb
8. Autumn Equinox
Also known as Mabon.
This sabbat celebrates the Autumn Equinox and the second harvest of fruit and vegetable.
Date: 21 March (or on the date of the autumn equinox)
5. A reverence for the Ancestors
Paganism encourages respect for ancestral traditions and respect for the living memory of our Ancestors.
6. A reverence for the Spirit of Place and Nature Spirits
Paganism encourages reverence for the Divine within Nature, and the pursuit of the development of sacred relationships with Nature in many forms.
7. The practice of Magic and Ritual
Most, but not all Pagans practice or employ natural sympathetic magic and ritual.
Loosely defined, magic is the practice of harnessing the energy that exists in the natural world for a specific purpose. A magical practitioner, whether he or she is a Witch, Druid, Shaman or Magician, regards magic as a natural force of Nature.
A common phenomenon amongst Pagan traditions is the belief in the efficacy of magic and the realization that true spiritual religious ritual is by nature magical, both in its ability to manifest the practitioners will in consensus reality, and in its ability to induce visions of healing and transformation.
8. The practice of Divinations
Pagans employ divinations for a wide variety of reasons. Divinations include reading the Tarot, consulting astrological charts, scrying over a bowl of water, or interpreting dreams.
9. The practice of Magic Herbalism
Pagans employ traditional herbs (whether European or African) for both medicine and magic.
10. Ethical behaviour is encouraged
Pagans are encouraged to live ethically and to obey the just laws of the Land.
Under the direction of its most outspoken leader, Juan Duval Uys, [3] the National Party (NP) will campaign for the reinstatement of the death penalty (outlawed in South Africa in 1995), public executions, and the suppression or religious minorities regarded as offensive to Christian and Muslim supporters of the NP. Uys publicly declared his intention to change the constitution to enable the NP to implement its barbaric and prejudicial policies.
On its website Uys reaffirmed his vision for the NP with regard to education and religion. On a page entitled 'Religious Instruction In Schools' Uys stated:
Satanism Not Recognised - The National Party respects the practice of all religions in our country, but will not tolerate satanism. The NP will outlaw all practices directly linked to satanism. [4]
Uys replied to my query by saying,
"We will not allow witches to operate in South Africa under NP Government. We and our supporters can not associate ourselves with anything that are (sic) linked to Satanism." [5]
I responded by expressing my dismay that the NP intended to repeat pre-1994 Nationalist Christian propaganda and discrimination against Witches and Witchcraft in South Africa. I informed Uys that in South Africa, self-defined Witches represented a small but visible religious minority. Pagan Witches already have government appointed religious marriage officers and officially recognised religious groups and faith-based organisations. I explained that our own faith-based organisation (SAPRA) was formed in 2004 in order to protect the constitutional right to religious freedom and belief of self-defined Pagans (including Witches) and to defend and protect Witchcraft as a bone-fide religion.I affirmed that SAPRA regarded his statement to "not allow witches to operate in South Africa under NP Government" as intent to suppress and discriminate against Witchcraft and Witches in South Africa and that the Alliance would therefore not support the Nationalist Party in any form and would, at every available opportunity, denounce the religious prejudiced policies of the National Party.
Uys responded to my second letter by saying,
"We don't have a problem with your view on our policy, but we will NEVER (sic) regard Satanism or witches as a form of religion. Our major support comes from Christians and Muslims etc, we will never link this party to Satanism or witchcraft. We will make this very clear during elections 2009." [6]
SAPRA initiated a letter writing campaign encouraging Pagans and self-defined Witches to object to the NP's discriminatory policy on religion. [7] The NP eventually disabled it's contact form [8] but it could not ignore the number of objections lodged by individual Pagans. On behalf of both SAPRA the South African Pagan Council (SAPC), SAPRA submitted a formal objection to the NP against its policy on religion and religious instruction in schools [9].
I also submitted an objection on behalf of both SAPRA and the SAPC to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) against the registration of the National Party as a political party on the grounds that the NP's policies on religion and religious education propagate the contravention of the constitutional right to freedom of belief and religion to recognized religious minorities and intend to prevent membership of the NP on the grounds of religious affiliation by excluding identified religious minorities as undesirable. [10]
On 28 August the IEC's Chief Electoral Officer ruled that the National Party's submitted constitution did not contravene section 16 of the Electoral Commission Act - the NP's submitted constitution does not discriminate on the basis of religion or belief.
Clearly, while the NP's submitted constitution may not have contained any discriminatory content, the party's policies on religion as advertised on its website indicated that until the end of August 2008, the NP had every intention of discriminating against South Africans on the basis of religion and that the party had already publicly identified the religious minorities the NP intended to suppress.
But it appears, perhaps precipitated by Pagan protests, that since the beginning of September the NP's policy on religion, now under the direction of the NP's new Spokesperson for Religion and Cultural affairs and National Director of the NP's Legal Services, J.M.T. Labuschagne, [11] has undergone a radical shift from the far right conservative bigotry of Uys.
On 1 September the NP removed the statement regarding Satanism from their web-page on religion and education and Labuschagne published a new page entitled 'National Party South Africa (NP) On Paganism'.
In it Labuschagne stated,
"We have noted with great concern that there is a misunderstanding amongst the Pagan community regarding the NP's statement on Satanism. We would like to state it unequivocally that the National Party does not hold any ill feeling against the pagan community. On the contrary, the National Party would endeavour upon election to protect the rights of the Pagan community. We understand the response from the Pagan community regarding our policy towards Satanism. It is well known that paganism has wrongly, and to the great detriment of the Pagans, been associated with Satanism by ill-informed officials. However, the National Party wishes to advise that we fully support freedom of religion and that there would be no witch-hunt of any practitioners of Wicca, Odinic Rite or any of the other Pagan practices. Pagans are welcome to celebrate Imbolc, Beltane or any other festival in public, as long as the particular group does not break any of the laws of the Republic. The reference to Satanism refers to destructive religion that developed as an inversion of Christian beliefs and is an open worship of evil. Paganism does not worship evil and it is a force for good in society. The senseless killing of a 16-year old boy at a school in Krugersdorp under the alleged influence of Satanism has prompted the suggestion that there should be acted against Satanism. [12] Finally, again we wish to advise that the Pagan community can rest assured that their rights to worship will be protected by the National Party once we have been elected to office. We sincerely hope this statement has clarified all misunderstandings regarding our religious policy." [13]
A "misunderstanding amongst the Pagan community regarding the NP's statement on Satanism..."? Hardly!Clearly the misunderstanding, to which Labuschagne refers in his press release, wholly belonged to Mr. Uys who, on behalf of the National Party, undertook to promote a religious policy that clearly and plainly intended to discriminate against identified religious minorities, namely Satanism (not a Pagan religion) and Witchcraft (a Pagan religion).
Whilst SAPRA and S.A. Pagans generally were relieved and welcomed Labuschagne's statement of tolerance with regard to Paganism in South Africa, [14] I believe the NP's statement was nothing but a political move to counter potential negative publicity in light of their previous statement made in correspondence to SAPRA. Labuschagne knows that political parties may not promote policies which contradict the essence of the Bill of Rights, namely equality and dignity.
As it stands, the NP's statement of acceptance of Paganism, whilst flattering for Pagans, remains in my opinion in contravention of the Bill of Rights in that it clearly reaffirms the NP's intention to openly and publicly discriminate against Satanism.
Should Pagans allow the NP to discriminate against any minority religion, as long as it's not us? Obviously, if we are going to remain true to the spirit and letter of the Bill of Rights the answer must be no. But that's a different struggle and one Satanists themselves must challenge.
Refreshing as it is to know that Witches in South Africa live in a country where we are afforded the opportunity to object, to petition, to challenge the status quo and sometimes, to win our argument for religious equality and dignity for all South Africans irrespective of belief, opinion or religion, this short and bitter-sweet campaign should remind us to remain constantly vigilant. If history has any lesson for us it is that the evil of the past was built on the prejudices of today.
References:
[1] National Party
http://www.nationalparty.co.za/index.htm
[2] Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa
http://www.elections.org.za/
[3] Online References on Juan Duval Uys
a) 'NP is back, itching for a fight' by Janet Smith
b) 'Chabaan bewitched Zille'
Independent Online - Cape Town,South Africa
[4] National Party statement on Religion and Education
Accessed 18 August 2008. Note: this page was removed by the NP on 1 September
[5] correspondence from J. Duval Uys (NP) to D. Leff (SAPRA) dated 18 August 2008
[6] Ibid.
[7] National Party intends to suppress Witchcraft (18 August 2008)
http://www.paganrightsalliance.org/press.h
[8] National Party website contact form
http://www.nationalparty.co.za/contact%2
[9] SAPRA and the SAPC objection against the National Party's policy on Religion and Religious Instruction in Schools. (19 August 2008)
[10] SAPRA and SAPC objection to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) against the registration of the National Party as a political party. (19 August 2008)
[11] NP National Director of Legal Services J.M.T. Labuschagne
Spokesperson Religion and Cultural affairs
http://www.nationalparty.co.za/leadershi
[12] 'Psychologist: Satanic label simplistic' by Vivian Attwood
[13] 'National Party South Africa (NP) On Paganism'
[14] SAPRA's response to the National Party's statement on Paganism
Historically the words 'Witch' and 'Witchcraft' have been used in South Africa to describe evil or criminal practices associated with ritual killings, human mutilations and misfortune in general.
The 1995 Commission of Inquiry into Witchcraft Violence and Ritual Murder in the Northern Province chaired by Professor N. V. Ralushai revealed the tragedy of 'Witch purging'. The Ralushai Report found that prior to 1980 suspected Witches identified through various methods of divination by "witchdoctors" (diviners or traditional healers acting as Witch-finders) were apprehended by members of their community and killed without trial. Many testified before the commission that some murders were politically instigated.
The Ralushai Commission's report defined the term Witch to mean a person who,
...through sheer malice, either consciously or subconsciously, employs magical means to inflict all manner of evil on their fellow human beings. They destroy property, bring disease or misfortune and cause death, often entirely without provocation to satisfy their inherent craving for evil doing. [1]
The findings of the Commission revealed that the majority of people in the Northern Province, and by inference in South Africa in general, including members of the South African Police Services (SAPS), believe in the existence of Witches and fear the effects of Witchcraft. Amongst traditional African people misfortune, illness and especially premature death is often believed to be caused through the agency of Witchcraft... All kinds of misfortune, including matters as varied as financial problems, illness, (and) drought or lightening strikes, are blamed on witchcraft. [2]
In 'AIDS, Witchcraft, and the Problem of Power in Post-Apartheid South Africa', Adam Ashforth writes, ...Witchcraft in the South African context typically means the manipulation by malicious individuals of powers inherent in persons, spiritual entities, and substances to cause harm to others... the motive of witchcraft is typically said to be "jealousy". [3]
The characterization of a person or group of persons (Witches) as 'evil' and so deserving of criminal classification by default, a characterization supported by centuries of religious and cultural prejudice, makes a mockery of the values of human dignity, equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms on which the new Republic of South Africa is founded.These definitions stereotype Witchcraft as harmful by portraying Witches as a danger to the communities within which they live and work. These harmful stereotypical definitions merely serve to justify irrational public fear of Witchcraft as an allegedly harmful practice that is associated with criminal activity. Maintaining and reinforcing a definition of Witchcraft that is predisposed to eliciting violence against alleged or accused Witches does not promote religious tolerance. It only serves to incite further malice and violence against suspected Witches and thereby fosters further discrimination against Witchcraft and suspected Witches.
We object!
Despite legal ambivalence and intellectual skepticism on the one hand and enthusiastic gullibility on the other by those who believe that no good can come from tolerating Witchcraft or Witches, a small but growing minority of predominantly white South Africans have been re-claiming the word Witch in an altogether different context to that in which the word is commonly used by society today.
In South Africa self-defined Pagan Witches represent the largest 'denomination' within one of the smallest religious minorities on the African continent. There are several contributing factors to the slow growth of the Pagan movement in South Africa, including but not limited to the pervasive traditional African and fundamentalist Christian beliefs and attitudes towards anything associated with the Occult in general and with Witchcraft in particular.
South African Witches regard harmful stereotypical definitions of Witchcraft as injurious to their dignity and the use of the terms Witch and Witchcraft to describe criminal activities as discrimination on the basis of belief. The use of the English term Witchcraft with which to describe harmful magical practices brings into disrepute anyone who may self-identify as a Witch, irrespective of whether or not said self-defined Witch is a European Pagan or a practitioner of Traditional African magic.
What is Witchcraft?
The English word 'Witch' comes from the Anglo-Saxon words 'wicca' (meaning a male Witch) and 'wicce' (meaning a female Witch), and that these originated from an Old High German word 'witega', which means 'seer' (diviner, prophet). The word 'sorcerer' (male) and 'sorceress' (female) are derived from French words for 'Witch'. Sorcery and Witchcraft are the same thing.
Witches define Witchcraft as:
a) a craft (magical occupation) that employs the use of sympathetic magic, ritual, herbalism and divination, and
b) a religion.
Many Witches also define their religion as 'Wicca'.
European ideas of Witchcraft originate from the folklore and mythologies of ancient pre-Christian peoples of Europe, particularly from the Greeks, Romans, Celts (in Britain and on continental Europe) and Germanic speaking peoples, but also many others.
In many pre-Christian pagan European cultures certain men and women were identified as having some ability to read the signs of Nature and to predict the future. These people often had a good knowledge of plants and herbs and were credited with the ability to perform magic. In many ancient European cultures religion and magic were not always seperate things. Religious acts were believed to be magical acts. Magical acts (rituals) are always based on a religious belief. In many pre-Christian pagan societies rituals to celebrate the harvest or a new birth, to honour the dead and the living, and to commune with the Gods and Goddesses of Nature were believed to be sacred magical acts. Magic was also often used to protect the young, safeguard the fields and home, and strengthen and protect the hunter and warrior in battle.
With the spread of Christianity (from about the 4th century BCE) prominent Christian clerics and scholars promoted the idea that Witchcraft was associated with Devil worship and human sacrifice and that Witches served the Christian devil. From about 700 BCE Christians declared Witchcraft as a heresy (as a rejection of the teachings of the Christian church in Europe). Many European monarchs and governments instituted laws against Witchcraft because they believed that Witches really were dangerous devil worshipping heretics.
Real Witches were not dangerous devil worshippers. They were just ordinary people with extraordinary gifts (divination, magic, herbalism, the ability to read the signs and language of Nature, to understand the will of the Gods and Goddesses and Spirits of Place in Nature) and often, but not always, followed an ancestral pagan religion.
Both Christian churches and non-religious secular courts persecuted heretics (including suspected Witches). Witchcraft trials reached their peak in Europe in the early 1600's. Many of the victims, mostly women but including men, were usually innocent of the charges of Witchcraft brought against them. In most cases those accused of Witchcraft were cruelly tortured until they confessed whatever the witch-hunters wanted to hear. Many innocent men and women were imprisoned for life, banished, or executed by burning, drowning or hanging.
In the 1950's and '60's Witches in England publicly challenged centuries of religious propaganda against Witchcraft. In the 1960' and 70's Witches went public in both Europe and America in order to try and counter the propaganda being taught by Christianity about Witchcraft. In South Africa Witches went public in the 1990's after the fall of the apartheid Christian Nationalist goverment.
Some Witches today believe that Witchcraft is a sacred magical practice that is inherited - that the Craft runs in family lines from one generation to the next. Others believe that some lines of Witchcraft are only passed from one generation to the next by some form of initiation into 'the mysteries' of that Witchcraft tradition, and that through initiation these lines can be passed on to non-family members too.
Reconciliation requires religious reformation
South Africans have inherited several prejudicial urban legends on the nature of 'evil' in relation to Witchcraft. These beliefs have and continue to elicit suspicion, mistrust, fear, hatred and violence within communities in several Provinces. Perhaps they continue to do so because culture, religion, law and politics grants them sanction under the rubric of 'respecting cultural traditions and religious beliefs'?
Should cultural practices and religious beliefs that promote the murder of innocents on the basis of belief be tolerated in our society? This is a controversial question. But clearly the answer must be a resounding NO!
I sincerely hope to see an end to Witch hunts in this country. Even though our Constitution does provide for national legislation to be drafted in order to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination, legislation alone will not be enough to vanquish the Witch devouring beast. The South African Bill of Rights already determines that no person may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth.
An end to Witch hunts will also not be accomplished through transforming existing South African legislation. The Witchcraft Suppression Act 3 of 1957 as amended by the Witchcraft Suppression Amendment Act 50 of 1970 must certainly be revoked entirely. The characterization of a person or group of persons (Witches) as 'evil' and so deserving of criminal classification by default makes a mockery of the values of human dignity, equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms on which the Republic of South Africa is founded.
The existing prohibition against professing to have knowledge or use of "any supernatural power, witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration", as well as the prohibition against anyone who "undertakes to tell fortunes, or pretends from his skill in or knowledge of any occult science to discover where and in what manner anything supposed to have been stolen or lost may be found" constitutes unfair discrimination against Witchcraft as a Pagan spirituality.
But even legislative prohibition against identifying and accusing suspected Witches of using Witchcraft to cause harm or damage to any person has not prevented accusations and Witch killings. The irrational fear of Witches and Witchcraft thrives in spite of the law.
An important part of resolving and ending the phenomena of witch-hunts in Africa must include a critical examination of the 'consensus' stereotypes used by different African cultures to promote the belief in witchcraft as maleficent. African studies in anthropology, local folk-lore and the undeniable influence of European Christian colonialism have all contributed toward the construction of these popular stereotypes. Formal studies in which European terms (which are themselves representative of stereotypes that evolved during the 16th and 17th centuries in Europe) have been used to describe the religious and magical ritual acts and beliefs indigenous to Africa have merely reinforced these stereotypes.
Note that I used the words 'religious and magical ritual acts'. Whilst Witchcraft is a form of magical practice, it is not the only form of magic. There are countless variant forms of magical practice throughout the African continent. Most of these magical practices are practiced within a religious framework. None of these recognised religio-magical practices self-define as 'Witchcraft'; with the obvious exception of course of a few hundred of us self-defined African Witches living in South Africa.
I do not believe that distinguishing between European Pagan Witchcraft and African traditional witchcraft takes cognisance of the primary misapplication of the terms 'witch' and 'witchcraft' to describe diverse magical forms in Africa, magical forms which do not self-define as witchcraft. A distinction between the good / identified on the one hand and the bad / unidentified on the other is, in my opinion, tantamount to generalized scapegoating. It is too convenient and will remain a source of societal conflict.
I believe that religious leaders in this country have a moral imperative to prevent the propagation of divisive stereotypes that may motivate further suspicion, malice and violence, and should encourage a renewal of ubuntu towards those who have already suffered persecution at the hands of witch-hunters and witch-accusers.
I humbly suggest exploring the potential of a true South African 'renaissance of the soul', one in which the ignorance and fear that perpetuates Witch hunts is relegated to a painful but never forgotten history; one in which citizens of every religious persuasion will embrace a common vision of humanity, compassion and true enlightenment. Is such a vision possible or even probable? We would argue that such a vision already exists. The popular definition of Ubuntu is a belief in humanness and humanity.
In his book 'God has a Dream' Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes:
(Ubuntu) is the essence of being human. It speaks of the fact that my humanity is caught up and is inextricably bound up in yours. I am human because I belong. It speaks about wholeness, it speaks about compassion. A person with ubuntu is welcoming, hospitable, warm and generous, willing to share. Such people are open and available to others, willing to be vulnerable, affirming of others, do not feel threatened that others are able and good, for they have a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that they belong in a greater whole. They know that they are diminished when others are humiliated, diminished when others are oppressed, diminished when others are treated as if they were less than who they are. The quality of ubuntu gives people resilience, enabling them to survive and emerge still human despite all efforts to de-humanise them.
Stanley Letsoko writes in an article entitled 'The Ubuntu Philosophy',
"There can be no human being who is not a fellow human being."
Could such an attitude of compassionate commonality transform the Witch-killing beast lurking in the soul of every man, woman and child?
I believe it can and must do so. Without a moderating perspective on the question of Witchcraft and a true renewal of both theological and cultural understanding of the nature of evil in relation to this question, no room will ever be created within which to achieve any form of true equality, dignity or humanity for self-defined Witches in South Africa.
Further Reading:
A Pagan Witches TouchStone
References:
[1] Report of the Ralushai Commission of Inquiry into Witchcraft Violence and Ritual Murder in the Northern Province, 1995
[2] Ibid.
[3] ‘AIDS, Witchcraft, and the Problem of Power in Post-Apartheid South Africa’, Adam Ashforth
Paganism is not a catch-all phrase for 'anything goes'.
For Pagans who have reclaimed the term (from its very broad Christian usage), Paganism is the restoration and reconstruction of indigenous European religions.
"In central Europe Pagans identify an ethnic group with a nation and thus, for some of them, Paganism means nationalism or more precisely, ethnic nationalism."(Lozko, 1998; Shilov, 2000: 95;Lozko, 1994: 38–39). [1]
A religion, according to Wikipedia, "is a set of tenets and practices, often centered upon specific supernatural and moral claims about reality, the cosmos and human nature, and often codified as prayer, ritual, or religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history and mythology, as well as personal faith and religious experience. The term religion refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction." [2]NOTE: Religion - not to be confused with anarchy (meaning "without ruler or measure").
Of course there are many who would argue the measure of Paganism must of necessity encompass authentic reconstructed European pagan religions such as Asatru, Druidry, Hellenic Polytheism, Romana. [3] But many international polytheistic reconstructionists would love to exclude Wicca and other neo-Pagan religions on the grounds that Reconstructionism's attempt to rebuild historically verified European polytheistic pagan religions stands in contrast with modern syncretic movements such as Wicca. [4]
In South Africa a majority of Pagans self-define as either 'Witch' or 'Wiccan'. If I accept the exclusion of Wicca and Witchcraft from the polytheistic reconstructionists list of credible Pagan religions, I would be forced to exclude every self-defined South African Pagan who defines as Wiccan / Witch, including myself (a Witch). I'm not about to do that just to satisfy someone else's desire to suppress modern expressions of Pagan syncretism.
The exclusion of syncretic movements is, in my opinion, a mistake. Syncretism is no stranger to ancient pagan religions. Many authentic European pagan religions embraced syncretisms - borrowing and merging different practices, ideas, beliefs and philosophies - by combining local indigenous religious beliefs and customs with imported Eastern cult practices and beliefs.
Commercialised Wicca often bears little resemblance to authentic Celtic influences, especially when it's inter-woven with new-age philosophies and beliefs that find no origin in either ancient Pagan religions or consensus reality. Wicca is indeed a new religion, but many credible evolutions have taken place within Wicca since Gardner's syncretic creation. These forms of Wicca cannot be dismissed from Paganism on the basis of excluding syncretism.
Academic research of ancient European religions and belief systems must certainly play an important role for any serious scholar of Paganism and some Pagan reconstructions are certainly more "authentic" academically than others. But it would be foolish to discount modern syncretic reconstructions as inferior or un-Pagan until you've actually thoroughly examined what has been constructed.
Paganism is the restoration and reconstruction of indigenous European religions and in South Africa, it does include Witchcraft and Wicca, whether you like it or not.
"No group of pagans ever called themselves "the faithful". There was also no pagan concept of heresy - to pagans the term meant a school of thought rather than a false and pernicious doctrine. Among pagans, the opposite of heterodoxy was not orthodoxy but homodoxy, meaning agreement." Robin Lane Fox - 'Pagans and Christians'
References:
[1] "Christians, go home!"
http://www.wlu.ca/documents/6483/Christi
[2] Definition of Religion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion
[3] Definition of Paganism
http://www.religioustolerance.org/alt_me
[4] Definition of Polytheistic Reconstructionism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytheisti
