Around the world a sense of mystery and fear engulfs witchcraft and nowhere is this more evident than in the East African nation of Tanzania.
Here, faith in this specific form of African tradition can turn deadly.
People with albinism have been dismembered in western parts of the country because so-called witchdoctors perpetuate a belief that albino body parts bring great wealth.
From the archives: Scores of albinos in hiding after attacks
Those suspected of witchcraft are also targeted; an estimated 600 elderly women were killed in 2011 due to the suspicion they were witches, according to the Legal and Human Rights Center in Tanzania.
In fact, the Pew Forum on Religious and Public life conducted 25,000 face-to-face interviews in 19 African nations and found that among them, Tanzanians hold the strongest belief in witchcraft.
It says 60% of the Tanzanians interviewed believe that sacrifices to ancestors or spirits can protect them from harm, and that many Christians and Muslims incorporate elements of traditional African beliefs into their daily lives.
Dark arts flourished in Tanzania partly because, compared to its neighbors, it was “less colonized” by European powers, explains Joachim Mwami of Dar Es Salaam University.
The anthropology professor says for centuries, witchcraft has “served to explain anything inexplicable,” in rural villages like a severely sick child or strange illness.
Professor Mwami admitted that, “even in my own family, I was advised [as a child] not to visit certain relatives considered to be witches,” even though there was no proof.
He says without access to education, people are more likely to follow the claims of traditional healers and pass down those beliefs to the next generation.
Students at Dar Es Salaam University were reluctant to talk about opinions relating to witchcraft. Some explained, even if they don’t personally believe in the practice, their relatives take it seriously.
Others feel one must believe in the practice for it to have any power over them.
So even with a university education, some students retain some faith in witchcraft.
CNN
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