Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

Strange Tales of African Sorcery

By Doktor Snake

Africa has always been shrouded in mystery. And even today, when TV cameras have penetrated the remotest areas of the globe, Africa still remains rooted in magical belief and practice. This eBook looks at some of the strange stories that have come out of Africa in recent years. Stories which prove it is still a mysterious and magical place.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Table of Contents

DARK ENCHANTMENT ............................................................................................ 3 FLYING WIZARDS .................................................................................................... 5 DEMON BAT ............................................................................................................. 7 SORCERER KILLED BY ANGRY MOB.................................................................... 9 WITCHCRAFT IN SOUTH AFRICA......................................................................... 10 PENIS SNATCHERS... ............................................................................................ 11 BODY PARTS.......................................................................................................... 12

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Dark Enchantment
The Runyoka charm is used to stop marital partners fooling around... In 1998 Edzai Rushambwa, a 30-year-old woman living in Mount Darwin, Northern Zimbabwe, was bemoaning the fact that she had failed to successfully remarry after her first husband died four years previously. She believed she was the victim of 'Runyoka', a traditional African ju ju or magic charm common among certain ethnic groups in Zimbabwe, which is used to prevent a spouse from committing infidelity. The enchantment was supposedly placed on Rushambwa by her late husband, who died without removing it. At her rural village, Rushambwa recounted how powerful the charm used on her had been. After the death of her first husband, she had married three times and each time the man died soon afterwards. She said she had consulted several traditional healers, desperately hoping to be rid of the enchantment, but had had no luck. Asked what caused the deaths of the three men, Rushambwa said it was because of some sickness, but she could not be drawn to specify what sickness. 'I have sought help but have had no success. I will keep on trying,' she said. Jealous Spouses In sub-Saharan Africa, it is said spouses jealous or too protective of their partners surreptitiously administer 'Runyoka' on them through various means. Spiking food is the commonest method. Mount Darwin secretary for the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers' Association, Benson Kaseke, says that although this type of sorcery practice is not approved by traditional healers, it is widespread in the Mukumbura area of Mount Darwin, on the border with Mozambique. He says Rushambwa consulted him over her problem and that it was consistent with Runyoka. He admits there are some traditional healers in Zimbabwe who specialize in such sorcery. The "Knife" Runyoka is usually used by those who suspect their spouses of having sexual relations with other partners. 'No one wants to live with an unfaithful partner, hence the need for Runyoka,' Kaseke explains.

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Of the many known types of Runyoka, there is one known in the local Shona vernacular as 'Rwebanga', or knife. A husband buys a new knife, sprinkles it with some traditional herbs, puts the open knife at the doorstep of his bedroom and then summons his wife into the room. The wife walks in and strides over the open knife and thereafter the husband asks her to pick it up and snap it shut before handing it back to him. The husband then hides the knife where it will not be found by anyone else. This is supposed to prevent the wife from indulging in extramarital sexual liaisons. But if she does dare to have an affair, the adulterous pair risk the humiliation of being caught in the act by the husband, as they would be unable to uncouple themselves because of the power of the magic charm. 'They can only be freed when the husband opens the knife,' Kaseke says. Medicine Fear Married women of the Tavara tribe in the Mukumbura area of Mount Darwin who have been enchanted in this way do not shake hands with men they might be introduced to, as they fear the medicine would affect the them. If a man does shake an enchanted woman's hand, he is said to feel numb and weak and only regains his strength after the hand is withdrawn. Kaseke says in some cases daughters are given Runyoka by their parents so they cannot engage in premarital sex. To undo the enchantment, the girl is requested to take her boyfriend to her parents' home where he is given the same medicine so he is not affected by it when they engage in sexual intimacy. ***

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Flying Wizards
Sorcerer falls from the sky and crash-lands on to family house... Although ostensibly Christianized, Africa remains a land rooted in sorcery practice and belief. Stories of strange events abound - and not all are easily dismissed as being purely anecdotal due to the fact that there are often multiple witnesses to the events. Take the following story, which was reported in the Zambian press in spring, 1997... One Angus Ngulabe had died on April 7 of that year. At around 2am on the night following the funeral, his widow, Joyce Mbewe, and members of her family, were woken by a howling gale and the dull thud of something hitting the thatched roof of their house in Barlastone Park, Lusaka, before rolling off and landing on the ground. As the wind died, the family heard the voice of a man asking the 'mother of Banda' to let him in. The widow's sister investigated and found 'a small humanoid creature whose features varied from a cat to an owl.' Its left foot was injured and dripped with blood. As the family watched, the creature grew and took the form of a man. He claimed to have been traveling on an airplane and that he had come to eat the flesh of his grandfather. The police were summoned and took him away. Magic Aircraft The creature was suspected as being a wizard. He said his name was Kalasa Nswiba and that he was 70 years old. He had crash-landed because relatives of the man who had died in the area (presumably Angus Ngulube) had fortified the place with strong Ju Ju. As good Christians, Mr Ngulube's family denied this, putting it down to the superior power of God. The testimony of Nswiba (if that was his name) varied. He told the 'Times of Zambia' that he had been 'flying' with six other people in a magic aircraft across Zambia. But he told the police the aerial trip had been in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He said he got the blood-caked wounds on his left ear and right foot from falling into a ditch. The government started an investigation to see if the man really was in his village, as he said, the day before he allegedly crashed.

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

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Witchcraft The Traditional Health Practitioners' Association of Zambia said the man's story could be true and called on the government to legalize witchhunting. Police spokesman Beenwell Chimfwembe said an inquiry had been opened and the suspect would soon appear in court for professing knowledge of witchcraft contrary to the Witchcraft Act. ***

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Demon Bat
Shapeshifting wizard terrorizes man and then is axed to death... Stories of shapeshifting are common in Africa. One recent recorded instance was presented to the South African law courts in 1987. It came about when a young man, Naletzane Netshiavha, was roused at night by a strange scratching noise at his front door. He went to the door and called out 'who's there?', but when there was no response he became frightened. To protect himself, Naletzane picked up an axe and then bravely opened the door. To his horror, he saw what looked to be a large bat hanging from the rafters of his roof. He struck the beast with the axe, making it fall to the ground, and then he fled in a blind panic. When he plucked up the courage to return with reinforcements, witnesses saw the creature dragging its tattered body towards a fence in the yard. Naletzane struck it again and again until it lay still. A large group of people who had been watching from afar finally felt confident enough to approach for a better view. Every one of these witnesses later described seeing a completely different creature to the court. To some it was a small donkey; to others it was a winged animal, but all agreed that as it lay dying the creature's form changed. The testimonies all concurred that it took on the body of a child with the head of an adult, before slowly developing a complete adult body. The body was later identified as that of Jim Nephalama, an elderly man, who was reputedly a wizard. Rumor had it that Jim often boasted that he had the power to 'do what he wished' with people. Convicted of Homicide When the matter came before a White judge at the Supreme Court, the arbitrator did not fully grasp the complexity of the events and came to the conclusion that Naletzane should have recognized that the creature was a man. He was found guilty of behaving in an irresponsible and violent manner and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for culpable homicide. Perhaps if the testimony of the numerous witnesses had been taken into account, and a judge had been found who had some understanding of

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

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African magic and religion, Naletzane might well have received a lesser sentence. Indeed, when it comes to the strange and often bizarre stories that periodically come out of Africa, it is easy for those brought up in the Western rationalist tradition to dismiss them as fantasies from a superstitious culture. But what is overlooked is the fact that such stories often have multiple witnesses, all claiming to have seen the event. Perhaps the wisest approach is to accept that something inexplicable (to the Western mind) is occurring and that serious and open-minded investigation into such stories is warranted. ***

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Sorcerer killed by angry mob...

Villagers from the Ivory Coast area of West Africa hacked off the head of a 60-year-old man, branding him a sorcerer and accusing him of killing a young boy by witchcraft, 'Le Jour' newspaper reported in July 1998. It is understood that the parents of 11-year-old Christophe Adou consulted the boy's corpse to find the culprit. The accused, Ameyoua Gossou, tried to prove his innocence by defying the dead boy's coffin to bang into him if he was responsible. According to the newspaper - it did. He died after being attacked by a mob. One bystander said: 'In less than three months this village has seen 13 children die, but we have had no revenge.' Villagers living in and around the Ivory Coast, which is well-known as being the world's largest cocoa producer, often blame sorcery for deaths due to diseases such as malaria and AIDS, which are ravaging the continent. ***

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Witchcraft in South Africa...

In South Africa during the 1980s and 1990s there were many extremely violent backlashes against suspected witches. Between 1986 and 1987, for instance, it is believed that more than 400 South Africans fell victim to witch 'necklacing', the horrific practice of wedging a suspected witch in car tires then setting them alight to die in the burning rubber. Before the curtain was drawn on apartheid in South Africa, the government denied the existence of witchcraft. Today, there is an uneasy compromise. While witchcraft falls within the scope of the criminal law because of the acts of violence it inspires, there is still a formal refusal to admit it exists. The traditional witchcraft courts, which have for centuries decreed punishments ranging from beatings to executions, have now been outlawed. Current statutes, however, are being reviewed and many of the more positive aspects of the witchcraft tradition such as healing and divining have now been afforded constitutional protection, in recognition of the global re-evaluation of alternative medicine. ***

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Penis Snatchers...
In Ghana in January 1997 at least 12 sorcerers were beaten to death for making penises shrink or vanish. Some women also complained of shrinking breasts and labia. According to one news report, the merest touch from one of these sorcerers would cause male victims to lose their 'marital apparel', after which they were persuaded to hand over cash in return for a cure. The police dismissed the disturbances as the work of thieves, spreading rumors to create crowds and pick pockets. Many others attributed the crisis to the fact that severed genitals were required for many witchcraft rituals. Most of the deaths were in the capital, Accra, but by the end of January the panic spread. In the town of Kumasi, a hundred or so miles from Accra, police had to open fire on a mob to save one alleged sorcerer from a lynching. Police with automatic rifles patrolled markets and bus stations, while medical experts appeared on state television to explain why penises increase and decrease in size. ***

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.

Doktor Snake Ju Ju Charms & Flying Wizards

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Body Parts
Used in witchcraft rituals and charms... In African witchcraft body parts are sometimes forcibly removed from people for use in rituals and charms. Some believe a girl's vagina can bring productivity to their business, the connection being that women are productive because they bear children. Testicles are used for enhancing sexual strength and performance, while human skulls are said to ensure commercial success. According to one traditional healer, a corpse's head is sometimes chopped off and the top of the skull removed. The brain is extracted, dried and ground with herbs to make a potion for 'ukucinda' (eating with your fingers). The skull is kept to be used as a dish for holding the magical concoction when it is eaten. Witchcraft of this type, hitherto confined to remote rural regions, has in recent years increasingly occurred in urban areas. In 1999 it was reported that a mother from Johannesburg, South Africa, removed one of her son's testicles at the request of a 'sangoma' (witch-doctor). End Back to beginning Visit Doktor Snake's Website Go to www.doktorsnake.com

Copyright 2001 Doktor Snake. All rights reserved.