8
THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
The word witchcraft is so much associated with the symbolism of black cats and magic spells in the European tradition, that to make a sociological approach requires a special effort. There are many kinds of witchcraft. In general accusations are made where roles are ill-defined. The accusation has the effect of temporarily sharpening the definition of rights and obligations. Witches are thought to be envious, grudging, spiteful and armed with dangerous powers. It is well-enough recognised amongst anthropologists that witchcraft beliefs flourish where there is ambiguity in the patterning of roles. But many peoples can tolerate a low degree of role-definition without developing a witch-dominated cosmology. Nuer believe in ...
Get Natural Symbols now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
