Witchcraft in Early Modern Africa

Witchcraft is a practice that has been performed across the world. Since the beginning of civilizations witchcraft and other supernatural practices have been used to explain things that couldn’t be explained. Witchcraft in early modern Europe was viewed in a negative way, due to the influence of Christianity as a result of cultural diffusion. Witchcraft in modern Africa wasn’t viewed as such a sinful act, because of the isolation the Sahara desert provided. They were not exposed to the cultures of other civilizations, so they were left to perceive witchcraft in their own way. In both civilizations witchcraft was used to cope with social, economical, and religious stress.

Early modern Europe and Modern Africa have shown many social similarities and differences. In both early modern Europe and modern Africa limited education is prominent. In early modern Europe educated individuals were mostly found in the higher classes such as the king, nobles, church, and the bourgeoisie. In modern Africa only two thirds of the people who started primary school make it to the final grade. ("achieve in africa".) Although there are social similarities in modern Africa, and early modern Europe, there are also differences. Modern Africa and early modern Europe have very different culture diversity. In modern Africa culture is diverse; there are many visible examples of cultural diversity through art architecture, music, and dance. In early modern Europe there was a lesser known cultural diversity. Cultural diversity was frowned upon, at the time. Due to the more open culture of modern Africa witchcraft wasn’t seen as a big injustice, but in the eyes of the less open European a new culture was looked down on.

Modern Africa and early modern Europe have many economical similarities and differences. In both early modern Europe and modern Africa the economy has led to witchcraft. "It's obvious the cause is economic," says Gordon Chavanduka, head of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (which counts 50,000 members). "The worse the economy gets, the more political tension there is in society, the more frustrated and frightened people get. They turn to witchcraft to gain riches or to hurt their enemies." (Neely Tucker, "Season of the witch haunts Africa," The Toronto Star, August 1, 1999.). This shows that in time of economic stress, and frustration