Witch doctor

A witch doctor was originally a type of healer who treated ailments believed
to be caused by witchcraft.[1] The term witch doctor is sometimes used to refer
to healers, particularly in third world regions, who use traditional healing
rather than contemporary medicine. In contemporary society, "witch doctor" is
sometimes used derisively to refer to chiropractors, homeopaths and faith
healers.

Contents
Original meaning of the term
In Europe
In Africa
In Nepal and Northeastern India
See also
References
Further reading

Two Lassa witch doctors

Original meaning of the term

In its original meaning, witch doctors were emphatically not witches themselves, but rather people who had remedies to protect
others against witchcraft. Witchcraft-induced conditions were their area of expertise, as described in this 1858 news report from
England:[2]

Recourse was had by the girl's parents to a cunning man, named Burrell, residing at Copford, who has long borne the
name of "The Wizard of the North:" but her case was of so peculiar a character as to baffle his skill to dissolve the
spell, Application was next made to a witch doctor named Murrell, residing at Hadleigh, Essex, who undertook to
effect a cure, giving a bottle of medication, for which he did not forget to charge 3s. 6d., and promising to pay a visit
on Monday evening to the "old witch," Mrs. Mole, and put an end to her subtle arts... ... the news of the expected
coming of the witch-doctor spread far and wide, and about eight o'clock there could not have been less than 200
people collected near the cottage of Mrs. Mole to witness the supernatural powers of the Hadleigh wizard.

In Europe
[3]
The Oxford English Dictionary states that the first record of the use of this term was in 1718, in a book by Francis Hutchinson.

Charles Mackay's book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, first published in 1841, attests to the practice
of belief in witch doctors in England at the time.

In the north of England, the superstition lingers to an almost inconceivable extent. Lancashire abounds with witch-
doctors, a set of quacks, who pretend to cure diseases inflicted by the devil. The practices of these worthies may be
judged of by the following case, reported in the "Hertford Reformer," of the 23rd of June, 1838. The witch-doctor
alluded to is better known by the name of the cunning man, and has a large practice in the counties of Lincoln and
 Nottingham. According to the writer in "The Reformer," the dupe, whose name is not mentioned, had been for about
two years afflicted with a painful abscess and had been prescribed for without relief by more than one medical
gentleman. He was urged by some of his friends, not only in his own village but in neighbouring ones, to consult the
witch-doctor, as they were convinced he was under some evil influence. He agreed and sent his wife to the cunning
man, who lived in New Saint Swithin's, in Lincoln. She was informed by this ignorant impostor that her husband's
disorder was an infliction of the devil, occasioned by his next-door neighbours, who had made use of certain charms
for that purpose. From the description he gave of the process, it appears to be the same as that employed by Dr. Fian
and Gellie Duncan, to work woe upon King James. He stated that the neighbours, instigated by a witch, whom he
pointed out, took some wax, and moulded it before the fire into the form of her husband, as near as they could
represent him; they then pierced the image with pins on all sides – repeated the Lord's Prayer backwards, and offered
prayers to the devil that he would fix his stings into the person whom that figure represented, in like manner as they
pierced it with pins. To counteract the effects of this diabolical process, the witch-doctor prescribed a certain
medicine, and a charm to be worn next to the body, on that part where the disease principally lay. The patient was to
repeat the 109th and 119th Psalms every day, or the cure would not be effectual. The fee which he claimed for this
advice was a guinea.

A healing ceremony held in Worcester, England on October 26, 2017, is a rare, modern example of the practice in Europe. A sacred
river blessing was conducted by a travelling witch doctor at the River Severn after rumours of a cholera risk. Vibrio cholerae non-
O1/non-O139 was said to be present in the river due to migrating salmon which had consumed crustacean zooplankton carrying the
bacteria.

In Africa
In southern Africa, the witch doctors are known as sangomas. The Oxford
English Dictionary states that the first use of the term "witch doctor" to refer to
African shamans (i.e. medicine men) was in 1836 in a book by Robert
Montgomery Martin.[4]

BBC News reported, on March 12, 2015, that, "More than 200 witchdoctors
and traditional healers have been arrested in Tanzania in a crackdown on the
murder of albino people. The killings have been driven by the belief –
advanced by some witchdoctors – that the body parts have properties that
confer wealth and good luck. According to the Red Cross, witchdoctors are
prepared to pay $75,000 (£50,000) for a complete set of albino body parts.
Nearly 80 albino Tanzanians have been killed since 2000, the UN says. The
latest victims include a one-year-old albino boy, killed in north-western
Tanzania. The government banned witchdoctors in January as part of its efforts
to prevent further attacks and kidnappings targeting people with albinism."[5]

In Nepal and Northeastern India

Jhākri (Nepali: ा ) is the Nepali word for shaman. It is sometimes reserved
Shona traditional healer, or n'anga
specifically for practitioners of Nepali shamanism, such as that practiced
(Zimbabwe).
among the Tamang people and the Magars; it is also used in the Indian states
of Sikkim and West Bengal, which border Nepal.

Jhākri shamanism is practiced among numerous ethnic groups of Nepal and Northeast India, including the Limbu, Rai, Sunwar,
Sherpa, Kami, Tamang, Gurung, Magars, Lepcha and Khas.[6] Belief in spirits is prevalent, hence also the fear of spirit possession.[7]
Some vernacular words for jhākri are phedangbo in the Limbu language, maangpa or nakchyong in Khambu, and boongthing in
Lepcha.
Jhākris perform rituals during weddings, funerals, and harvests. They diagnose and cure diseases. Their practices are influenced by
Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism, Mun, and Bön rites.

See also
Bomoh
Curandero
N'anga
Nganga
Plastic shaman
Quimbanda

References
1. Lugira, Aloysius Muzzanganda.African Traditional Religion (https://books.google.com/books?id=S79wsrvX_-MC&pg
=PA100), p. 100 (Infobase Publishing, 2009).
2. The Ipswich Journal (Ipswich, England), Saturday
, September 25, 1858.
3. Hutchinson, Francis (1718).An Historical Essay concerning Witchcraft. London: Printed for R. Knaplock and D.
Midwinter.
4. Martin, Robert Montgomery (1836).History of Southern Africa comprising the Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius,
Seychelles, &c. London: J. Mortimer.
5. "Tanzania albino murders: 'More than 200 witchdoctors' arrested" (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-
31849531/). BBC News. 12 March 2015.
6. Gulia 2005, pp. 153–4
7. Gulia 2005, p. 152

Further reading
Maxell, Nicole (1990) Witch Doctor's Apprentice. New York: Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-1174-5; ISBN 978-0-8065-
1174-0

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