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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
 Posted - 15 Feb 2009 : 23:28:58
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I have heard stories about mystical beings who have super human abilities. They could transform into other animal forms like snakes, lions hyenas dogs monkeys or even into air that floats around, all this in order to harm other beings less endowed. These are called witches and wizards.Reports or legend has it that these mysterious human beings indulge in consumption or eating of other humans , not openly as cannibals but in the spiritual realm , where after taking control of their subject's soul they feast on the body at special gatherings which is open only to their kind. According to this belief these beings are so powerful , they could do what ever they like with other beings who would not even be aware of the acts being done against them except perhaps by dying mysteriously;among other effects.The witches then would wait till the body is buried and then come to visit the grave in the dark hours of the night; when they would revive it and feast on the poor person.People who believe in these beings also believe that there is another group of beings equally endowed with such powers but are less inclined to the witches feasting habits; these beings; they allege fight the witches and wizards and make them release their victims. They also kill them ( the withes, by mystical means) at times.A practice is also done which involves making suspected witches and wizards consume drinks concocted specially by witch doctors,this is to make them confess their evil deeds and thus break their powers. This is a ritual that one can witness in various localities in broad day light by those who believe in such mythical beings and the victims of the rituals suffer humiliation or mob beatings etc.The witches allegedly do confess their acts and even reveal the names of their partners from near and far including naming their past victims.This is a gruesome picture but in a real setting fear is instilled in the minds of onlookers about the evil powers of the witches or the potential of any one in the crowd ; being thus uncovered as a witch , to the chagrin of his or her family. A stigma they have got to live with forever.Whether or not this claim is authentic is for me immaterial, what I do know is that it can hardly be proven by scientific methods. What we are left with is conjecture or believe based on superstition .Perhaps other posters can chip in and discuss further, this very grotesque superstitious act in our current setting ; to wit The Gambia
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2009 : 13:23:00
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| I have also heard of these stories,although the man who told me did not know very much or didn't want tio explain further, but the language he used was almost exactly the same as the words that you have used (i.e."they feast on the body at special gatherings which is open only to their kind")this makes me think that "behaviour", I cannot think of a better word than that,is quite well known and never discussed unless you are a member of "their kind" I have also heard language such as "there is something beneath" when visiting certain plots of land this phrase was never explained but I got the impression that it had something to do with magic and not a physical thing that had been buried on the land, I like kaanibaa would like this topic to be joined by many posters who could add their knowlege about this hidden facet that exists in Gambia without a doubt.But here again as an outsider I doubt if Bantaba in Cyberspace members would be willing to explain a dark side of Gambian culture and this topic will just evaporate and drop off the discussion,lets see, kaanibaa thank you for a very interesting and well written piece. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Edited by - toubab1020 on 16 Feb 2009 13:24:16 |
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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2009 : 14:43:46
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You know what , this is a very hot topic in Gambia circles, people are fretting over the issue and surely it is an abhorrent feature of a society in existence, the topic though is not about a new thing as I have read about witch craft in many other regions outside of Africa.I brought this up because as we speak I have reports about the ritualistic exercises taking place in the Gambia. It affects people very badly and the stigmatization aside this opens up a very strange attribute of a ruling class who could exploit them to crush opponents. Imagine getting a prospective opposition candidate getting or being tagged as a witch ; defining in all clarity the word witch hunting in a Gambian context.That guy would surely be spurned by those who accept the idea of witch craft and none of that category of persons would follow such a candidate or trust their children following him/her on a campaign trial.Expedient tool thus comes into play on our political landscape    
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Edited by - kaanibaa on 16 Feb 2009 14:44:44 |
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toubab1020
12314 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2009 : 14:52:53
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Ah...kaanibaa now that you have bought politics into play I bet that there will be many more posters joining us, but not to discuss the subject of your original posting (which I found very interesting) but to discuss off topic political issues ,again, let's wait and see who joins us and see what they have to say  |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Edited by - toubab1020 on 16 Feb 2009 14:55:20 |
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snuggels
960 Posts |
Posted - 16 Feb 2009 : 17:19:55
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| Have a look at the film THE WITCH FINDER GENERAL which portrays what medieval England was like.Surely that mentality does not prevail in Gambia to day? |
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inez
279 Posts |
Posted - 17 Feb 2009 : 15:19:58
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| People are just watching too much nigerian movies |
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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
Posted - 17 Feb 2009 : 20:22:48
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Inez Nigeria movies are entertaining resources and just like drugs could be addictive too. A good pointer there my friend
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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
Posted - 13 Mar 2009 : 01:12:37
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| Because many Gambians believe in the existence of witches, it is kinda hard for the said believers to see any evil in the exposure and alleged healing of the alleged witches. Witches being so much feared, the arrival of witch doctors to cleanse the society of the supposed evil people(witches and wizards) is surely welcomed by those who believe in witchcraft . What is not addressed though is the stigmatization of the individuals who now must live with the name tag even though they are now said to have been cured of their evil attributes. No wonder a suicide occurred when a young man whose mother was so exposed. He decided to end his life rather than live a life of shame and utter disgrace and being an out cast hanging himself. Strangely enough though, is the fact that many people who ordinarily displayed open support for Yahya Jammeh ;dead supporters etc are notably among the people who have been disgraced by the witch doctors recently. I wonder whether HE is aware of the damage this causing his support base , if he cares about that ; that is. The general public as I can see in this ongoing farce , is so mute and condescending or should I say ,so scared to react , due to many reasons , among which one could count fear of reprisals or being seen as a witch etc. The lack of reaction though is nothing new , as it has been the case for a long time , most people just stay mute so long as they aren't directly targeted/affected , so; selfishly they move on as if nothing wrong has happened. This is a very strange mindset or attitude of our people which Yahya is exploiting every once in a while. I salute Halifa Sallah for standing up in defending the poor victims of this witch hunting spree and for this he is sent to jail.A very brave man , not many people in The Gambia can stand in that position and it is a noble one. I see that UDP has made a declaration on the topic and can foresee another arrest in the pipeline for them too. |
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ksanneh
USA
17 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2009 : 11:44:10
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Folks,
I begin by saying that, I stand to be corrected to this little piece of history I can recall as a little boy growing up regarding this whole witch hunting scenario in some rural areas in the Gambia during the colonial days untill shortly after Independence.
During those days when our dear country never knew what hunger or hardship was, when we were then self-sufficient in almost every thing for farmers used to live on their produce from one season to the next; when somebody dies in a village and witchcraftship is suspected, some members of the family of the deceased would gather few elders to go and talk to the Alkalo about their intent of organizing a special type of a drumming occasion at the bantaba on a special chosen day. The Alkalo would then consult with the rest of the other elders in the village and if agreed to, they will be given the go to do so.
On the night of this special chosen day as agreed to, after dinner/supper, the bantaba would be lighted with firewood and the drummers would come and every body in the village who could and want to attend. The drumming, clapping, singing, and dancing will go on as usual until at some point, when they will announce that a special type of drum bit and a song related to it which of course everybody in the village then was familiar with is now going to be played. They would then move everybody far aback to create a wider space in the centre. To this special bit, song and rhythm, anybody who gets in the centre to dance to it, are considered witches and the drumming will cease for a while for those people to confess to their witchcraft practices and the deceased ones they interfered with. Those suspected or assumed witches then were never forced to drink concoctions to make any confessions neither were their human rights abused nor were they inhumanly treated in any way as is currently happening. Their only punishment then, was just some believers of witchcraftship and fanatics in the village tend to have less or nothing to do with them. They just avoid them.
Anybody with a better knowledge please come forward with your recollections of how civilized, culturally and traditionally things were done and accepted in those good old days without subjugations to humiliation, detention, or arrests with or without warrants.
Anyway, there is no scientific proof or generally accepted facts attached to this case scenario.
To be continued.
Before then in relation to this whole scenario, I would borrow a quotation from the Mandingka language which goes as follows:
“NING KATAH BEH WULO NOMA, KUNG TEMA TELO LEY FOLO KA AH MA”. meaning: The first sign indicating that a trouble is shortly to befall a dog is the notification of a wound right on its head.
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Edited by - ksanneh on 16 Mar 2009 11:49:35 |
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kaanibaa
United Kingdom
1169 Posts |
Posted - 16 Mar 2009 : 22:43:45
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| Ksanneh , you do have a point here and I do believe that something is surely about to befell the government or Yahya's regime and the signs are so blatantly clear.This is a mad movement by the authorities to terrorize the citizenry exploiting witch hunting tactics; I am afraid that this would misfire and hoist the regime as in the saying; by their own petards. |
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