Historical dictionary of shamanism

WITCHCRAFT

Witchcraft: translation

Shamans in many cultures are expected tocombatusers of malevolent magic, witches, orsorcerers—or they may be suspected of being witches or sorcerers themselves.Obeah, for example, is commonly portrayed as the practice of witchcraft, but its practitioners consider it equivalent to other shamanictranceandritualcomplexes utilized forhealingand other socially valued actions. Among theAmazonianParakanã, discussed byCarlos Fausto, no one admits to being a shaman but only to being adreamer, because although only the former can heal people from the intrusion ofkarowara, “spirits,” even to admit to having seenkarowarais to admit the possibility of being a witch.Ioan Lewisargues that, as “possessionis the means by which the underdog bids for attention,” so “witchcraft accusations provide the countervailing strategy by which such demands are kept within bounds.” In addition to providing another illustration of thepoliticalroles of shamans, this also unveils the essentialambiguityof notions of shamanic power and sources of power, especially among socially marginal individuals and groups. If marginal people can access power to heal the victims of unwanted possession, what power will they wield when they voluntarily become possessed and actively control ormaster the spirits? Theotherworldpersons involved here are themselves ambiguous,trickstersat best, and “they can scarcely be expected to have shed completely their capacity to harm.” Lewis concludes that one who “can cast out malign spirits isipso factoa witch,” and shamans cannot be entirely distinguished from such sinister and dangerous beings. By rejecting this possibility and allying itself with only positive values and actions,neo-shamanismundercuts its claims to access similar sources of power and its assertion of sharing a similarcosmology. These uses of the “witch” and “witchcraft” should be distinguished fromPaganwitchcraft orWicca.

  1. witchcraft—Witchcraft translation Witchcraft As commonly understood involves the idea of a diabolical pact or at least an appeal to the intervention of the spirits of evil dd Catho...Catholic encyclopedia
  2. witchcraft—Witchcraft translation Sam. Kings Chr. Micah Nahum Gal. . In the popular sense of the word no mention is made either of witches or of witchcraft in Scripture. The...Easton's Bible Dictionary
  3. witchcraft—Witchcraft translation In the law of every European nation in the later Middle Agesstrong and the Renaissance witchcraft was a crime punishable by severe penalties includ...Historical Dictionary of Renaissance
  4. witchcraft—Witchcraft translation Following the late Middle Ages accusations of sor cery were a rather marginal phenomenon in the local and regional ju dicial practice in the Nether...Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands
  5. witchcraft—witchcraft translationSynonyms and related wordsalchemy allure appeal bewitchery bewitchment charisma charm divination enchantment fascination fetishism glamour gramarye ...Moby Thesaurus
  6. witchcraft—witchcraft translationSee magic....Philosophy dictionary
  7. witchcraft—[wkrft]колдовство черная магиячары обаяние...Англо-русский большой универсальный переводческий словарь
  8. witchcraft—колдовство черная магия...Англо-русский дополнительный словарь
  9. witchcraft—n колдовство обаяние чары черная магия...Англо-русский словарь Лингвистика-98
  10. witchcraft—witchcraft [wtkrft] nu колдовство чрная магия...Англо-русский словарь Мюллера
  11. witchcraft—сущ. колдовство черная магия to practice witchcraft колдовать заниматься черной магией перен. чары обаяние...Англо-русский словарь общей лексики
  12. witchcraft—n. колдовство черная магия...Англо-русский словарь редакция bed
  13. witchcraft—nчари чарвництво чаклунство...Англо-украинский словарь
  14. witchcraft—чари...Англо-український словник
  15. witchcraft—n чарвництво чаклунство вдьомство чорна магя знахарство чари чарвнсть очарування....Англо-український словник Балла М.І.
  16. witchcraft—[wtkrft] n. колдовство чрная магия. чары обаяние...Новый большой англо-русский словарь
  17. witchcraft—witchcraft [wtkrft] ni . колдовство чрная магия . чары обаяние...Новый большой англо-русский словарь II
  18. witchcraft—wtkrft n . колдовство чрная магия . чары обаяние...Новый большой англо-русский словарь под общим руководством акад. Ю.Д. Апресяна