by joel pearson - university of the...

WitchcraftManagementintheEarlyTwentiethCenturyTransvaal

ByJoelPearsonStudentNo.748787

Submittedinaccordancewiththerequirementsforthedegreeof

MastersinHistorybycourseworkanddissertation

attheUniversityoftheWitwatersrand

Supervisors:Prof.PeterDelius&Dr.NickyFalkof

March2015

Joel Pearson

2

ABSTRACT:

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, colonial governmentsacross Africa, including South Africa, promulgated laws which aimed toprohibittheaccusationofwitchcraft,methodsforthedetectionofwitchesandwitchtrials.However,whileadministratorssawmerelysuperstitioninwitchcraft beliefs, “repugnant to the standards of civilisation”, manyAfricans saw an integral element of the social and spiritual order. Thepolicingofwitchcraftbeliefsbecameathorninthesideofcolonialrule.Thisarticlebringstolightsomeofthedeeperhistoricalcomplexitiesinpolicingwitchcraft by looking at the application of witchcraft law in the earlytwentiethcentury‐aneglectedperiodinwitchcraftscholarship.Firstly,itexamines some prominent discursive constructions of the concepts of“witchcraft”andthe“witchdoctor”duringtheearlytwentiethcentury,twotermswhich feature centrally in colonialwitchcraft legislation. It arguesthat these termswereshrouded inagreatdealofmisconceptionand, attimes, fear. Secondly, it examines instances in which the TransvaalWitchcraft OrdinanceNo. 26 of 1904was applied at the Supreme Courtlevel, demonstrating that itwas employed in awidevarietyof instanceswhichoftensharedonlya tenuous link topoorlydefinednotionsof “thesupernatural”. Nevertheless, diviners seem to have been especiallyprejudiced in the implementation of the law. Finally, archivalcorrespondencederivedfromNativeAffairsDepartmentfilesdealingwithwitchcraftareexamined toreveal that the jobofpolicingwitchcraftwasrather more uncertain and ad hoc at the grassroots level than official“civilising”rhetoricmayhavesuggested.While inprinciple therewasnocompromisingwithbeliefsinwitchcraft,inpractice,suchbeliefshadtobecarefullymanagedbylocalofficials,whoweregiven(oftenuncomfortably)widepowersofdiscretionindecidingwhenandhowtoemploytheforceofthelaw.

Witchcraft Management in Early Twentie th Century Transvaal

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Contents:

Introduction:WitchcraftandtheLaw…………………….……………….p.6

ChapterI:The“WitchcraftProblem”………………………………………p.21

ChapterII:WitchcraftLawinOperation……………….…………………p.39

ChapterIII:WitchcraftManagement……………………………………...p.63

Conclusion………………………………………………………………..…………...p.78

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………..……...p.81

Appendix:TableofWitchcraftCases……………………………………….p.94

Acknowledgments:

IamimmeasurablygratefulfortheunfailinghelpandsupportIhavereceivedfrommysupervisorsandlecturersintheDepartmentofHistoryandDepartmentofJournalismand

MediaStudies.IappreciatetheenormousenthusiasmshownbybothDrNickyFalkofandProf.PeterDeliusfromtheoutsetoftheproject.Thanksforallowingmetogetlostinthismaterial,givingmethefreedomtostretchthelimitsofmymindandprovidingtheadviceIneededtoreelmebacktosomesenseofsanity.ThankstoProf.SekibaLekgoathiforofferinginsightsintothesegregationistcontext.ThanksalsotoDrPrinishaBadassyforthewillingnesssheshowedtogooutofherwaytoofferassistance.IfurthermoreappreciatetheguidancethatProf.CliveGlasergaveinassessingsomeofthematerialontheBarbertonsnuffscare.

ThankstothestaffofboththeNationalArchivesofPretoriaandtheWilliamCullenLibraryoftheUniversityofWitwatersrandfortheirhelpinlocatingalloftheoldtomesanddocuments

whichhavefuelledthisstudy,someofwhichseemedtohavebeengatheringalmostacentury’sworthofdust.

Thanksalsobelongtomyfriendsandlovedones,whowilldoubtlessbeimmeasurablyrelievedtohavemereturnphysicallyfromthesolitaryarchives,andmentallyfromtheworldofearlytwentiethcenturywitchcraft.Thanksforallyourmoralsupport,forallowingmeto

rambleonformonths,andforcontinuingtoshowaninterest.

Introduction:WitchcraftandtheLaw

“What is tobedone about theproblemofwitchcraft in thenewSouthAfrica?”1This is a

questionwhichhastroubledstateadministrators,legalexperts,historians,anthropologistsandrights

groupsinthepost‐apartheidcontext.Thepersecutionorkillingofallegedwitches–thosebelievedto

manipulate supernatural powers to cause harm to others – remains a problem that resurfaces

periodicallyinthecountrytoday.InOctober2013,theTimesreportedthatthreemenwerejailedfor

killingawomanandherdaughteraccusedof“practisingwitchcraft”.2In2014,a73yearoldmanfrom

Lamontville told the Independent Online that elderly people frequently find themselves accused of

witchcraft.3Manyalsospeakwithmemoriesofthewaveofwitchcraftviolencethatspreadacrossthe

NorthernProvince of SouthAfrica from the late 1970s andpeakedduring the transition. The1995

RalushaiCommissionofInquiryintoWitchcraftMurdersandRitualKillingsestimatedthatbetween1985

and1995,389witchcraft‐relatedkillingstookplaceinSouthAfrica’sformerNorthernProvince.4Onone

day in April 1986, 43 allegedwitcheswere “necklaced” bymembers of the Sekhukhuneland Youth

Organisationwhiletheysang“liberationsongs”.5

1IsakNiehaus,“WitchcraftintheNewSouthAfrica:FromColonialSuperstitiontoPostcolonialReality?,”inMagicalInterpretations,MaterialRealities:Modernity,WitchcraftandtheOccultinPostcolonialAfrica(London&NewYork:Routledge,2001),184–205.2 SAPA, “KwaZulu Natal ‘Witch’ Killers Get 20 Years,” Times LIVE, October 17, 2013,http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/2013/10/17/kwazulu‐natal‐witch‐killers‐get‐20‐years.3 Siyabulela Dzanibe, “Elderly Fear Witchcraft Accusations,” Independent Online, April 30, 2014,http://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/elderly‐fear‐witchcraft‐accusations‐1.1682194#.VOMV6_mUfxo.4N.V.Ralushaiandetal.,ReportoftheCommissionofInquiryintoWitchcraftViolenceandRitualMurdersintheNorthern Province of the Republic of South Africa (Pretoria: HSRC, 1996), p.191–239.; Cited also in Niehaus,“WitchcraftintheNewSouthAfrica:FromColonialSuperstitiontoPostcolonialReality?,”p.184.5Niehaus,“WitchcraftintheNewSouthAfrica:FromColonialSuperstitiontoPostcolonialReality?,”p.184.

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Fromtheperspectiveofmanywhoregardwitchcraftasareality,thegovernmentisseenashavingdone

too littletoensureprotectionagainstsourcesofsupernatural insecurity.AdamAshfortharguesthat

“thelong‐termprospectsfordemocracy…willdependinlargepartupontheabilityofthenewregime

toinstilinthepopulationawidespreadconvictionthatgovernmentreallyexiststoservethepeople:to

meetthedemandsforphysicalsecurityandeconomicwellbeingandtoservetheendsofjustice”.6For

thosewhoinsist that invisible forcescanbedeployedtowreakenormousharm, fullsecurityentails

protectionagainstwitchcraft, and justicemeansbringingallwhowield these forces to account.But

should legalmechanismsbe introducedtopunishthosepractisingwitchcraft?Howcouldthe liberal

democraticstatepossiblyacceptthatpurveyorsofinvisiblecrimesshouldbepunishedbyalegalorder

whichdemandsphysicalproof?Witchcraft,Ihavecometolearn,isathornyissuewhichwillnotsoon

beresolved,andofficialshavebeenleftinadeepquandaryastohowtopolicewitchcraftbeliefs.

Thesubjecthasattractedagreatdealofcontemporaryscholarship.NiehausnotesthatdebateinSouth

Africa’spublicsphere“hasfocusedalmostexclusivelyonwitchcraftandthelaw”.7Asignificantbodyof

literaturehasdevelopedthatinterrogateshowexistinglegislationdealswithwitchcraftviolenceand

whetherchangesshouldbeintroduced.8Specifically,manycall fortheSuppressionofWitchcraftAct

No.3 of 1957 to be reformed. The Act bans the traditional adjudication of witchcraft matters. Its

fundamentalpremiseisthatwitchcraftisanirrationalfantasy,itspracticenothingmorethanpretence

–itemploystheterm“pretends”throughout.Itcriminalizestheaccusationthatanotherisa“witchor

wizard”9 and the “pretended” use of “supernatural power, witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or

conjuration”.Italsobansdivination,makingitacrimefora“witchdoctor”to“smellout”witches.10

6AdamAshforth,Witchcraft,Violence,andDemocracyinSouthAfrica(Chicago:TheUniversityofChicagoPress,2005),p.18.7IsakNiehaus,“WitchcraftasSubtext:DeepKnowledgeandtheSouthAfricanPublicSphere,”SocialDynamics36,no.1(2010):p.66.8See,forinstance:JohnHund,“WitchcraftandAccusationsofWitchcraftinSouthAfrica:OntologicalDenialandtheSuppressionofAfricanJustice,”TheComparativeandInternationalLaw JournalofSouthernAfrica33,no.3(November2000):366–89; JohnHund,WitchcraftViolenceandtheLaw inSouthAfrica (Pretoria:ProteaBookHouse,2003); JohnHund, “AfricanWitchcraftandWesternLaw:PsychologicalandCultural Issues,” JournalofContemporaryReligion19,no.1 (2004):67–84; J.Harnischfeger, “Witchcraftand theState inSouthAfrica,” inWitchcraftViolenceandtheLaw inSouthAfrica(Hatfield:ProteaBookHouse,2003);SethA.Nthai,“WitchcraftViolenceandtheNeedforNewLegislation,”inWitchcraftViolenceandtheLawinSouthAfrica(Pretoria:ProteaBookHouse,2003);AnthonyMinnaar,“LegislativeandLegalChallengestoCombatingWitchPurgingandMutiMurderinSouthAfrica,”inWitchcraftViolenceandtheLawinSouthAfrica(Hatfield:ProteaBookHouse,2003);HLudsin,“CulturalDenial:WhatSouthAfrica’sTreatmentofWitchcraftSaysfortheFutureofItsCustomaryLaw,”BerkeleyJournalofInternationalLaw21,no.1(2003):62–110;NelsonTebbe,“WitchcraftandStatecraft:LiberalDemocracyinAfrica,”GeorgetownLawJournal96,no.1(2007):183–236.9Incontemporaryscholarshipaboutwitchcraft,theterm“witch”isappliedasagender‐neutralterm,justasthetermsumthakathi (isiZulu),moloi (seSotho),noi (xiTshonga) are employed in cases of bothmen andwomenaccusedofwitchcraft.Theterm“wizard”isnolongeremployedinscholarship.10WitchcraftSuppressionActNo.3of1957,n.d.,http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/1957‐003.pdf.

Policing Witchcraft in Early Twentie th Century Transvaal

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The Ralushai Commission labelled the Witchcraft Suppression Act a vestige of “Eurocentric legal

machinery”andcalledfornewlegislationthatacknowledgesthatsupernaturalcrimesarerealformany

Africans.11Anumberofotherauthorshavesinceechoedthiscall.NelsonTebbearguesthatmanyfeel

alienated from the criminal justice systembecauseof the law’s insensitivity to the fact that “fearof

enchantmentisaprimarysourceofpersonalinsecurityformanyAfricans”.12HaileyLudsinarguesthat

bykeepingtheWitchcraftSuppressionAct,thestateimplicitlyaffirmsitsacceptanceofthe“Western

premise”thatwitchcraftismere“superstitiousAfricannonsense”–thisinspiteofthefrustrationsof

“themajority of SouthAfricans”whobelieve that theAct allows “witches to run free”.13 JohnHund

similarlycharacterisestheprevailingActasconstitutinganegationofthe“ontology”of“mostAfrican

people”.14 Hund insists that before the 1957 Act, “tribal mediation was the norm” and that “by

criminalisingthesejudicialremediesonthegroundthattheywererepugnanttothe'civilisingmission'

ofthewhite,eurocentricapartheidgovernmenttheseedsofchaosweresown”.15

It isundeniablethat theWitchcraftSuppressionAct isunsuitedtosolvingtheproblemofwitchcraft

violenceinSouthAfrica.Buttheemphaticassertionthatthelawistheprimarycausalfactorinfostering

suchviolence isquestionable forat least tworeasons.Firstly,manyof thosewhoblamethe law for

witchcraft violence fail to interrogatehow theActhas actuallybeen applied in thepast, apparently

assuming that itsprescriptionswere imposeduniformlyandcomprehensively.Yet, for instance, the

anthropologists and historians who reported on the spikes of violence from the 1970s point to a

multitudeofothercausesashavingprovidedthekindlingforthewaveofwitchcraftaccusationsthat

grippedtheNorthernProvince–sharpeningmaterialinequality,collapsingsocialcohesion,deepening

impoverishment,andthedelegitimisationofchieflyauthority.16Intheseaccounts,thelawisgivenvery

littlecausalweight.NiehausarguesthattheNationalPartygovernmentactually“didlittletosuppress

witchcraft inpopulardomains”and insteadmade“uneasypracticalcompromiseswithwitchcraft”.17

Similarly, Delius argues that, although chiefs had to consider potential punishment from apartheid

officialsindecidingwhethertotrywitches,“nativecommissionerswereusuallypreparedtoturnablind

11 Ralushai and et al.,Report of the Commission of Inquiry intoWitchcraftViolence andRitualMurders in theNorthernProvinceoftheRepublicofSouthAfrica,p.1;p.56.12Tebbe,“WitchcraftandStatecraft,”p.219.13Ludsin,“CulturalDenial,”p.108.14Hund,“WitchcraftandAccusationsofWitchcraft.”15Ibid.,p.367.Minnaar,“LegislativeandLegalChallenges,”p.73.16See:EdwinRitchken,Comrades,WitchesandtheState:TheCaseoftheBrooklynYouthOrganisation,1987,;PeterDelius,ALionAmongsttheCattle:ReconstructionandResistanceintheNorthernTransvaal(Johannesburg:RavanPress, 1996); J. Stadler, “Witches and Witch‐Hunters,” African Studies 55 (1996): 87–110; Isak Niehaus,“Witchcraft,Power&Politics”(PhD,UniversityoftheWitwatersrand,1997).17Niehaus,“WitchcraftasSubtext,”p.67.

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eyeiftheprocessremainedlowkey”.18Theapartheidgovernmentdidnot,therefore,followthelawto

theletter.NorarethereanyaccountswhichsuggestthatthelawisseriouslyappliedbySouthAfrican

courtstoday.

Secondly, the suggestion that the 1957 Act initiated fundamental changes in the adjudication of

witchcraftisproblematisedbythefactthattheActhasahistorywhichlongprecededtheapartheidera

–somethinglargelyneglectedfromscholarlyaccountswhichposittheapartheidgovernmentashaving

“sown the seeds of chaos”. The Witchcraft Suppression Act has its roots in colonial legislation

promulgatedintheCapeColonyin1886and1895,andtheTransvaalin1904,employingexactlythe

samephrasesaswerecontainedinthesecolonial‐era laws.19Wellbefore theapartheidgovernment,

Africanbeliefsinwitchcraftwereregardedasachallengeforstateadministrators,targetedforstamping

outearlyonbytheBritishcolonialenterpriseinthenameofits“civilisingmission”.Niehausassertsthat

thisrhetoricalhumanitarianmission“demandednocompromisewithanybelieforpracticepertaining

towitchcraft.Thesewereperceivedasrepugnant,baseless,andevenasdiabolicpagansuperstitions,

whicharedeeplyingrainedinthelivesof‘primitivepeople’andwillonlydisappearwiththespreadof

Westerncivilisation,education,andChristianity”.20Legislationwasanothercrucialpillarof“Western

civilisation”:byoutlawingwitchtrialproceedings,inwhichdivinersweresolicitedto“smellout”awitch

throughdivination,witchcraftbeliefswouldostensiblybedealt adeathblow.The1957Actdidnot

thereforesignalanymajorchangeinthejudicialstanceonwitchcraft,butmerelyconsolidatedexisting

coloniallegislationandmadethemnationallyapplicable.

Isitpossiblethatitwastheseearliercoloniallawswhichsetintomotionfundamentalchangesinthe

adjudication of witchcraft? Were “seeds of chaos” sown from the late nineteenth century by the

promulgation of witchcraft laws? Most available scholarship does not consider how this earlier

legislationwasapplied,and theengagementbetweenmattersofwitchcraft and the law in theearly

twentieth century is not interrogated with any sustained depth. This study aims to contribute to

scholarshipontheuseofSouthAfricanwitchcraftlawoverthelongueduree,bolsteringthecurrently

sparseliteraturethatisavailableontheuseofcoloniallegislationintheearlytwentiethcentury.

18Delius,LionAmongsttheCattle,p.167.19CapeColonySuppressionAct24of1886andAct2of1895;TransvaalWitchcraftOrdinance26of1904(Transvaal).20IsakNiehaus,“WitchcraftintheNewSouthAfrica:ACriticalOverviewoftheRalushaiCommissionReport,”inWitchcraftViolenceandtheLawinSouthAfrica(Pretoria:ProteaBookHouse,2003),p.95.


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ScholarshipontheApplicationofColonialWitchcraftLaws

Whatfollowsisanexpositionoftheavailablesecondaryliteraturewhichdealswithhowwitchcraftwas

dealtwithbyofficialsinSouthAfrica,fromwhichasetofquestionscanbedrawnouttointerrogate

whatismurkyandlargelyunexploredhistoricalterrain.

A number of anthropologists wrote about African beliefs in witchcraft during the early twentieth

century,buttheydonotoffermuchanalysisontheapplicationofthelaw.Theiraimswereratherto

understand thenatureofwitchcraftbelief from“within”Africanbeliefstructures.21Someoccasional

mentionsof theeffectsof colonial lawcanbegleaned from theseearlyaccounts,however. In1904,

DudleyKiddassertedthatthelawhadhelpedreducewitchkillings.HeclaimedthatbeforetheBritish

annexationofPondolandandtheintroductionofthe1886PenalCode,“fullyonepersonwasputtodeath

inthatdistricteveryday,onanaverage,onchargesofwitchcraft”.22InReactiontoConquest,alsobased

on studies in Pondoland, Monica Wilson described witchcraft laws as having brought “the most

revolutionarychange”tobearonAfricanvillagers.CitingKidd,sheassertedthatthelawhadlargely

broughttoanend“executionsforallegedwitchcraftorsorcery”.23Yetdespitetheprohibitions,Wilson

argues,theAfricanbeliefthatwitchcraftexistedremainedfundamentallyunchanged.24Asof1936,she

notedthat“trialsbeforeadiviner”werestillheldfrequentlytodeterminewitches.25In1951,Wilson

confirmed that some hundred witchcraft‐related trials had occurred in Keiskammahoek in the

preceding fewyears.26Writing in1912, the anthropologistHenriAlexandre Junodbelieved that the

effortsofthe“civilisedGovernmentsinAfrica”toputanendtothesmellingoutofwitchesandwizards

hadnotputanendtowitchtrials,buthadatleastinducedmoreleniencyonthepartofchiefs,whonow

21ForanthropologyonwitchcraftbeliefsinSouthAfrica,seeHenriJunod,TheLifeofASouthAfricaTribe:(NewYork:UniversityBooksInc,1912);MonicaWilson,ReactiontoConquest:EffectsofContactwithEuropeansonthePondo of South Africa (Cape Town: David Philip, 1936); Monica Wilson et al., Keiskammahoek Rural Survey(Pietermaritzburg:ShuterandShooter,1952);E.H.Ashton, “Medicine,MagicandSorceryamong theSouthernSotho,”CommunicationsfromtheSchoolofAfricanStudies,UniversityofCapeTownNewSeriesNo.10(December1943);IsaacSchapera,TheTswana.(London:InternationalAfricanInstitute,1953);IsaacSchapera,“TheCrimeofSorcery,”ProceedingsoftheRoyalAnthropologicalInstituteofGreatBritainandIreland,1969,15–23;H.OMonnig,ThePedi(Pretoria:VanSchaik,1967);W.D.Hammond‐Tooke,“TheSymbolicStructureofCapeNguniCosmology,”in Religion and Social Change in Southern Africa (Cape Town: David Philip, 1975); W.D. Hammond‐Tooke,BoundariesandBelief:The Structureofa SothoWorldview (Johannesburg: University ofWitwatersrandPress,1981); W.D. Hammond‐Tooke, Rituals andMedicines: IndigenousHealing in South Africa (Johannesburg: A.D.Donker,1989);W.D.Hammond‐Tooke,“‘SelectiveBorrowing?ThePossibilityofSanShamanisticInfluenceontheSouthernBantuDivinationandHealingPractices.,’”SouthAfricanArchaeologicalBulletin53(1998):9–15.22DudleyKidd,TheEssentialKafir(London:Adam&CharlesBlack,1904),p.176–178.23MonicaWilson,ReactiontoConquest:EffectsofContactwithEuropeansonthePondoofSouthAfrica(CapeTown:DavidPhilip,1936),p.424.24Ibid.,p.275.25Ibid.,p.424.26MonicaWilsonetal.,KeiskammahoekRuralSurvey(Pietermaritzburg:ShuterandShooter,1952),p.182.

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apparentlynolongerputpeopletodeathbutwereinstead“contentwithfiningthewizards£10or£15,

half of which remains in their own pockets”.27 With witch trials apparently continuing, we might

tentativelyconcludethatthelegislationwasnotrigorouslyoruniformlyimplementedduringtheearly

twentiethcentury,butthiscertainlyrequiresfurthersubstantiation.

Inmore contemporary works about witchcraft, authors generally gloss over the colonial period of

witchcraft policing. While the late‐ and post‐apartheid eras have attracted significant scholarly

attention,farlessworkhasbeenproducedthatdealsexplicitlywiththeuseofwitchcraftlawintheearly

twentiethcentury.Wheretheperiodismentioned,itisgenerallyasamomentarysteppingstonetoa

discussionaboutthewitchcraftbeliefsandtheireffectsinmorerecenttimes.Wheresuggestionsare

maderegardinghowcolonialwitchcraftlawswereemployed,verylittleevidenceisgenerallyadduced

insubstantiation.

AdamAshforth’sextraordinaryWitchcraft,ViolenceandDemocracy inSouthAfricaoffersa thorough

accountof“witchcraft,violenceandjustice”inthepost‐apartheidera,butmakesonlypassingmention

of colonialwitchcraftpolicing.Hecontends thatadministratorswerenot trulycommitted toending

witchcraftaccusationsbutweremoreconcernedwithneutralizingperceivedthreatstocolonialorder

thatsupposed“superstitiousbeliefs”ofAfricanswerebelievedto foster.28Hebelieves that“healers”

were“nodoubt…targetedfromtimetotimeinvariousdistrictsofSouthAfrica,probablywheretheir

activities intruded into political matters that complicated the everyday activities of white

administrators”.29 He suggests that, in practice, colonial witchcraft laws “were applied only when

popularhealersemergedwhoseemedadangertocolonialorder”.30Yetheadmitsthathehas“been

unabletofindaccountsoftheprosecutionofhealersforcontraveningthislegislation”.31

BasedonhisstudyinBushbuckridge,IsakNiehaus’contendsthatthelawwasnotrigorouslyemployed

to put an end to witch trials between 1930 and 1956: “Out of sight and earshot of the native

commissioners,chiefstriedcasesthattouchedonwitchcraft…NativeCommissionersseemedtohave

ignored these infringements, perhaps because they involved minimal violence.”32 He argues that

witchcraftlawslikethesewerenotemployedrigorouslyasatoolforrepressingwitchcraftaccusations,

butwererathera“symbolic”sealofthestate’srhetoricalcommitmenttothecivilisingmission.33Like

Ashforth,however,hedoesnotpointtoanyspecificrecordstosubstantiatetheseassertions.

27HenriJunod,TheLifeofASouthAfricaTribe:PartII(NewYork:UniversityBooksInc,1912),p.534.28Ashforth,Witchcraft,Violence,Democracy.29Ibid.,p.286.30Ibid.,p.254.31Ibid.,p.286.32Niehaus,“WitchcraftintheNewSouthAfrica,”p.97.33Niehaus,“WitchcraftintheNewSouthAfrica:FromColonialSuperstitiontoPostcolonialReality?,”p.189.


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MartinChanock’sTheMakingofSouthAfricanLegalCulture:1902‐1936 isoneoftheveryfewworks

which interrogatesarchivaldocumentsandcourtcases fromtheearly twentiethcenturytoadvance

some conclusions about judicial attitudes towards witchcraft matters at the time. Chanock’s is a

summaryanalysis,however,withonlyafewpagesdevotedtothematter.Moreover,hisfocusremains

oncasesofwitchcraft‐relatedkillings.IntheeightcasesthatChanockpresents,whichcametotheNatal

HighCourt between1910 and1916, the chargeofmurderwouldhave applied rather than colonial

witchcraftlaws.

Chanock’sanalysisisnonethelessusefulinhighlightingsomeoftheencountersandattitudesofHigh

Court judges in matters of witchcraft. The judges are held to have been frequently “puzzled” and

“bewildered”bythecases,inwhichtheaccusedseemedtoactas“theresultofobediencetoothersand

tocustom”,murderingwithoutconcealmentandinconcertwithanumberofothers.34Thecourts,he

argues,regardedthesecasesasfoolishsuperstitions,andtheywereviewedasbeingsurroundedbyan

“airofimplacableirrationalityandbrutality”.35HequotesajudgmentbyJusticeJacksonin1915:“The

nativeisbroughtupinanatmosphereofsuperstition,andsuperstitionisengenderedbyeveryunusual

circumstance”.36

Chanockalsodemonstrateswhatseemstohavebeenabiasagainstdivinersintheapplicationofthelaw

–theyseemtohaveattractedtheanimosityofthejudgesoftheNatalHighCourt.Ineveryoneofthe

casesanalysed,thepresidingjudgenotedthecentralinstigatingroleofadiviner.Healsocitesarchival

documents from 1917 written by an unnamed law adviser to the Governor‐General and High

Commissioner,whichseemtoindicatethatitwasthedivinerwhomostfrequentlyreceivedthedeath

penaltyinwitchcraftmurdercases.Thelawadviserfoundthatincasesofwitchkillingthatcamebefore

theUnion courtsbetween1913 and1917, thedeathpenaltywasusually imposedwhen the “witch

doctor”hadundertakenthekilling,andcommutedtolifeimprisonmentwhentheaccusedhadkilledon

theinstructionsofa“witchdoctor”.37TheGovernor‐Generalweighedinontheissue,insistingthatthe

deathpenaltyshouldnot followasamatterof course,butonlywhere “thepractice is catching, and

sometimes especially infests a district. It may take a resemblance to a vendetta. In such cases the

severestpenaltiesmaybenecessary”.38

34MartinChanock,TheMakingofSouthAfricanLegalCulture,1902‐1936:Fear,FavourandPrejudice(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2001),p.322.35Ibid.36Ibid.,p.323.37Ibid.,p.327.38Quotedinibid.,p.327.

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Chanock’sfindingsindicatethatwhenitcametotryingtocurbmurdersbasedon“superstitiousbeliefs”,

pragmatic considerations of deterrence were more important than doggedly clinging to principle.

Additionally, it suggests that the law operated with a bias against “witch doctors”, perceived as

potentiallytroublesomevectorsofsupposedlyirrationalbeliefsinwitchcraft.Buttheseconclusionsare

onlysupportedbythinsetofarchivaldocuments,andgreaterresearchisrequiredtodeterminehow

generalizableChanock’sfindingsare.

D.S.KoyanaandJ.Macintoshalsowroteaboutwitchcraftmurdercases,specificallyabouthowbeliefin

witchcraft came to be recognized as a mitigating factor in sentencing. In the early decades of the

twentieth century, witchcraft beliefs were not considered as diminishing criminal fault in cases of

murder, yet by the 1930s it seems that the notion that witchcraft belief could be an extenuating

circumstancecametobeincreasinglydebated.Inalegalreviewjournalof1939,J.Macintoshnoteda

“remarkable”casefrom1933,R.v.Mbombela,inwhich“anativeyouth,believingthatasmallobjecthe

sawinabadly‐lithutwasanevilspirit(tikiloshe),struckitwithastickandkilledasmallchild”.39The

AppellateDivisionCourtthatquestionsof“race,oridiosyncrasies,orsuperstitions,orintelligenceofthe

person”couldnot“enterintothequestion”ofcriminalliability.40But,asKoyananotes,witchcraftfinally

cametoberegardedasanextenuatingcircumstanceinthe1938caseofR.v.Biyana.Thejudgeruled

thatthemindsofthefouraccusedwhohadstrangledanoldwoman“smeltout”asawitchwere“subject

to erroneous belief, in circumstances which [made the] crime committed under its influence less

reprehensible than itwould be in the case of amind of normal condition”.41 The accused received

sentencesrangingfromfifteentotwentyyearsinprison.Itseems,therefore,thatthejudiciarycameto

showawillingnesstocompromiseinmattersofwitchcraftasthedecadesworeon.

JulieParle’scasestudyoftheAmandikiofZululandfrom1894to1914isoneofthefewhistoricalworks

thatdealsexclusivelywiththeissueofwitchcraftduringthefirstdecadesofthetwentiethcenturyin

SouthAfrica.42InParle’sstudy,shemakesmentionoftheconfusedandinconsistentapplicationofthe

witchcraft law in Zululand (Proclamation II of 1887) in official strategies to manage what was

characterisedasawaveof“hystericalmania”amongwomencalledtheamandiki.Manyofficialsbelieved

thewomenwereundertakingpractices“closelyalliedwithwitchcraft”andthereforechargedanumber

ofwomen forcommittingwitchcraftunderSection9of theZululandProclamation IIof1887.43The

39J.C.Macintosh,“ApplicationofCriminalLawtoPrimitivePeople:HowFarBeliefinWitchcraftIs‘ExtenuatingCircumstance’inMurder,”TheCambridgeLawJournal7,no.1(1939):p.158.40Ibid.41D.S.Koyana,“TheDemiseoftheDoctrineofExtenuatingCircumstancesintheRepublicsofSouthAfricaandtheTranskei,”Consultus,October1991,115–18;Macintosh,“ApplicationofCriminalLaw,”p.158.42JulieParle,“WitchcraftorMadness?TheAmandikiofZululand,1894‐1914,”JournalofSouthernAfricanStudies29,no.1(2003):105–32.43Ibid.,p.112.


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DistrictNativeCommissioneroftheLowerUmfoloziDistrict,DickAddison,usedthelawvociferouslyin

1909againstthe“amandikinuisance”,whichhearguedneededtobe“putdownwithastronghand”.44

Parle’sanalysissuggeststhatlocalofficialshadasignificantdegreeofautonomyindecidingonhowto

trycasesdealingwithwitchcraftintheirdistricts.InZululand,itseemsthatthewitchcraftstatutewas

appliedinconsistentlybyofficialsaccordingtothelocalisedcontingenciestheyencounteredandtheir

concernsoverpublicorder.ButoneshouldbewaryofgeneralisingParle’sfindingsfromZululand.The

historicalcontextofcolonialruleherewasmarkedlydifferentfromthatofboththeTransvaalandthe

Cape,andtheprescriptionsofProclamationIIwerealsodistinctfromthelawswhichprevailedinthose

provinces.45Nevertheless,therewascommunicationaboutwitchcraftmattersbetweenadministrators

ofdifferentprovinces,andParle’sstudyprovidesimportantcluesaboutwhatbroaderattitudestowards

witchcraftmayhavebeen.

SeanReddinghaswrittenabouttheintersectionbetweenthestateandwitchcraftintheearlytwentieth

century. She argues that the increasingly intrusive actions of the colonial bureaucracy came to be

describedbyAfricans in the lexiconofwitchcraftbelief.46Sheargues thatbeliefs inwitchcraftwere

intimatelytiedtonotionsofpower,andthatthebeliefthatthestatewasmanipulatingevilsupernatural

powers provided the central thrust to a number of rural uprisings, including the 1880 Transkei

Rebellion,the1906BambathaRebellion,andtheruralrevoltsofthe1950sand60sintheTranskei.47A

similarargumentisadvancedbyCliftonCraisofthesituationintheapartheidera.48Reddingalsoargues

thatthecolonialstate’soutlawingofchieflywitchcraftadjudicationdidnothingtodampenbeliefsin

witchcraft – ironically, the perceived protection of witches from traditional justice by colonial law

44Ibid.,p.110–111.45Section9ofProclamationIIoutlawed“pretendingtopractisewitchcraft”,whileSection10criminalized“falselyaccusinganypersonofwitchcraft”.Aconvictionundereitherofthesecouldattract“afineorimprisonmentinthediscretionofthecourtor25lashesoranytwosuchpunishments”.Justhowtheselawscametobeappliedintheearlytwentiethcenturyrequiresfurtherresearch.

NationalArchivesRepository[Hereafter“SAB”],SecretaryforNativeAffairs[Hereafter“NTS”or“SNA”]9465,19/362,“WitchcraftGeneralFile:TranskeianTerritoriesWitchcraft”,LetterfromSecretaryofNativeAffairstotheSecretaryofJustice,includingSurveyofWitchcraftLawacrossSouthAfrica,1948.46TimothyLane,“Witchcraft,ChiefsandtheStateintheNorthernTransvaal:1900‐1930,”inTheCultureofPowerinSouthernAfrica:EssaysonStateFormationandthePoliticalImagination(Portsmouth,NH:Heinemann,2003),Seealso:47SeanRedding, “GovernmentWitchcraft:Taxation, theSupernatural,and theMpondoRevolt in theTranskei,South Africa, 1955‐1963,” African Affairs 95, no. 381 (1996): 555; Sean Redding, “Sorcery and Sovereignty:Taxation,Witchcraft,andPoliticalSymbolsinthe1880TranskeianRebellion,”JournalofSouthernAfricanStudies22,no.2 (1996):249–70;SeanRedding, “ABlood‐StainedTax:PollTaxand theBambathaRebellion inSouthAfrica,”AfricanStudiesReview43,no.2(September1,2000):29–54,;Sean,McKittrick,MeredithRedding,“SorceryandSovereignty:Taxation,PowerandRebellion inSouthAfrica,1880‐1963,”AfricanStudiesReview. 51,no.1(2008):144.48CliftonC.Crais,ThePoliticsofEvil:Magic,StatePower,andthePoliticalImaginationinSouthAfrica,AfricanStudiesSeries103(Cambridge,U.K. ;NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,2002).

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seemedtoprovidefurtherproofthatthestateitselfwasapurveyorofwitchcraft.49Yet,themagistrates

oftheTranskeicontinuedtoregardbeliefsinwitchcraftassimply“superstitious”,“rarelyunderstood

that the belief inwitchcraft had larger social and political effects” and failed to “discern any direct

relationshipbetweenhowtheyweregoverning,andthebeliefinwitchcraft”.50Shecitesletterswritten

bymagistratesoftheTranskeiwhichregardedwitchcraftbeliefsasproofthatAfricanswere“uncivilised

andculturallyconservative”,extremely“gullible”and“childlike”,andeven“dangerous”.51

Redding also notes official fears over the phenomenon of “war doctoring”: the administering of

medicinesbytraditionalhealersbeforebattlewiththepromiseofinvulnerabilitytoattack–apparently

regardedbyofficialsasaformof“nativewitchcraft”.52SuchfearswerealsohighlightedbyJeffGuy,who

shows that such fearswere present in the case of the BambathaRebellion of 1906.53 Theseworks

suggestthatofficialsweresometimesvexedbytheperceptionthatwitchcraftbeliefscouldwreakon

white rule.What is notmade clear, however, iswhether or how such fears informed strategies for

policingwitchcraftduringthisperiod.

Theworkspresentedthusfarrepresentthelimitsofscholarshipoftheapplicationofcolonialwitchcraft

lawsinSouthAfricaintheearlytwentiethcentury.Thereare,however,anumberofworkswrittenabout

themid‐nineteenthcenturywhichhelprevealsomethingof thedeeperhistoricalcontextofpolicing

witchcraftpriortothepromulgationofwitchcraftlaws.

EarlierColonialWitchcraftManagement

Inhis1899bookTheRomanceofaPro‐Consul, JamesMilnewritesabouttheapproachtoruleofSir

GeorgeGrey,themid‐nineteenthcenturyGovernoroftheCapeColony.GreybelievedthatAfricanscould

be assimilated by eroding the trappings of “tribal life”, undermining institutions of traditional rule,

rootingout“pagancustoms”andmoulding“rawhumanmaterialstohigherends”.54Butheidentified

“witchcraft,whichheldinbondsthesavagepeopleswhomIhadtogovern”ashis“hardesttrouble”.55

WilliamandLilyRees’TheLifeandTimesofSirGeorgeGreyshowsthatGreybelievedthespreadof

49Redding,“SorceryandSovereignty,”1996,p.256.50Ibid.51Ibid.,p.265.52Ibid.,p.261.53JamesStuartquotedinJeffGuy,TheMaphumuloUprising:War,LawandRitualintheZuluRebellion(Scotsville,SouthAfrica:UniversityofKwaZulu‐NatalPress,2005),p.221.54HermannBuhrGiliomee,FromApartheidtoNation‐Building,ContemporarySouthAfricanDebates(CapeTown:OxfordUniversityPress,1989),p.5;SirGeorgeGreyquotedinJamesMilne,TheRomanceOfAPro‐Consul:BeingThePersonalLifeAndMemoirsOfTheRightHon.SirGeorgeGrey,K.c.b,Specialed(London:Chatto&Windus,1899),p.72.55SirGeorgeGreyquotedinMilne,TheRomanceOfAPro‐Consul,p.72–73.


15

Europeaneducation,medicineandChristianitywould “win thepeople fromtheirwitch‐doctorsand

overthrow witchcraft”.56 Grey regarded witchcraft as an important pillar of chiefly power and

legitimacy,insistingthatchiefscolludedwith“witchdoctors”tohaverivals“eatenup”orexecuted.57Yet

itseemsthattheproblemwasonewhichlargelyescapedcolonialcontrol.

Attitudestowardswitchcraftseemtohavebeenlittledifferentinthenineteenthcenturyadministration

ofcolonialNatal,despiteitsturnawayfromGrey’sassimilationistapproachtowardsproto‐segregation.

ThomasMcClendon’sWhiteChief,BlackLordsdemonstrateshow, inspiteofTheophilusShepstone’s

acceptance of customary rule, witchcraft remained something which the colonial state considered

“repugnant”andinneedofstampingout.58McClendonarguesthatthiswasfundamentallyaboutpower

–aboutassertingthesovereigntyoftheBritishadministrationbywrestingcontrolofwitchcraftaway

from the chiefs and denying them the power over the life and death of their subjects. “In effect,”

McClendonargues,“thecolonialstatereservedcapitalpunishmenttoitself”inabidto“dilutethepower

ofamakhosi”.59

InabidtoassertthesovereigntyofBritishcolonialrule,Shepstone’sadministrationtookituponitself

todealwithwitchcraftmatters,managingthoseaccusationswhichemergedmostvisibly,sometimes

throughpersonalinterventions.McClendonhighlightsoccasionswhenaccusedwitcheswereremoved

fromlocalitiesbycolonialofficials.Inoneincident,officialsweresentscurryingbetweenrivalchiefdoms

who had traded accusations of witchcraft, eventually convincing one to relocate in order to avoid

conflict.Ironically,theresultwasthattheadministrationbecamemoredeeplyembroiledintothematrix

of witchcraft beliefs: even as it attempted to relegate the ‘repugnant’ category of witchcraft to

invisibility… the colonial statemade itself aparticipant in thediscourseofwitchcraft.”60McClendon

shows that the colonial administration was forced to undertake a “delicate dance” with witchcraft

matters–calculatedcompromisesasopposedtoconsistentprinciple.Despiteastatedabhorrenceto

the issue of witchcraft, there thus came to exist elements of pragmatic rapprochement with

“repugnancy”intheactionsundertaken.

These accounts of nineteenth century engagements with witchcraft beliefs help situate the study I

undertake indeeperhistorical contextofwitchcraftpolicing.Theydrawattention to theconnection

betweenwitchcraftandpower,anddemonstratehowthetaskofpolicingthesebeliefswasrathermore

56WilliamLeeReesandLilyRees,TheLifeandTimesofSirGeorgeGrey,K.C.B.(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1892),p.232.57Ibid.,p.228.58ThomasMcClendon,WhiteChief,BlackLords:ShepstoneandtheColonialStateinNatal,SouthAfrica1845‐1878(Rochester:UniversityofRochesterPress,2010),p.50.59Ibid.,p.61.60Ibid.

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complicated and contingent than official rhetoric admitted. In practice, pragmatism more often

prevailedoverdogmaticadherence to thecivilisingmission.What isnotmadeclear iswhether this

attitude of compromise still informed the actions of colonial officials after the promulgation of the

witchcraftlawsinthelatenineteenthcentury–aquestionwhichwillbeinterrogatedinthisstudy.

ComparativeHistory:PolicingWitchcraftinBritishAfrica

Whilethereisanotableabsenceofstudiesfocusingontheapplicationofwitchcraftlawsintheearly

twentiethcenturyinSouthAfrica,anumberofstudieshavebeenconductedelsewhereinAfricaduring

thisperiod–especiallyinformerBritishcolonieswheresimilarwitchcraftlawswereimposed.

InhisarticleonthepolicingofwitchcraftinSwazilandbytheearlytwentiethcenturystate,forinstance,

AlanBoothargues“thecolonialgovernmentwentafterwitchcraftsoobsessivelybecauseitperceived

its practitioners as a competitive locus of powerwhich it could not tolerate”.61 Aswas asserted by

officials in nineteenth century SouthAfrica, then, power seems to have beenof primary concern in

witchcraftmanagement.Asaresult,hebelieves,chiefsfeltdeprivedofanimportantritualofpower,and

sharedtheperceptionthatwitcheswerebeingprotectedbytheEuropeancourts.62Yetitdoesnotseem

thatthecolonialprohibitionswerewhollysuccessful.InTheRealmoftheRainqueen,KrigeandKrige

analysetheproceedingsofsomefiftywitchcraftcasesthatcamebeforeSwazichieflycourts.63

Despitelegalprohibitions,customarycourtproceedingsinwitchcraftmattersseemtohavecontinued

inanumberof countries.64MonicaHunter’sGoodCompany notes the continuationofwitch trials in

SouthernTanganyikaandNorthernMalawiinthe1930s:“Wejudgethemopenlybutwedonothave

61A.R.Booth,“‘EuropeanCourtsProtectWomenandWitches’:ColonialLawCourtsasRedistributorsofPowerinSwaziland1920‐1950.,”JournalofSouthernAfricanStudies.18,no.2(1992):p.272–273.62Ibid.63J.D.KrigeandE.J.Krige,TheRealmoftheRainqueen.(Johannesburg:Juta&Co,1943).64 For examples of anthropology from other African countries, see J.D. Krige and E.J. Krige,TheRealmof theRainqueen.(Johannesburg:Juta&Co,1943);J.DKrige,“TheSocialFunctionOfWitchcraft,”Theoria:AJournalofSocialandPoliticalTheory,no.1(1947):8–21;MonicaWilson,GoodCompany(OxfordU.p,1951);M.GMarwick,SorceryinItsSocialSetting;aStudyoftheNorthernRhodesianCeŵa.([Manchester:ManchesterUniv.Press,1965);J.R.Crawford,WitchcraftandSorceryinRhodesia(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1967);MaxGluckman,CustomandConflictinAfrica.(Oxford:Blackwell,1956);MaxGluckman,Politics,Law,andRitualinTribalSociety(Oxford:NewYork,NY,USA :BasilBlackwell,1965).


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themwritteninthecourtbook”.65InTheTswana,IsaacSchaperanotedoftheBechuanalandProtectorate

that“trialsareoftenheld,especiallyifthevictimisstillliving”.66

AnumberofstudiesproducedaboutcentralAfricademonstratethatforcolonialofficials,pragmatism

cametotrumpprincipleinmattersofwitchcraftpolicing.RichardWaller’sWitchcraftandColonialLaw

inKenyaprovides incisiveanalysisonthekindsofengagements that tookplacebetweentheBritish

coloniallegalmachineryandwitchcraftmatters.Here,thelawwasemployedprimarilyagainstthose

classifiedas“witches”bythecolonialauthorities,butwhomWallerregardsashavingbeenconsidered

dangerous“charismaticindividuals…whoseclaimstosupernaturalpowerthreatenedtoprovideafocus

for community resistance”.67 This provides pause for thought about the diversity of approaches

undertakenbyvariouscolonialauthoritiesacrossAfrica,wheretherelativepowerofwhiterulevaried

considerably,necessitatingdifferentstrategiestopolicewitchcraftbeliefs.Wallernotesthatincolonial

Kenya,officersofthelawfoundwitchcraftcasesincrediblytroublesomefortheimageofcolonialrule.

Witchcraftcaseswerefrequentlyoverturnedontechnicalitiesorwithdrawnduetoalackofevidence,

andasaresult,theespousedauthorityoflocalcolonialofficialswasrevealedtoberathermoretenuous

thantheircivilisingproclamationswerewonttosuggest.These“witches”aresaidtohave“boast[ed]of

theirimmunity”andthreatenedthosewhohadtestifiedagainstthemincourt.68Wallerconcludesthat

“DistrictCommissionersrespondedbysimplyrefusingtoprosecute–ineffectturningablindeyeto

more apparently effective local methods of control, provided that they were not made public.”69

Administratorswerethuswillingto“bendthelaw”inthenameofgoodgovernance.70Walleralsoshows

thattheattitudesofcolonialofficialschangedremarkablyovertime.Bythe1930s,heargues,theywere

“learningtolivewithwitches–andwithwitchdoctors”.71

SomeworksoncolonialTanganyikademonstrateasimilarchangeinmindsetofcolonialofficials.Stacey

AnnLangwickquotesaTanganyikancolonialofficialashaving insistedthatwitchcraft lawwasonly

used“whenthemaintenanceofpeaceandorderandgoodgovernmentareatstake”.72Greenreports

that by the 1940s, officers here had begun using “traditional expertise” themselves to deal with

witchcraft. He notes that “increased witchcraft accusations prompted the district commissioner of

65Wilson,GoodCompany.66Schapera,TheTswana.,p.66.67RichardD.Waller,“WitchcraftandColonialLawinKenya,”inPast&Present,Past&PresentSociety180(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2003),p.262.68Ibid.,p.247.69Ibid.70Ibid.,p.274–275.71Ibid.,p.266.72 Stacey Ann Langwick, Bodies, Politics, and African Healing: The Matter of Maladies in Tanzania (IndianaUniversityPress,2011),p.50.

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Ulanga,Tanganyika,tosendmgangatoconductmassshavings…tosuppressthepowersofwitchesand

toprotectpeopleagainstbewitchment.Withinvillagecommunitiesaperceptionevenarosethatcolonial

governmentshadappointedanti‐witchcraftspecialistsforpurposesofdevelopment.”73

Karen Fields demonstrates the The Political Contingencies ofWitchcraft in early twentieth century

Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Kenya, arguing that official dealings with witchcraft came to be

characterised by an approach of compromise and calculation. In her estimation, British officers

“backpedalled” from the initially vigorous civilising imperative because they lacked the popular

legitimacy,themanpowerandresourcestorulebyforcealone.74Realisingwitchcraftbeliefswerenot

going todisappear soon,Fieldsargues thatofficials adopteda stanceof “watchful tolerance”on the

matter,calculatingtheirresponsesaccordingtothepotentialcoststhatsuchactionmightposetotheir

holdonpower.75Thisstrategypresented itselfasapoliticallyexpedientwayfor“colonialismonthe

cheap” to approach the problem of witchcraft: officials kept “a sharp eye on developments”, yet

abstainedfromintrusivepolicing.76

Nosimilar,empiricallysubstantiatedstudieshavebeenproducedwhichtestwhetherthesituationsin

other African colonies outlined above prevailed in the South African context in the early twentieth

century.

TheStudy,theSourcesandtheMethodology

Withoutmuchseriousanalysisof theattitudesofadministrators to theproblemofwitchcraft in the

earlytwentiethcentury,thereisasignificantgapinscholarship.Thisstudyaimstobolsterthesparse

literaturethatexistsontheuseofwitchcraftlawsinearlytwentiethcenturySouthAfricabylookingat

theuseoftheTransvaalWitchcraftOrdinanceNo.26of1904.Iexaminethebroaddiscursiveframework

inwhichcolonialofficialsapprehendedmattersofwitchcraft,andprovideevidenceastothenatureof

administrativeandjudicialresponsestowitchcraftmattersastheycametobeshapedbytheparticular

settingintheTransvaal.

Inthecourseofthereviewofliteratureundertakenabove,anumberofquestionshavearisenwhich

haveasyet remainedunsatisfactorilyansweredbyexisting literature, lacking insufficientempirical

73MGreen,“ShavingWitchcraftinUlanga:KunyulewaandtheCatholicChurch,”inWitchcraft inContemporaryTanzania(Cambridge:AfricanStudiesCentre,UniversityofCambridge,1994),p.29.74K.E.Fields, “PoliticalContingenciesofWitchcraft inColonialCentralAfrica:Cultureand theState inMarxistTheory,”CanadianJournalofAfricanStudies16(1982):p.569.75Ibid.,p.575.76KarenEFields,“PoliticalContingenciesofWitchcraftinColonialCentralAfrica:CultureandtheStateinMarxistTheory,”CanadianJournalofAfricanStudies16,no.3(1982):p.568;p.588.


19

depth.IapproachedtheprimarymaterialIdiscoveredaboutearlytwentiethcenturywitchcraftpolicing

withtheseconcernsinmind:

1.WastheWitchcraftOrdinancemerelya“symbol”ofthestate’srhetoricalcommitmentto

the “civilisingmission”, rather than a genuine legislative attempt to eradicate witchcraft

accusations,asNiehaussuggests?

2.HowaccurateisAshforth’scontentionthatthelaw“wasappliedonlywhenpopularhealers

emergedwhoseemedadangertocolonialorder”?

3.Canweinfer,asChanockdoes,thatthelawoperatedwithabiasagainstso‐called“witch

doctors”?

4.InearlytwentiethcenturyTransvaal,wereadministratorsforcedtoundertakea“delicate

dance”withwitchcraftmatters,asShepstonedidinnineteenthcenturyNatal?Didcolonial

administrators come to turn a “blind eye” towitchcraftmatters, asWaller suggests? Did

“watchfultolerance”undergirdofficialresponses,asFieldssuggestsofcentralandeastern

Africa?

In a bid to provide some answers to these questions, this study interrogates a range of primary

documentsauthoredduringtheearlytwentiethcentury.Becausetheprimarydocumentaryevidence

which ismost readily accessible is largely concernedwith the Transvaal region, this will form the

geographical focus of my project. A major problem I have found with the available literature is a

tendencytoinferbroadgeneralisationsaboutwitchcraftpolicingfromparticularcontextscharacterised

by unique socio‐political terrains. In this study, I have not desisted from advancing some tentative

generalisationsaboutthebroadsituationintheTransvaal,butIdoaimtoremainassensitivetolocal

particularities as the available sources allow. I chose to approach the studywithout rigid temporal

parameters,leavingmyresearchflexibletotheprimaryevidenceIdiscovered.

InChapterI,Iinterrogatesomeprominentperceptionsofthe“witchcraftproblem”inthesegregationist

climateof theearly twentiethcentury. I investigatehowtheconceptsof “witchcraft”and the“witch

doctor”wereunderstoodamongstprominentwhitewritersandofficialsofthetime.Ihighlightsome

reasons advanced for why witchcraft presented a problem, both for colonial rule and for Africans

themselves. I also examine some of the solutions proposed for ending this supposed problem. This

chapterwasdrawnfromawiderangeofsources:reportsofcommissionsofenquiry,theutterancesof

statesmen, theethnographiesof earlyanthropologists, themanifestosof segregationist intellectuals,

andarticleswhich featured innewspapers andperiodicals.Of course, these sources cannotprovide

anything like a comprehensiveaccountof “officialbeliefs” regardingwitchcraft – therewasnotone

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perspective on “witchcraft” which informed administrative responses to these matters. Beliefs are

always highly individualised, erratic and inconsistent. Nevertheless, these sources do give us an

indicationofthediscursiveterraininwhichofficialattitudestowitchcraftmayhavebeenformed.

InChapterII,IexamineinstancesinwhichtheTransvaalWitchcraftOrdinancecametobeappliedin

thecolonialcourtroom.Iinvestigatethekindsofsituationswhichcametoattractthemightofthelaw

andthemannerinwhichtheywereadjudicated.Theconclusionsadvancedaredrawnfromcaseswhich

camebefore theTransvaal SupremeCourtCircuitDivision.TheNationalArchives inPretoriahouse

extensive records of these cases, which include charge sheets, witness testimony, and concluding

judgments.Atthetimeofmyresearch,constructionworkattheArchiveshamperedtheaccessibilityof

documents, and the only available criminal case registers ranged from the years 1910 to 1935.

Nevertheless, the37caseswhich involvedchargesunder theWitchcraftOrdinanceduring that time

providesomeusefulinsightsintotheoperationofthelaw.Oneshouldofcoursebearinmindthelimits

oftheserecords.Inmostcasesitisunclearhowthemattercamebeforethecourtinthefirstinstance.

Moreover,thetypedtranscriptsfallwellshortofcapturingthedetailofthedramasthatunfoldedinthe

courtroom.MostwitnessesidentifiedthemselvesasXitsongaorBavenda,andthetestimonieswhich

appearinthecourtrecordsarethereforeprobablytranslations.Most,forinstance,wouldprobablynot

haveusedtheterms“witchdoctor”,“witch”,or“wizard”thatappearinthefinaltranscripts.Whilenone

of the questions asked by the prosecution are recorded, the fact that testimonies in the same case

frequentlymirror each other in termsof narrative structure seems to indicate thatwitnesseswere

interrogatedalongthesamelines.Thisinvitesusfurthertobearinmindtheconstraintsofthecourt

systemmore generally indrawing inferences about the applicationof the law.The court roomwas

characterisedbysharpasymmetriesofpower,andmanyofthosewhoappearedaswitnessesmayhave

harbouredsignificantmistrustofthecoloniallegalsystem.Iapproachedtheirtestimonieswiththisin

mind.Nevertheless,muchcanstillbelearnedfromtheserecords,especiallyabouttheperspectivesof

judgesonmattersofwitchcraft.

InChapter III, Imove from theelevatedvantagepointof theSupremeCourt to the lower levelsof

grassroots “witchcraftmanagement”. I investigatehownotionsofAfrican supernatural beliefswere

perceivedamongstsomelocalcolonialofficialsandwhattheirresponsestothemwere.Thischapter

drawsonasignificantbodyofcorrespondencesentbetweentheNativeAffairsDepartmentandlower

levelNativeCommissionersandmagistrates.Usingthesesourcespresentsobviouslimitations.Theydo

not allow us to produce anything like a definitive and comprehensive account of official attitudes

towardswitchcraftintheperiodinquestion.Andagain,territorialcontextshouldbeborninmind.While

thisstudyisconcernedwiththeTransvaalgenerally,eachlocalityseemstohavebeencharacterisedby

itsownconstellationofpersonalitiesandpowerdynamicswhichshapedbeliefsaboutandresponsesto

witchcraft.Nevertheless,thesearchivaldocumentsdoprovideuswithafargreatersenseofthekinds


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ofcalculationsthatmayhaveinformedofficialresponsestowitchcraftintheearlytwentiethcentury

thaniscurrentlyofferedinSouthAfricanwitchcraftscholarship.

ChapterI:The“WitchcraftProblem”andtheWeightofWords

Intheearlytwentiethcentury,anerainwhichideasofsocialDarwinismandeugenicsprevailed,the

notionof“nativewitchcraft”wasfrequentlyemployedasanemblemofuntamedbarbarity,irrationality

andbackwardness,asavageremnantofaprimordialpast.Itwaspositedasahalton“progress”andan

obstacletothedeliveranceoftheAfricanto“civilisation”.Evenasthesegregationiststatetookshapein

theyearsaftertheUnionofSouthAfrica,espousinganapparentlynew‐foundrespectforAfricanculture,

staterhetoricmaintainedthelongheldcolonialviewthatbeliefsinwitchcraftwere“repugnant”andin

needofstampingout.Despitethegovernment’sstatedrecognitionofcustomarylaw,anditsacceptance

ofpracticeslikelobolaandpolygamy,therewasapparentlynoofficialrapprochementwithbeliefsin

witchcraft.EvenastheVictorianassimilationistparadigmwaslosingpurchasetowardstheendofthe

nineteenthcentury,andthestateindicatedafundamentalshifttowardsaformofindirectrulewhich

bolsteredchieflypowers,lawswerebeingpromulgatedwhichbannedthetraditionaladjudicationof

witchcraftmatters.Inthischapter,Iexaminewhybeliefsinwitchcraftwereconsideredproblematicby

arangeofintellectualsandstateofficialsintheearlytwentiethcentury.

WhatisWitchcraft?

ThetopicofAfricanbeliefsin“witchcraft”excitedtheimaginationofagreatmanyauthorsintheearly

twentiethcentury.Terrifying“heartofdarkness”narrativeswereconcoctedwhichportrayedAfricans

hypnotisedbyfearandimprisonedbytheiroutrageoussuperstitions.A1900editionoftheChristian

Express spokeofwitchcraft as “voodooism”, a “remnant of barbarism” that even “still lingers in the

mindsofnativeChristians”.1Aseriesofarticlesentitled“NatureRamblesinZululand”thatraninthe

1909 African Monthly told “fabulous tales” of the “superstitious fancies of the barbarian mind”:

1“ThePrevalenceofWitchcraft,”TheChristianExpress,January6,1900,p.1,WorldNewspaperArchive.

The Witchcraft Problem

23

“primitiveman… lost in amaze of doubt and horror”, victim to themachinations of “witches” and

“wizards”andthe“mysteriouscultoftheisangoma”.2Africanbeliefsinwitchcraftapparentlyproved

justhowtrulyenlightenedthe“European”manwasincomparison.Ina1929editionoftheOutspan,J.W

HousehamportrayedAfricansas:

apeoplesointenselysuperstitious[that]anythingbearingonthemysteriousandocculthasagreatandoverpoweringinfluence.Suchapeopleisatalltimesmovedbysignsandsoundsofwhichamorecivilisedandeducatedmanwouldtakelittleaccount…reasonhasnoplacewhereignoranceandsuperstitionreign.3

Yettheconceptof“witchcraft”wasnotemployedintheAfricancontextfreeofhistoricalbaggage.Before

their “enlightenment”, Europe had lived through its own nightmarish experiences with witches.

Understandings of witchcraft thus arrived in the colonial context already invested with images of

violenceandinjustice.RichardWallerarguesthat

colonialofficials,asEnglishmenwhothoughttheyknewtheirhistory,hadapasttoatonefor.Africanswere

now, itseemed,whereEnglishmenhadoncebeen,anditwaseasytoconstrueanalienpresentthrough

imagesofvillagehatreds,thecredulityofthelearned,officiallysanctionedpersecutionandmobviolence

drawnfromafamiliar–iflargelymisrepresented–past.4

Inthe16thand17thcentury,Britishcourtshadsentencedthousandsofwitchestotheirdeathsunder

officialstatutes.Thejudiciaryregardedthecrimeofwitchcraftasreal,witchesasgenuineagents“in

leaguewiththedevil”,engagingin“intercoursewithevilspirits”.5ThisfinallychangedwhentheBritish

legislature passed theWitchcraft Act in 1735, signalling a complete reversal in the official attitude

towardswitchcraft.ThenewActportrayedwitchcraftaspurelyimaginary.Itbecameacrimetoaccuse

anotherofpossessingmagicalpowers.6Individualscouldnolongerbetriedforbeingawitch,butfor

“pretend[ing]toexerciseoruseanykindofWitchcraft,Sorcery,Inchantment,orConjuration”.7ThisAct

wouldformthemodelforthewitchcraftlegislationofnineteenthcenturyBritishAfrica,and,aswillbe

demonstrated,itsfundamentalassumptionsoftheirrationalityandbarbarismofwitchcraftbeliefswere

apparentlysharedbyagreatmanySouthAfricanwritersandintellectualsofthetimetoo.8

2 Alaena Mazoula, “Nature Rambles in Zululand: The Mamba,” AfricanMonthly, August 1909, Vol. VI, No.33.Periodicals,CullenAfrica;AlaenaMazoula,“NatureRamblesinZululand:ThePython,”AfricanMonthly,October1909,Vol.VI,No.35.Periodicals,CullenAfrica.3J.W.Househam,“TheMysteryoftheFlyingStones,”TheOutspan,August2,1929,p.43,RhodesUniversityCoryLibrary.4Waller,“WitchcraftandColonialLawinKenya,”p.256.5Ibid.;RosemaryGuiley,TheEncyclopediaofWitches,WitchcraftandWicca(InfobasePublishing,2008),p.381.6Mensah‐AborampahOsei,“WitchcraftintheReligionoftheHlubiofQumbu:FocusingontheIssuesofSicknessandHealingintheSociety”(PhD,UniversityofSouthAfrica,2003),p.240.7TheWitchcraftActof1735,9Geo.2c.5.8Chanock,MakingofSALegalCulture,p.326.

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UnderstandingsofwitchcraftwerenotonlyinformedbyEuropeanmemoriesofwitchkilling,however.

Initsimportationintothecolonialcontext,theconceptofwitchcraftwasalsoinjectedwithnotionsof

racialsupremacy.Witchcraftapparentlyconfirmedthemythsaboutthesupposedinnatedepravityand

evolutionary backwardness of the African. If European witchcraft was considered irrational and

barbaric,thenAfricanwitchcraftwasdoublyso.WitchcraftbeliefwasthusconceivedinsocialDarwinist

terms,asproofofirrationalblackbarbarityandanobstacleto“civilisation”andthespreadof“Western

modernity”. Eliminating “native witchcraft” came to be a principal aim of the civilising mission

undertakenbythesupposedlysuperiorwhiterace.9Inthelatenineteenthcentury,thelegislaturesin

thecoloniesofSouthAfricapromulgatedlawswhichformalisedthestate’scommitmenttostampingout

witchcraftbeliefs.

Yet at the same time, as a number of authors note, the form that the civilising mission took was

undergoing some important changes. Saul Dubow argues that during this time, the fundamental

premises of the past Victorian civilising mission were called into question. In the wake of drastic

urbanization, increasing fears of black “swamping”, “miscegenation”, and the growingpolitical fears

promptedbyeducatedAfricans,prominentwhiteintellectualsandstatesmenquestionedthewisdomof

the“assimilationist”paradigmwhichhadoncepredominated.10 ProminentintellectualslikeHoward

Pim,MauriceEvans,CharlesLoramandEdgarBrookesarguedthattheAfricanwasnotreadytobefully

integratedinto“civilisation”,andadvocatedaformofracialterritorialsegregationwhichrecognisedthe

valueofmaintaining“nativeculture”.11

By the early twentieth century, African “customs” had thus undergone a rebaptism as ideas of

segregation gained ascendancy. The structures of traditional rule were no longer simply seen as

impedimentsto“civilisation”whichneededtobedestroyed,butastheinstrumentstoostensiblyallow

Africanstofollow“thelineofevolution[which]theirracegeniussuggests”.12In1903,MagistrateCO

Griffinwrotethattheeducated“nativeismerelyamischiefmaker…hehasprovedhimselfunabletouse

hispositionformuchgood,butmoreoftenwhatheknowsisusedinairingimaginarygrievancesofhis

people”;bycontrast,the“rawnative”was“thetruestgentlemanthereis.Heistruetohistraditionsand

9Niehaus,“WitchcraftintheNewSouthAfrica,”p.95.10JohnCell,TheHighestStageofWhiteSupremacy:TheOriginsofSegregationinSouthAfricaandtheAmericanSouth(Cambridge[Cambridgeshire];NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,1982),See,forinstance:;SaulDubow,RacialSegregationandtheOriginsofApartheidinSouthAfrica,1919‐36,St.Antony’s/MacmillanSeries(London,England)(Basingstoke:MacmillaninassociationwithStAntony’sCollege,Oxford,1989);PaulB.Rich,StatePowerandBlackPoliticsinSouthAfrica,1912‐51(Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire;NewYork:MacmillanPress ;St.Martin’sPress,1996).11SaulDubow,RacialSegregationandtheOriginsofApartheidinSouthAfrica,1919‐36,St.Antony’s/MacmillanSeries(Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire:MacmillaninassociationwithSt.Antony’sCollege,Oxford,1989),p.25–50.12MauriceS.Evans,BlackandWhiteinSouthEastAfrica,aStudyinSociology(London,NewYork[etc.] :Longmans,GreenandCo.,1911),p.20,http://archive.org/details/blackwhitesouthe00evan.


25

customs,andtruetotheauthorityunderwhichhelives.Takehimoutofthatandheisimmediatelya

danger.”13 Segregation offered a form of indirect rule by which the white state could control the

movementsandlimittheaspirationsofAfricans,especiallyinurbanareas.Repressivesegregationthus

cametobeeuphemisedinthelanguageof“culturaldifference”.14

Segregation was instituted through attempts to co‐opt chiefs into the colonial bureaucracy. Their

powerswereexpanded,andchieflycourtscametobeofficiallyentitledtoadminister“nativelaw”–a

parallellegalordertowhichallAfricansweresubjected.The1927NativeAdministrationAct,crafted

by J.B.M Hertzog’s administration, provided the definitive legislative seal for this commitment to

“retraditionalisation”. But the operation of customary law was not without qualification: the Act

stipulatedthat“nativelaw”wouldapplyaslongasitwas“notopposedtotheprinciplesofpublicpolicy

or natural justice”.15Whilematters of lobola and polygamy came to be recognised asmore or less

harmlesscustomswhichchiefscoulddealwithintheircourts,therewasnoofficialrapprochementwith

witchcraft,theadjudicationofwhichremainedoutsidetheambitofchieflyauthority.Witchcraftthus

stood as somethingof a contradiction to thepolicies of retraditionalisationundertaken at the time,

demonstratingthatthecivilisingmissionhadnotdied.16

13NormanEtherington,“ReligionandResistanceinNatal,1900‐1910,”inOneHundredYearsoftheANC:DebatingLiberationHistoriesToday(Johannesburg:WitsUniversityPress,2012),p.58.14 See:MaynardWSwanson, “The Sanitation Syndrome:BubonicPlague andUrbanNativePolicy in theCapeColony, 1900‐1909,” The Journal of African History 18, no. 3 (1977); John Cell, The Highest Stage ofWhiteSupremacy:TheOriginsofSegregationinSouthAfricaandtheAmericanSouth(Cambridge[Cambridgeshire];NewYork:CambridgeUniversityPress,1982);SaulDubow,RacialSegregationandtheOriginsofApartheid inSouthAfrica,1919‐36, St. Antony’s/Macmillan Series (Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan in associationwithSt.Antony’sCollege,Oxford,1989),p.30–31.;P.Maylam,“ExplainingtheApartheidCity:20YearsofSouthAfricanUrbanHistoriography,”JournalofSouthernAfricanStudies.21,no.1(1995):19;PaulB.Rich,StatePowerandBlackPoliticsinSouthAfrica,1912‐51(Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire;NewYork:MacmillanPress ;St.Martin’s Press, 1996); Ivan Thomas Evans, Bureaucracy and Race: Native Administration in South Africa,PerspectivesonSouthernAfrica53(Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,1997).151927NativeAdministrationAct,n.d.,p.8,section11.,http://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/acts/1927‐038.pdf.16The1927“repugnancy”provisooncustomarylawrepresentedacontinuationofalonghistoricaltrendtowardsaspectsofAfrican“tradition”whichcolonialofficialsregardedasunpalatable.TheSouthAfricanNativeAffairsCommission (SANAC) Report in 1905, one of the first official documents which endorsed segregation on anationwidescale,hademphasisedtheimportanceofmaintainingsuchaprovisointherecognitionofcustomarylaw.Thereportspokeinominousterms:“Therehasbeenandtherecontinuesagreatstrugglebetweenthepowersofgoodandevil,oflightanddarkness,ofenlightenmentandignorance,ofprogressandtradition,ofChristianityandheathenism”(SANACReport,1905:p.42,para.216).AccordingtoSirGodfreyLagden,theprincipalauthoroftheSANACReportinhiscapacityasCommissionerofNativeAffairs,Africanscouldnotsimplybelefttotheirowndevicessincetheystillhad“weirdways”whichtheyneededhelperadicating(QuotedinAshforth,1990,p.38).Yetthe elastic concept “repugnancy”hadbeen formulated far earlierbyTheophilus Shepstone,whoprovided theprototype for the later segregationist state: customary lawwould prevail “except so far as the samemay berepugnanttothegeneralprinciplesofhumanity,recognisedthroughoutthecivilisedworld”(McClendon,2010,p.50).Shepstonehadprohibitedthechieflyadjudicationofwitchcrafttrialsonthegroundsthatitwasrepugnant.Thestate’srhetoricaloppositiontowitchtrialshad, itseems,remained largelyunbrokensince thenineteenthcentury.

Joel Pearson

26

Ashfortharguesthat,Fromtheperspectiveofmanystateofficials,beliefinwitchcraftwasproofthat

Africanssubsistedatalowerlevelofcivilisationtothe“enlightened”European.Beliefsintheexistence

ofwitcheswerefrequentlyheldupasproofthatAfricanswerenot“advanced”enoughforcompleteself‐

governmentorthefranchise.Intheviewofthestate,“therationalsubjectofmoderntimes[was]not

supposedtobesomeonegrapplingwiththoseforcesofevilnamesas‘witchcraft’”.17Inhisbiographyof

J.B.MHertzog,OswaldPirowclaimsthattheAfrikanernationalisthad“verydefiniteviews”aboutthe

“generalbeliefinwitchcraftandassociatedphenomena”.18HertzoghadregaledPirowwithastoryabout

how one of his more “civilised” labourers, had expressed fears about “the black pigs” which were

“threateningthemnightandday”becausetheybuiltonaburialground.Thisprincipalarchitectofearly

twentiethcenturysegregationissaidtohavetoldPirow:“Thatshowshowfarcivilisationhasgonewith

anativewhonormallywouldbedescribedasacivilisedmanandaChristian.Itjustemphasizeshow

carefulwemustbebeforeweplacedutiesandresponsibilitiesonthemwhichtheyare incapableof

carrying”.19African incorporation intowhitesocietywas, inHertzog’sview“onlyskindeep”,andhe

concluded thateven“thedevelopmentof thenativesmustbecarefullysupervisedbyasympathetic

government. It would be dangerous to forgo this benevolent guardianship, as most of the Bantu

intellectualswerenotpreparedtoleadtheirownraceandasthehalf‐educatednativewasstillatheart

abarbarian.20

This sentiment was echoed by another foundational segregationist platform, the Native Economic

Commission(NEC)of1932,althoughwithaddedpretensionsofscientificobjectivity.TheNECheldthat

beliefs in witchcraft spoke to “the paramount need for modernising the tribal system”.21 The

Commissionreportidentifiedwitchcraftbeliefas“anti‐progressive”featureof“triballife”.22IntheNEC’s

estimation,witchcraftbeliefswere“opposedtoprogress”andpreventedAfricansfromaccumulating

wealth and “developing” by themselves: “the natives are too firmly held in the grip of primitive

superstitionand fear”.23Witchcraftbeliefsproved thatAfricanscouldnotbe trustedwith theirown

futures or expected to use the vote rationally. Instead, in the view of the NEC, continuing white

paternalisticguidancewascrucialtoconvinceAfricansthatbeliefsinwitchcraftweresuperstitious,to

17AdamAshforth,“Muthi,MedicineandWitchcraft:Regulating‘AfricanScience’inPost‐ApartheidSouthAfrica?,”SocialDynamics31,no.2(2005):p.112.,doi:10.1080/02533950508628714.18OswaldPirow,JamesBarryMunnikHertzog(CapeTown:HowardTimmins,1937),p.196.19Ibid.20Ibid.21 J. E. Holloway et al., “Report of Native Economic Commission 1930‐1932,” 1932, p.9.,http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/5028.22J.D.RheinalltJonesandA.LynnSaffery,SocialandEconomicConditionsofNativeLifeintheUnionofSouthAfrica:Findingsof theNativeEconomicCommission,1930‐1932 (Johannesburg:Universityof theWitwatersandPress,1933),Paras.26,31,34.23Hollowayetal.,“ReportofNativeEconomicCommission1930‐1932,”p.12,para.81.


27

showthemthat“spirits,benevolentormalevolent,donotaccount fortheirgoodfortune,ortheir ill

fortune”andtoreplacethis“attitudeforonewhichwillpermitofprogress”.24Onlythencouldthe“dead

handoftribalism”berelaxedanda“darkfuture”avoided.25

StampingOutWitchcraftBeliefs

In theearly twentieth century,prominent accountsofwitchcraft characterised it asa setof absurd,

anachronisticbeliefsthatpreventedAfricansfromreapingthefruitsof“modernity”.Theanthropologist

DudleyKiddconcludedthattherewas“littlehopefortheelevationofthesetribesuntilthefearofthe

accusationofwitchcraftisremoved.”26MauriceEvanscomplainedin1911that,despitetheeffortsmade

intryingtodeliverAfricansto“civilisation”,“thewhitemanleaveshisheartuntouched…stillhebelieves

in witchcraft… the black man remains, increases, persists”.27 The perception that African belief in

witchcraftwasahomogenouspackageofsuperstitions–ratherthanamalleableandevolvingmoral

framework, as contemporary authors suggest – spawned the corollary that they could be uprooted

wholesale.Withthespreadof“reasonandenlightenment”,itwasbelieved,African“superstitions”could

beextinguished.

ThemostfrequentlyprescribedsolventstogetridofwitchcraftbeliefswereChristianityandeducation

– yet, in the view of somewriters, these tools of “civilisation” were not to be deployed without a

considerable degree of circumspection. In the estimation of C.T Loram, whom Ashforth credits for

crafting one of the first arguments for a comprehensive education system for Africans, one of the

“greatestblessings”thatEuropeaneducationcouldbestowwastoremovethe“blightedinfluence”of

witchcraft and to “free him from thedominance anddeadening influence of the spiritworld”.28 Yet

Loram was cognisant of the fact that even educated Africans still often believed in the reality of

witchcraft.HequotedDr.NeilMacvicar’swarning:“AtpresentthevastmajorityofNativechildrenwhen

they go to school are already superstitious. . . .Much of the education . . . fails even to disturb the

underlyingsuperstition”.29

Aneducatorand long‐timemedical officeratLovedaleCollege, aswell asa co‐founderof theSouth

AfricanNativeCollegeatFortHare,Macvicarwagedapersonalcrusadeagainstbeliefsinwitchcraft,and

24Ibid.,p.9–10,paras.59–62.25Ibid.,p.12,para.82.26Kidd,TheEssentialKafir,p.147.27Evans,BlackandWhite,p.101;p.6.28 C. T. Loram,TheEducation of the SouthAfricanNative ([New York] : Columbia University, 1915), p.30–31,http://archive.org/details/cu31924030619716.29Quotedinibid.,p.31.

Joel Pearson

28

histhoughtsonthesubjectfirstcametobepublishedina1909articleinTheState;hewould,however,

publishthroughoutthesubsequentdecadesinTheChristianExpressandSouthAfricanOutlook,articles

whichwerecompiledintoabookentitledSide‐LightsUponSuperstitionin1939.30Macvicarbelievedthat

education could effectively dissolve witchcraft beliefs, but only education of the “right sort”.31 He

believed that the present system was failing: many school‐leavers and teachers remained “firm

believersinwitchcraft”.32Nevertheless,heputhishopeinthe“classofnatives”who,througheducation,

hadcometobeconvincedthatwitchcraftwas“false”.33

Like somanywriters on the subject,Macvicar also believed that Christianitywas necessary in the

dissolutionofwitchcraftbeliefs.Yethebelievedthatagreatdealhingedon“howthat[Christian]truth

isapprehended”.34TheanthropologistH.A.Junodalsobelievedthatwhilethe“Bantu”whoconvertsto

Christianitydeliversa“deathblowtohisoldbeliefofwitchcraft”,thebeliefisstill“slowtodie”andthat

itwasbynomeansraretowitness“theaccusationofbuloyithrowninthefaceofaconvertbyanother

convert”.35Macvicarbelievedthatconversionshouldbeundertakenwithfargreatersensitivitytothe

proclivitiesofthe“superstitious”African.Forinstance,hewarnedagainstgivingAfricansaccesstothe

OldTestament,whichwas “continually in themouthsof thosehalf‐educatedyoungnativeswhoare

revertingtothepracticesoftheirheathenancestors”.36Exodus22:18,forinstance,insists:“thouhalt

notsufferawitchtolive”.37Whenministeringtothe“natives”,hesuggested,bringtheNewTestament

by itself,separate fromtheOld”.38Macvicaralsoarguedthat“inflammatorypreaching”could induce

“hysteria”,whichwas“tothenativesnever‐failingproofoftherealityofwitchcraftandofthepowerof

thewitch‐doctor”.39

30NeilMacvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”TheState, June1909,CullenAfrica;NeilMacvicar,“TheBeliefinWitchcraft:TheRootofAllEvil,”TheSouthAfricanOutlook,June1936;NeilMacvicar,Side‐Lightsupon Superstition (Lovedale: The Lovedale Press, 1939); For more detailed elaboration on Macvicar’scontributions, see:Martin JLunde, “NorthMeetsSouth inMedicalMissionaryWork:DrNeilMacvicar,AfricanBelief,andWesternReaction,”SouthAfricanHistoricalJournal61,no.2(2009):336–56.31AppendixtotheReportoftheCapeSelectCommitteeonNativeEducation,1908,p.xxxiii.32Dr.NeilMacvicarintheAppendixoftheibid.;Macvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.671.33Macvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.661.34Ibid.,p.669.35 Rev. Henri A. Junod, “The Theory of Witchcraft,” 1905, p.20., Cd, Wits Historical Papers,http://www.historicalpapers.wits.ac.za/inventories/inv_pdfo/A1655/A1655‐Cd1‐01‐jpeg.pdf.36Macvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.669.37 Consider also: Galations 5:19‐20: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery,fornication,uncleanness,lasciviousness,Idolatry,witchcraft,hatred,variance,emulations,wrath,strife,seditions,heresies,..”; 2 Chronicles 33:6:“Andhe caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son ofHinnom:alsoheobservedtimes,andusedenchantments,andusedwitchcraft,anddealtwithafamiliarspirit,andwithwizards:hewroughtmuchevilinthesightoftheLORD,toprovokehimtoanger”.38Macvicar,Side‐LightsuponSuperstition,p.32.39Macvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.670.


29

Macvicarwasalsoconcernedwiththethreatthatwitchcraftbeliefspresentedtothespreadofwestern

medicine.“Theprevalenttheoryofdisease”,Macvicarwrotein1909,“isthatitisduetosomehostile

personalinfluenceemanatingfromthespiritofadissatisfiedancestororfromamalevolentneighbour…

Witchcraftholdsthefieldastheacceptedtheory”.40Hebemoanedthefactthatpeopledid“notreadily

adoptmethods of prevention…when they know nothing ofmicroorganisms and regard a series of

deaths as evidence of exceptional malignity on the part of their enemy”.41 Macvicar insisted that

“traditionalhealthpractitioners”needed tobe supplantedbydoctors trained inpreventativehealth

care.42ThepresenceofEuropeanmedicalskill couldputanend to “thehabitofcalling in thewitch

doctor”whenillnessoccurred.43

In the accounts outlined above, the concept of “witchcraft” emerges as a “repugnant” remnant of a

backwardsrace,apackageofsuperstitiousthoughtswhichpreventedAfricansfromadvancingalong

thepathof “civilization”. In the segregationist context, itwasalsopropoundedas a reason to resist

granting Africans full autonomy, justifying the continuing intrusions of white paternalists. Africans

needed to be convinced by enlightened white people that witchcraft was a fallacy. Humanitarian

concernsaboutthenegativeeffectsofwitchcraftwerefrequentlyvoicedinoutliningwhysuchbeliefs

neededtobestampedout.Yetinmanyaccountsanadditionalreasonforattackingwitchcraftbeliefcan

bediscerned:theinfluenceofthe“witchdoctor”andthepowerfulmetaphysicalholdheexercisedover

people.Macvicarseems tohavebelievedthat thebattleagainstwitchcraftwas intimatelyconnected

withabattleagainst“thewitchdoctor”,whomhedescribedas“theheathenofheathens,alltailsand

hornsandfulloflowcunning”.44The“pretensionsofthewitch‐finders”were,heargued,integralto“the

wholesystemofwitchcraft faith”.45C.T.Loramsimilarlybelieved that “cunningwitchdoctors”were

responsibleforinducing“mentalandspiritualdarkness”.46Inwhatfollows,Iinvestigatesomedominant

representationsof“thewitchdoctor”intheearlytwentiethcentury.

Whoisthe“WitchDoctor”?

ThroughoutmostoftheaccountsaboutwitchcraftfromtheearlytwentiethcenturyIinterrogated,the

“witchdoctor” emerges as apowerful figureable to command the “superstitions”ofAfricans. Some

40Ibid.,p.660–661.41Ibid.,p.669.42Lunde,“NorthMeetsSouthinMedicalMissionaryWork,”p.336.43Macvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.669.44Macvicar,Side‐LightsuponSuperstition,p.33.45Macvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.661.46Loram,TheEducationoftheSouthAfricanNative,p.26.

Joel Pearson

30

characterisethe“witchdoctor”asadangerouspersonagewhoseinfluencethreatenedthestabilityof

colonialrule.“TheWitchdoctor”,anarticleinTheState,offeredaterrifyingdepiction:“Theunspeakable

greedofthewitchdoctorishischiefcharacteristic,andheisasdestituteofthequalityofmercyashis

ancestors–cannibalsall–wereintheirtime.”47“Inthenativemind”,theauthorcontinued,thedoctor

is able to author “dire calamity”. Even the chief is said to shiver in his presence, “quaking in

apprehension”and“weepingandwailing”whenheis informedthat“thespiritsarefurious”.48 Inhis

1929article“TheWitchDoctorsIHaveMet”,J.W.Househamcharacterisedthe“witchdoctor”asliving

“inaworldofhisown;hiskingdomisanexclusivedomaininwhichheholdssway.Hemixedwiththe

people,butheisnotofthem…herevelsinmysteries…whichgiveshimsuchaholdontheimagination

ofthepeople...”49

Thekindsof representationsproducedby thepresswerenot faroff thedescriptionsgivenby self‐

proclaimed“experts”onwitchcraft.Itseemsthatthetermwasfrequentlyappliedindiscriminatelytoa

hostofdifferentpractitioners,andlittledistinctionwasmadebetweentheirpowersofhealingandthe

harm of witchcraft. The claimed powers of all those bundled under the term “witch doctor” were

characterisedasfraudulent–ametaphysicalconfidencetrickwhichignorantAfricansapparentlyfailed

toseethrough.DudleyKiddwroteofthe“immenseamountoftrickeryused”:“Byfarthemostimportant

partofhiscapitalconsistsinhisshrewdnessandmother‐wit…ashortcourseoftuitionshowshimhow

veryeasyit istodeceivethepeople”.50Househamscoffedthat“itneveroccursto[Africans]thathis

methodsarethemethodsofshrewdcommonsense”.51

Whatfrequentlyemergesinaccountsof“witchdoctors”istheideathattheyexercisedimmensepower

overpeople.Thissentimentwasalsoexpressedbystateofficials.In1905,theSANACreportbelieved

thatthespreadoftrainedmedicalmencouldaidin“weaningtheNativesfromfaithinwitchdoctors,

divinersor soothsayers, ormenwhoprofess tohave supernaturalpowerorknowledgewhether as

medicinemenorotherwise”.52Inhiscelebrated1930RhodesMemoriallecture,JanSmutsinsistedthat

“witchcraftanddisease”werethepersistent“devils”ofAfrica,andpointedto“theimmemorialpractice

of the witch doctor” as an “intolerable evil”.53 “The true ruler of Africa today, as he has been for

47MarieKnevitt,“TheWitchdoctor,”TheState,1912,Vol.VII,No.3edition,p.200–201.48Ibid.49J.W.Househam,“WitchDoctorsIHaveMet,”TheOutspan,May24,1929,RhodesUniversityCoryLibrary.50Kidd,TheEssentialKafir,p.158.51Househam,“WitchDoctorsIHaveMet.”52SouthAfricanNativeAffairsCommission,ReportoftheCommissionwithAnnexuresandAppendicesA‐D,1903‐5,ed.GodfreyYeatmanLagden(CapeTown:CapeTimes,1905),p.54,para.277.53GeneralJ.C.Smuts,AfricaAndSomeWorldProblems(OxfordUniversityPress,1930),p.75.


31

thousandsofyearsinthepast,”Smutsinsisted,“isthemedicineman”;hispowerwouldbeonlyshaken

as“thescientificandmedicalaspectsofmissionwork”werefostered.54

Smutswasnot the first to insist thatAfricansneeded tobe rescued from the clutchesof the “witch

doctors”–itwasasentimentthathadbeenlongandfrequentlyespoused.An1858accountonwitchcraft

written by MrWarner, a colonial agent of the Tambookie Residency in present‐day Eastern Cape,

portrayed“witchdoctors”asthe“priests”ofwitchcraft–a“falsereligion”.55ForWarner,these“priests”

werecentraltothemaintenanceoftraditionalpower:“ThepriestssupporttheChiefs,andtheChiefs

supportthepriests…thetwodepartmentsmaybeconsideredbutonevastsystemofpaganism”.56He

heldthatbothneededtobeeradicatedbeforeAfricanscouldbedeliveredto“civilisation”.

Humanitarianreasonswerefrequentlyespousedforwhythe“witchdoctor”neededtobeattacked.The

charactercametoberegardednotonlyastrickster,andanobstacletothespreadofwesternmedicine,

butasapurveyorofviolencetoo.TheSANACreport’sprincipalauthor,SirGodfreyLagden,declared

that “Nothing was too vile for this sinister caste to perpetrate”. 57 He expressed revulsion at the

proceedingsof “witch trials”,where“witchdoctors…wereallowedtocondemn innocentaswellas

guilty,bothofwhomtheyheldineverlastingterror”and“innocentpersons…couldberemorselessly

slain”.58 Indeed,“trials”wereregardedasaprimarytheatre fortheviolenceof“witchdoctors”.Kidd

recountedstoriesofwomentorturedtodeathbyhotstonesorbeingroastedaliveatthebehestofa

“witchdoctor”,whichlefthimwith“aweightofhorror”.59Junodalsooutlinedthevariouspunishments

whichmightbeinflictedonconfirmedbaloyiamongtheThonga:flogging,banishment,impalementor

drowning.Heconcludedthatithada“deadlyeffectonNativelife…acontinualsourceoftrouble,fear,

quarrels,sorrow…itruinsthevillages”.60

For some, the threat that witchcraft beliefs posed was not only to the well‐being of Africans. Neil

Macvicarbelievedthatsuch“superstitious”conceptionswerepregnantwiththepossibilityofdangerof

white people. “What harm is it doing or likely to do to Europeans?” he asked, “To my mind the

superstitionsof thenatives constitutes thedangerous feature innative life…Under the influenceof

superstitionsanemenlosetheirjudgment.61Notionsofmutimurderoftenpermeatedideasaboutthe

54Ibid.,p.52–53.55JohnMaclean,ACompendiumofKafirLaws&Customs(Pretoria:StateLibrary,1858),p.112.56Ibid.57SirGodfreyLagden,TheNativeRacesOfTheEmpire(W.CollinsSonsAndCompanyLimited.,1924),p.12.58Ibid.,p.10–11.59Kidd,TheEssentialKafir,p.176–178.60Junod,TheLifeofASouthAfricaTribe:PartII,p.535.61Macvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.668.

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32

“witchdoctor”.Kiddwroteaboutamissingwhitechild:“therewasnodoubtatallbutthatthenative

stolethechildtomakeportionsofitsbodyintobewitchingmedicines.”62MauriceEvans,whospokeof

the“witchdoctor”ashavingthepowerto“commandthesuperstitionsofthepeople”,63recountedthe

“especiallytragictale”ofa“littlewhitechildwhowasswallowedupinsomemysteriousway,lostamong

the natives and never heard of again, presumably killed by a witch doctor for muti otherwise

unobtainable”.64Macvicarwarned thatbeliefs inwitchcraft couldprovide the impulsenecessary for

rebellion:

anyleaderwhoiscleverenoughtoappealtosomedeeplyrootedsuperstitioncanmovehishearerstoacts

whichtheywouldneverotherwisecommit…EveryKafirwarhaditsfalseprophet,whoprofessedtobeable

tobewitchtheenemyandtoimpartstrengthtotheKafirstoovercometheEuropeans.65

Oneshouldnotforgetthatatthetimethattheseauthorswerewriting,memorieswerestillfreshofthe

BambathaRebellionof1906.Indeed,anumberofauthorsmentiontheepisodeexplicitly.66BothSean

ReddingandJeffGuynoteawidelyheldbeliefamongstwhitesocietythat“witchdoctors”hadprovided

“battlemuti” to the rebelsbefore theuprisingwith thepromiseof invulnerability to attack.67These

concernswillbetoucheduponagaininChapterIII,whena“snuffcraze”isreportedbyafearfulSub‐

NativeCommissionerin1917.

Anthropology’sChallenge?

Prominentideaswhichpositedwitchcraftbeliefsasirrational,depravedandbarbaricleftoversofthe

pastwhichcouldsimplybesupplantedby thepillarsof “civilization”wouldcometo find increasing

challengefromintellectualsasthetwentiethcenturyproceeded,principallyfromtheevolvingfieldof

anthropology, which sought to understand the finer dynamics of witchcraft beliefs. As the decades

progressed, understandings of witchcraft amongst intellectuals would increasingly throw off the

baggage of social Darwinism and scientific racism. The decline of evolutionist perspective and the

growingpurchaseofculturalrelativismwithintheacademycametofundamentallychangethewaythat

witchcraftwasapprehendedbyanthropologistsinthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury

62Kidd,TheEssentialKafir,p.151.63Evans,BlackandWhite,p.41.64Ibid.,p.41;p.5.65Loram,TheEducationoftheSouthAfricanNative,p.31.;OriginallypublishedinMacvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.668.66See,forinstance,Junod,“TheTheoryofWitchcraft,”p.1;MauriceSEvans,TheNativeProbleminNatal.(Durban:P.Davis,1906).67JamesStuartquotedinGuy,TheMaphumuloUprising,p.221.


33

Recentscholarshipbyanthropologistsandhistorianshasdemonstratedthatwitchcraftisnotastatic

packageofirrational,primordialsuperstitions.Rather,itisarationalandshiftingidiomforexplaining

thepresentwhichdiffersinstructurefrompersontoperson.Ideasaboutwitchcraftformamalleable

explanatoryframeworkwhichisabletorespondtonewchallengesandmoralquandariesastheyarise,

and evolvewith them ‐ contestedbut currentdiscourses aboutmorality, power andwealth. These

authors have undermined the rigid distinction between the “traditional” and “modern” so often

posited.68The formand content ofwitchcraft idiomshavebeen constantly reconfigured throughout

historyasnewsocial“evils”presentthemselves.Ratherthanbeingfuelledbysomekindofprimordial

urge,authorsarguethataccusationsofwitchcraftarecatalysedbymaterialdeprivationandsharpening

inequality.Witchcraftbeliefsare,therefore,eminentlymodern.

Intheearlyyearsofthe20thcentury,however,anthropologyremainedbeholdentotheideasofracial

evolutionarythoughtwhichpredominatedatthetime.Anumberofanthropologistsstillperpetuated

theideathatwitchcraftwasproofofinnateblackirrationalityandcivilisationalbackwardnesswhich

rancontrarytotheforcesofmodernity.DudleyKidd,forinstance,portrayedthe“native”astheeternal

victimofthe“whimofspirits,capriciousnessofmonsters,anduncertaintyofnaturalprocesses”.69He

believedthatthesebeliefswereimmunetoreason:“Inthissoilwitchcraftcanluxuriate,fornooneisin

apositiontopointouttheabsurdityofthesuperstitions.”70HereportedwithbemusementhowAfricans

respondedtothesightofacamera:“theyusuallyrunawaywhentheyseethelens(oreye),declaring

thatthewhitemanisabouttobewitchthem.”71HealsodrewcomparisonswithEuropeanconceptions

ofwitchcraftwhichstillapparentlyafflictedAfricans:“Whodoesnotinstinctivelythinkofoneofthe

witchscenesinMacbeth?—Filletoffenny,inthecauldronboilandbake,eyeofnewtandtoeoffrog…”72

Thislist,heremarked“wouldexactlysuitSouthAfricanwitches”.73Nevertheless,eventhis“scientific

68 See, for instance: PeterGeschiere,TheModernityofWitchcraft:Politicsand theOccult inPostcolonialAfrica(London: University Press of Virginia, 1997); Jean Comaroff and John Comaroff, “Occult Economies and theViolenceofAbstraction:NotesfromtheSouthAfricanPostcolony,”AmericanEthnologist26,no.4(2000):279–309; Jean Comaroff and John Comaroff, “Privatising the Millenium: New Protestant Ethics and the Spirits ofCapitalism in Africa, and Elsewhere,” Afrika Spectrum 35 (2000): 293–312; Jean, Comaroff, John Comaroff,“NaturingtheNation:Aliens,Apocalypse,andthePostcolonialState,”SocialIdentities7,no.2(2001):233–65;JeanComaroff and John Comaroff, “Alien‐Nation, Zombies, Immigrants, and Millennial Capitalism,” South AtlanticQuarterly 101 (2002); Luise White, “The Traffic in Heads: Bodies, Borders and the Articulation of RegionalHistories,”JsoutafristudJournalofSouthernAfricanStudies23,no.2(1997):325–38;IsakNiehaus,“CoinsforBloodand Blood for Coins: Towards a Genealogy of Sacrifice in the Transvaal Lowveld, 1930‐1993,” 2011,http://hdl.handle.net/10539/9380;CharlanneBurke,“TheyCutSegametsiIntoParts:RitualMurder,Youth,andthePoliticsofKnowledgeinBotswana,”AnthropologicalQuarterly73,no.4(2000):204–14.69Kidd,TheEssentialKafir,p.130.70Ibid.71Ibid.,p.144.72Ibid.,p.150.73Ibid.,p.151.

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34

racist” recognised the frequent fallacy that afflictedwhite understandings ofwitchcraft: “it is quite

commontohearEuropeanstalkofthewitchdoctorasapersonwhousesmagicforevilpurposes;they

seemtothinkthatheisasorcererorwizard”.74Inreality,Kiddargued,“thewitchdoctoristheprotector

ofsociety,andhisworkistodetecttheworthlesspeoplewhoareinjuringothersbymagicalartsor

sorcery”.75

TheSwiss‐Frenchmissionary,HenriAlexandreJunod,wrotein1905that“whitepeople,asarule…do

notunderstandproperlywhatiswitchcraftforthenatives”,andcametoadvancearemarkablydetailed

account of “witchcraft belief” amongst the Thonga.76 He recounted how witchcraft accusations

developed,howtheywereoftenunderpinnedbyjealousyandrivalry,andhowtheywerepromptedby

suspicions of illicit wealth accumulation, by the onset of serious illness, or by sudden inexplicable

deaths.77Junodshowedhow“objectiveproof”wassoughtthroughthe“diviner”,detailingtheprocessof

divinationused to confirm thepresence ofwitchcraft and “smell out” the guiltyparty.78Hemade a

crucialdistinctionbetween“black”and“whitemagic”:wherethefirstwasharnessedforcausingharm,

thesecondprovidedprotectionagainstsuchharm.79Hedidnotemploytheterm“witchdoctor”,but

ratherspokeof“magicians”,highlightingtheirmultiplerolesasrainmakers,exorcists,bone‐throwers,

and“smellersout”.80

Junodshouldbecreditedforhavingbroughtfargreaterinsightintothewaythatwitchcraftfeaturedin

Africanlife.Despiteofferingacomparativelysensitiveaccountforhistime,henonethelessdidnotdrift

entirely away from sensationalist understandings ofwitchcraft, seeing fit to declare thatwitchcraft

beliefswererootedinpastpracticesof“cannibalism”andprovidedproofof“theterriblehatredofwhich

the Native mind is capable”.81 His religious sensibilities should be born in mind when reading

declarationslike:““WitchcraftisflourishingamongstSouthAfricanheathendommorebrilliantlythan

anywhere on earth!”82. And the broader intellectual context – in which ideas of social Darwinism

predominated – should be rememberedwhen reading a speech he delivered in 1920, in which he

insistedthatthe“fundamentaldifferencebetweentheEuropeanandtheBantumind”wasthattwentieth

74Ibid.,p.155.75Ibid.,p.156.76Junod,“TheTheoryofWitchcraft,”p.1.77Junod,TheLifeofASouthAfricaTribe:PartII,p.509–516..78Ibid.,p.528–529.79Ibid.,p.475.80Ibid.,p.518.81Ibid.,p.534–535.Hecontinued:“Ifsomepeopleventuretoaccusemembersofthesetribesofsuchawfulactsasthoseofkillingandeatinghumanbeings,itisbecausetheyknowthataNativewhohateswouldnotshrinkfromanythingtosatisfyhisdesireofvengeance”82Junod,“TheTheoryofWitchcraft,”p.1.


35

century Europeans possessed “the scientific spirit, whilst Bantus are still plunged in the magic

conceptionofNature”.83

Inlaterdecades,MonicaHunterWilsonprovidedastudyofwitchcraftbeliefsinPondolandwhichdid

not employ evolutionary explanationsor terrifyinghyperbole.Wilson showed thatwitchcraft had a

social function:“[itwas]tosomeextentanintegratingforce inthecommunity…thedangerofbeing

‘smeltout’forwitchcraftisasanctionforsocialbehaviour”.84AndcontrarytotheideathatAfricanswere

caughtupinamaelstromofsupernaturalfears,shearguedthat“normalpeopledonotliveinconstant

terrorofwitchcraftorsorcery,asissometimesmaintained”.85Sheinsistedthatnoteveryillness,death

oraccidentwasattributedtowitchcraft.WilsonalsoprovidedsubstantialanalysisofAfrican“doctors”,

which she divided into twomain kinds: “herbalists” (amaxwhele) and “diviners” (amagqira).86 She

portrayedthetasksundertakenbyherbalistsaswide‐ranging:treatingillnesseswithherbs;providing

medicinestoinducepregnancy;protectingagainstlightning.87Wilson’sanalysisdispelledthemyththat

Africanpeoplewereallunderakindofhypnoticholdexercisedbydiviners.Althoughshewasimpressed

by the charisma of some of the diviners she met (“their emotion infects the audience… even the

ethnologistfeelsacompulsiontobeliefwheninacrowdedhutfullofpeoplerhythmicallyexpressing

theirbelief”88), shenoted thatnodivinerwasregardedas infallible, and thereexistedevidenceofa

“critical attitude” towards them, just as onemightmake a distinction between a good and a lousy

doctor.89

Junod and Wilson’s work demonstrated the diversity and utility of the various metaphysical

practitionersthatexistedintheAfricanvillage.Theychallengedtheutilityoftheterm“witchdoctor”

andshowedthatthesecharacterswereregardedasprotectorsofsupernaturalorder,notsimplythe

villains,cheatsandfraudstheywereoftenportrayedtobeatthetime.However,inthechaptersthat

follow,itwillbearguedthatthisdistinction–aswellasthemultiplicityofrolesundertakenbydifferent

traditionalpractitioners–waslargelyignoredintheapplicationofthelaw.Manyadministratorsstill

seemtohaveregardedthe“witchdoctor”assimplyaconnivingcharlatan.

83QuotedinSaulDubow,“TheIdeaofRaceinEarly20thCenturySouthAfrica:SomePreliminaryThoughts.”(presentedattheAfricanStudiesInstitute,UniversityoftheWitwatersrand,April1989),p.23–24.84Wilson,ReactiontoConquest,p.317–318.85Ibid.,p.272.86Ibid.,p.320.87Wilson,ReactiontoConquest.88Ibid.,p.345.89Ibid.,p.347.

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Itisdifficulttoascertaintheextenttowhichanthropologicalthinkingseepedintogovernmentdiscourse

andpractice.DubowpointsoutthatanethnologicalwingoftheNativeAffairsDepartment(NAD)was

createdin1925‐6underG.P.Lestrade.MajorHerbst,theSecretaryforNativeAffairsfrom1923,argued

thatethnologywasnecessary“bothfromthepointofviewofpurescientificknowledgeandtoservethe

morepracticalendsofnativeadministration”.90Commissionsofenquiryandpermanentestablishments

ofthebureaucracyemployedtheconceptofculturefurnishedbytheethnologicalproductionsofthe

NADasjustificationforsegregation.Theseworkswereunderpinnedbytheideathatonecould“know

the native” and therefore “classify” him.91 And it seems that in the production of this “knowledge”

evolutionaryconceptionsstillheldsway.Lestradewasaco‐authoroftheNECreport,which,itwillbe

remembered,in1932spokeofwitchcraftintermsofthe“deadhandoftribalism”and“darkfutures”.92

Conclusion

Thischapterhassoughttorevealsomeprominentdiscoursesthatencircledthe“witchcraftproblem”,

asespousedbyofficialsandintellectualsintheearlytwentiethcentury.Itseemsthatnoteventhemost

sensitivewritersapprehendedwhat“witchcraft”inSouthAfricaactuallywas.Junod’sdeepanddetailed

evaluationofwitchcraftonlyseemedtoconfirmhisideasofAfricancivilisationalbackwardness.DrNeil

Macvicar’slengthyexperiencelivingamidstwitchcraftbeliefsdidnotchangehismindabouttheneed

toextinguishwitchcraftbeliefsanddissolvethepowerofthe“witchdoctor”.AndMonicaHunterWilson

continuedtoviewwitchcraftasamoreorlesshomeostaticphenomenon.

Muchofwhatwasutteredaboutthesubjectintheearlytwentiethcentury–whetherbycommissions

of enquiry, statesmen or segregationist ideologues – advanced sensationalist condemnations of

witchcraftbeliefs,provingthatracistevolutionaryconceptionsofcivilisationalbackwardnesswereslow

todie.Humanitarianreasonswereoftenespousedasthemotivationfortryingto“stampout”witchcraft

beliefs. Ideas that witchcraft beliefs induced fear, stunted ambition, halted the spread of western

medicine, provoked violence and prevented Africans from progressing along the path towards

“civilisation” were voiced in many accounts. In some accounts can also be discerned fears of the

perceivedlinkbetweenwitchcraftandpower,principallythepowerofthe“witchdoctor”,characterised

astheembodimentofirrationality,abletoexercisea“hold”overAfricanpeoplewhichcouldbeputto

dangeroususes,suchaswhitemutimurderor,even,arebellionagainstcolonialorder.Thesewritings

90Dubow,RacialSegregationandtheOriginsofApartheidinSouthAfrica,1919‐36,p.90.91AdamAshforth,ThePoliticsofOfficialDiscourseinTwentieth‐CenturySouthAfrica,OxfordStudiesinAfricanAffairs(Oxford:ClarendonPress,1990),p.27.92Hollowayetal.,“ReportofNativeEconomicCommission1930‐1932,”p.12,para.82.


37

demonstratethattheinfluenceofthebestavailableanthropologicalthinkingatthetimemadeverylittle

headwayinchangingperceptionsaboutwitchcraftandthe“witchdoctor”.

Junodwrotein1905that“thenativemindhastakenaspecialpleasureindevelopingbeyondalllimits

the wonderful fancies of witchcraft. White people have very little idea of the richness of their

imaginationinthatdomain”.93Yetitseemsthatwhenitcametoideasof“witchcraft”andthe“witch

doctor”–termswhichfeaturedcentrallyincolonialwitchcraftlaws–itwastheimaginationofsome

whiteintellectualsandstatesmenwhichwasgivenfreereintoinventallmanneroffantasies,apparently

withoutmuchfearofcontradiction.

In concluding this chapter, it is perhapsworth noting two aspects of belief inwitchcraft thatwere

overwhelminglyneglectedby thesourcescited.Firstly,noneof theaccountsacknowledged that the

increasinglyoppressivewhiteruleoftheearlytwentiethcenturynotonlyfailedtoextinguishbeliefsin

witchcraft,butmayevenhaveplayedanintegralroleinfosteringit.Anumberofcontemporaryauthors

arguethatthegovernmentitselfcametobeviewedasasourceofwitchcraftduringtheearlytwentieth

century.Reddingarguesthattheactionsofthestate,includingtheexactionofpollandhuttaxes,were

perceivedasformsofsorcery,eventhoughofficialsrarelydiscerned“anydirectrelationshipbetween

how theyweregoverningand thebelief inwitchcraft…manyAfricansdid indeed see this threat”.94

TimothyLanesimilarlyarguesthattheintrusiveactionsofthemodernisingstatefrom1900to1930

cametobeunderstoodinthe“languageofwitchcraft”.95Iftheseassertionsaretrue,thereiscertainly

nomentionofitinthesourcesIhaveanalysed.Ofallthesetextsfromtheearlytwentiethcentury,itis

only inHunter‐Wilson’sReaction toConquest that any suggestion ismade thatwhite officialswere

incorporated into the calculus of witchcraft. One informant is said to have remarked: “All ubuthi

[substances used for sorcery orwitchcraft] comes fromEuropeans. They are the real…witches or

sorcerers”… “It is the European, the Government, who ukuthakatha”.96 The state’s prohibition of

witchcrafttrialsmayhavehelpedtofosterthisbelief.YetthestateofficialsandintellectualswhomI

investigatedregardedthemselvesasentirelyexternaltothematrixofwitchcraftbelief.

Secondly,inattributingwitchcraftasavestigeofevolutionarybackwardnesspeculiaroftheAfrican,the

figurescitedabovepositarigidracialisationinbeliefstructureswhichdoesnotseemtohaveexistedin

reality. Significant evidence adduced in subsequent chapters demonstrates that, far from having

“progressedbeyond”such“superstitions”,somewhitepeoplewereconvincedoftherealityofwitchcraft

93Junod,“TheTheoryofWitchcraft,”p.1.94Redding,“SorceryandSovereignty,”1996,p.256.95Lane,“Witchcraft,ChiefsandtheState,”p.125.96Wilson,ReactiontoConquest,p.316–317.

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and solicited the services of diviners on occasion. The rigid ontological distinction implied by the

authorscitedabovebetween“superstitiousAfricans”and“enlightenedEuropeans”willbeshowntobe

fundamentallyfalse.

The investigation undertaken in this chapter has remained largely in the realm of discursive

constructions about African beliefs in witchcraft, demonstrating the continuing salience of colonial

cultural imperialism in the rhetoric of prominent figures aroundmatters ofwitchcraft.While high‐

minded rhetorical proclamations and sensationalist portrayals offer little concrete evidence of how

witchcraftactuallycametobepolicedontheground,thedelineationofthe“witchcraftproblem”above

sets the stage for the subsequent chapters inwhich the kind of actions undertaken to address this

problemareexamined.Thisoffersameanstocomparetheextenttowhichpolicingonthegroundfell

shortofthegovernment’sstatedpositiononwitchcraftbeliefs.

ChapterII:WitchcraftLawinOperation

Targetingthe“WitchDoctor”

Fromtheendofthenineteenthcentury,countriesacrossBritishAfricapromulgatedlegislationtodeal

with localbeliefs inwitchcraft.As the legal analyst, SirGranvilleSt. JohnOrdeBrownenoted inhis

surveyofanti‐witchcraftlaws,thereweresome“curiousdiscrepancies”betweenthelawsofBritain’s

variouscolonies:“eachcountryappearstohaveworkedoutitsownsalvation,andthevariationinresult

is surprising”.1 The Kenyan witchcraft ordinance, for instance, imposed severe punishments on

1SirGranvilleSt. JohnOrdeBrowne, “WitchcraftandBritishColonialLaw,”Africa: Journalofthe InternationalAfricanInstitute8,no.4(1935):p.481.

29.Anypersonwhoimputestoanothertheuseofnon‐naturalmeansincausinganydiseaseinanypersonorpropertyorincausinginjurytoanypersonorpropertyorshallnameorindicateanotherasawizardorwitchshallbeliableuponconvictiontoimprisonmentwithhardlabourforaperiodnotexceedingfiveyears.

30.Anypersonwhohavingnamedorindicatedanotherasawizardorwitchshallbeprovedtobebyhabitorreputeawitchdoctororwitchfindershallbeliableuponconvictiontoimprisonmentforlife.

31.Anypersonwhoemploysorsolicitsanywitchdoctororwitchfindertonameorindicateanotherasawizardorwitchshallbeliableuponconvictiontoimprisonmentwithhardlabourforoneyear.

32.Anypersonprofessingaknowledgeofso‐calledwitchcraftortheuseofcharmswhoshalladviseanypersonapplyingtohimhowtobewitchorinjurepersons,animalsorotherpropertyorwhoshallsupplyanypersonwiththepretendedmeansofwitchcraftshallbeliabletoimprisonmentwithhardlabourforaperiodnotexceedingtenyears.(Themarginnotelabelsthisclauseas:“witchdoctorsupplyingadviceforwitchcraftwithintenttoinjure”.)

33.Anypersonwhoontheadviceofawitchorofhispretendedknowledgeofso‐calledwitchcraftshallwithintenttoinjure,anypersonorpropertyshallbeliableuponconvictiontoimprisonmentwithhardlabourforaperiodnotexceedingtenyears.

34.Anypersonwho forpurposesofgainpretends toexerciseoruseanykindof supernaturalpower,witchcraft, sorcery,enchantmentorconjuration,orundertakestotellfortunes,orpretendsfromhisskillorknowledgeinanyoccultsciencetodiscoverwhereorinwhatmanneranythingsupposedtohavebeenstolenorlostmaybefoundshallbeliableuponconvictiontoimprisonmentwithhardlabourforaperiodnotexceedingoneyear

‐‐TransvaalWitchcraftOrdinanceNo.26of1904

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“pretendedwitchcraft”,butonlycametooutlawaccusationswhenitwasredraftedin1925.2Richard

Wallerarguesthatthiswasbecause,inKenya,theprimarythreattocolonialrulewasperceivedtocome

from“charismaticindividuals…whoseclaimstosupernaturalpowerthreatenedtoprovideafocusfor

communityresistance”.Thetermsemployedintheordinancethusaimedtoreintheseindividualsunder

colonialcontrol.3Bycontrast,insomestatesofCentralAfrica,theBritishfirstpunitiveactionssoughtto

suppressaccusations.Wallersuggeststhiswasbecausemediatingaccusationshadbeenperceivedasa

keysourceof royalpower”–anotherapparent rival towhite rule.4Witchcraftwasnotpunishedby

officials simply because itwas an impediment to “progress and enlightenment”, but because itwas

“powerful,andinthewronghands”.5InWaller’sestimation,then,humanitarianreasonswerefarless

determinantinthecreationoflawsthanthedesiretocreatedocileAfricanbodies.

InSouthAfrica,bothaccusationsofwitchcraftandtheuseof“pretendedwitchcraft”werecriminalized.

Whether these prohibitions were informed by humanitarian impulses, as stated, or were rather

informedbycalculationsofpowerisnotcertain.YetwhatdoesappearcertainisthatinSouthAfrican

witchcraftlaw,thefigureofthe“witchdoctor”cametobetargetedearlyon.Chanocknotesthat,inthe

caseoftheTranskeianPenalCode,enactedin1886asActNo.24oftheColonyoftheCapeofGoodHope,

legislatorsexplicitly“‘importedsections…solelywiththeviewtosuppressingthenativewitch‐doctor”.6

TheCodeoutlawedthelevellingofanaccusation,theprofessingof“aknowledgeofso‐calledwitchcraft”,

and thehiring of a “witch‐doctor orwitch‐finder”. Theheaviest penaltywas, however, reserved for

anyone“provedtobebyhabitorreputeawitch‐doctororwitchfinder’”–oneyearsimprisonmentwith

orwithouthardlabourand/orflogging.ThiswouldbeincreasedtotwoyearsbyaProclamationin1919,

after anumberofmagistratesvoicedcomplaintsabout the inadequacyofpunishmentat theofficial

TranskeiWitchcraftConference.7TheTransvaalWitchcraftOrdinanceNo.26of1904providedaneven

harsherpunishmentforconvicted“witchdoctors”–fromalloftheaccountsIhaveread,theharshestin

allofBritishAfrica:theycouldfindthemselveslockedawayforlife.

Inthischapter,Iinvestigateinstancesinwhichthelawcametobeappliedinthecolonialcourtroomin

theearlytwentiethcentury.Iconsiderwhether,inthelawsapplication,divinerswerepredominantly

targetedbywitchcraftlaw.ImoreovertestNiehaus’contentionthatthelawwaslargely“symbolic”,and

evaluateAshforth’ssuggestionthatthelawwasonlyappliedincaseswhere“popularhealersemerged

2Waller,“WitchcraftandColonialLawinKenya,”p.262.3Ibid.,p.262.4Ibid.,p.262–263.5Ibid.,p.260–261.6CitedinChanock,MakingofSALegalCulture,p.326.7SABJUS276,2/474/19OfficialConference1919:AmendmenttotheTranskeianCodeRe.WitchcraftorSmellingoutWitchcraft,1919.

Witchcraft Law in Operation

41

whoseemedadanger tocolonialorder”.Thiswillbeundertakenbydrawingonabodyof archived

criminalcasesfromtheearlytwentiethcentury.

TheNationalArchives inPretoriahouserecordsofcaseswhichcamebeforetheTransvaalSupreme

CourtCircuitDivisionintheearlytwentiethcentury.8Between1910and1935,thirtysevencaseswere

recordedinthecriminalregisterofthiscourtinwhichtheprovisionsoftheWitchcraftOrdinancewere

applied.TheSupremeCourtwasnotanappealcourt,butareviewcourt:judgesreviewedtheevidence

collectedthroughthe“preparatoryexamination”conductedbylocalmagistratesandpassedsentence.

AccordingtoMartinChanock,onlythemostseriouscasesweresentuptotheSupremeCourt,generally

attherequestofthepublicprosecutor–roughlyfivepercentofallcases.9Ifitistrue,asJusticeTindell

suggestedinthe1924caseofR.v.SeweloNepawe,thatwitchcraft‐relatedcaseswere“comingbeforethe

[magistrates] court everyday”, the thirty seven cases I have isolated from theTransvaal Provincial

Division(TPD)criminalcaseregisterprobablyrepresentonlyatinyfractionofthecasesthatwould

havecomebeforelowerlevelcourts.10Whilemagistrate’srecordswouldprovidefargreaterscopefor

quantitativeanalysis,these37SupremeCourtcasesnonethelessprovideasenseofboththekindsof

scenarioswhichgaverisetotheapplicationoftheTransvaalWitchcraftOrdinanceNo.26of1904and

themannerinwhichtheywereadjudicated.

ASmellingOut

InthecaseofR.v.ZuluMadumalane,courtrecords indicatethatsometimeinApril1913,agroupof

peoplewhoresidedatPiesanghoeknearLouisTrichardtapproacheda“witchdoctor”andaskedherto

divinethecauseofdeathofanumberoftheirfamilymembers.Afterreceivingfiveshillingsandagoat

in payment, ZuluMadumalane allegedly threw thedivining bones (what court records identified as

“dolos”)andindicatedthatanoldwomanofthevillage,Nyalalumbe,wasawitchresponsibleforthe

deaths.AmongthepartywhovisitedMadumalanewasRadzilane,whosometimelaterissaidtohave

gonetoNyalalumbe’shutand“hackedhertopieceswithanaxebecausehebelievedhertobeawitch

andhadcausedthedeathofhisrelatives”.11

Radzilanewasarrestedandsentencedtodeathbythecolonialjudiciary.On28September1913,Zulu

Madumalane was also arrested and detained in the Pietersburg prison. On 18 October, she was

8TheTransvaalSupremeCourtwasbasedinPretoriabutcircuitedthroughmajortownsacrosstheprovince.ThewitchcraftcasesIanalysewerevariouslyconvenedinBarberton,Bloemhof,Christiana,Ermelo,Lichtenburg,LouisTrichardt, Lydenburg, Middelburg, Nylstroom, Pietersburg, Potchefstroom, Pretoria, Rustenburg, Volksrust,WolmaranstadandZoutpansberg..9Chanock,MakingofSALegalCulture,p.118.10R.v.SeweloNepawe,1924TPD414At418.11R.v.ZuluMadumalane,1914TPD314at334.

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committedfortrialbythelocalmagistrate,ErnestStubbs,andchargedwithcontravenings.30ofthe

TransvaalWitchcraftOrdinance:“ZuluMadumalane…didwrongfullyandunlawfullynameorindicate

oneNyalalumbeasawitch,shethesaidZuluMadumalanebeingbyhabitorreputeawitchdoctoror

witchfinder”.

DuringStubbs’“preparatoryexamination”whichtookplaceoverseveralmonths,thepublicprosecutor

calledelevenwitnessestothestand.Sixmenwhoclaimedtohavebeenpartofthegroupthatvisited

Madumalane–includingNyalalumbe’sson–testifiedthatMadumalanewasa“witchdoctor”andthat

shehadindicatedNyalalumbeasawitch.12Alsoonthestandwasa“nativeconstable”whotestifiedto

havingarrestedtheaccused“onachargeofwitchcraft”.Hestatedthattheaccusedhadsaiduponarrest:

“ItistruethatIindicatedthewomanasawitch,sheisawitch”.13

Madumalane’smother, father,sisterandauntwerealsocalledtotestify,notaboutthedetailsof the

incident,butaboutMadumalane’shistoryofdivination.Herfatherexplainedtothecourtthatasayoung

girl,Madumalanehadfallenillandonlyrecoveredsixteenyearslaterafterthe“spiritshadcommuned

with her andmade it known to her that the only possiblemeans of recovering her health was by

becomingaWitchDoctorandhavingwithhertheinfluenceofthebones.”14Herotherrelativessimilarly

testifiedtohavingseenMadumalanegoingintoatranceandthrowingthebonesonmanyoccasions.

ZuluMadumalanepleadednotguilty.Shewasundefendedduringthetrialandseemstohaveaddressed

thecourtonlyonce:“Elevenpeoplecametomelastyear,theyrequestedmetothrowthebones–Idid

so.FrommybonesIcouldseethewomanNyalalumbewhomIdidnotpointoutwasawitch.Isaid:‐

‘Youhavegotawomanwithyouwhoisawitch’.Ididnotnameorindicateher.Negudogwarepliedthat

theyhadathiskraalthrowntheirownbones,andthattheyhadshewnthatNyalalumbewasawitch.I

didnotreply.”15

WhenasittingofthePietersburgandZoutpansberglocalcircuitdivisionoftheTransvaalSupremeCourt

convenedinJune1914underJusticeKrause,thecaseofR.v.Madumalanecameupforreview.Itwas

nowKrauseandanallwhitejurywhowoulddecideuponguilt.Thistime,onlythreewitnesseswere

calledtothestand:the“spokesman”forthegroupwhohadconsultedMadumalane,thesonoftheslain

Nyalalumbe, and Madumalane’s father. The first two repeated that the accused had indicated

Nyalalumbe;thelastonceagainconfirmedthatshehadlongpractisedasa“witchdoctor”.16Theaccused

12Ibid.,At331–33;335–337.13Ibid.,At333.14Ibid.,At337.15Ibid.,At335.16Ibid.,At319–320.


43

wasagainundefended,butthistimeshechallengedthewitnesses:“DidIpointheroutatall?”17Shehad

noquestionsforherfather,however.Madumalanerepeatedthestatementshehaddeliveredmonths

earlierinthemagistrate’scourt,thistimeadding:“Ithinktheyarechargingmefalsely,becausethey

killedafewpeopleattheirhouse.Itisnottrue”.18

Thejuryclearlydidnotagree,findingherguiltyofcontraveningsection30oftheWitchcraftOrdinance.

JusticeKrause’sjudgmentisincludedinthecaserecords:

Tellherthatthejuryhavefoundherguilty,thatshesaidthatNyalalumbewasawitch.Andinconsequence

ofheractionNyalalumbewasmurdered…Sheknowswellenoughthatshecannotdivineandpretendto

readthedolos,andthestoriesshetoldherfathersheknowswellenougharelies.Andbytheallegedpowers

shepossessesshemakesprofitoutoftheignoranceofthekaffirs.Sheknowsthatsheknowsonlyasmuch

astheanyotherperson,andnomore,andthatthedoloscantellhernothing,andwhatshetoldthepeople

arelies.Nowsheisadangerouspersonamongthenatives,andbecauseshecausedthedeathofapersonI

amgoingtopunishherveryseverely,thatitmaybeawarningtoothernativeswhomakeuseofthesame

practice.Sentence:lifeimprisonment.19

“TheBiggestNonsenseintheWorld”

ThecaseofR.v.ZuluMadumalaneisoneofthemostdramaticIhavepiecedtogetherfromvoluminous

courtrecordsandtestimoniesstoredintheNationalArchives.InrecountingMadumalane’scaseinsuch

detail,myaimwastoshowthemechanicsofaparticularjudicialengagementwithadivinationwhen

they came before the court. In the Supreme Court, cases of “smelling out” appear to have been

adjudicated by men who sat far above the dynamics of witchcraft beliefs, clothed in the garb of

benevolentpaternalism,passingsentenceovermatterstheyknewverylittleabout.Itseemsthat,just

as so many of those authors cited in the previous chapter, the judges of the Supreme Court

understandings of the cases that came before them were clouded by misconceived concepts of

“witchcraft”andthe“witchdoctor”.

Nineteenofthesecasesinvolvedchargesunders.29ors.30oftheOrdinanceforpointingout“witches”

or“wizards”.Witnessnarrativesoutlinethesamebasicschema:relativesofasickordeceasedperson

consulted a diviner to find out the cause of illness or death; for a fee of cattle or cash, the diviner

performedadivinationritual,whichgenerallyincludedthrowingthe“dolos”or“diviningbones”;the

17Ibid.,At321.18Ibid.,At321–322.19Ibid.,At320.

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divinerthenpointedoutaparticular“witch”or“wizard”,generallybyname,andwaslaterarrestedfor

doingso.20Inallofthesecases,theaccusedwasidentifiedasa“witchdoctor”.

InhiscriticismofcolonialwitchcraftlawinBritishAfrica,SirG.St.JOrdeBrownecondemnedthefact

thatthecolonialjudiciaryregarded“magicasmerelyaformoffraud,bymeansofwhichvariouskinds

ofcheatvictimizeofterrorisetheirdupesfortheirownnefariouspurposes.Nodiscriminationisshown

betweenthedifferentformsofwitchcraft”.21Similarly,intheTransvaalSupremeCourt,judgmentswere

markedbyastupendousabsenceofclarity.Itwasfrequentlydeclaredthatthelawdidnotallowfor“this

kind of thing”, but judges did not care to go into the finer specifics. They frequently betrayed their

profoundignoranceaboutmattersofsupernaturalinsecurity,healinganddivination,whichtheyoften

indiscriminately lumped together as “witchcraft”. None, for instance, credited diviners as providing

protection against witches. In R. v.NavalwanaDusa& Levona Vilagazi, two accused diviners were

chargedwith“witchcraftasdefinedunderOrdinance26/1904”.22Similarly, in the1917s.29caseof

RisengaShabane, JusticeBristowedeclared: “Tell theaccusedhehasbeen foundguiltyofpractising

witchcraft.Headmitshethrewthebones…hepretendedtofind[thecauseofdeathofachild]bymeans

ofthosebones,andthatiswhatismeantbywitchcraft.”23Accordingtowitnesstestimony,Shabanehad

beenaskedtodivinethecauseofdeathofayounggirlandpointedoutanoldwoman,Nesishembeu,as

beingawitch.Ifthelearnedjudge’swordsweretranslatedbacktoShabaneaccurately,theymusthave

soundedabsurd.Throwingtheboneswaspatentlynot“whatismeantbywitchcraft”.

JustasKrausecharacterisedMadumalane’sactivitiesasmerepretence,mostjudgesreduceddivination

toawilycharadeperformedbyopportunistsseeking toexploit the “superstitiousnatives”andearn

livestockandcasheasily.ConsiderthiscondemnationfromthelearnedJusticeCurlewis:

Iknowthekaffirsbelieveinthisdoctorshipofyours.Itisthebiggestnonsenseintheworldthatapersonbythrowingthedoloscantellwhohadkilledaperson…Youalwayslookoutthatyouarepaidwellforit.Ifyouwenttowork,youwouldnotbeabletoearnmoneyinthiseasymanner…Iknowkaffirsstillbelieveinit;theyarefoolishenoughtobelieveinit.Iftheyonlyknewthatthedoctorknowsnomorethantheythentheywouldnotgotohim…Whenyoucomeoutofprison,youmuststopthrowingdolos.Ifyouwantsheep,ormoney,youmustgoandworkforthem.24

20Theterminologyisworthnoting:theyappearinthetranscriptionsofwitnesstestimony.YetwitnesseslargelyidentifiedthemselvesasXitsongaorBavendaandwouldsurelynothaveusedtheterm“witchdoctor”;rather,theirtestimonymusthavebeentranslatedintotheseflattenedterms.21SirGranvilleSt.JohnOrdeBrowne,“WitchcraftandBritishColonialLaw,”p.484.22R.v.NavalwanaDusa&LevonaVilagazi,1917TPD67at74.23R.v.RisengaShabane,1917TPD188At190.24R.v.Mpaupau,1914TPD389At416.


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Justice Cregcrowski similarly opined: “I suppose as long as people are foolish enough to believe in

witchcraft therewillbepeoplewhowillbewiseenough,orcriminalenough, tomakemoneyoutof

them.”25

OrdeBrowne condemned the failureof the “Europeanofficial attitude” todifferentiatebetween the

figuresofthewitchandthediviner:“TotheAfrican,suchastandpointmustbemostbewildering,since

itconfusesthegoodandthebad,andregardsthephysicianandthepoisonerasequallyreprehensible”.26

InmanyoftheSupremeCourtcases,divinersapparentlydidnotbelievetheyhaddoneanythingother

than their duty. In a remarkable twelve cases, the accused diviner pleaded guilty to the charge of

smellingout.27ThedivinerHwandhla, for instance,undefendedathis trialbeforeBristowe in1912,

pleadedguiltytothechargeunders.29.Whengiventhechancetospeak,hesaid:“Ihavenothingto

say”.28Hewasnonethelesssentencedtosixmonthsimprisonmentwithhardlabour.Thefollowingyear,

Mpaupausimilarlypleadedguiltytoas.29charge,stating:“Ihavenothingtosay.Iwasaskedbythetwo

parties to make a pronouncement. I threw the bones and read them”.29 A policeman testified that

Mpaupauhaddeclareduponhisarrest:““Ihavefaithinmyjudgment,thesetwonativesarewizards”.30

RasengaShabanewasunfortunateenoughtobearrestedonceagainin1923onanothersmellingout

charge. Witness, Kangale Nbutala, indicated that after their group had consulted Shabane, he had

expressed concern over the possibility of arrest: “when you get home youwillwant to getme into

trouble”.Thegroupapparentlyagreed:“Weallsaidnowewillnotsayanythingaboutit”.31Somehow,

though,Shabanefoundhimselfonceagainbeforeawhitejudgeandjury.Havingapparentlylearnedof

theprejudicialoperationofthecourtroomfromthelastexperience,thistimeShabanehiredalawyer,

Atty Bergh. (The vast majority of those who faced charges under s.29 or s.30 were, by contrast,

undefendedincourt).WhileShabanepleadedguiltytothes.29charge,Berghappliedforthecasetobe

dismissedsince,contrarytothewordingofthelaw,Shabanewasnot“pretending”toimputewitchcraft

atall:“thereisnoevidencetoshowthataccusedhimselfdidnotbelievewhathetoldthem”. Justice

25R.v.NavalwanaDusa&LevonaVilagazi,1917TPD67at72.26SirGranvilleSt.JohnOrdeBrowne,“WitchcraftandBritishColonialLaw,”p.484.27 See:R.v.Mpaupau, 1914TPD389;R.v.Hwandhla, 1912TPD371;R.v.Mdandas Jack, 1915TPD660;R.v.Navalwana Dusa & Levona Vilagazi, 1917 TPD 67; R. v. Jacobus Malusi, 1918 TPD 337; R. v. MuhlungupiShikwengane,1921TPD57;R.v.MoyaKushatuDekudeku1923TPD;R.v.RasengaShabane,1923TPD155;R.v.ShingainghaiChaka, 1924TPD575;R.v.SeweloNepawe, 1924TPD415;R.v.MatjeNdlunu, 1931TPD; R. v.NgungwaResemga,1932TPD.28R.v.Hwandhla,1912TPD371,At380.29R.v.Mpaupau,1914TPD389,At412.30Ibid.,At408.31R.v.RasengaShabane,1923TPD155,At167.

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Morice is noted to have “refused the application”.32 Judges, for the most part, were unable to

countenance genuine belief in these kinds of supernatural powers, and simply sidestepped prickly

contestationovertheclaimedauthenticityofdivination.

“ByHabitorReputeaWitchDoctororWitchFinder”

Ineverycase,prosecutorsappeartohavedirectlyaskedwitnessestoconfirmthattheaccusedwasa

“witchdoctor”.Frequently,“witchdoctor”paraphernaliawassubmittedasfurtherevidence.Inthe1914

trial of R. v.Matsilele Tsandengoma, charged under s.29, the various tools of the divination were

producedduringcourtproceedings:thebonestheaccusedthrew(“ExhibitA”),theroothechewed(“B”),

andthesjambokherubbedthechewedrootonto(“C”).33InR.v.NavalwanaDusaandLevonaVilagazi,

anothers.29case,twowomenwereconfirmedbywitnessesasbeingwitchdoctorsonaccountoftheir

“dress”,offeredasevidence intheirprosecution: twoanklets, threeassegais,amedicinebag, jackals

tails,Sakabulafeathersand“headgear”.34Itisnotclearwhythisevidencewasdeemednecessary.After

all,as.29chargemerelyrequiredproofthatanimputationhadbeenmade–thewordingofthesection

didnotspecifythattheaccusedhadtobeproventobea“witchdoctor”.Itwasonlyins.30cases,which

couldattractthesentenceoflifeimprisonment,theaccusedhadtobeprovedtohavebeen“byhabitor

reputeawitchdoctororwitchfinder”.

In1927,EdgarBrookesrecountedthe illustrationtoexplain“habitorrepute”providedbytheCape

Commission of 1883,which established the Transkeian Penal Code fromwhich thewording of the

TransvaalOrdinancewasderived:

B.isemployedbyA.,theownerofakraalinGriqualandEast,totellhimwhyhischildC.issufferingfrom

measles.B.accusesD.ofhavingbewitchedthechildbymeansofacharmwhichD.hasreceivedfroma

baboon. B. is proved to be by habit and repute awitch‐finder. B. is liable to imprisonment under this

section.35

ButthisprimitiveformulationseemstohavebeenchallengedbyjudgesintheTranskeiinsubsequent

decades.Inthe1918caseofR.v.Tiki,JusticeKotzeinsistedthat“Toestablishahabittheremustatleast

besufficientevidencetothateffect…thattheremustbeevidencethattheaccusedisaccustomedtoact

assuchandmakesordinaryandusualcallingandpracticeofit”.36Whetherthismeantthattheaccused

32R.v.RasengaShabane,1923TPD155at169–170.33R.v.MatsileleTsandengoma,1914TPD209at223.34R.v.NavalwanaDusa&LevonaVilagazi,1917TPD67at78.35EdgarHarryBrookes,TheHistoryofNativePolicyinSouthAfricafrom1830tothePresentDay.(Pretoria:J.L.vanSchaik,1927),p.215.36SABJUS276,R.v.Tiki,includedinOfficialConference:WitchcraftAmendmenttoTranskeianCodeReWitchcraftorSmellingout,1919.


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had tohaveaprovenhistoryof findingwitches,ormerelya reputation forbeinganykindofmagic

practitioner is notmade clear. This case, alongwithR. v.Tshungwana, another 1918 case inwhich

chargesweredismissedagainsttheaccusedonthesamegrounds,apparentlypromptedconsternation

amongstthejudiciary.Ina1919conferenceofTranskeianjudicialofficers,manycalledforthe“habitor

repute”phrasetobestruckout.JusticeSampsonarguedthat“theprovingofahabitofwitchcraftinthe

Transkeibyseveralactsisalmostanimpossibility…therewillbehardlyeveradecisiononthequestion

ofhabit,becauseyoucannotgetwitnessestocomeforward…”.37Lawadvisersbelievedthatremoving

thephrasewouldnothelpmatterssince“theevidencetoprovehabitandreputewillbeverymuchthe

evidencestillrequiredtoprovethattheaccusedisawitchorwizard”(theypresumablymeant“witch

doctor”).Instead,aProclamationwaspassedin1919whichincreasedthepunishmentforanimputation

ofwitchcraftfromonetotwoyearsintheTranskei.38

ItisnotclearwhetherjudgesintheTransvaalwererequiredtofollowthestipulationslaiddowninR.v.

Tiki.Theredoesseemtohavebeenagreatdealofinconsistencyindecidingwhethers.29ors.30applied,

however.Inmanycases,s.30wasimposeduponthosewithpreviousconvictionsunders.29.39Inthe

1923caseofR.vRasengaShabane,however,theaccusedhadalreadybeenfoundguiltyofthesame

chargethreetimespreviously,yethewasonlychargedunders.29.40InthecaseofZuluMadumalane,

proved“byhabitorreputeawitchdoctororwitchfinder”,noneofthewitnesstestimonyprovedthat

shehadsmeltoutwitchesinthepast–onlythatshehadahistoryofthrowingthebones,thatshefell

into trances, and that shewas identified as a “witchdoctor” – yet again a term that obscuredwhat

Madumalane’spracticesactuallywere.Itseemsthatareputationasa“witchdoctor”wasenoughtoearn

heralifesentence.

Forallitspretencesofobjectivity,theadjudicationofsmellingoutcasesseemstohavebeenundertaken

withadesperatelackofrigourandanenormousdegreeofinconsistency.Thejudgedoesnotseemto

haveevenvaguelyentertainedMadumalane’scontentionthatshewasbeingscapegoatedbythosewho

gavetestimonybeforethecourt.Shewasprovedtobea“witchdoctor”,andthatwasenoughtooverride

anysenseofreasonabledoubt.Thefactthatherfamilywascalledintotestifyaboutherlonghistoryas

a“witchdoctor”addedcruelindignitytowhatmustalreadyhaveseemedlikeafarcetoMadumalane.

37SABJUS276,OfficialConference:WitchcraftAmendment toTranskeianCodeReWitchcraftorSmellingout,1919.38SABJUS276,OfficialConference:WitchcraftAmendment toTranskeianCodeReWitchcraftorSmellingout,1919.39InthecaseofR.v.MatsileleTsandengoma(1914TPD209),JusticeBristowenotedthattheaccusedhadbeenwarnedoftheillegalityof“witchdoctoring”before.InthecaseofR.v.MuhlungupiShikwengane(1921TPD57at59),JusticeDeWaalnotedthattheaccusedhad“beenbeforethecourtthreetimesforthesamething”.40R.v.RasengaShabane,1923TPD155..

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Theirstatementsmaywellhavebeenelicitedtodefinitivelyprove“habitorrepute”andtherebyqualify

herforthemaximumsentence.

BroughtBeforetheCourt

Inveryfewsmellingoutcasesisitmadeclearhowthematterarrivedincourt.InR.v.SugumbuliNkosi,

forinstance,threepeopleallegedlysmeltoutbytheaccusedallexplicitlydeniedapproachingthepolice.

Thesmelt‐out“wizard”PonyaneMasekoindicatedthathehad“madenocomplaintaboutthematter”

and that it was onlymuch later that “the police sent forme to come to the Gem and there took a

statement”.41NombangoMnisisaid“IamsurprisedthepolicecalledmeasIhadmadenocomplaint”,

whileStuurmanMasekosaidhe“[didn’t]knowwhocalledinthepolicetoinvestigatethecase;Ididn’t”.42

Itispossiblethatthesewitnessesdidnotwanttoadmitincourttohavingcalledthepoliceonadiviner

forfearofpossiblerepercussions.InR.v.MdandasJack,forinstance,anumberofwitnessestestifiedto

being“afraidoftheaccused”becausehecouldpointthemoutasbeingwitches.43

Itmay also have been true, however, thatmany simply did notwant to embroil themselves in the

colonial legal order. In 1935, D.O. Frank Melland, who had experience of administering a similar

witchcraft law in Zambia, noted that “villagers feared entrapment by the senseless legalities of the

Ordinance,fortheirwayoftalkingaboutaggressionandgeneralwrongdoingmightunpredictablyturn

themintoaccused”.44

Inanumberofcases,policemenappeartohavetakenanactiveroleinapprehendingthe“witchdoctors”

intheirareas,yetitisnotcertainiftheiractionswerespurredbycomplaintsmadebylocalswhodid

notwishtobenamed.Insomecases,however,accusedwitchesortheirfamilymemberstestifiedto

havingapproachedthepolice.InR.v.SeweloNepawe,thewifeandsonofasmelt‐out“wizard”reported

themattertothepoliceafterhehadrunawayandapparentlyneverreturned.45Inthe1923caseofR.v.

RasengaShabane,anaccused“wizard”MgwambaneSitangofiledacomplaint“becauseChiefNetsianda

tookmythreechildrenandtwentygoatssayingthatIandmymother‐inlawwerewitchesandmust

leavehiscountry.Weleft”.46

Oneshouldbewaryofprojectingarigidontologicaldividewhichposits“believingAfricans”constantly

subvertingtheattemptsof“scepticalEuropeans”tryingtoimposetheirwhiteman’slaw.Thereality,it

41R.v.SugumbuliNkosi,1923TPD594at602–603.42Ibid.,At605;610.43R.v.MdandasJack,1915TPD660At675;679.44FrankHulmeMelland,“EthicalandPoliticalAspectsofAfricanWitchcraft,”Africa8(1935):p.498.45R.v.SeweloNepawe,1924TPD415at422–433.46R.v.RasengaShabane,1923TPD155at165.


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seems, was far more complex.While many Africans would probably have agreed that these judicial

responsesrepresented“themostconspicuousinstanceofthesuperimpositionofthewhiteman’slawand

opinion,withoutanyconsiderationoftheAfrican’sview”,asOrdeBrowneinsistedin1935,itappears

thatforafew,thelawmayhaveofferedpotentialremedyfromaccusationstheyregardedasfalse.47

Itdoesnotseemthatallofthosewhotookthestandwereconvincedofthediviner’sdiagnosis.Whilea

hostof testimonies indicatedbelief that theverdictof the “smellingout”was correct, in anumberof

instances,witnessestestifiedtonotbelievingtheverdictofthediviner.Perhapsunsurprisingly,mostof

those alleged witches who took the stand insisted that they were wrongly accused, and sometimes

registered ambivalence about the reality ofwitchcraft. InR. v.Mdandas Jack,accusedwitchMakoma

stated:“Ibelieveinwitchcraft.IamnotsurethatIbelieveinaccused[diviner]”.48Inthesamecase,smelt‐

outJantjieindicated:“Iknownothingaboutwitchcraftmyself.Idon’tthinkitpossibletoknowanyname

withoutbeingtold.Ibelieveinthedoctorformedicinesbutnotfortellingpastandfutureevents”.49InR.

v.Shingainghai,witnessRedonga stated: “I believe inwitch doctorswhen they tell the truth, but the

accuseddidnot tell the truthwhenhe said I killed [a child].”50 Itwasnot only accusedwitcheswho

disputedtheresultofasmellingoutincourt.InR.v.MatjeNdlunu,forinstance,awitnessunrelatedto

allegedwitchstated:“Ididnotbelieveaccused...IdidnotbelieveModibawasawizard”.51

Thesewitnessesmayhavebeenhidingtheirtruethoughtsforfearofattractingtroublefromcoloniallaw;

ontheotherhand,thisscepticismmayhavebeengenuine.The“criticalattitude”thatWilsonpointedout

shouldbeborninmind.SuchanattitudewasattestedtobyIndunaMbulwanaMkonzainR.v.Sugumbuli

Nkosi,whoinsistedthat“Ifanativedoctorsmeltoutanativesomewouldbelieve,somenot.”52Forthose

whobelievedthemselveswronglyaccused,thelawmayhavebeenregardedasanaid.

HumanitarianAimsorPoliticalCalculation?

InnoneofthejudgmentscouldIfindanyexplicitmentionthattheaccuseddivinerwasarrestedoutof

concernsofthreatstowhiterule.AdamAshforth’sassumptionthatwitchcraftlawswereonlyemployed

againsthealerschallengingcolonialorderdoesnotseemtobeborneoutbythesecaserecords.Many

judgesstatedthatthelawwasbeingemployedforhumanitarianpurposes:theycondemnedtheviolence

thatemergedover“smellingout”proceedings,andwarneddivinersofthedisastrousconsequencesthat

47SirGranvilleSt.JohnOrdeBrowne,“WitchcraftandBritishColonialLaw,”p.435.48R.v.MdandasJack,1915TPD660at678.49Ibid.,At677.50R.v.ShingainghaiChaka,1924TPD575at582..51R.v.MatjeNdlunu,1931TPDAt6.52R.v.SugumbuliNkosi,1923TPD594at616.

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couldfollowthosetheyaccusedofwitchcraft.This,theyheld,wasthereasonwhythelawcouldimpose

theonerouspenaltyoflifeimprisonment.“Onecanunderstandwhythelegislatureprovidedthisserious

penaltyincasesofthiskind,”JusticeTindellstated,“Younativewitchdoctorsexerciseamostpernicious

influenceonthemindsofthenatives…youpointoutsomeunfortunatenative...Thenextthingisthat

nativedisappears.Somebodykillsthatnative.”53Judgesfrequentlyframetheapplicationofthelawin

termsofbenevolentpaternalism,concernedtoprotectthewell‐beingofAfricans.

Itisquestionablewhetherthelawwasthebesttoolwithwhichtoadvancehumanitarianconcerns.As

has been shown, it operated in away that often demonstrated a profound disconnection from the

realitiesofwitchcraft.Butoneshouldbewaryofdismissingthecrueltiesthatcouldfollowaccusations

ofwitchcraftassimplyacolonial fiction. It is truethat, inmostof thesecases,noseriousharmwas

indicated tohavebefallen theallegedwitch.54 InR.v.Shingainghai, the smelt‐out “wizard”Redonga

indicated:“Itisnotourtribalcustomtodoanythingtotheonewhoispointedoutasawizard.Nothing

hashappenedtome”.55Butinanumberofcases,accusedwitchesapparentlyenduredgreatsuffering.

Somewereforcedtofleeinfearfortheirlives.InR.v.Mpaupau,forinstance,accusedwitchChowChow

claimedthatthechief“chasedmeawaywithanaxe”.56InR.v.SugumbuliNkosi,awhitefarmer,MrPaul

Dunn,involvedhimselfinthesmellingoutprocedure.PonyaneMasekotestifiedthat“themasterchased

meawaybecausetheguesserhadsmeltmeout…Ihadahardlifeafterbeingsmeltout”.57Inthesame

case,anothersmelt‐outforwitchcraft,StuurmanMaseko,said:“Thebaassaidtothemissusformeto

leavethefarmandlookforanotherbaas…NownoneexceptMblauwcomenearme.Idon’tknowwhat

isthematter.Ifeelsoreaboutit.Iamold.Iknownothingaboutghosts”.58ThecasesofZuluMadumalane

andMatjeNdlunuaretheonlyinwhichtheaccusedwitchwasexecuted,however.

Statedhumanitarianaimsdonotofcourseprovethatconcernsofcolonialorderwereentirelyabsent

fromtheseincidents.Inabroadsense,colonialrulesoughttoobtainthemonopolyonviolence–orthe

illusionthereof–andpreventpeoplefromadministeringtheirownformsofjustice.Butinthedirect

sense,ofcausingruptureswhichposedapoliticalthreattocontinuingcolonialrule,noevidencecanbe

distilled from the court records. Inmost caseswe know nothing of the administrative storywhich

53R.v.SeweloNepawe,1924PD415at419 Seealso:R.v.MatsileleTsandengoma,1914TPD209at216. R.v.MuhlungupiShikwengane,1921TPD57at59.;R.v.RasengaShabane,1923TPD155at157.54Inpassing,itisworthnotingthat,intheseSupremeCourtcases,thevastmajorityofthosesmeltoutwereinfactmen.55R.v.ShingainghaiChaka1924TPD575.56R.v.Mpaupau,1914TPD389at405.57R.v.SugumbuliNkosi,1923TPD594at604.58Ibid.,p.609.


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precededthearrivaloftheaccusedincourt,anditispossiblethatsomewerereinedinbythelawout

ofsuchconcerns.

Onesetofarchiveddocumentswhichmayprovidesomecluesaboutthepolicyofcolonialofficialsin

“smellingout”cases.In1906,theResidentMagistrateofLydenburgwrotetotheSecretaryforNative

Affairs(SNA)inPretoria,W.Windham,toaskhisadviceaboutamanwhohadapparentlyhadahistory

of “smelling out” witches in the area. “Kindly favour me with your instructions as to whether a

prosecutionshouldbeinstitutedornot”.59Afterhavingconductedsomeinquiries,theUndersecretary

forNativeAffairs,G.A.GodleyorderedatelegramtobesenttotheResidentMagistrateofLydenburg:

“Amofopinionthatthecaseshouldproceed”.60Alongwiththedocumentsisahandwrittennote:“from

thestatementsitwouldappearthatevenifaconvictionwerenotobtained,aprosecutionwouldhavea

deterringeffectupontheaccusedandothersofhisprofessioninthedistrict”.61On10August1906,the

DCforwardedanotetotheSNAwrittenbySub‐InspectorF.B.Hardy indicatingthat“thenativewas

convictedatthelocalperiodicalcourtandsentencedtothreemonthshardlabour”.62

This correspondence does seem to indicate that notions of deterrencewere prominent in deciding

whethertoprosecutealleged“witchdoctors”.Anumberofjudgesdoseemtohavebeeneagertomake

anexampleoutof“witchdoctors”.InR.v.Mpaupau,JusticeCurlewistooktheopportunitytoteacha

lesson:“Thelawforthisonceisthatthedoctorshipshallbeputastoptoamongthekaffirs,itisthecause

ofmuchmischiefamongstthem…Ihavehadthewitnessesbroughtintothecourtsotheycouldhear

what I have toldyou. Iwant them toknow that the lawdoesnot allowanyperson topractise as a

doctor”.63ForKrausein1914,thetrialofMadumalanepresentedtheopportunityto“sendawarningto

other nativeswhomake use of the same practice”. 64 It is unclearwhether thiswas informed by a

humanitarianconcernforthewell‐beingofAfricans,orbyaconcerntoaffirmcolonialpoweroverthese

practitioners, characterised as charlatans and cheats. In “civilisingmissions”, the two are not easily

disentangled.

It isnoteworthy,however, thatmost judgeschosenot to impose themaximumpenaltiesprescribed

underthelaw,eveninthecaseofrepeatoffenders.Inpassingjudgmentin1923forwhatwasRasenga

59SABSNA325,1706/06,LetterfromResidentMagistrate,LydenburgtoSecretaryofNativeAffairs,Pretoria,W.Windham.ForwardedstatementstakenbytheDistrictCommandant,Pilgrim’sRest.18May1906.60SABSNA325,1706/06,HandwrittenTelegramNotebyUndersecretaryforNativeAffairs,Pretoria,G.A.Godley.8June1906.61SABSNA325,1706/06,HandwrittenNotebyActingSecretaryforNativeAffairs.June1906.62SABSNA325,1706/06,ForwardedNoteofSuccessfulConviction,DistrictCommandant,PilgrimsResttoResidentMagistrate,Lydenburg,.10August1906.63R.v.ZuluMadumalane,1914TPD314at323.64InR.v.Mpaupau,1914TPD389at416–417.

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Shabane’sfourthconvictionundertheOrdinance,ActingJusticeMoricestated:“Whathedidinthiscase

doesnotseemtohavecausedanygreatharm.SoIwon’tgivehimabiggersentencethantheonethat

wasgivenlasttime…Thesentenceofthecourtistwoyearsimprisonmentwithhardlabour”.65R.v.Zulu

MadumalaneandR.v.MatjeNdlunuarealsotheonlycasesinwhichasentenceoflifeimprisonmentwas

imposed. In both cases, the presiding judges made it clear that the onerous punishment of life

imprisonmentwasbeingimposedbecausetheallegedwitchhadbeenmurdered.Inallothercasesin

whichasuccessfulconvictionwasachievedunders.30,presidingjudgesnotonlyresistedimposinglife

imprisonment,buttheydidnotexceedthemaximumpunishmentoffiveyearsstipulatedundertheless

serious s.29 charge.66 Many apparently decided to show restraint. Justice Bristowe told Matsilele

Tsandengoma,arepeatoffenderconvictedunders.30:

Heknowsthatthisisillegal.Hehasbeenwarnedofitsbeforeandheknowsthatitisregardedasaserious

offence,andthepenaltytowhichheisliableunderthestatuteislifeimprisonment.ButIdonotintendto

sentencehimtoanythinglikethat…hewillbesentencedtofouryearsimprisonmentwithhardlabour.67

InthecaseofR.v.Shingainghai,JusticeKrause:“Iwillgivehimanotherchance…ifyoucomebeforethe

courtagainitwillgoveryhardwithyou;bothhislegswillbetiedandhewon’tbeabletogofreeagain.

This time the court will be merciful to him… He will get twelve months imprisonment with hard

labour”.68Ofcourse,thisinnowaydetractsfromthefrequentlyunjustoperationofthecolonialcourt.

However,itdoesraisefurtherquestionsaboutwhetherconsiderationsofcolonialorderwerealways

trulyatthebasisoftheapplicationoftheWitchcraftOrdinance,asAshforthsuggests.

“PretendedWitchcraft”Cases:SkelmsandHumbuggers

Itwasnotonly“smellingout”casesthatcamebeforetheTransvaalSupremeCourt.Eighteencaseswere

prosecuted under section 34 for the “pretended” use of “supernatural power, witchcraft, sorcery,

enchantment,orconjuration”.Inmanycases,thechargewasbroughtagainstAfricanhealerswhohad

diagnosedillnessesandprescribedremedies.Butavarietyofotheractivitiesattractedas.34charge.

PhilemonRanqueearnedfivechargesunderthissectionfordiagnosingillnesses,andoneforhaving

claimedtolocatethemissingsheepofacertainJohannesTerblanchebythrowingthe“dolos”.69In1917,

WilliamSebambowaschargedforhavingsoldapowderwhichhepromisedwouldpreventthievesfrom

entering a room.70 Justice Curlewis seems to have struggled to define exactly what the crimewas:

65R.v.RasengaShabane,1923TPD155at157.66MatsileleTsandengomaandMuhlungupiShikwenganieachreceivedfouryearsIHL;JacobusMalusiandMoyaDekudekureceivedeighteenmonths;MashapolaMapenekesreceivedjustoneyear.67R.v.MatsileleTsandengoma,1914TPD209at218.68R.v.ShingainghaiChaka,1924TPD575at577.69R.v.PhilemonRanque,1918TPD448at451.70R.v.WilliamSebambo,1919TPD170at174..


53

“pretendedtoexercisewitchcraftorconjurationandtocharmproperty”.71In1918,MganuNdhlovuwas

chargedfordiscoveringandremoving“bewitching”itemsfromthehutsofsickpeople–goats’horns,

burned sticks, human hair, locusts – for a payment of cash and livestock.72 In 1921, Mpokani

Mundagazanewaschargedfordiviningthecauseoftwodeaths,havingtoldamanthat“thespiritsofhis

forefathers”hadenteredthebodiesofhisdeceaseddaughterandsister.73JudgedeWaalwasvaguein

spellingoutthecrime:“sheislivinginacivilisedcountry…thiskindofthingthelawdoesnotallow”.74

In1923,ScotchmanMmatalafacedtwocountsunders.34,onefordiagnosingtheillnessofJohannes

Mphela, the second for providingmedicine to boost crop yields.75 In 1927,William Nkobene was

chargedforsellingarootwhichhepromisedwouldreturnlostobjectstotheirownerwhenburned.76

Adding to the amorphous, indefinite nature of the charge, in nine cases in which medicines were

prescribedbytheaccusedwiththepromiseofcuringanillness,achargeforcontravenings.39ofthe

Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Ordinance 29 of 1904 was filed in the alternative. The Ordinance

outlawedtheundertakingof“actsspeciallybelongingtothecallingofageneralmedicalpractitioner”–

aclausewhichwouldbereinscribedin1928bys.34(a)ofLaw13.Itseemsthatthejudiciarywasnot

quite certain how to dealwith scenarios of “supernatural” healing, forced to undertake intellectual

somersaults across the boundary between “legitimate” medical practice and the “pretence” of

supernaturalpowers.Thereseemstohavebeenlittleconsistencyindecidingwhichofthesecharges

applied.InthecaseofR.v.PhilemonRanque,theaccusedreceivedachargeunders.34andoneunder

s.39inthealternative:theformerforhavingdeterminedthecauseofSimunkaUtito’sillnessthrough

thebones,thesecondforhavingprescribedaremedytoher.77ButwhiletheaccusedinR.v.William

Comettehadsimilarlydiagnosedanailmentandprovidedmedicineforit,theincidentonlyattracteda

chargeundertheMedicalOrdinance.78Bycontrast,AndriesMotojanieallegedlydivinedthecauseof

illnessandadministereda“certainliquid”onsixseparateoccasions,butwasonlychargedunderthe

WitchcraftOrdinance.79Itseemsthat,inmanycases,thejudiciarywasfarfromcertainaboutwhatthe

accusedhadexactlydonewrong.

71Ibid.,At178.72R.v.MganuNdhlovu1918TPD100.73R.v.MpokaniMdungazane1921TPD19.74Ibid.,At21.75R.v.ScotchmanMmatala,1929TPDUnnumbered.76R.v.WilliamNkobene,1927TPDUnnumbered.77R.v.PhilemonRanque,1918TPD448at459.78R.v.WilliamComette,1927TPDUnnumbered.79R.v.AndriesMotojanie,1928TPDUnnumbered.

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Ashforthnotesthatunderthevariouswitchcraftlaws,divinationwasoutlawed–apracticethatforms

“theheartofhealinginAfrica”.Thus,allformsofhealingwereeffectivelyoutlawedbyanti‐witchcraft

law,includingtheTransvaalOrdinance.80TheWitchcraftandMedicineOrdinanceappearstohavebeen

analternativeorsupplementarytoolforclampingdownonhealers.Ashforthnotesfurtherthathehas

“beenunabletofindaccountsoftheprosecutionofhealersforcontraveningthislegislation.Nodoubt

healershavebeentargetedfromtimetotimeinvariousdistrictsofSouthAfrica,probablywheretheir

activities intruded into political matters of complicated the everyday activities of white

administrators”.81YetinthecasesIhavesourced,thisclaimisnotsoclearlyborneout–noneoftheir

activitiesappeartohavebeenespeciallythreateningtowhiteadministrators.Inanumberofcases,it

wasthosewhohadfeltdeceivedbytheaccused–amongthem,anumberofAfricanpeople–ratherthan

concernedofficialswhocalledinthepolice.82

A series of letters from 1911 does, however, seem to show that there is some truth to Ashforth’s

contention.On15thAugust,theResidentMagistrateofPietRetief,W.F.Peachey,wrotetoEdwardDower,

theSecretaryforNativeAffairsinPretoria,aboutthecaseofR.v.Sipata.83Theaccuseddivinerhadbeen

chargedunder s.34 forhaving administeredmedicine for “preventing the effectof lightning”over a

period of eight years, but he also received a charge in the alternative under s.39 of the Medical

Ordinance.Themagistratewrote “Ihaveserved inseveraldistricts in theTransvaalbuthavenever

heardofthisLawbeingputintoforceagainstnatives”,andinquiredastowhethertheOrdinanceapplied

since “a number of prosecutionsmay be expected andmany innocent persons are bound to suffer

unmeritedpunishment”.84DowerwrotetotheSecretaryforJusticetoaskforadvice:“Ibegtostatethat

ithasnotbeenconsidereddesirableinthepasttointerferewiththeactivitiesofNativeWitchDoctors…

solongastheiractionsdonotbecomemischievousorresultininjuriousconsequencestoindividualsor

arelikelytocreatedisturbances”.85HealsosubmittedthoughtstoHenryBurton,theMinisterofNative

Affairs,arguingthatthepractiseoftheTranskeishouldprevailintheTransvaal:

80Ashforth,Witchcraft,Violence,Democracy,p.286.81Ibid.82InR.v.DavidMlofuso(1922TPD460at490),forinstance,SolomonKumalostatedthathereportedMlofusotothepolicebecausehehadapparentlyfailedtoremovethecauseofillnessinKumalo’sfamilyaspromised:“thedevilhadnotbeencleared.Accusedtoldmehehadalicencetopracticemedicine.Ididnotthinkhehadalicencetokillspooks”83SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromW.F.Peachey,ResidentMagistrate,PietRetief,toEdwardDower,SecretaryforNativeAffairsPretoria,ForwardedCopyofRexv.Sipata,15thAugust1911.

ThiscasewasnotlistedintheTPDcriminalregistersIexamined.84SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromW.F.Peachey,ResidentMagistrate,PietRetief,toEdwardDower,SecretaryforNativeAffairsPretoria,ForwardedCopyofRexv.Sipata,15thAugust1911.85SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromEdwardDower,SecretaryforNativeAffairs,Pretoria,toSecretaryforJustice,Pretoria,7September1911.


55

It isconsideredinequitabletoendeavourtodepriveNativesinNativeareasoftheservicesoftheirown

practitionersmany ofwhose native remedies are beneficial to their patients… [In theTranskei]Native

doctorsandherbalists[are]notbeprosecutedfortheactofpractisingalthoughtheyremainliableunder

theGeneralCriminalLawfortheresultoftheiractionsand[are]unabletosueforpaymentoftheirfees…I

wouldrecommendthispolicy…IamnotinfavouroftheNatalpolicyofrecognitionbyasystemoflicences

whichdoesnotappeartoofferanyguaranteeofefficiencyorcheckonchicanery.86

Burtonwroteanoteofagreement:“Thisisanextremelydifficultmattertodealwithfairly,reasonably

andwithoutanomalousresults…thesepractitionersshouldbewinkedatwhen therearenoproper

qualifiedmedicalmen available but not otherwise. How to draw the line? ... I agreewith the view

adoptedinthismemo”.87BurtonexpressedthesethoughtstotheMinisterofJusticeonthe9thOctober,

andreceivedthefollowingreply:“Whilethereisnodoubtthats.39ofOrdinance29of1904isapplicable

toallpersonswhetherblackorwhite,hequiteagreesthatprosecutionsagainstnativesshouldnotbe

institutedasarule…publicprosecutorsshouldconsulthiminparticularcasesastheyarise”.88

OfficialsoftheNADandtheJusticeDepartmentseemtohaveagreedthatitwassometimesbetterto

“wink”athealersthanapplytheMedicalOrdinanceuniformly. ItdoesseemthatAshforthiscorrect,

therefore,inattributingconcernsaboutpublic“disturbances”assometimesmotivatingtheprosecution

of healers, but Dower’s concern for “injurious consequences to individuals” should also be

acknowledged. It isnotclearwhetherthispolicypersistedthroughoutthedecades,but if itdid, this

wouldseemtoindicatethatofficialsdidindeedprefertoturnablindeyewhenitcametotheactivities

of“witchdoctors”–althoughwecannotascertainwhetherthesameheldtrueforcasesof“smellingout”.

Inthes.34casesIhavesourced,itisnotclearwhetherhumanitarianimpulsesorconcernsoflawand

order served asprimarymotives forprosecution. Like the smelling out cases, the circumstancesby

which these cases camebefore the court is not alwaysmade clear. Butwhere it is, the prospect of

“disturbances”doesnotseemtohavefeaturedatall.Mostseemtohaveinvolvedcasesofpersonalharm.

InR.v.DavidMlofuso,SolomonKumalostatedthathereportedMlofusotothepolicebecausehehad

apparentlyfailedtoremovethecauseofillnessinKumalo’sfamilyaspromised:“thedevilhadnotbeen

cleared.Accusedtoldmehehadalicencetopracticemedicine.Ididnotthinkhehadalicencetokill

86SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromEdwardDower,SecretaryforNativeAffairs,toHenryBurton,MinisterofNativeAffairs,Pretoriaentitled“DoctorsandHerbalists–Practisingof”,includinghand‐writtennotebyBurton,3October1911.87SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromEdwardDower,SecretaryforNativeAffairs,toHenryBurton,MinisterofNativeAffairs,Pretoriaentitled“DoctorsandHerbalists–Practisingof”,includinghand‐writtennotebyBurton,3October1911.88SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSecretaryforJustice,Pretoria,toEdwardDower,SecretaryforNativeAffairs,Pretoria,4November1911.

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spooks”.89ThiscaserecordistheonlyoneIcouldfindinwhichthepolicewerecalledinduetoafailure

onthepartofthehealertoactuallyheal.

In a number of other cases, the accused was reported to the police for other crimes, and only

subsequentlycametobechargedunders.34.For instance,DumaziNgwanamanugawasnot initially

arrested for “pretended witchcraft”, but rather culpable homicide. He had rubbed an unknown

concoctiononawomanwiththepromiseofpregnancy,butshebecamesickanddiedshortlyafter.90

Herhusbandtestifiedtohaving“arrestedaccusedandreportedtothepolice…mywifewasayoung

healthywomanbeforethis”.91Butsincethepowderwasmeantto“breakthespellofwitchcraft”which

hebelievedwaspreventingthewomanfromfallingpregnant,andwasadministeredwith“thebeating

ofdrumsandthekillingofagoat”,Ngwanamanugawaschargedinthealternativeofcontravenings.34.92

In1927,WilliamNkobenewasinitiallyarrestedafterhehadallegedlyattemptedtorapeatwelveyear

oldgirl.Themother,whomNkobenehadbeentreating,madeitclearwhyshehadcalledthepolice:“I

hadacceptedyouforadoctor.Icomplainedaboutyourtreatmentofmychild,notaboutyourdoctoring

me”.Yetitwasfordoctoring,nottheallegedrape,thatNkobenewouldultimatelyserve18monthsin

prison:hewasfoundguiltyoffourchargesunders.34forhavingprescribedvariousliquids,powders,

rootsandsnakeskinstocurepeopleoftheirailments.In1933,WilliamMohalewasarrestedforhaving

stolena tinof lardononeoccasion,andsuitcases, clothes,quiltsandrazorbladesonanother.93 Jon

Sekudu,whohadcalledthepoliceafterthelossofhistwotiesandashirt,providedtestimonywhich

justifiedanadditionalchargeunders.34:“hesaidhewouldgivememedicinesthatmybaaswouldraise

my wages… he also gave me medicine that I could fight well and put some black ointment in my

wristbands…tomakemestrong...MybaasdidnotraisemywagesandIcouldnotfightbetter.Theothers

beatme.”94

Inmanycases,witnessesidentifiedtheaccusedas“liars”and“thieves”.Butinsomecases,witnesses

testified to the efficacy of the treatments they received. Thiswas not countenanced by the judges,

however.Forinstance,despiteawitness’ insistencethatScotchmanMmatale’s“medicinecuredme”,

JusticeKrausecondemnedhimas“askelm,becauseyoucannotcurepeople,andyouhumbugthemwith

yourso‐calledmedicine...“Ifyoukeepcommittingtheseoffencesweshallhavetotieyouup.”95Inthe

89R.v.DavidMlofuso,1922TPD860at890.90R.v.DumaziNgwanamanuga,1917TPD271at283.91Ibid.,p.286.92Ibid.,At271.93R.v.WilliamMohale,1933TPDUnnumbered.94Ibid.95R. v. ScotchmanMmatala, (1929 TPDUnnumbered); Also, in the case ofR. v.WilliamNkobene, (1927 TPDUnnumbered)awomantestifiedthatthetreatmentofblackpowdershadmadeherdaughter“quitewellagain”,andanotherclaimedthathis“bottlewithwaterymedicine”hadcuredherofheartdisease”.ButJusticeTindellneverthelessdeclared,“Youpretendedthatyouusedsupernaturalpowers,andyoudoctoredthesepeopleandgot


57

judgmentsoftheSupremeCourt,theaccusedarealltarredwiththesamebrush,portrayedastricksters

andswindlers.Butnonearecharacterisedasagitators.Iwasnotabletofindevidenceinanyofthese

caseswhichsuggestthattheaccusedevenremotelyposedapoliticalthreat.

In two cases, charges under s.34were instituted against fortune tellers. In 1912, Hadjee Jackson –

describedasa“MalayMale”–receivedfourcountsofcontravenings.34:onecountforhavingdiagnosed

thecauseofMarthaCatherinevanStaden’sillnessthroughdealingcardsandburningpowders;another

forhavingallegedlyrubbedpowder into the foreheadofGertPieterHenderson,encouraginghimto

inhalesmoke,andsellinghimcharmstobothwinboxingmatchesandensuresuccess“inallhislove

affairs”;and two forhaving told the fortunesof twoothers.96Achimuthoo–an“Asiaticmale”–was

anotherunfortunatefortunetellerimprisonedforhistrade.97

The law’s apparent prohibition of fortune tellers seems to have raised some concern amongst

“spiritualisticmediums”inJohannesburg.InSeptember1906,twoyearsaftertheWitchcraftOrdinance

hadbeenpassed,G.O.GriffithsfromGermistonwrotetotheAttorneyGeneraloftheTransvaaltoinquire

abouttheinterpretationofthelaw“relatingtowitchcraft”:

TherearetodayverymanySpiritualistsintheTransvaal,someoftheprincipaltenetsoftheirbeliefandpracticeis‘communionbetweenspiritsinthebodyandspiritsoutofthebody’…Irecentlyheardofonerecognisedmediumbeingvisitedbyapersonwiththeintentionofplayinga‘trap’undersection34oftheOrdinance.IpresumeheisamemberoftheDetectiveforcecommissionedbysomeonetoundertakesuchwork.Ifthisisacorrectconclusion,itisveryhardthatpeoplewhoarehonestintheirconvictions,should have the most sacred portion of their religious observance submitted to the inquisition ofobsceneandirreligiouspersons.Iwouldfeelextremelyobligedifyouwillinformmehowthelawlooksuponthemediums.98

ThereplyfromtheAttorneyGeneral’ssecretarydidnothelpclearupthisissueofinterpretation:“I

amdirectedtoreferyoutoyourownLegaladviserastheAttorney‐Generalcannotadvisemembers

ofthepubliconpointsoflaw”.99BothHadjeeJacksonandAchimuthooreceivedchargesunders.34

aswellastheMedicalOrdinance,indicatingthatperhapsfortunetellerswhodidnotalsodiagnose

illnessesandprescriberemedieswereleftalone,althoughthisisnotcertain.

moneyfromit,anddidthemnogood”.Thejudgeofferedawordoffatherlywisdom:“Iadviseinfuturetodosomehonestwork”.96R.v.HadjeeJackson,1912TPD98at100.97R.v.Achimuthoo(1922TPD535);R.v.AppanaGurana(1922TPD176).98SABLD3988/06/134,LetterfromG.O.GriffithstoAttorneyGeneral,InterpretationofWitchcraftOrdinanceRe:SpiritualisticMediums,6September1906.99SABLD3988/06/134,LetterfromAttorney‐General’sOfficetoG.O.Griffiths,InterpretationofWitchcraftOrdinanceRe:SpiritualisticMediums,18September1906.

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AstheMinisterofJusticeindicatedtoSNADower,thelawdoesseemtohaveappliedto“allpersons

whetherwhiteorblack”.Twowhitemaleswerealsochargedwith“pretendedwitchcraft”.Inthe1921

caseofR.v.MichaelPetrusAdriaanOberholzer,theaccusedwasrevealedtohavedupedanumberofsick

people intobelieving thathe coulddetectbewitchmentand sourcemedicine to remove it.100 Inone

instance,Oberholzerissaidtohaveperformedadramaticritualtodiagnosewhatailedafarmer’swife:

he invertedhispockets, coveredhimselfwithwater,shookecstaticallyanddeclared finally“I’vegot

him!”.Oberholzertoldthefarmerthathiswifehadbeenbewitchedbyaservant.Fortheprincelyfeeof

£60,hesentthefarmerabottleof“medicine”fromJohannesburg.Thefarmertestifiedthatitdidhis

wife“moreharmthangood”andcalledthepolice.101TheaccusedadmittedbeforetheSupremeCourt

thathewasaconartist:“[Oberholzer]hascomeoutandswornthathedoesnotbelieveinthisvery

thing”declaredJusticeStratford.102

Inthe1929caseofR.v.JamesSmith,theaccusedwaschargedunders.34forhisvariousexploitsaround

theTransvaal.Heissaidtohaveconsulteda“littlebook”todiagnosethecauseofanumberofwhite

people’s illness. In the incidents described in court testimony, Smith invariably discerned

“bewitchment”asthecause,promisedtoreturnwithacure,receivedpaymentandneverreturned.103

Heperformeda similardisappearingact afterhavingclaimed thathe coulddivinewhereadigger’s

moneywasburiedforthepriceof£4.104 JusticeKrauseberatedSmithforhavingtakenadvantageof

“poorpeople,peoplewhoarereallysuperstitious,peoplewithwhomyoucandoasyoulike”.105

SmithandOberholzer,wereapparentlyabletoconvinceagreatmanywhitepeoplethattheyhadbeen

bewitched,andtheyhandedoversubstantialamountsofmoneyinthehopesofobtainingacure.These

casesrevealthefallacyofcharacterisingbelief inwitchcraftasan“Africansuperstition”.Therearea

numberofindicationsthatwhitepeopleconsulteddivinersonoccasion.Inaletterentitled“Barbarism

Competing with Civilisation”, Israel Mbono wrote to Chief Native Commissioner of Johannesburg,

warninghimof“anumberofEuropeanswhovisitnative‘Witchdoctors’bynightandtakethemintheir

carstotheirhomestotraceouttheirtroublesandallowthemtodoctorthem,whichisagreatdangerto

whitepeople”.106InR.v.NavalwanaDusaandLevonaVilagazi,awhitefamilyisnotedtohaverequested

the use of the divining talents of the two accused to ascertain the whereabouts of their missing

100R.v.MichaelPetrusAdriaanOberholzer,p.289–290.(1921TPD242).101Ibid.,277–284.102Ibid.,At245.103R.v.JamesSmith,(1929TPDUnnumbered).104Ibid.105Ibid.106SABNTS9465,19/362,LetterfromIsraelMbonoB.A.Centitled“BarbarismCompetingwithCivilisation”,toChiefNativeCommissioner,Johannesburg,19February1938.


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livestock.107Inanumberofinstances,whitefarmerswereinvolvedin“smellingout”procedures.InR.v.

SugumbuliNkosi,itwasallegedlyawhitefarmer,MrPaulDunn,whohadcalledonNkositoperform

divinationtodiscoverwhowasbewitchinghislabourers.Theprocedurewasperformedjustbeyond

Dunn’s stoep, and he is alleged to have instructed the participants to clap rhythmically, as he did

himself.108

In the cases of Smith and Oberholzer, there does seem to have been a distinct racial bias in their

sentencing,however.DavidMlofuso,foundguiltyin1922ofonlyonecountunders.34,receivedayear’s

prison sentence; Oberholzer, found guilty of three counts in 1921, received just twomonths. Both

AndriesMotojanieandSmithwerefoundguiltyofsixcharges;Motojaniewassentencedtothreeyears

inprison,whileSmithreceivedjustsixmonths.

Thereseemstohavebeengreatinconsistencyinsentencinggenerally.Onafewoccasions,themaximum

sentenceofoneyearimprisonmentwithhardlabourwasimposed.ActingJusticeJeppe,forinstance,

intimatedthat,tohis“regret”,hecouldimposenomorethanoneyearimprisonment“andIcannotadd

lashes”.109Whentheaccusedwasfoundguiltyofmultiplechargesundersection34,theydidgenerally

spendmoretimeinprison.WilliamNkobene,forinstance,received18monthsinprisonforhisfour

counts.110Previousconvictionsalsoplayedaroleindeterminingsentence.111JusticeBarrymadeitclear

thatWilliamMokwenawouldreceive themaximumsentencebecausehehadspent threemonths in

prisonforthreepreviouscharges.HeurgedMokwenato“leavethiswitchdoctoringalone”.112

Anumberofjudgeschosenottoimposethemaximumpenalty,decidingtobe“merciful”.Insentencing

WilliamSebambotosixmonthsimprisonment,forinstance,CurlewisJstated:“Ihavemadeupmymind

togiveyouonemorechance.Thecrimesonwhichyouhavenowbeenconvictedarenotseriousintheir

nature as far as injury to the natives is concerned”.113William Comette received just four months

imprisonmentforachargeunders.34.Ofallthesentences,JusticeDeWetimposedthemostlenient:

WilliamMohalereceivedjustfourteendaysinprisonforhavingsoldmedicinetoimprovethefighting

107R.v.NavalwanaDusa&LevonaVilagazi,(1917TPD67at70–73).108R.v.SugumbuliNkosi,(1923TPD594at596)109R.v.DavidMlofuso,(1922TPD860at863).110R.v.WilliamNkobene,(1927TPDUnnumbered).111JusticedeWaalsentencedMpokaniMundagazanetothefullyearbecauseshehadbeenfoundguiltyofthesamechargeonfourpreviousoccasionsinthecaseofR.v.MpokaniMdungazane(1921TPD19at21).112R.v.WilliamMokwena,(1929TPDUnnumbered).113R.v.WilliamSebambo(1919TPD170at172).

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abilitiesofaboxer,althoughhealsoreceivedtwoyearsonthechargeoftheft.114Again,iftheaccused

posedseriousthreatstocolonialorder,thereisnomentionofitinthecourtrecords.

Conclusion:

Thisinvestigationintothe37caseschargedundertheTransvaalWitchcraftOrdinanceNo.26of1904

hasrevealedthatthelawwas,inmostcases,abluntandblindinstrument.Bothitsformulationandits

applicationsufferedfromanacuteabsenceofdefinition.Thefactthatdiviners,herbalists,soothsayers,

fortunetellersandself‐professedcon‐artistswereallincarceratedunderthesamelawtestifiestothe

woefulinconsistencyandirregularitythatplaguedtheoperationoftheWitchcraftOrdinance.Thevast

majorityofjudgesintheseSupremeCourtcasesdemonstrateddownrightignoranceaboutthenature

ofbeliefsofthosewhocamebeforetheircourt,summarilywritingthemoffassuperstitiousnonsense,

blinded to the complex dynamics of supernatural beliefs by a conceited sense of “rationalism” and

“benevolentpaternalism”.

ContrarytoNiehaus’suggestionthatthelawwasmerely“symbolic”,thecaserecordsshowthatitwas

employedonnumerousoccasionstoapprehendawiderangeofcharacters.Thes.34casesdemonstrate

thatitwasnotonlyso‐called“witchdoctors”whowereimprisonedunderthelaw,northatitwasonly

Africanswhocameto feel itseffects.Nonetheless, theredoesundoubtedlyseemtohavebeenabias

againstthesefiguresintheoperationofthelaw,asChanock’sfindingssuggest.Thisseemstobefurther

confirmedbythefactthat,whiletheOrdinancealsooutlawedtheemploymentofa“witchdoctoror

witchfinder”unders.31,nocasesseemtohavebeenprosecutedunderthischarge.Hadthischargebeen

putintoforce,mostofthosewhotestifiedinthesetrialscouldhavebeenimprisoned.Thecourtswould

havehadtoarrestcrowdsofpeopleatatime,peoplewhosetestimonytheprosecutionneededtoprove

casesagainst“witchdoctors”.

Intheencounterbetweenjudgeanddivinerinthecolonialcourtroom,thedramaticimbalanceofpower

wasdemonstratedwithwhatmusthavefrequentlybeenapprehendedasanimmenseinjusticebythe

accused,sentencedtoprisonforacrimetheymaynothaveregardedassuch.Agreatmanydiviners

pleadedguiltytothechargeof“smellingout”.Butwhiletheapplicationofcolonialwitchcraft lawin

theseSupremeCourtcasesdoesseemtohavebeenundertakenfrequentlywithagreatdealofblindness

tothedynamicsofwitchcraftbelief,recordsalsoindicatethatitdidnotalwayssimplyamounttoan

unwelcome impositionof “whiteman’s law”. In some s.34 cases, the accusedwasquite obviously a

criminal.Andinsomesmellingoutcases,itseemsthatAfricansthemselvescalledonthelawtoprotect

themfromallegationsofwitchcrafttheyregardedasfalse.Thelawseemstohaveenteredintolocal

dynamicsinavarietyofways,sometimesasanintrusiveandunwelcomeimposition,sometimesasa

114R.v.WilliamMohale,(1933TPDUnnumbered).


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tool thatAfricanscalledupon–although,perhaps, theresultsof thisappeal tocolonial lawmaynot

alwayshavebeenwhattheypredicted.

Thereissomeindicationthatsomejudgeshadmorenuancedunderstandingsofwitchcraftbeliefs–

althoughtheyconstitutedatinyminority.Onejudgmentinasmellingoutcasefrom1931standsoutfor

its relative sensitivity. InR. v.MatjeNdlunu, the accused allegedly pointed out a youngman as the

“wizard”whohad“sentlightning”tokillhisyoungerbrother.Theyoungmanwasthenmurderedwith

anaxebyhisownmotherandsister,bothofwhomweresubsequentlyhanged.115Thisistheonlyother

casebesidesR.v.ZuluMadumalaneinwhichsomeonewasexecutedafterhavingbeensmeltout.During

thetrial,thefatherofthedeceasedtestifiedthathedidnotthinkthatNdlunu,wholivedsomedistance

away,knewthat“bynativecustom,suchamaniskilled”.116Ndlunupleadedguiltytothechargeunder

s.30,andissuednostatementinhisdefence.117Inpassingsentence,JusticeBarrystated:

Whatthecustomisinthetribetowhichtheaccusedbecameattachedisnotclear.Itmayhavebeeneitherkillingorbanishment.Ithinktheaccusedshouldhaveknownwhatthecustomofthetribewas,and,ifitwasnothisintentiontohavethedeceasedkilled,heshouldhaveindicatedthenatureofthepunishment.Theconsequence[of]hisdecisionwasappalling:thedeceasedwaschoppedtodeathbytwoofhisfemalerelatives.ThesetwounfortunatewomenwhocarriedouthisordersweresentencedtodeathatthelastCircuit.InthesecircumstancestheCourtmusttakeaveryseriousviewofthecase…Thesentenceofthecourtisthathebeimprisonedforlife”118

BothKrauseandBarrysentencedtheaccuseddivinertolifeimprisonment.Nevertheless,therearesome

distinct differences in their statements. Compared to the judgment of Krause in the case of Zulu

Madumalane17yearsearlier,Barry’sjudgmentshowsgreaterunderstandingoftheprocessofsmelling

out, which he portrays as a routine part of “tribal life”, acknowledging that it was a “custom that

prevailedinthetribe”ratherthansimplyanactofduperyby individualopportunists.ForKrausein

1914,thetrialofMadumalanepresentedtheopportunityto“sendawarningtoothernativeswhomake

useofthesamepractice”.119Barry,bycontrast,seemstohaveusedtheopportunitynottocondemn

divinationwholesale, but towarn thatmore careneeded tobe takenwhendivinersdelivered their

diagnosissoastoavoidwitchkillings.PerhapsBarrywasexceptional,andignorantcondemnationslike

thoseadvancedbyKrausecontinuedtopredominateSupremeCourtjudgments.ButperhapsSupreme

Courtjudgeshadbecomemoresensitivetothedynamicsof“witchsmelling”asthedecadesprogressed.

ThelastcaseIfoundintheavailableregisters,R.v.Mohale,includestheonlyjudgmentinwhichdoubts

areraisedastothewisdomoftheWitchcraftOrdinance:“thelegislaturewantstostopthepracticeof

115R.v.MatjeNdlunu,,(1931TPDUnnumbered).116Ibid.,At4.117R.v.MatjeNdlunu,(1931TPDUnnumbered).118Ibid.119R.v.ZuluMadumalane,(1914TPD313at323).

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bone‐throwing,”statedJusticedeWet,“Rightlyorwrongly,theywantittostop.”120Itisimpossibleto

determine whether these doubts became more widespread or even deepened as the decades

progressed,asWallerandFieldsnoteofjudges,magistratesandDistrictOfficersincentralAfrica.

In the court records, I could find no evidence to support Ashforth’s contention that the law was

employedinthesecasesoutoffearsforthestabilityofcolonialorder.Althoughjudges’understandings

of witchcraft dynamics were shown to be often gravely misinformed, they espoused humanitarian

reasonsfortheapplicationofthelaw,andmanyjudgeschosetoexerciseleniency.Whileconsiderations

ofpublicorderandthethreatofdisturbanceswerenotalwaysexplicitlymentionedinthecourtroom,

however,archivaldocumentsdoleadustobelievethat,insomecases,suchconcernsbroughtthetrial

tothecourtinthefirstplace.Archivalcorrespondencewhichdetailsthe“backstories”ofthes.29case

ofMatlotlomana, and the s.34 caseofR.v.Sipata indicate thatnotions of public “disturbances” and

“deterrence”mayhavefeaturedincalculationsaboutwhethertoimposetheWitchcraftOrdinancein

thefirstplace.InveryfewofthecasesoftheSupremeCourtareweprovidedwithsuch“backstories”,

anditisindeedpossiblethatlocalmagistratesmayhaveperceivedthreatstolocalcolonialrulewhen

they decided to have the accused arrested. In the chapter that follows, however, greater context is

providedof instancesinwhichthelawcametobeapplied.It isdemonstratedthatconsiderationsof

colonialordercouldfeatureacutelyinthewaythatwitchcraftbeliefsweremanagedbylocalofficialsin

theearlytwentiethcentury.

120R.v.WilliamMohale,(1933TPDUnnumbered).

ChapterIII:WitchcraftManagement

InR.v.Shinghainghai,JusticeKrausegavetheaccusedsomeadvice:“Ifthepeoplecometohimagainto

throwthedol‐os,thenhemustsay:‘Look,thelawisstrongerthanIam–thelawismymaster;andifI

throw the dol‐os the lawwill beatme’”.1 Itwas perhaps easy for these high‐minded justices of the

Supreme Court to advance such claims – as they circuited through the Transvaal, theywould have

remained largely disconnected from the complexities of colonial rule at the “grassroots” and the

dynamicsofbeliefsinthesupernatural.ItwasthelowerlevelmagistratesandNativeCommissioners,

thosetaskedwithensuringthepreservationofcolonialruleinthefarflungregionsoftheSouthAfrican

countryside in the early twentieth century, for whom beliefs in witchcraft posed some perplexing

problemsforwhichtherewerenoreadyanswers.Forthesemen,thesupposed“mastery”ofthelaw

musthaveseemedfarmoreillusorythanitwasforthelearnedJusticeKrause.

In thisChapter, Idescend fromthe levelof theTransvaalSupremeCourt to investigate thekindsof

challenges faced by magistrates and Native Commissioners in matters of the supernatural on the

“frontlines”ofcolonialruleintheTransvaal.IexamineastringofarchivedNativeAffairsDepartment

(NAD)correspondencewhichsuggeststhat,forthelocalrepresentativesofcolonialrule,decidinghow

todealwithmattersofthatwhichwasperceivedas“witchcraft”wassometimesamatterofpragmatic

calculationinthefaceofagreatdealofuncertainty.Thecentrepieceofthediscussiontakestheformof

a1917“snuffcraze”thatconfrontedabaffledSub‐NativeCommissionerofBarberton–acasestudy

which demonstrates something of the difficulty that local colonial officials experienced in trying to

police so‐called “native superstitions” andmaintainwhatwas often littlemore than the illusion of

colonialpowerinremoteregionsoftheSouthAfricancountryside.Theseofficialscouldexpectlittleby

wayofactiveassistancefromtheirsuperiorsattheNAD,anotoriouslyweak,poorlyadministeredand

1R.v.ShingainghaiChaka,(1924TPD575at577).

“Whiletheseaofhistoryremainscalm,theruler‐administratorinhisfrailbark,holdingonwithaboat‐hooktotheshipofthepeople,andhimselfmoving,naturallyimaginesthathiseffortsmovetheshipheisholdingonto.Butassoonasastormarisesandtheseabeginsto

heaveandtheshiptomove,suchadelusionisnolongerpossible.Theshipmovesindependentlywithitsownenormousmotion,theboat‐

hooknolongerreachesthemovingvessel,andsuddenlytheadministrator,insteadofappearingarulerandasourceofpower,

becomesaninsignificant,useless,feebleman”

‐ D.A.LowquotedinFields,1982,p.580.

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ill‐resourced department, situated far from the “frontlines” of colonial rule. While the Transvaal

WitchcraftOrdinancewassometimescalledintoeffect,itbynomeansconclusivelysolvedtheproblems

facingtheseisolatedofficials.Itseemsthattheboastfulaimsofcivilisingrhetoricwereratherharderto

achieveinreality.Forthese“menonthespot”,witchcraftbeliefsraisedquestionsforwhichtherewere

apparentlynoreadyorpermanentanswers.

Snuff,SuperstitionandInsurrection

Overthecourseof1917,theSNCoftheBarbertondistrict,GuyDudleyWheelwright,notedincreasing

alarmat the saleof snuff toAfrican villagersbymen from “thePortuguese territory” –present‐day

Mozambique.InatelegramtoSNABarretton19March,Wheelwrightindicatedthat:

afterseveralattemptsmanagedtoarrestaPortugueseNativewhohadbeenadministeringaformofsnuff

toNativesinthisdistrictwhichsnuffisclaimedtohavethepowerofmakingNativesimmuneagainstdeath

fromallcauses.AsthereareseveralchiefsconcernedWheelwrightwishestoseeyouasfromFriday30

Instant.Ihavenopoliticalfearsfromresultofsnuffalreadyadministered.2

Ideasabout“invulnerabilitymuti”havealonghistoryinSouthAfrica.JulieWellsrecountsthefrequently

espousedmythabout the1819battle forGrahamstownandChiefMakana’sallegeddoctoringofhis

troops with promises that the bullets of the British would “turn to water”. Wells argues that the

allegationstemmedfromtheworkofThomasPringlein1827,whichlaidthefoundationforviewingthe

Xhosachiefandinyangaas“actingoutofreligioussuperstition”and“stretchestheboundsofcredibility”.

Likesomanyotherfrontiermyths,sheargues,the“bullets‐to‐water”narrativeservedtoobscurethe

“centralissueoftheconquestofXhosaland”.3StoriesaboutAfrican“wardoctoring”lingeredthrough

the subsequent decades. Redding and Guy both note its salience in the 1906 Bambatha Rebellion.

Redding notes that the Natal colonial official, James Stuart, wrotemore than once of the recurring

rumourthat“bulletsfiredatNativesbyEuropeanswouldnot‘enter’”.4JeffGuyquotesStuart’swarning

of1906:“thereisnoact,passiveinitsnature,whichaNativecancommitthatbetrayshostileintentions

moreplainlythanbeingdoctoredforwar.Oncesuchceremoniesareheld,allthatremainsistoawait

the signal for a simultaneous rising”.5 While Guy notes that strengthening rituals were sometimes

2SABNTS9465,516/14/17,TelegramfromSub‐NativeCommissionerG.D.Wheelwright,Barberton(Hereafter“SNCBarberton”)toSecretaryforNativeAffairsEdwardBarrett,Pretoria(Hereafter“SNAPretoria”),19March1917.3JuliaC.Wells,TheReturnofMakhanda:ExploringtheLegend,ThinkingAfrica(Scottsville:UniversityofKwaZulu‐NatalPress,2012),p.54–55.4JamesStuartinRedding,“ABlood‐StainedTax,”p.46.5JamesStuartquotedinGuy,TheMaphumuloUprising,p.221.

Witchcraft Management

65

performedbyZuludoctorsbeforebattle,hepointstoan“overwhelmingtendency”onthepartofofficials

likeStuarttoreduceallritualsto“war‐doctoring”,betrayingadeepsenseofparanoia.6

Itseemsthatthepotencyofmythsaboutwarmutiand“murderousfrenzies”didnotcompletelydissolve

overthecourseofthetwentiethcentury.Dr.NeilMacvicar’sominouswordsfrom1909mayhavehad

considerablepurchaseinthecontextofwhatwasoftentimesperceivedasprecariouswhiterule:“Every

Kafirwarhaditsfalseprophet,whoprofessedtobeabletobewitchtheenemyandtoimpartstrength

totheKafirstoovercometheEuropeans”.7In1915,C.T.Loramheldthatwhenitcameto“blackperil

outrages”,the“chiefpredisposingcausesarethebarbarismandsuperstitionoftheNativepeople”.8A

lettersentbytheChiefMagistrateofTembulandtotheRegionalMagistrateinTsoloinJuly1931,for

instance,includedacopyofanextractfromtheKaffrarianWatchmendated26September1881,which

describedhowrebelleadersintheTranskeirebellionbelieved“doctoring”weaponscouldmaketheir

troopsimpervioustogunfire.9Thefactthatthisarticlewasdeemedpertinentenoughtowarrantbeing

senttotheMagistratefiftyyearsafteritsinitialpublicationindicatescontinuingofficialanxietyabout

the potential disturbances that African “superstitions” could invoke. The notion of “superstitious

uprisings”wasraisedaslateas1957,duringtheHouseofAssemblydebatesthattookplacearoundthe

SuppressionofWitchcraftAct,forinstance,anumberofspeakersvoicedconcernofthepotentialfor

“superstitious beliefs” to lead to uprising. Dr. D.L. Smit of the United Party, for instance, reminded

legislatorsofthe“thefamouswizardMakana”whomadeassurancestohistroopsthat“thewhiteman’s

bullets would be turned aside”.10 The words of Senator R.G.P. Pretorius were nothing less than

apocalyptic:

Thedangerexistsforallofus–notjusttheNativesalone,butalsofortheEuropeans–thatshouldawitch‐

doctorarisewhowieldsgreatinfluenceassomehavewieldedinfluenceinthepast…whocomeswiththe

messagethattheWhitemanmustbedrivenintothesea…theywillsimplykillusoffbecausewepossessa

whiteskinwhichtothemisthemarkofCain.11

6Ibid.7Loram,TheEducationoftheSouthAfricanNative,p.31.;OriginallypublishedinMacvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.668.8Loram,TheEducationoftheSouthAfricanNative,p.58.9Footnote54onRedding,“SorceryandSovereignty,”1996,p.261.10Hansards,HouseofAssemblyDebates,28January1957,Column246.11Hansards,SenateDebates,13February1957,Column725.

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In1917,SNCG.D.Wheelwrightappearstohaveharbouredsimilarfears.12Whenhereportedthathehad

“nopoliticalfearsaboutsnuffalreadyadministered”,heindicatedthepossibilityoffuturetrouble.

“TheTroubleWillSoonFizzleOut”

Over the course of several months, SNCWheelwright grew acutely anxious about the danger that

seemedtoforeshadowAfricanbeliefsinwitchcraft,fearswhichheconveyedfrequentlytoBarrettina

flurryofletters.Butinspiteofhisconcerns,Wheelwrightwasinformedattheoutsetthathewasonhis

ownindealingwiththematter.HisrequestforavisitbytheSNAwasrebuffed:“Regretdonotseehow

occasionforvisitarisesoutofsnuffincidentasoffendercanonlybedealtwithinaccordancewithlaw.

IfhoweverWheelwrightisvisitingPretoriashouldnaturallybepleasedtoseehim”.13

What emerges in subsequent letters is a significant disjuncture between the reactions of central

governmentadministratorsandtheirmanonthe“frontline”.WhileWheelwrightwrotewithincreasing

concern about the scale of the “snuff craze”,which carriedwith it an air of insurrection, Pretoria’s

reactionremainedmuted.Amonthafterhisfirsttelegram,hewroteonceagaintotheSNA:“thisselling

ofsnuffhasbeengoingonforaconsiderabletime…Ithinkitmustbeacceptedthatthesellingofthis

snuffisbeingdoneonaverylargescale.”14Thistime,Wheelwright’sconcernwasconveyedalltheway

tothetopechelonsofgovernment,reachingthedeskofGeneralLouisBotha,thePrimeMinisterofthe

Union.BarrettinformedBotha:“MrWheelwrightfeelsthatNativesconvincedoftheirsecurityagainst

death from all causes (including bullet wounds) might be more likely to give trouble than those

consciousofbeingmerelymortal”.15PerhapstheSNAhadnotcompletelydiscountedthepossibilityof

anuprising.Butinresponse,Bothaexpressedhopethatthe“troublewillsoonfizzleoutbutisgladto

knowthatyou[Wheelwright]areonthewatch”.16

Wheelwrightcouldexpectlittlematerialhelpfromhissuperiors,itseems.Evenwhenhepointedout

that“thesaleofsnuffwasgoingon inotherdistrictsbesides theBarbertonone”,havingapparently

reachedPilgrim’sResttoo,theresponseoftheDepartmentwasdistinctlyunderwhelming.17On8May

1917,SNABarrettsentalettertoColonelDamant,theResidentMagistrateofLydenburg,notifyinghim

12ItisnotclearwhetherWheelwright’sfearsweredrawnfromthishistoryofmyths,orwhetherhehadhadpersonalexperiencewithsuchnotions.Ihavebeenunabletofindanyevidencethatsuggeststhatanysuch“superstitious”uprisingtookplaceintheareaaroundthattime.13SABNTS9465,4321/1079,LetterfromSNAPretoriatoSNCBarberton,23March1917.14SABNTS9465,4321/1079,LetterfromSNCBarbertontoSNAPretoria,entitled“SaleofSnuffbyPortugueseNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,19April1917.15SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNAPretoriatoSNACapeTown,21April1917.16SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNAPretoriatoSNCBarberton,1May1917.17SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNCBarbertontoSNAPretoria,“SaleofSnuffbyPortugueseNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,3May1917.


67

thatWheelwrighthadbeen“feelinguneasy”aboutthe“secretsaletolocalnativesofacertainsnuff”and

instructingDamantandhisofficialstobe“quietlyonthewatch”.18

TheguidingphilosophyoftheNADhadlongbeenonewhichemphasisedthevirtuesofthe“personal

touch”asopposedtooverlycentralisedbureaucraticmanagement. Indispensingcolonialrule inthe

SouthAfricancountryside,Evansargues,“itwasstronglyfeltthatprescriptiveproceduresinterfered

withtheimportanceplacedondiscretion,experience,and‘usingone’swits’.”19Itwasuptothe“manon

thespot”tosolveproblemsasquickly,quietlyandcheaplyaspossible.20Assuch,colonialrulewasfar

moreadhocandopportunisticthanBritishimperialideologywouldadmit.

JeffPeiresarguestheruleofnativecommissionerswas“agiganticconfidencetrick…euphemisedby

the rhetoric of benevolent paternalism.”21 In reality, Dubow notes, the NAD was “weak and poor,

managing to attract only a tiny fraction of the state’s total expenditure” ‐ the “Cinderella of the

ministerialfamily”.22IvanEvanssimilarlyarguesthattheNADwas“barelycapableofaddressingthe

tasksfacingit”andthat,throughoutthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury,itcontinuedto“languishin

obscurity”.23NativeCommissionerMajorErnestStubbsdescribedtheNADasadepartment“without

honour”, lacking “both adequate organisation and, even, a real head”.24 Magistrate C.L.R. Harries

describedthevariousSecretariesforNativeAffairs:thefirst,EdwardDower,was“capableandcharming

man, but unfortunately his insatiable thirst detracted considerably from his virtues as an efficient

officer”;thenext,J.B.Moffatt,diedontheverydayheacceptedthepost;M.C.Vos,quitafterjust6months.

AndofEdwardBarrett,Harrieswrotethat“amoreunfortunateelectioncouldnothavebeenmade”.25

BarrettcertainlyseemstohaveprovidedlittlerealhelptoWheelwrightinhistimeofapparentdistress.

Receivingnomorethanmoralsupportfromhissuperiorsinthedistantcapital,Wheelwrightwasleftto

decidehowtohandlewhatheclearlyperceivedasanescalatingcrisis.

Wheelwright’sTroubledCrusade

Subsequentcorrespondencedescribeswhatseemstohavebeenakindofcat‐and‐mousegameinwhich

Wheelwright,callinginthehelpoflocalpolicemen,attemptstoapprehendthesnuffsellersandcharge

18SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNAPretoriatoResidentMagistrate,Lydenburg,8May1917.19Evans,BureaucracyandRace,p.164.20Ibid.,p.10.21JeffPeires,“NostalgiaandtheNativeCommissioners:AHundredYearsintheOldTranskei,”Kronos35,no.1(November2009):242–47.22Dubow,RacialSegregationandtheOriginsofApartheidinSouthAfrica,1919‐36,p.77.23Evans,BureaucracyandRace,p.13–14.24Dubow,RacialSegregationandtheOriginsofApartheidinSouthAfrica,1919‐36,p.77.25C.L.R.Harriesquotedinibid.,p.79.

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them under s.34 of the TransvaalWitchcraft Ordinance. Over the course of six months, five snuff

peddlersaroundtheBarbertonareawereapprehended,chargedandconvicted:KololoaliasMealies

wasimprisonedon14thMarch1917;Pahlana,MbikoandTumbileon24thApril;andHlatwinion31st

August.Eachwaschargedforhaving“wrongfullyandunlawfullyadministeredcertainsnuff,pretending

toexercisesupernaturalpowerinthatsuchsnuffwouldmakethemimmunefromallformsofdeath

except by natural causes”. Each received a sentence of sixmonths imprisonmentwith hard labour.

Wheelwright’s letters indicate that itwas hewhoordered the arrests, presided over the trials, and

passedsentenceontheguilty.A“one‐manband”ofcolonialjustice,Wheelwrightwasthedrivingforce

at every level of attempts to police the supposed “snuff craze” – a lone crusader against the

“superstitiousbeliefs”of“thenatives”.

YetitseemsthatWheelwright’sstrugglewasbesetbychronicuncertaintyandoccasionalboutsofpanic.

Inmanyofhisletters,thetrepidationofthesolitarycommissionerinthisremotedistrictispalpable.In

onesenttotheSNAinMay1917,WheelwrightenclosedthestatementofKololo,thefirsttobearrested.

Init,heindicatedthatanumberofotherpeoplefromthePortugueseTerritoryhadreceivedsnufffrom

their“witchdoctorChief”,M’dumapanzi,whohadorderedthemtodistributeitintheTransvaal.The

problem, it seemed, was bigger than he had first thought. In the letter he submitted to Barrett,

WheelwrightunderlinedinredinkportionsofKololo’sstatementforhis“deepconsideration”:“[Chief]

Makagesarequiredsomesnufftogivetohisnativessothattheycouldnotbekilledinanyway”;“…they

mustalltakealittleofthesnuffsothatnoonewouldbeabletokillthem”;“Mdumapanzisentalotof

nativesintotheTransvaalwithsnuff”;“Iknowthesnuffmakesnativessothatnoonecankillthem.I

sawSugaSuga,wholivesatmykraal,trytopoisonanativewhohadtakenthesnuff,butitonlymade

himcry;“M’dumapanzisaidwhenIgetbackhewillsendmoresnuff…”;“Ihavetakensnuff.Theycould

not kill me at my home”.26 Wheelwright clearly apprehended these statements with significant

trepidation,yetthereisnorecordofthisletterhavingreceivedareplyfromtheSNA.

Wheelwrightappearstohaveregardedthechiefsascrucialplayersinthe“snuffcraze”,andinhisletters

totheNADheindicatedthathehadmetwith“hischiefs”onanumberofoccasionstotryandgettothe

bottomofthematter.ChiefMakakezaissaidtohaveinformedWheelwrightthatmanychiefsfurtherup

ontheborder“hadalltheirnativestreated”:ChiefMbudulaallegedlyorderedtheadministeringofsnuff

toallofhisfollowers,asdidChiefMatamuofSchoemansdal.27Wheelwright’slocaladministrationtried

to intervene in theseepisodes,but inboth thesellersapparentlyevadedarrest.Even though“every

effortwasmadetocatchtheseller”,Mbudulahelpedthesellerevadearrestbyhavinghim“secretly

26 SABNTS9465, 4321/F.1079, Letter from SNCBarberton to the SNAPretoria, “Sale of Snuff by PortugueseNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,3May1917.27SABNTS9465,4321/1079,LetterfromSNCBarbertontotheSNAPretoria,entitled“SaleofSnuffbyPortugueseNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,19April1917.


69

conveyed” back to the Portuguese territory;Wheelwright had ordered police to wait around Chief

Matamu’s kraal for the seller to arrive, but he “was evidently warned and they, the natives, were

successfulineffectinghisescape”.28Wheelwrightnonethelessinsistedthat“Itismyintentiontohave

themarrestedonthefirstpossibleopportunity”.29

Amonth later,Wheelwrightonce againwrote to inform the SNA that a “moreor less educated and

advanced native” namedMahashi had informed him that followers of Chief Tulamahashiwere also

sellingsnuff,thistimewiththeaddedpromiseofcatchingthievesifitwassprinkledonfields.“Itold

Mahashithatanativewithhiseducationshouldknowbetter”.30ThistimeWheelwrightwasapparently

more successful: police were dispatched to Tulamahashi’s kraal and arrested “three natives”.

Wheelwrightonceagainwarned“mostofmychiefstorefrainfromhavinganythingtodowiththissnuff

business”.31Yetitseemsthatsomechiefsremainedobstructive.IndescribingtheAugust1917arrestof

Hlatwini,whohebelievedwasthe“lastofthesnuffsellers”,Wheelwrightindicatedthathehad“had

considerabletroubleingettingholdofthismanowingtohisoperationsbeingcarriedonatnighttime

andheappearstohavehadtheassistanceofmanyHeadmenwhododgedthepolice”.32AfterHlatwini

wasconvicted,Wheelwrightapparently“severelyreprimanded”thethreeheadmenwhohebelieved

hadassistedthepeddler.WhileWheelwrightapparentlyneverwastedanopportunitytodispensehis

own “enlightened”opinion,he appears tohavebeen theone in thedarkon this issue, struggling to

formulateaneffectiveresponse,obstructedbythosewhoweremeanttoanswertohisdemands.

At no point does Wheelwright offer us insights into why he believed the chiefs were proving so

uncooperativeonthisissue.33Inonemeeting,ChiefMakekezahadapparentlyinsistedthatifhedidnot

administer the snuff, “all his tribewould die”.Wheelwright did not, however, ask the chiefwhy he

28SABNTS9465,4321/1079,LetterfromSNCBarbertontotheSNAPretoria,entitled“SaleofSnuffbyPortugueseNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,19April1917.29SABNTS9465,4321/1079,LetterfromSNCBarbertontotheSNAPretoria,entitled“SaleofSnuffbyPortugueseNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,19April1917.30SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNC,BarbertontotheSNA,Pretoria,“SaleofSnuffbyTransvaalNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,7May1917.31SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNCBarbertontotheSNAPretoria,“SaleofSnuffbyTransvaalNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,7May1917.32SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNCBarbertontoSNAPretoria,5September1917.33Wheelwrightencounteredagreatdealofintransigenceonthepartof“hischiefs”.Ifindeedthesnuffwasaningredientinawitch‐cleansingmovement,thechiefs’orderstoadministerittotheirpeoplemayhavestemmedfromtheirdesiretoreclaimanimportantsourceofpower–akeysourceofchieflylegitimacystemmedfromtheirabilitytoprovidesupernaturalsecurity.AnumberofsourcesindicatethatchiefsinnorthernNatalexpressedfrustrationatnotbeingabletopunishwitches.A1909articleintheRandDailyMailnotedthatchiefsfromtheUbombodistrictcomplainedtomagistratesthe“greathardshipthattheywerenotallowedtohavewitchdoctors…becausewhenanoffencewascommittedtheyhadnobodyto‘smellout’theoffenders,whomtheycouldpunish,andsomaintainpublicorder”–orderwhichthegovernmentapparentlyexpectedthemtomaintain“Natives’Grievances:UsesofWitchDoctors,”RandDailyMail,February19,1908.

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believedthis.Instead,he“toldhimatthetimethathewasveryfoolish”.34Wheelwrightapproachedthe

problemwithwhathemusthaveconsideredsensible“European”rationality.Heevensenta“specimen

ofkaffirsnuff”foranalysisbythepolicelaboratoriesinJohannesburg(“whenfedinsmallquantitytoa

rat thematerial produced no toxic symptoms”).35 YetWheelwrightwas also caught up in his own

superstitiousmyth,andheattributedfarmorepowertothesnuffthanitactuallyhad.Poringovercourt

testimonieswitha redpen, searching forhintsofdanger,Wheelwright saw thesnuff,not simplyas

tobacco,asthelabtestsconfirmed,butasapotentingredientthatcouldinciterebellion.36

Wider research suggests that the snuffwasmore likely a toolused in “witch cleansing”. In1916, the

explorerKeithRenniereportedtheuseofsnuffinbothMozambiqueandthelowerLimpoporegioninthe

activitiesoftheso‐called“Murimimovement”,a“widespreadanti‐witchcraftrevitalizationmovement”.

AccordingtoRennie,thesnuffwasbelievedtobeameanstoridcommunitiesofwitches:“Thosewho

practisedwitchcraftaftertakingitwouldsplitopenanddie”.37ThesefindingswerereiteratedbyHenri

Junodin1924.38

This link is furthersuggested inofficialcorrespondence fromnorthernNatal that followedasimilar

“snuffcraze”intheUbomboDistrictofnorthernNatalin1918,notfarfromBarberton.Officialsreported

that snuff was being administered by peddlers originating from Portuguese East Africa. Like

Wheelwrightbefore,MagistrateOxley‐Oxlandbelievedthatthesnuffmightbeconnectedwithrebellion.

Hehadreceivedareportaboutawhitestoreowner,MrJ.Nunn,reportedhearingworryinginformation

aboutsnuffinthearea:“thenativestatedthatthebullet,insteadofkillingthepersonitwasintended

for,would…killthepersondischargingthefirearm”.39AttherequestoftheChiefNativeCommissioner

(CNC)ofPietermaritzburg,MagistrateOswaldFynneyconductedhisowninvestigation.Hewrotethat

thesnuffwasbeingtoutedasameanstoexposewitches,andthatthechiefshad:

34SABNTS9465,LetterfromSNCBarbertontotheSNAPretoria,entitled“SaleofSnuffbyPortugueseNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”,19April191735 SAB NTS 9465, 4321/F.1079, SNC Barberton forwarded Report from Government Chemical Laboratories,Johannesburg,tothePublicProsecutor,Barberton,1June191736Yettherealitiesconfrontingremainedmorethanhistoolsofunderstandingcouldfathom.Aninexplicableoccurrenceinoneofthecourtproceedingsonlyaddedtotheutterlybafflingcircumstances:“ThenativeJuwawa,whogaveevidenceagainsttheaccused,towardstheendofhisevidencewasovercomeandcouldbarelyspeakanddidnotknowwhatwasthematterwithhim.Thisnativebecameworseandwasadmittedtothehospitalyesterdayanddiedduringthenight.”Wheelwrightdoesnotadmittobeingspooked,butitsurelysentshiversdownhisspine.WheelwrightinstructedtheDistrictSurgeontocarryoutapost‐mortemonJuwawa’sbodyinsearchofarationalexplanationforhisuntimelypassing.SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,Forwardedcaseof“Rexv.Pahlana,Mbiko&Tom”fromSNCBarbertontoSNAPretoria,10May1917.37QuotedinTerenceRanger,“ReligiousStudiesandPoliticalEconomy,”inTheoreticalExplorationsinAfricanReligion(London;Boston:KPI,1985),p.309.38QuotedinIbid.,p.310.39SABNTS9465,4321/1079,LetterfromRiflemanD.Thackeray,S.A.M.R.toMagistrateOxley‐Oxland,UbomboDistrict,Natal,2August1918.


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arrangedatconsiderablecost,thateachmemberofhisTribemayhavetheprivilegeofakindoftrialby

ordeal…[snuff]willbeadministeredtoallthosewhodesiretoestablishtheirinnocence.Thissnuffwillhave

noeffectwhateverontheinnocent,butaguiltypersonhavingtakenitinordertothrowoffsuspicion,will

dieatthetimeofthecorn’sripening.Shouldaninnocentpersonneglectthisopportunity,however,he,his

family,hisestatewillbecomethevictimsofwildanimalsspeciallyinspiredtoharassanddestroy.Itwillbe

seen,therefore,thattheChiefscoresallround.Thosehavinganyguiltyknowledgewillalmostinevitably

declarethemselvesinsomewayandbehoundedout…whiletheinnocentwillhavecontributedtheir3/‐to

theChief’smoneybag.”40

FynneyassuredtheCNCthatalltalkofrebellionwasthe“absurd”inventionof“rumourmongers”.41

Withalargenumberofmalarialdeathsblamedonwitchcraft,Fynneyconcludedthatthesnuffwasjust

ashrewdployonthepartofthechiefstotakeadvantageofthesebeliefsfortheirowngain.Fynney’s

maybeacynicalreadingofthesituation,ofcourse–chiefsmayhavegenuinelybelievedthatthesnuff

couldstampoutthewitchcraftafflictingtheircommunities.

ThedevelopmentsthatWheelwrightwitnessedwithgreattrepidationdoseemtofitwithtimingand

descriptionsgivenofthewitch‐cleansingmovementsoftheregion.Anumberofwitnessesinthetrials

Wheelwrightconductedevenpointedoutthislinkspecifically.AtthetrialofKololo,forinstance,Magugu

testified: “I had heard that the accused administered snuff to prevent witches from bewitching a

person”.42 ThefearsMakekezaexpressedtoWheelwrightofwidespreaddeathsmaywellhavebeen

linkedtotheprevalenceofmalaria–apersistentprobleminthearea.Wheelwrighthimselfindicates

this:“IaminformedthatsomeofthenativesunderchiefMbudulawhotookthissnuffhavesincedied

fromnaturalcausesandMalarialFever.Thisshouldtosomeextentbreakanybelief theyhad inthe

snuff”.43Yetheapparentlyfailedtodrawthelinkbetweenwitchcraftanddisease,remainingfixatedon

theallegedpromisesofinvulnerability.

Wheelwright’sfinalcorrespondenceendswithsomethingofatriumphaltone,expressingcertaintythat

anybelieftheheadmenmayhavehadinthesnuffhadbeen“brokenupasallofthemweresuffering

veryseverelyfrommalarialfeverandothercomplaints,inspiteofhavinggonethroughtheceremony

oftakingthesnuff”.44Oneheadmanadmittedthathenolongerbelieved“inthehealingpowerofthe

40SABNTS9465,4321/1079,LetterfromMagistrateOswaldFynneytoChiefNativeCommissioner,Natal,entitled“TakingSnuffAsMedicinebytheNatives”,4September1918.41SABNTS9465,4321/1079,LetterfromMagistrateOswaldFynneytoChiefNativeCommissioner,Natal,entitled“TakingSnuffAsMedicinebytheNatives”,4September1918.42 SAB NTS 9465, 4321/F.1079, SNC Barberton Forwarded Court records ofRex v.Kololo to SNA Pretoria, 5September1917.43SABNTS9465,4321/1079,Letter19April1917fromSNC,BarbertontotheSNA,Pretoria,entitled“SaleofSnuffbyPortugueseNativestoNativesintheBarbertonDistrict”.44SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNC,BarbertontoSNA,Pretoria,5September1917.

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snuffasIhavebeenilleversinceItookit”.45ThefinalresponseoftheSNA,whohadthroughoutthe

predicament provided not a single truly useful piece of advice: “My dearWheelwright… I have to

congratulateyouonthesuccessofyoureffortstostampoutthenuisance”.46

Fromreadingtheseletters,oneisstrucklessbyasenseof“success”thanoftheimpotenceofthecolonial

administrationintryingtopolicemattersofthesupernatural.Farfrom“knowingthepeople,speaking

thelanguage,[andbeing]acquaintedwiththeirneedsandshortcomings”,giftswhichBarrettattributed

toallNADofficials,Wheelwrightemergesasaconfusedmaninaworldofsmokeandmirrors,blind‐sided

byhis“subordinates”,leftadriftbyhissuperiors,enraptinhisownfearfulsuperstitions.47Incidentally,in

thewakeoftheUbombosnuffincidentayearlater,WheelwrightwascontactedforadvicebytheChief

NativeCommissionerofNatal.Afarcryfromhisearlierfearfuldespatches,Wheelwrightinformedthe

Ubombomagistratethatsuchbeliefswere“notanunusualabsurdity”amongAfricansandthattherewas

therefore“nonecessitytoworryaboutitatpresent”.48PerhapsWheelwrighthadcometounderstand

moreofthedynamicsofAfricanbeliefsinthesupernatural;perhapshealsorealisedthatofficialsactually

hadverylittlepowertodoanythingaboutit.

CuriousHappeningsandtheLimitsofColonialRule

The task facing native commissioners and magistrates in trying to police African beliefs in the

supernaturalseemstohavebeenincrediblydifficult.Withlittleactualpowertointrusivelyintervenein

witchcraftcases, itseemsthatmost, likeWheelwright,hadtoreflecttheethosoftheNAD:toexercise

discretion and “use one’s wits”.49 Archival documents seem to suggest that local officials lacked the

capacitytoeradicatewitchcraftbeliefs,andwereforcedtoadoptthekindof“watchfultolerance”that

KarenFieldsspeaksofinheranalysisoftheuseofwitchcraftlawincolonialcentralandeastAfrica.In

Fields’estimation,Britishofficers“backpedalled”fromtheirinitiallyvigorouscivilisingideologybecause

theylackedboththepopularlegitimacyandthemanpowerandresourcestorulebyforcealone.50Forceful

interventioncouldexposetheweaknessofthecolonialadministration,revealingthe“confidencetrick”of

colonialrule.“Watchfultolerance”presenteditselfasapoliticallyexpedientwayfor“colonialismonthe

cheap”toapproachtheproblemofwitchcraft:officialskept“asharpeyeondevelopments”,yetabstained

45 SAB NTS 9465, 4321/F.1079, SNC Barberton Forwarded Court records ofRex v.Kololo to SNA Pretoria, 5September1917.46SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNA,PretoriatotheSNCBarberton,19September191747Evans,BureaucracyandRace,p.167.48SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromMagistrateofNongomatoChiefNativeCommissioner,Natal,24September191849Evans,BureaucracyandRace,p.164.50Fields,“PoliticalContingenciesofWitchcraftinColonialCentralAfrica:CultureandtheStateinMarxistTheory,”p.569.


73

fromintrusivepolicing.51ItseemsthatthestanceoftheSouthAfricangovernmenttowitchcraftmatters

may have had something in commonwith this expedient strategy.Had high‐level state officials been

wholeheartedlycommittedtotheirstatedcivilizingmission–andindeedhadtheresourcestoprosecute

it–theirresponsemighthavebeentoadvocatefargreaterintervention.Instead,evenwheninsurrection

wassuspectedinBarberton,forinstance,SNCWheelwrightwassimplyinstructedbythePrimeMinister

to“be,asheappearstobe,onthewatch”.52

TheactionsavailabletomagistratesandNativeCommissionerswere,itseems,embarrassinglylimited.

The limitsofcolonialaction inmattersof thesupernaturalwerenoted inthecorrespondenceofD.W.

Hook, the SNC of Graskop who, in 1922, was sent by the SNA to calm what was described as a

“superstitious scareamongstnative labourers” atRosehaughEstate, a farm justnorthofpresent‐day

Polokwane.Itseemsthatafamilyoffarmworkershadbecomealarmedaftersometwentymemberof

theirfamilyhaddiedinashortspaceoftime,whichelicited“afirmconvictionthatsomeevilagencyisat

work”.53Hookhopedthathisvisitwouldhavea“pacifyingeffect”,butinhislettertotheSNA,henoted

thattherewaslittleelsehecoulddointhefaceof“magicandthingspertainingtothesupernatural”other

than insist thatbelief inwitchcraftwasa“sillyconviction”andencouragethe labourerstogobackto

work:“ImaysaythatitisextraordinaryinthispartofthecountrytofindtheNativepopulationsodeeply

imbuedwithsuperstition…Itisperhapsasimplemattertodealwithatangiblecauseforrestlessnessand

Ifeelyouwillreadilyunderstandthatverylittleinthewayofefficaciousredresscanbegiventoyour

complaintbeyondtheactionIhavealreadystated”.54

HooknotedthattheRosehaughlabourerswere“seriouslysuggesting”thattheyshouldbeallowedtovisit

“nativedoctors”inthePortugueseTerritory,butissaidtohavetoldthemthat“suchacoursecouldnot

possiblybeconsentedtoasacquiescencetosuchprocedurewouldbetantamounttorecognitionbythe

DepartmenttofanevilwhichtheGovernmentfirmlyresolvedtoendeavourtostampout”.55Itshouldbe

rememberedthatthePortugueseTerritorywasover100kilometresaway,andonewhytheyfelttheneed

totravelsuchagreatdistancetofindadiviner.Anumberofotherdocumentsindicatethat“witchdoctors”

inthePortugueseTerritoryremainedaproblemforlocalofficials.In1926theSNCofSibasabelievedthat

asaresultoftheactivitiesofadoctorinthePortugueseTerritory,a“gravecrimemightbecommitted

51Fields,“PoliticalContingenciesofWitchcraftinColonialCentralAfrica,”p.568;p.588.52SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromSNAPretoriatoSNACapeTown,21April1917.53SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromD.W.Hook,Sub‐NativeCommissioner,Graskop,toSecretaryforNativeAffairs,Pretoria,ForwardedcopyoflettertoSirWalterHamilton‐Fowle,30August1922.54SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromD.W.Hook,Sub‐NativeCommissioner,Graskop,toSecretaryforNativeAffairs,Pretoria,ForwardedcopyoflettertoSirWalterHamilton‐Fowle,30August1922.55SABNTS9465,4321/F.1079,LetterfromD.W.Hook,Sub‐NativeCommissioner,Graskop,toSecretaryforNativeAffairs,Pretoria,ForwardedcopyoflettertoSirWalterHamilton‐Fowle,30August1922.

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when Native superstition and belief are taken into consideration”.56 In 1941, the Assistant Native

CommissionerofBarbertoncomplainedthatlocalsweretravellingtothePortugueseTerritorytoconsult

“witchdoctors”,and“onthepartiesreturn,theevilsofWitchcraftarebroughttobearonthepeoplewithin

theUnion”.57 Yet in both cases, it seems that the “troublemakers” remained out of reach of colonial

authorities.

ItispossiblethatmanychosetovisitthePortugueseTerritoriesforfearofthelegalrepercussionsfacing

themintheTransvaal–theapplicationoftheWitchcraftOrdinance.Justhowpotentthethreatoflegal

interventionwas is impossibleto judgefromthesourcesI interrogated.Buttheroleof thepolice in

thesesituationsdoesbegfurtherconsiderationhere.Verylittleisrevealedabouttheroleofpolicemen

inthearchivalcaserecordsandcorrespondenceIhavefound,yetitwasundoubtedlyintegraltohow–

orif–witchcraftbeliefscametobemanagedinthesesituations:policemen.Inanumberofcourtcases,

wegetthesensethatpolicewerenotentirelypassiveinwitchcraftmatters.InthecaseofSugumbuli

Nkosi,MblauwNgwenyatestifiedthatwhileapplyingforpassestotraveltoadiviner’skraal,thepolice

had asked what the purpose of their visit was which they had revealed.58 Ngwenya recalled the

policeman’swordsas:“Iseeyouaregoingtolookforadoctor;ifthatissoyouwillgetintotrouble”.59

Thepartywereallowedtogoontheirway,and it is impossible tosay ifanythingresulted fromthe

exchange.

WheelwrightisnotedtohavemadeuseofAfricanpolicemen.Manyofthepolicewhotestifiedbefore

the Supreme Court to having arrested diviners were identified as “native constables”.60 In recent

scholarship,anumberofauthorshavepointedtothehesitancyofblackpolicetogetinvolvedinmatters

ofwitchcraftforfearoftheretributionofdiviners.61Onegetslittlesenseofwhattheattitudeofthese

56SABNTS9465,3/394,LetterfromV.Addison,NativeCommissioner,Potgietersrust,toJohnS.Allison,SecretaryforNativeAffairs,Pretoria,“ActivitiesofSikwamukefromPortugueseTerritories”,ForwardingtestimonyofGebuzaaboutSikwamuke,8March1926.57SABNTS9465,3/394,LetterfromAssistantNativeCommissioner,Barberton,toSecretaryforNativeAffairs,Pretoria,“NativeWitchDoctorsinPortugueseTerritory”,9May1941.58R.v.SugumbuliNkosi1923TPD594.59Ibid.,At612.60Inanumberofsmellingoutcases,testifyingpolicemenindicatethattheyhadapprehendedtheaccused.InthecaseofR.v.Hwandhla(1912TPD371at378),“NativeConstable”Kataindicatedthathehadreceivedinstructionsto“arrestaccusedforpractisingwitchcraft…Ihaveknownaccusedforthelastthreemonthsasbeingadoctor.N.C.MdungazitestifiedthathehadarrestedthedivinerMpaupau“asaresultofinvestigationscarriedoutbymyself.IchargedhimwithpractisingwitchcraftandpointingoutcertainnativesTatiesaandChow‐Chowaswizards…andlodgedhiminthelocallock‐up”.(R.v.Mpaupau1914TPD389at408).InR.v.MdandasJack(1915TPD660at681),N.C.Willemtestifiedtohavinggonetotheaccused“hutandfetchedhimtothepolicestation.Arrestedhimthereforpractisingwitchcraft.Ihaveknownhimabout5yearsandhedoesnotdoanyworkandIhaveheardthatheisawitchdoctor”.61See,forinstance:KPeltzerandPMakgoshing,“AttitudesandBeliefsofPoliceOfficerstowardsWitchcraft(boloi)andTheirInterventionRoleintheNorthernProvince,SouthAfrica,”CrimActaCriminologica14,no.2(2001):100–107;T.Petrus,“DefiningWitchcraft‐RelatedCrimeintheEasternCapeProvinceofSouthAfrica,”InternationalJournalofSociologyandAnthropology3,no.1(2011):1–8.


75

policemen from the early twentieth century was in the criminal cases, but their presence does

demonstrateanadditional layertothepolicingofwitchcraftwhichisobscuredbycaricatureswhich

positthelawasbeingsimplythe“Eurocentric”impositionofscepticalwhitemen.Theymaysimplyhave

been following orders – on the other hand, theymay have regarded “smelling out” as a genuinely

dangerousactivitythattheyneededtostop.

Policepresenceinwitchcraftmatterswasnotentirelyinsignificantintheearlytwentiethcentury,and

that itmay have operated as something of a deterrent to “smelling out”. Yet this certainly requires

furtherresearch.Ontheotherhand,mostoftheseproceduresmightsimplyremainedunreportedand

undetected.Anumberofaccountsthroughouttheearlytwentiethcenturypointtotheunwillingnessof

Africanstoreportmattersofwitchcrafttothepolice.In1909,NeilMacvicarnotedthatintheTranskei,

diviners pointed outwitches “in such away thatwhile the people concerned cannotmistake their

meaningyettheycannotbeincriminatedshouldthematterbebroughttothecourt”.62Theideathat

Africanswere fearful of “witch doctors” and therefore hesitant to approach policewas also echoed

throughoutthedecades.In1909,theRandDailyMailreportedthat“nonative,notevenaneducated

one,woulddaretobetrayabonethrower,ortogiveevidenceincourtagainstone, forfearofbeing

bewitchedorpoisoned”.63In1938,inresponsetoIsraelMbono’swarningsabouttheactivitiesof“witch

doctors”,theChiefNativeCommissionerofJohannesburgnotedthattheiractivitieswereprohibitedby

law,butthat“Thedifficulty,however,isthatitiswellnighimpossibletoprocureevidenceagainstwitch

doctors.Ifanyspecificcasesofthepracticeofwitchcraftshouldcometoyournoticeyouwouldbedoing

apublicserviceinreportingthemtotheSouthAfricanPolice”.64In1948,aletterwassenttotheSNA

fromJusticeLewisoftheTranskeiancircuitcourt:

It isoncepossibly inahundredcases thatawitchdoctor isbrought to justice. Ispeak frommyownexperience, but the experience of my colleagues on the bench is the same, the experience of allmagistrates in the Transkei is the same, and the experience of all officials of the Native AffairsDepartmentintheseterritoriesisthesame…itisonlyintherarestofcasesthatoneofthemisbroughttojustice,becauseoneknowshowreluctantnativesaretogiveevidenceagainstwitchdoctors”.65

If Lewis is correct in asserting that the same situation obtained across all “native areas”, Transvaal

colonialofficialsmayhavefoundeffectivelypolicingwitchcraftbeliefssignificantlyobstructedbythe

unwillingnessofthoseoverwhomthey“ruled”toreportsituationstothepolice.

62Macvicar,“NativeSuperstitionandNativeEducation,”p.665.63“NativeWitchcraft,”RandDailyMail,May18,1909,p.3.64SABNTS9465,19/362,LetterfromIsraelMbonoB.A.C,toChiefNativeCommissioner,Johannesburg,11August1938.65SABNTS9465,19/362,“WitchcraftGeneralFile:TranskeianTerritoriesWitchcraft”,LetterfromSecretaryofNativeAffairstotheSecretaryofJustice,forwardingremarksofHon.Mr.JusticeLewis,1948.

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Conclusion

Thischapterhassoughttorevealsomethingofthecomplexlandscapeofbeliefsinwhichlocalcolonial

officialswerethrownintheearlytwentiethcentury,sometimesencounteringmystifyingchallengesfor

whichtherewerenotalwaysreadyanswers.Archivaldocumentsshowthatitwaslargelyuptonative

commissioners and magistrates – the “men on the spot” – to formulate strategies to manage the

questions posed by beliefs in witchcraft. This was frequently in a context in which chiefs proved

intransigentandtheirsubjectsunwillingtocooperatewiththecolonialgovernmentinmattersofthe

supernatural.TheTransvaalWitchcraftOrdinanceNo.26of1904didonoccasioncometobeseenasa

tooltoapprehendtroublesomediviners.Inthecaseofthe1917“snuffcraze”,thelawwascalledinto

extinguishfearsofapotentialuprisingagainstcolonialrule.Here,then,wefindsomeconfirmationof

Ashforth’ssuggestionabouttheuseofwitchcraftlawforapprehending“dangeroushealers”.Yetitis

alsoclearthatthelawcouldnotprovideapermanentsolutiontoperceived“superstitious”threats,nor

wasthemostappropriateresponseinothermattersinvolvingwitchcraftbeliefs.Throughouttheearly

decadesofthetwentiethcentury,witchcraftbeliefscontinuedtoposeconundrumstocolonialofficials.

It shouldbeemphasised that theunderstandingsof localmagistratesandNativeCommissionerson

mattersofwitchcraftwerebynomeansuniform.TheresponseofC.N.C.Fynneytothesnuffincidentsin

Ubomboin1918weremarkedlydifferentfromthoseofSNCWheelwrightinBarbertontheprevious

year.WhereWheelwrightsawpotentialrebellion,Fynneysawmerelyascambyopportunisticchiefs.In

most of the correspondence, the NAD officials who feature do seem to share the assumption that

witchcraftbeliefswereridiculousandirrational.Buttheremaywellhavebeensomewhohadamore

sensitiveapproach.PietRetiefRegionalMagistratePeachey,whowasquotedinthepreviouschapteras

having expressed concern over the wisdom of prosecuting healers under the Medicine Ordinance,

demonstratedthatnotalllocallevelofficialsevincedthesameunderstandingswithrespecttonotions

ofhealingandwitchcraft.Oneseriesoflettersshowsacomparativelygreatdegreeofempathyonthe

partof anNADofficial inBushbuckridge in1937.TheAdditionalNativeCommissioner (ANC) there

raisedconcernstotheSNAaboutthefamilyofamanwhohadbeenconvictedof“practisingwitchcraft”.

TheANCbelievedthatsincetheconvictwastheonlymaleandsolebreadwinner,hisextensivefamily

maysuffer“destitution”whilehewasservingfiveyearsinprison–themaximumtermprescribedunder

s.29.66 (TheSNAreplied“themattershouldbedeferreduntilsuchtimeasyouaresatisfiedthat the

66SABNTS7650,152/331,LetterfromAdditionalNativeCommissioner,Bushbuckridge,toSNAPretoria,Re:FearsofDestitutionoftheFamilyofaSmeltOutDiviner,14May1937.


77

dependents are destitute”).67 The particularities of the characters and contexts involved should be

remembered when making assessments about the engagements of the local state with matters of

witchcraft.

67SABNTS7650,152/331,LetterfromSNAPretoriatoAdditionalNativeCommissioner,Bushbuckridge,Re:FearsofDestitutionoftheFamilyofaSmeltOutDiviner,20May1937.

gagementswithmattersofwitchcraft.

Conclusion:

LordHaileyinsistedthat“thesubjectofwitchcraftistheoutstandingproblemofthelawgiverinAfrica”.1

Wherestatecraftandwitchcraftbeliefsintersect,perplexingencountersoftenresult.Thisstudysetout

to examine how colonial witchcraft legislation was implemented in the early twentieth century,

revealinghowmattersofperceived“superstition”weredealtwithmoregenerallybystateofficialsof

varyingauthorityintheTransvaal–ornot,aswasoccasionallythecase.

Investigatingsomeprominentscholarlyworksandofficialutterancesfromtheearlytwentiethcentury

revealedbroadmisconceptionsabout thenotionsof “witchcraft”and the “witchdoctor” in theearly

twentieth century. These obscuring terms, laden with notions of civilisational backwardness and

irrationality,seemtohavepredominatedinstatediscoursethroughouttheperiod,despitetherising

challenge posed by anthropologists. Many prominent intellectuals and officials continued to view

witchcraft as a primordial belief that needed to be stamped out, and “witch doctors” as nefarious

personages whose apparently pernicious influence needed to be undermined. Many advanced

ostensibly humanitarian reasons for why beliefs in witchcraft needed to be extinguished. Others

pointed to the dangers that witchcraft beliefs could potentially pose for colonial order. These two

concernsseemtohavebothshapedthewaythatwitchcraftwaspolicedonthegroundbycolonialjudges

and grassroots officials., although it is unclear which was the more determinant in prompting

administrativeandjudicialaction.

1LordHaileyquotedinChanock,MakingofSALegalCulture,p.321.

Conclusion

79

ArchivalcaserecordsdemonstratethattheTransvaalWitchcraftOrdinancewasnotmerely“symbolic”,

asNiehaussuggests,butcametobeappliedtoadiversesetofcharacters–withvaryinglevelsoffaith

intheirownproclaimedpowers.Whileinamajorityofcases,theaccusedwasidentifiedasa“witch

doctor”, thiswasnotalwaysthecase.The lawimprisonedawidevarietyofcharactersengaged ina

diversityofactivitieswhichsometimesevincedonlyatentativelinktonotionsofthesupernatural.It

seemsthat,attimes,theWitchcraftOrdinanceoperatedasameanstoapprehendthosewhodidnotfit

neatlyintoexistingcriminalcategories,asWallersuggestsofcolonialKenya.2Nevertheless,thesecases

alsodemonstratethatthelawdidoperatewithadistinctbiasagainstdiviners,asChanocksuggests,who

formedthevastmajorityofthosebroughtbeforetheSupremeCourtas“theaccused”.Manyofthem

apparentlydidnotrecognisethatwhattheyhaddonewasacrime.Mostpleadedguiltytothecharges

whilejudgesoftenindiscriminatelycondemnedtheiractivitiesasduperyandchicanery.

Noneof thosesentencedunder theWitchcraftOrdinance in thesecasesseemtohaveposedexplicit

danger to colonial order, however. Neither witnesses nor judges of the Supreme Court made any

mentionofpotentialagitation.Inpassingsentence,judgesinsteadjustifiedtheapplicationofthelawon

supposed humanitarian grounds, expressing concern over the allegedly damaging effects that the

“smellingout”ofwitchesandthe“pretenceofwitchcraft”couldostensiblyevoke.Theyfrequentlyspoke

inthelanguageofbenevolentpaternalism,employingthehigh‐mindedrhetoricofthecivilisingmission

whichinsistedthatwitchcraftbeliefsneededtobestampedout.

Questionsofdeterrenceandupholdingtheimageofcolonialpowerwerenotentirelyabsentfromthe

application of the law, though. This was demonstrated by investigating seams of correspondence

betweenNADofficials,whichindicatedthatthelawwasnotalwaysfollowedasamatterofcourse,but

insituationswhere“danger”or“disturbances”wereperceivedtobeapossibleresult.Suchfearsseem

tohaveinformedthedecisionbySNCWheelwrightinBarbertontoemploytheOrdinanceinabidto

neutralizethe1917“snuffcraze”,whichheperceivedtobeapotentialthreattocolonialrule:thesaleof

snuff which he mistook as a potent ingredient of rebellion. Ashforth’s contention is not baseless,

therefore, although questions of the “injuriousness” to African individuals were also apparently

considered.Theonlymeansbywhichtherelativeweightofthesemotivatingfactorsinbringingabout

convictionsundertheWitchcraftOrdinancecouldbeascertainediswithgreaterinformationaboutthe

administrativeandjudicialstorywhichbroughtwitchcraftmattersbeforethecourts.Inonlyaveryfew

instancesdoarchivaldocumentsprovidesuchinsights.

WhetherundertakeninabidtoprotectAfricansfromtheirown“savagebeliefs”,ortodissolvepotential

superstitious threats to colonial order, the findings outlined above show that colonial legislative

2 Waller, “Witchcraft and Colonial Law in Kenya,” p.247.

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interventions in theTransvaalof theearly twentieth centurywere ill‐suited to resolve the complex

interpersonal conflicts that characterised beliefs in witchcraft. In the first instance, the laws were

premised on faulty assumptions about the nature of Africanmetaphysical beliefs, employing vague

terminologyabout“witchcraft”andthe“witchdoctor”whichwasutterlylackinginanyrigoroussense

oflegalprecision.Secondly,whentheywereappliedattheSupremeCourtlevelatleast,thiswasby‐

and‐large undertaken by judges who quite obviously demonstrated their failure to apprehend the

deeperdynamicsofwitchcraftbeliefs.OnerecallsJusticeKrausetellingtheaccusedZuluMadumalane

in1914thatherroleasadivinerwassimplythestuffofinvention,orWheelwrightinsistingthatachief

withaneducation“shouldknowbetter”.

TheportrayalsofwitchcraftIhavecomeacrossfromtheearlytwentiethcenturywhichemanatedfrom

multiple levels of witchcraft policing – from the Supreme Court judges to magistrates to Native

Commissioners–frequentlyperpetuatedthefallacythatbeliefsweresingular,homogenousandstatic,

a set of primordial blinkers which prevented Africans from perceiving reality as accurately or

scientificallyasthe“enlightened”Europeandid.Manymoreoverconflated(orperhapssimplyregarded

asinsignificant)thedistinctionbetweenmalevolentandharmfulmagic,employingtheterm“witchcraft”

as a catch‐all for a host ofmisconceptions about Africanmetaphysical beliefs, seeped in notions of

backwardness,stagnation,irrationalityandviolence.Thefigureofthe“witchdoctor”largelyemerges

throughoutofficialdepictionsasafraudandanopportunistwhohada“pernicious”holdoverAfrican

minds,upholding“witchcraftfaith”,preventingthespreadofwesternmedicine,andpotentiallywielding

his/herpowertoendangercolonialorder.Noneapparentlysawfittocreditthedivinerasasourceof

metaphysicalsecurity,demonstratingthatdevelopinganthropological insightshadlittleswayonthe

waythatthelawwaspoliced.

Nevertheless,weshouldalsoconsiderthattherewasamultiplicityofofficialperspectivesonwitchcraft.

NotallofthejudgeschosetoimplementtheprescriptionsoftheWitchcraftOrdinanceuniformly.While

somechosetobe“merciful”,othersexpressedtheirregretthattheycouldnotimposeharshersentences.

Theremayhavebeensomechangesintheattitudesofjudgesandasthedecadesworeon,assomeof

thelatterjudgmentsinthecasesIsourcedhintat.Thiscertainlyrequiresmoreempiricalsubstantiation

thaniscurrentlyavailableattheNationalArchives.

Similarly,notallmagistratesorNativeCommissionersseemtohavesharedthesameperspectiveon

howtodealwithwitchcraftbeliefs.WhereWheelwrightlaunchedacrusadeagainstsnuffpeddlersusing

theWitchcraftOrdinance,othersperhapsapproachedsuchincidentswithmorelevel‐headednessand

pragmatism,trying,likeSNCHookin1922,topacifysituationswhentheyarose.Lackingtheresources

and any significant interventionist organisational muscle, it seems that these officials were given

(sometimesuncomfortably)widepowersofdiscretiontodecidehowtoproceedasissuesofmalevolent

Conclusion

81

magicrearedtheirhead.Perhapswith increasingcognisanceof the limitsof theirreach,opinionsof

these“menonthespot”mayhavesignificantlychangedovertheirtenureasrepresentativesof local

officialdom.JustasWheelwrightcametomoderatehisinitiallyfearfulnotionsof“invulnerabilitysnuff”,

itseemsthatsomemayhavecometorealisethelimitsofcolonialcontrolofwitchcraftbeliefs,andbeen

forced to undertake calculated courses of action when incidents related to these beliefs emerged.

Sometimes,asinthecaseofdivinersoperatinginthePortugueseTerritoryforinstance,itseemsthat

whethertheylikeditornot,officialscoulddolittletostopthe“superstitious”activitiesofthosethey

claimedtorule.

Contemporary anthropologists and historians have shown thatwitchcraft is a shifting and evolving

idiom for explaining the presentwhich changes in structure. Case records and archival documents

elucidateabovehavefurtherchallengedtheassumptionthatbeliefinwitchcraftwasauniquelyAfrican

phenomenon, suggesting that such beliefs are instead highly individualised, syncretic, erratic and

inconsistent,anddonotnecessarilyaccordneatlywithracialclassification.Anumberofwhitepeople

were shown to have evinced faith inwitchcraft and participated in rituals of divination.Moreover,

questionswereraisedastothefervencyofbeliefsinwitchcraftbyAfricans,withsomewitnessesand

characters in archival correspondence indicating a critical attitude both towards ideas of the

supernaturalandtheroleofthediviner.Oneshouldthereforedesistfrompositingasimply“ontological

barrier”betweenAfricansandnon‐Africans–abarrierwhichfrequentlyemergestoday.Intryingto

craft any responses to witchcraft violence, it is crucial that the individualised nature of belief is

apprehended – cognisance which witchcraft law flatly failed to achieve during the early twentieth

century.

It seems that, in many ways, we still conceive of witchcraft in the racialised, evolutionary terms

furnishedby the colonial civilisingmissionover ahundredyears ago. If lessovertly condemnatory,

official rhetoric still frequentlyposits adistinctionbetween the “traditional” and the “modern”, and

insiststhateducationandChristianityarethemeansbywhichwitchcraftbeliefswillbeextinguished.

Niehaus argues that the Ralushai Commission of 1995, was underpinned by the assumption that

“witchcraft isanexpressionofauniqueanduniformAfricanculture”whosemoreperniciouseffects

couldbehaltedthroughschoolingprogrammesandtheworkofchurches.3Yetthesamesolutionswere

beingproposedasearlyasthemid‐nineteenthcentury,basedonthesameassumptionthatwitchcraft

beliefscannotwithstandtheforcesofmodernisation.

The findings of this study show that the extent to which the law can ever be an effective tool for

extinguishing the sources of witchcraft violence is highly doubtful. The simple assertion that it is

3 Niehaus, “Witchcraft as Subtext,” p.68.

Joel Pearson

82

primarilytheSuppressionofWitchcraftActNo.3of1957thatneedstobereformedinordertobring

resolutionto theseproblemsof thesupernatural isquestionable. Iagreewith the likesofHundand

Ludsinthataslongasbeliefsinwitchescontinuetoberegardedasbaselesssuperstitionsdivorcedfrom

modernrealities,astheActsuggests,wecannothopetofindasolutiontothewitchcraftproblemin

SouthAfrica.But inorder togetadeeperunderstandingof thecomplexitiesofevolving ideasabout

witchcraft,contemporaryinsightsonthe“modernity”ofwitchcraftbeliefsdemandsthatweexamine

their deeper social roots – material deprivation, social fragmentation, sharpening inequality, for

instance.Apermanentendtowitchcraftviolencecanonlyberealisedifthesesocialevilsareaddressed.

Atbest,newlegislationcanonlyaddressthesymptomsofthisdeepermalaise.

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B. Chapters in Books

Ashforth, Adam. “On Living in a World with Witches: Everyday Epistemology and SpiritualInsecurityinaModernAfricanCity(Soweto).”InMagicalInterpretations,MaterialRealities:Modernity,Witchcraft,and theOccult inPostcolonialAfrica, 206–25. London&NewYork:Routledge,2001.

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Etherington,Norman.“ReligionandResistanceinNatal,1900‐1910.”InOneHundredYearsoftheANC:DebatingLiberationHistoriesToday.Johannesburg:WitsUniversityPress,2012.

Harnischfeger,Johannes.“WitchcraftandtheStateinSouthAfrica.”InWitchcraftViolenceandtheLawinSouthAfrica.Hatfield:ProteaBookHouse,2003.

Lane,Timothy.“Witchcraft,ChiefsandtheStateintheNorthernTransvaal:1900‐1930.”InTheCultureofPowerinSouthernAfrica:EssaysonStateFormationandthePoliticalImagination.Portsmouth,NH:Heinemann,2003.

Motshekga,M. “TheIdeologybehindWitchcraftandthePrincipleofFault inCriminalLaw.”InLawandJusticeinSouthAfrica,147–60.Johannesburg&CapeTown:InstituteforPublicLawandResearchandCentreforIntergroupStudies,1988.

Minnaar,Anthony. “Legislative and Legal Challenges to CombatingWitch Purging and MutiMurder in South Africa.” InWitchcraft Violence and the Law in SouthAfrica. Hatfield:ProteaBookHouse,2003.

Minnaar,Anthony.. “Witchcraft in theNew SouthAfrica: A CriticalOverview of the RalushaiCommissionReport.”InWitchcraftViolenceandtheLawinSouthAfrica,93–123.Pretoria:ProteaBookHouse,2003.

Niehaus, Isak. “Witchcraft in the New South Africa: A Critical Overview of the RalushaiCommissionReport.” InWitchcraftViolenceandtheLaw inSouthAfrica,93–123.Pretoria:ProteaBookHouse,2003.

Niehaus,Isak. “Witchcraft in theNewSouthAfrica:FromColonialSuperstitiontoPostcolonialReality?”InMagicalInterpretations,MaterialRealities:Modernity,WitchcraftandtheOccultinPostcolonialAfrica,184–205.London&NewYork:Routledge,2001.

Nthai,SethA.“WitchcraftViolenceandtheNeedforNewLegislation.”InWitchcraftViolenceandtheLawinSouthAfrica.Pretoria:ProteaBookHouse,2003.

Waller,RichardD. “Witchcraft andColonialLaw inKenya.” InPast&Present,241–75.Past&PresentSociety180.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2003.

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Booth, A.R. “‘European Courts Protect Women and Witches’: Colonial Law Courts asRedistributorsofPowerinSwaziland1920‐1950.”JournalofSouthernAfricanStudies.18,no.2(1992):253.

Burke, Charlanne. “TheyCutSegametsi IntoParts: Ritual Murder, Youth, andthePolit ics of Knowledge in Botswana.” Anthropological Quarterly 73, no. 4(2000): 204–14.

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Date

Case No. Name of Prisoner Indictment Remarks: Plea Verdict Sentence Place of Trial

1912.4.22 79 Nyana Umgani (“Native Male”)

C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Smelling out Witch & Wizard as Cause of

Illness & Death Not Guilty Judge: Guilty 15 Months IHL Barberton

1912.8.7 161

Hadjee Jackson (“Malay Male”)

Four counts of C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04;

Or C.S. 39 of Ord. 29/04.

Selling Charms; Fortune Telling; Diagnosing Illness; Providing Remedies

CASE INCOMPLETE Guilty Jury: Not Guilty Discharged Pretoria

1912.9.25 211 Hwandhla

(“Native Male”) C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04

Smelling out Witch as Cause of Illness & Death

Guilty Judge: Guilty 6 Months IHL Lydenburg

1913.5.14 117 Mpaupau


Smelling out Wizards as Cause of Illness & Death

Not Guilty Judge: Guilty 7 Months IHL Pietersburg

1914.5.6 113 Mdandas Jack (“Native Male”)

C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Smelling out Witch & Wizard as Cause of

Illness & Death Not Guilty Jury: Guilty 8 Months IHL Barberton

1914.6.5 237

Zulu Madumalane (“Native Female”)

C.S. 30 Ord. 26/04

Or C.S. 39 of Ord. 29/04.

Habitual Witch‐Finder; Smelt‐out Witch as Cause of Illness and Death ‐ Witch

Murdered as a Result Not Guilty

Jury: Guilty on first charge

Imprisoned for Life Pietersburg

1914.10.19 331 Matsilele Tsandengoma


Habitual Witch‐Finder; Smelt out Wizard as Cause of Illness and Death

Not Guilty Jury: Guilty 4 Years IHL Pietersburg

1916.10.3 6 Klaas Legoabi Macbuloane

(“Native Male”) C.S. 30 Ord. 26/04 CASE MISSING Not Guilty Judge: Not Guilty Discharged Nylstroom

1917.4.4. 35 (1) Navalwana Dusa (2) Levona Vilagazi (“Native Females”)

C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Imputing Non‐Natural Causes of Lost

Livestock; Smelling out Witch as Cause of Illness and Disease

Guilty Judge: Guilty (1) 9 Months IHL (2) 4 Months IHL

Volksrust

1917.10.9 215 Risenga Shabane (“Native Male”)

C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Smelling out Wizard as Cause of Illness &

Death Not Guilty Jury: Guilty 2 Years IHL Louis Trichardt

1917.10.10 218 Dumazi Ngwanamanuga

(“Native Male”) Culpable Homicide Or C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04

Selling Medicine to Break Spell of Witchcraft

Not Guilty Jury: Not Guilty Discharged Louis Trichardt

1918.4.26 55 Jacobus Malusi (“Native Male”)

C.S. 30 Ord. 26/04 Habitual Witch‐Finder; Smelt out Wizard

as Cause of Illness and Death Guilty Judge: Guilty 18 Months IHL Lydenburg

Medical, Dental and Pharmacy Ordinance 29 of 1904; (Later 34(a) of Law 13 1928) Section 39: performing “acts specially belonging to the calling of a general medical practitioner”

Witchcraft Ordinance 26 of 1904: Section 29: Imputing the use of “non‐natural means in … causing disease or harm witchcraft to another; Section 30: Imputing witchcraft and “by habit or repute a witch doctor or witch finder” Section 34: Claiming to “use any kind of supernatural power, witchcraft, sorcery, enchantment or conjuration”; telling fortunes; discovering lost property

Key: C.S.– Contravening Section; Ord. – Ordinance; IHL – Imprisonment with Hard Labour

97

Date

Case No.

Name of Prisoner

Indictment

Remarks:

Plea

Verdict

Sentence

Place of Trial

1918.6.11 245 Philemon Ranque (“Native Male”)

Five Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 & Five counts Theft by False

Pretences & C.S. 39 Ord. 29/04

Selling Livestock He Didn’t Own; Diagnosing Illnesses; Supplying Remedies

Not Guilty Jury: Guilty 2 ½ Years IHL Potchefstroom

1918.10.5

236

Mganu Ndhlovu (“Native Male”)

Five counts of C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 Selling Medicine to Break Spell of

Witchcraft Not Guilty

Jury: Guilty on all counts

2 ½ Years IHL + 6 Lashes

Ermelo

1919.5.20 152 William Sebambo (“Native Male”)

Theft and C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 Doctoring Against Thieves Not Guilty Jury: Guilty Theft: 2 Years W/C: 6 Months

IHL Pretoria

1921.5.20 188 Mpokani Mundagazane

(“Native Male”) C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 Diagnosing Cause of Death Guilty Judge: Guilty 1 Year IHL Zoutpansberg

1921.5.21 190 Muhlungupi Shikwengane


Habitual Witch‐finder; Smelt out Wizard as Cause of Illness & Death

Guilty Judge: Guilty

4 Years IHL Zoutpansberg

1921.11.4 383

Michael Petrus Oberholzer (“European Male”)

Three Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 Imputing Witchcraft as Cause of Illnesses;

Providing Remedies. Not Guilty Jury: Guilty 2 Months IHL Christiana

1922.5.29

203

Achimuthoo (“Asiatic Male”)

C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 & C.S. 39 of Ord. 29/04

Fortune Telling; Diagnosing Illnesses; Providing Remedies

Guilty on All Counts

Judge: Guilty

8 Months IHL and £30 Fine or in

Default 4 Months IHL on each

count.

Rustenburg

1922.6.6 221

Appana Gurana (“Asiatic Male”)

Two Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 Diagnosing Illnesses; Providing Remedies

NO CASE RECORD OF TESTIMONIES Not Guilty

Jury: Guilty on Both Counts

18 Months IHL Bloemhof

1922.8.24 266 David Mlofuso (“Native Male”)

C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 Doctoring Against Witchcraft Not Guilty Jury: Guilty 1 Year IHL Middelburg

1923.4.27 126 Sugumbuli Nkosi (“Native Male”)

Two counts C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Smelt‐out Wizard as Cause of Illness &

Death Not Guilty Judge: Guilty 5 Months IHL Ermelo

1923.5.9 151 Moya Kushatu Dekudeku

(“Native Male”) Three counts C.S. 30 Ord. 26/04 CASE MISSING Guilty Judge: Guilty 18 Months IHL Pietersburg

1923.5.14 161 Rasenga Tshabane (“Native Male”)

C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Smelt‐out Wizard as Cause of Illness &

Death Guilty Judge: Guilty 2 Years IHL Louis Trichardt

98

Date

Case No. Name of Prisoner Indictment Remarks: Plea Verdict Sentence Place of Trial

1924.6.10 218 Shingainghai Chaka (“Native Male”)

C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Smelt‐out Wizard as Cause of Illness &

Death Guilty Judge: Guilty 12 Months IHL Louis Trichardt

1924.10.17 335 Zemelo Nepane (“Native Male”)

C.S. 30 Ord. 26/04 Habitual Witch‐Finder; Smelt out Wizard

as Cause of Death Guilty Judge: Guilty 2 Years IHL Lydenburg

1927.9.6 375 William Comette (“Native Male”)

C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04; & Three Counts C.S. 39 of Ord.

29/04

Diagnosing Illness; Breaking “Spell of Witchcraft”

Not Guilty Judge: Guilt of First Charge; Not Guilty of Second

4 Months IHL Lydenburg

1927.11.5 496

William Nkobene (“Native Male”)

Four Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 & Attempted Rape

Diagnosing Illness, Providing Remedies; Promising a Return of Stolen Property

Guilty Judge: Guilty 18 Months IHL Lichtenburg

1928.11.15 689 Andries Motojanie (“Native Male”)

Six Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 Diagnosing & Providing Remedies Guilty Judge: Guilty 3 Years IHL Wolmaranstad

1928.11.16 696 Samuel Pemo (“Native Male”)

Theft of Stock & Three Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04

Diagnosing illness Promising to Provide Remedies.

Not Guilty Judge: Guilty on Two Counts

10 Months IHL each on Two

Counts Christiana

1929.5.3 221 James Smith

(“European Male”) Five Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 & One Count C.S. 34(a) Law 13 1928.

Fortune Telling, Diagnosing Illnesses, Prescribing Remedies

Not Guilty Judge: Guilty on

All Counts 2½ Years IHL &

£75 Fine Christiana

1929.6.26 369 Scotchman Mmatala (“Native Male”)

Two Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 & One Count C.S. 34(a) Law 13 1928.

Diagnosing Illness; Providing Remedy; Selling Medicine To Boost Harvest;

Guilty Judge: Guilty on

All Counts 6 Months IHL Rustenburg

1929.11.3 546 Mashapola Mapenekes


Or C.S. 30 Ord. 26/04 Diagnosing Cause of Death; Diagnosing

Illness and Providing Remedies Not Guilty

Judge: Guilty –strong

recommendation to mercy

6 Weeks IHL for first charge; 1 Year IHL for

second charge.

Louis Trichardt

1929.11.15 655 William Mokwena (“Native Male”)

Two Counts C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 & Two Counts C.S. 34(a) Law 13 1928.

Diagnosing Illness; Providing Remedies; Guilty Judge: Guilty 2 Years IHL Potchefstroom

1931.11.3 433 Matje Ndlunu (“Native Male”)

C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Or C.S. 30 Ord. 26/04

Habitual Witch‐Finder; Smelt out Wizard as Cause of Death – Wizard Murdered As

A Result Guilty Judge: Guilty

Imprisoned for Life Pietersburg

1932.6.2 301 Ngungwa Resemga (“Native Male”)

C.S. 29 Ord. 26/04 Or C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04

CASE MISSING Guilty of First

Charge

Judge: Plea Accepted

2 Years IHL Louis Trichardt

1933.6.12 271

William Mohale (“Native Male”)

C.S. 34 Ord. 26/04 & C.S. 34(a) Law 13 1928.

Selling Medicine to Increase Wages Not Guilt Judge: Guilty of Witchcraft

14 Days IHL Rustenburg

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