Cultural Anthropology: Comparing Azande Magic and Christianity

This essay delves into the cultural anthropology of the Azande people, focusing on their beliefs in magic and witchcraft, and comparing these beliefs to the Christian understanding of magic. It begins by outlining the historical and theological perspectives of Christianity on magic and witchcraft, highlighting the condemnation of these practices while acknowledging the acceptance of certain forms of magic. The essay then introduces the Azande, an ethnic group from North Central Africa, and their worldview, where witchcraft plays a central role in explaining misfortune. It contrasts the Azande's view of witchcraft as an ordinary part of daily life with the Christian association of magic and witchcraft with negative aspects, particularly the devil. The essay references key anthropological works, such as Evans-Pritchard's research, to illustrate the Azande's beliefs and practices. It also considers the historical context, including the portrayal of women in witchcraft and the church's efforts to condemn such practices. Ultimately, the essay examines how the Christian perspective on magic can provide insights into the Azande's beliefs about the devil and witchcraft, highlighting both the similarities and differences in their respective cultural contexts.

Running head: CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Name of the Student
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Author Note

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Can the Christian understanding of magic help us better understand
Azande magical practices and beliefs?
Magic has been a vital and an important aspect in Christianity since its inception. The
belief of people in magic and witchcraft became popular and gained prominence towards the
end of the middle age and during the inception of the early modern period. There are many
references of magic and witchcraft in the Bible and it has been that these practices were
highly condemned. Christians linked magic and witchcraft with negative aspects and they
linked witchcraft with the Devil (Fitzsimmons). Despite of people condemning magic and
witchcraft during that time it has been seen that magic had always been an important and an
accepted part of the traditional Christianity . The perspective of the people about magic and
spells was somewhat negative as they believed that magic only exists because of the devil.
However the Christians did support beneficial magic that was practiced for noble causes like
white magic which meant magic for selfless deeds and for the good of other people however
the theory that was put forth by the church during that time suggested that all sorts of magic
be it good or bad could only be performed with the help of the Devil even if the magician
who was performing the magic intended it or not (Otto). There have been many occult
practices that Christians have performed during that time for various reasons and soon the
Christian power was referred and known to be ritual power (Rich).
Azande known as Zande which is the plural form are ethnic groups belonging from
North Central Africa. In the lives of the Zande witchcraft plays a vital role as they believe
that witchcraft is the reason for the misfortune that men face in the society. The Zande view
witchcraft just like the way the Christians view magic and witchcraft which is in a negative
light. However the Zande do not look at witchcraft as a supernatural aspect rather they think
witchcraft to be a part of their daily lives and find it very ordinary. Zande believe that every
small thing is results of witchcraft like a boy accidently hitting his toes against stumps or a

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craftsman making a cracked pot (Evans-Pritchard). The Zande believed that all the
unfortunate events are the results of witchcraft and the people did not believe in rationale
thinking and there was no use of common sense that these mishappenings that were occurring
were often the result of their sheer carelessness. The Zande however considered the
witchcraft to be the second spear. If a man was killed in a battle by spear the Zande did
acknowledge that the spear is the primary reason for the death of the man however they
aligned and stated that it was the witchcraft and the spear that together contributed in the
death of the man (Evans-Pritchard). The Zande believed that the witchcraft was present in
their lives.
The modern Europeans did have the same belief like the Zande and claimed the fact
that the witchcraft was a part and was present in the society. However the people believed
that women were the actual witches and they were practicing witchcraft and occult practices
because of various social and political reasons that affected them negatively like inequality,
religious tensions and social changes. It has been seen that women were portrayed as
individuals who had less faith than men and denying the faith has become the important
aspect and theme of witchcraft (Ginzburg). It has been stated that women during this time put
more faith on the devil than god. Witches were considered to be anti-christ and thus churches
tried to condemn the practice of witchcraft as they thought that the devil was becoming and
coming into power.
Christians view on magic does give a brief understanding about the beliefs of the
Zande in terms of their beliefs about the devil and witchcraft which states that witchcraft is
associated with negative and harmful deeds however the Christians did approve of magic and
witchcraft as they believed in two types of witchcraft one which was harmful and the other
which was beneficial for the people which later people believed to be prayers. However the
Christians did not solely think about witchcraft as the main thing and reason behind all the

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misfortune like the Zande did but they both associated witchcraft and the devil with negative
aspects which too some extent gives an insight and an understanding about the beliefs that the
Zande had in mind about the deeds of the devils.

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Reference
Evans-Pritchard, Edward E. Witchcraft, oracles and magic among the Azande. Vol. 12.
London: Oxford, 1937.
Fitzsimmons, Phillip. "Book Review: of Deeper Magic: The Theology Behind the Writings
of CS Lewis. by Donald T. Williams." (2018): 10.
Ginzburg, Carlo. The Night Battles: witchcraft and agrarian cults in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. JHU Press, 2013.
Otto, Bernd-Christian. "Historicising ‘western learned magic’: Preliminary
remarks." Aries 16.2 (2016): 161-240.
Rich, Kathleen. Shades of myth: folklore in American neopagan witchcraft. Diss. 2014.