Witch Doctors, Charms and Spells

One of the most fascinating aspects of African culture is their religion. In Burkina, about 60% of people are Muslim, 40% are Catholic, and 100% are animists. They believe that spirits can move all objects, such as animals, trees and rocks. I have heard stories of people being arrested or even killed because other believed they were ‘skin changers’. They believe that humans can take animal form, especially cats, to carry out revenge. If the act was carried out while a human was in their animal form, they cannot be held responsible because it wasn’t them who carried out the task.

The Burkinabe believe the spirits here are very powerful, but can be pleased with offerings or animal sacrifices. I have witnessed several animal sacrifices for the land to remain plentiful, for the rivers to continue running with water, or for farms to have a lot of crops. The spirits can bring about health, happiness, wealth, or a variety of other positive things.

I have also been witness to the outcomes of unhappy spirits. Almost every accident or illness is attributed to a bad spirit who has been sent by someone. When someone falls sick, before taking them to a hospital, they will be taken to a marabout, or more commonly known as a witch doctor. They believe that you became ill because you did something bad to someone else. Then, this person sought out a witch to send a curse your way.

A few months ago, there was a young man staying with my neighbors’ for a few weeks. Towards the end of his stay, he started acting very strange. He wouldn’t sleep at all. He would wander the river behind my house, the area traditionally known to be a sacred place for witches. He refused to drink water or eat any of their food. His calm demeanor suddenly changed. My neighbors’ family became very stressed out about this, and called his family to come immediately. They explained to me that he came from a pagan family, and his recent change in behavior was due to that. Someone had cursed him. His family came and took him to a marabout where they carried out a traditional ceremony to remove the curse. I tried to convince them to let me come and meet the witch doctor and see the traditional ceremony, but they wouldn’t let me. Apparently, afterwards, he was cured and returned to his life as normal.

The town I live in has a significant pagan community. When I first found this out, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I half expected to meet someone who dressed in black and did spells, like in stereotypical movies. Of course, I had to meet one to learn more about them and their beliefs. I did so rather quickly and easily, and after several conversations found that it is nothing more than a belief in several gods and spirits. They believe witches can curse people, or bring about good things. They believe that marabouts can in fact remove the curses.

Ever since I arrived here, I’ve been hearing about this ‘pagan mask ceremony’ that takes place in May. Well, now it’s May and the ceremony has arrived. I’ve learned that for an entire week, the town shuts down. Everything closes and no one can leave their houses due to the sacred and secret ceremony. The pagan men wear masks and go around to all the parts of the town to do ‘fetishes’, or curses. In this case, they are good curses. They are blessing the town and the people. But here comes the weird part, no one outside of their religion can see this. If you see by accident, they will curse you or kidnap you for the duration of the ceremony. If you see on purpose, they will send a curse that will kill you. For an entire week, they cover every inch of the town with their blessings. They wear masks, play flutes and drums, and they dance. Needless to say, I want to avoid all curses so I’m leaving town haha.

At first, I thought people were bullshitting me. I didn’t believe in any of this ‘black magic’ nonsense and thought it was all a hoax. I’ve talked to a lot of people about this subject, and I haven’t come across one person who doesn’t believe in it. I thought that maybe the more educated people who live in cities would think this is fake but they don’t. On the contrary, they are afraid of it. If nothing about these witches, curses and witch doctors are true then why do people still believe in them after hundreds of years?