<<

; ers rri- Shaman, Healer, 1ba 1 ale Comparing with Franconian Folk ers Hans Sebald ne. as. Sebald, Hans 1984: Shaman, Healer, Witch: Comparing Shamanism with Fran­ 1go conian Folk Magic. - Ethnologia Europaea XIV: 125-142. ge­ Ideal-type shamanism is compared with Franconian folk magic. , a cen­ :he tral provfoce of , experiences the end phase of a tradition of dualistic folk magic, including white and . While there are similarities be­ 9p- tween shamanism and Franconian magic - good or evil spirits amenable to ­ cal manipulation, psychosomatic effects, "justice magic" -, differences prevail. :ec. The shaman's ecstasy, idiosyncrasy, public seance, and "possession" by super­ natural entities contrast with the healer's or witch's mechanical magic, privacy as­ and secrecy, and intermediariness between humans and powers. :ity While shamanism is holistic and ambivalent, Franconian magic is dualistic and predictable; it is an extension of Catholicism rather than a form of shamanism. th- Prof Hans Sebald, Ph.D., Departm ent of , Arizona State University, 110- Tempe, Arizona 85 287, USA. '.ol- lit­ ca- case: the case of Franconian folk magic. Hence .A Introduction an- the comparison is checking Franconian folk Fascination with the supernatural is timeless practices - including white and black witch­ and universal. An approach to reach these craft - along shamanistic dimensions. In a powers is magic. While the appearance of sense, then, the paper investigates the pre­ magic may vary, its core stays identical: the at­ sence or absence of shamanic elements in tempt to manipulate supernatural powers by Franconian folk magic. 2 mostly mechanistic procedures . Also motives may differ, so may techniques, but the basic that humans can manipulate supernatu­ Franconia - land and people ral forces remains identical. A widespread form Franconia is a central province of Germany, of magic is witchcraft. and the specific area of my research (Sebald, Another approach to the supernatural is 1978, 1980, 1981a, 1981b) is limited to the shamanism, a form of sorcery that claims to be , flanked by the cities of Nu­ capable of persuading the supernatural for remberg, Bamberg, and . These good or evil purposes. Historically it has been mountains rise from the surrounding flatlands found in "primitive" societies. like a fortress, with their crags, ridges, and This paper compares shamanism with witch­ canyons sheltering small peasant villages and craft . The juxtaposition presents shamanism providing extraordinary seclusion. The inhab­ as an ideal type, a sort of composite picture of itants have retained ancient customs, adhere the variety found the world over. The picture to a tradition of folk magic, and follow simple will be heavily influenced by the prototype of farm technology. The farmers have no under­ shamanic forms: North American and Asian standing of, or liking for, specialization and try (esp. Siberian) shamanism. On the other side, to grow everything they need on limited home­ witchcraft joins our comparison not as an ideal­ steads, averaging ca. 12 acres. The peasants' tyPe definition but as a concrete ethnographic attempt at self-sufficiency is of sociological sig-

9 Et hnologia Europ aea XIV ,2 125 .., nificance. Because there is little need or oppor­ Booh of Moses, a the peasantry has tunity to interact with complementary farmers used for many generations - in spite of that it or traders, the peasant families maintained a ranked on the Index librorum prohibitorurn, high degree of social isolation. Hence life has the no-longer-enforced papal list of prohibited remained strongly family-centered and family­ books. dependent. Franconian witchery has a distinctly demo. Isolation and delay in modern technology, cratic quality - any man or woman who so de. , and medicine have also meant delay in sires can engage in it. However, unlike the nor­ empirical understanding of accidents, diseases, mal villager using witchcraft defensively, the and death. Old beliefs, incorporating a system witch, almost always a woman, uses witchcraft of magic, have therefore had a chance to sur­ aggressively. Moreover, she make witchery a vive longer than in surrounding regions. But con.slant part of h r , while other peas­ the system of magic has entered its terminal ants might use witchcraft as occasional ''.iustice phase and is rapidly becoming history. Tech­ magic." nology, science, and the rational-objective The witch has a beneficial counterpart: the world view have finally penetrated the Jura healer . This is usually a woman known to be mountains. The younger generation now skillful in Anfangen (literally "the beginning") wants a share of West Germany's "economic - a uniquely Franconian-Jura-mountains ," and has begun to reject Franconian expression referring to the technique of heal­ folk magic as "." Hence my sources ing . She has charisma, allies with good spirits, are old people who entrusted me with accounts taps divine grace, and knows secret . of personal experiences with the magical and This healer, a white witch, lacks a proper noun supernatural that span the time from the in the peasant dialect and is called eine Frau, 1890s to the 1970s. die das Anfangen kann (a woman able to do Access to these first-hand informants was the beginning). Although the peasants know furthered by my background. I was born and High German, they never use its vocabulary to raised in the Jura mountains, grew up in peas­ refer to "a woman able to do Anfangen." For ex­ ant kinship groups,3 know the traditions and ample, High German contains Gesundbeterin dialect intimately, and am related to a number (a woman healing through , a faith­ of the informants. The circumstance that healer), Heilerin (healer woman), or Zauberin earned me the trust of the peasants was the (sorceress) - but these words are never applied. older peasants' memory of my grandmother I asked elders and priests about the origin of who was a renowned healer (white witch). This the awkward phraseology, but they could not identity helped to open doors and mouths of vil­ provide definite answers. Some ventured that lagers; they accepted me as an insider and in the phrase might refer to the woman as merely many instances as a clansman. initiating healing and depending on God, the The magical system of the Jura mountains good spirits or to complete the task. e, includes the roles of witch and healer, and the Government institutes researching dialects le of folk Catholicism. Witchcraft in the were equally lost for answers. G Jura region falls into the category of classical Like the witch, the woman doing Anfangen , also describable as . is largely an invention of and usu­ This type of witchcraft derived from and ally functions within the dogma. It is believed thrives on the theology of medieval Catholi­ that God could be approached through special p cism. It assumes that devils and can be or rituals and that, through the heal­ h persuaded to render services. Form of appeal er's charismatic office, He would mercifully St or manipulation is "mechanical magic," cure a witch's . The Catholic clergy of the i~ wherein power of conjuring lies in accurately area has observed a hands-off policy and con­ tl speaking formulas and completing secret ri­ siders her practice a folk custom neither con­ V tuals. The Franconians' tool of black »mechani­ demned nor approved by the 20th-century tl cal magic« is the so-called Sixth and Seventh Church. When peasants specifically asked pri- tA

9' has X Lichtenberg .tit Geroldsgrun tm, X X Naito ted X Steinwiesen

X Kronoch mo­ de- / Kulmboch 1or­ X 240 X Stolfelstein miles the raft :ya ..,_F,onkf1. 110 '')'.,.. :::·~, ,::::::~ ~as­ mites .. tice ~ Gasseldl . " 0 l'uchersleld ~ . o Gossw. o oPotfnslel n the Moiloch ~ ~ Sachundorl r,'f/(111,11, ) be X ~~1~-8i~:;;;o/{Jm~irchenb lr~ioegnilz ng") rl B8rnfels 0, 3.ins eal­ rits, ''''"''" 0 ~.,! 1als . oun X Nurnberg rau, Schwoboch J do Ansboch X Munich X 100 now miles ·y to Gunzenhousen ~ ~ ex­ X enn Ellingen 1ith­ X enn lied . - Approx. area of Franconian Jura Mts . n of not X Place s of witch trial s or executions (mostly 17th century) that Major highways ,rely the .ask. ests' advice about Anfangen , the clergy al­ through withdrawal of her hex and thus rehab­ lects lowed that there was nothing wrong in asking ilitate the victim's well-being. God to heal the sick, either human or animal. Countercursing first requires that the curser 'tgen A peasant in trouble can choose to either be identifi ed. Various methods are available. usu­ turn to a witch for help or seek the service of a One is detection by facial image visible in a eved woman skilled in Anfangen . For example , a mirror brought to the site of trouble: presum­ ecial peasant suspecting witchcraft as the cause of ably the face of the evil-doer will appear . An­ 1.eal­ his or her piglets' ailment can approach a per­ other is to see who, within three days after the fully son having the grimoire. Help from this source misfortune, would be the first person to knock fthe is limited, since almost all peasants believe at the door and ask to borrow something . But con­ that witching cannot heal the piglets or pre­ most of the time, identification proceeds by con­ vent their dying, but can only place a hex on reputation : the villagers simply "know" who ttury the stable of the caster of the spell to coerce her does this sort of thing. After identification, the l pri- to withdraw the curse. A witch can heal only countercursing can commence.

127 However, such duels are rare and take place Franconian figures. The comparison of the tr1 only between parties (usually quarreling three magicians will examine personal charac­ all neighbors) reputed for witchery. More likely, teristics , , functions, techniques, fa­ our peasant with the sick piglets would seek miliars, and healing practices. wi the help of a woman doing Anfangen, asking an her to come to the stable and lift the hex and (1) Personal characteristics COi cure the animals. To prevent reversal of the All three figures can be defined as magicians. lill healing, the curer leaves protective directions As such they are mediators between the com­ ch that usually include the warning against ac­ mon folk and the world and claim to po cepting any object from a suspicious or strange know, communicate with, and even manipul­ ex person during the next three days. In the tradi­ ate the manifestations of the spirit world, be m, tion of "contagious magic" (Frazer, 1964:35) , they incarnate or in form of spiritual entities . en the peasants believe that if a person allied with Unlike priests, with which these figures share HI the devil and his demons succeeds in passing several major attributes, folk magicians are ru on a personal item, she can renew the hex. unencumbered by institutional hierarchies and sh Likewise, the healer warns against giving a engage in a direct relationship with the super­ (B personal item during this critical period, since natural (cg. definitions, descriptions by Malin­ se: the witch can regain power through transfer of owski, 1946: 51-63). an a personal item to or from the victim. The daily routines in the lives of witch and cic Those skilled in Anfangen are highly es­ healer differ little from that of other members 19 teemed, come from families known for honest of the community. They are usually married, 19 work and Christian faith, and are also con­ have family, and pursue peasant work. While sulted for problems other than supernatural the shaman most often is a man (Halifax, co ones: they function as midwives, medical ex­ 1979: 22-23; Langness, 1976:59; Boas, no perts (especially in childhood diseases), and 1938:468; Bogoras, 1958:414), the witch and ar veterinarians. In short, they practice folk med­ the healer are almost always women. Unlike Dt icine, evidencing extensive knowledge of herb­ the Franconian magicians, the shaman fre­ co alism and peasant remedies. quently displays homosexuality, transvestit­ St, The interpretation of a "wondrous" event or ism, or androgyny. Such forms were commonly cu an unexplained disease as a supernatural phe­ found among Siberian shamans, who often en­ eli nomenon is never remote, and women who gaged in homosexual marriages and practiced pe know Anfangen cure natural as well as super­ lifelong transvestitism (Halifax, 1979:22-23; in natural problems. Their roles are in line with New Columbia Encyclopedia, 1975:2491). The be the ancient magico-medical tradition of sorce­ sexual deciance is sometimes explained as the resses . Besides medical and spiritual problems, shaman's desire to fathom the total range of bi they are favored as counselors, and their opin­ human sexuality and, thus, to be able to un­ IlE ions are highly valued. Hence, to some degree, derstand his clients, or human nature in gen­ co they carry out the function of the : pre­ eral. Whether this explanation was actually pr dicting events, revealing divine insights, being given by the shaman or inferred by the authors hE clairvoyant. In sum, the woman skilled in An­ of research reports is an interesting question. th fangen is a curious mixture of Christian faith­ In any case, there is no record of a Franconian healer, ancient , practitioner of folk witch or healer ever deviating from expected ch medicine, and oracle. gender-role behavior. of While the shaman can enact both good and ti.J evil sorcery, Franconian tradition split the re­ co Juxtaposing shamanism and alm of sorcery between witch and healer. The co Franconian folk magic healer works strictly within the confines of folk ni In comparing shamanism with Franconian folk Catholicism and is, if not exactly endorsed, tol­ fu gr magic, "shaman" will refer to the ideal-type erated by Church authorities. The witch, on shaman; "witch" and "healer" to the specific the other hand, specializes in black magic, at-

128 · the tracts a select clientele, and, at least technic­ he cured his patients because he had become a irac­ ally, is excommunicated. great shaman" (1967:36). ;, fa- Because he reigns over a magical territory The healer similary depends on charisma. without bounds, the shaman's reputation is Her office rises and falls on the basis of per­ ambivalent and sometimes disconcerting to the sonal qualifications. Since her power of healing community. People believe that his power is relies less on formal status (as the priest's), her ians. limitless and that his spell can kill anyone he authority must rely on charisma. This is re­ com­ chooses. Fear may grow that he misuses the flected by the fact that my grandmother 's heal­ m to power and turns it against the innocent . For ing reputation is remembered by village elders ipul­ example , he sometimes turns destructive by still today , a reputation that lingers even :l, be meeting his clients ' requests to harm their en­ though she died over 50 years ago . ities. emies by vengeance magic (Eliade, 1956:180). The Franconian witch, on the other hand, hare He also exemplifies the old adage of the cor­ lacks the of personal charisma. This is so ; are rupting influence of power and occasionally because the positive quality of charisma rarely 3 and shamanizes out of greed, revenge, and lust applies to a patently evil character, and, sec­ 1per­ (Balikci, 1967:202). At times people have ond, the efficacy of her sorcery rests on "me­ alin- sensed enough ambivalence to condemn him, chanical magic" (i.e., power of magic is pre­ and in extreme cases communities have de­ sumed to lie in correct rendition of formulas or and cided to kill their shamans (Margolin , 1978: completion of rituals) and only remotely so on 1bers 19, 139; Balikci , 1967 :206 , Hippler, personal qualities . Charisma is replaced by the Tied, 1976 :110-111) . community's fear and distrust. And it is fear , ~ile Such distrust is a natural part of the Fran­ not reverence as in the case of the healer, that lifax, conian peasants' view of their witches. There is motivates people to treat her politely and 3oas, no ambivalence, however . The expectations sometimes seek her services. and are clear: She is evil and harmful at all times. In all cases, be it charisma or fear, the per­ nlike During the era of the European witch hunt the sonal characteristics must be validated by the fre­ consequences of this image were unequivocal: community . The power of healing or harming ~stit­ She was persecuted, prosecuted , and often exe­ emanates from the credulity of the community. t0nly cuted. Although the Franconian witch of mod­ The magicians' power ultimately resides in the 1 en­ ernity (ca. the past 300 years) has retained the convictions of those who admire or fear them ticed pernicious image , she has done so with relative (one of the earliest classic statements to this ef­ l-23; impunity, for modern law observes a division fect was made by Malinowski, 1948 :63). The between secular and ecclesiastical matters. ;; the The healer, likewise, is never tainted by am­ (2) Initiation or "calling" 5e of bivalence. Her image clearly is one of helpful­ While the magical arts can theoretically be > un­ ness and piety, and her healing procedures are learned by nearly anyone, in a selection gen­ compatible with Christian principles. Her role process singles out few for the magician's ca­ ually provides a mixture of esteemed services: faith­ reer. Process variables are exposure to the ;hors healing , herbalism, midwifery, and traces of practice, personal proficiencies, and ascription :tion. the oracle. of charisma or being "elect." 1nian The magician frequently enjoys personal Sometimes initiation proceeds through fam­ ~cted charisma . This is particularly true in the case ily lines . I found this particularly true in the of the shaman. His power of healing (or some­ case of Franconian witchcraft where black . and times cursing) depends on the credulity of his magic is transmitted from mother to daughter, ere­ community. Social scientists recognize this making generational transmission almost as The condition as imperative for psychosomatic ma­ mechanical as the magic they practice. Under­ r.ro1k nipulation. Levi-Strauss described the success­ lying reasons for the nearly automatic trans­ l, tol- ful shaman Quesalid: "He did not become a mission deal with the evil reputation and the 1, on great shaman because he cured his patients; quasi-ostracism that are experienced by the ~, at-

129

L entire family of the witch. Communal rejection proper description of the shaman's often includes the offspring, who may come to state is "ecstasy." Eliade , for example, defines up identify with the community's consensus and shamans as "practitioners of archaic ecstasy de, continue the family tradition. Exposure to the techniques" (1976:14, 15) and Halifax as "mas­ an witchery of the mother and access to the gri­ ters of ecstasy" (1979:4). ca: moire promote identification with the black­ The sign of "calling" through ecstasy or er• magic lifestyle. One can call this process appre­ does not apply to the Franconian witch 19 nticeship, with the mother instructing, the gri­ or healer; ecstatic transports are relatively al­ ca: wl moire providing the tools, and the community ien experiences to them . The more common na validating the status. path of the witch career is apprenticeship. This (1! The shaman's rituals and are public path also applies to the shaman; in addition to cii spectacle, hence imitation is facilitated . Not so the signals of apitude or being "elect," the nov­ th among the Franconians. The method of witch­ ice enters apprenticeship and spends years un­ st~ ing as well as healing is shrouded in secrecy der the tutelage of an experienced shaman. For fie and done in privacy. To learn the ways, in­ example, the Netsilik Eskimos selected a boy, struction is necessary and this is done most who was thought to reflect shamanic charac­ tic teristics and placed him for training into the conveniently within the family. se Assumption of the healer role is more indi­ household of a shaman (Balikci, 1967:194). m, Completion of apprenticeship was usually vidualistic and largely depends on personal ap­ te titude. For exemple, I have no record of my marked by public consecration (Nadel, ci1 great grandmother having been a healer; it is 1958:430). at possible that my grandmother's healing career The issue of symptomizing »elect« status flE originated in personal qualities rather than in warrants further comment. Certain mental th family tradition. Again, family tradition failed disturbances have a standard interpretation tu to assert itself in the case of her only daughter, among the people who adhere to the shamanic m, who did not continue the healing career. prototype. Young persons' mental or neural m Similarly, the shamanic career is rarely cho­ disorders, such as schizophrenia or epilepsy, m , sen on the basis of family lineage. (See excep­ are usually understood as the persons' encoun­ da tions in Halifax, 1979:5, 130.) More often sha­ ter with gods, spirits, or demons, and interpre­ se manic calling manifests itself through very ted as shamanic calling (Eliade, 1956:24). in personal symptoms. Some anthropologists feel Sometimes symptoms are already noticeable in wl that temporary schizophrenia marks the onset the newborn infant, identifying him as shaman of those insights that lift the shaman-to-be material (Halifax, 1979:5). and hallu­ th above the ordinary tribes or clansmen . Eliade cinations of the novices are taken as products wl idealizes this experience as "a function of his of communing with supernatural forces (Hali­ SU psyche's breakthrough to a deeper reality" fax, 1979:5). In extreme cases, resulting in so (1956:2 , 17). Not all scrutinizers of shamanism highly enhanced charisma, the shaman-to-be pe share this poetic description, and Pfeiffer experiences "death." "The encounter with de­ pe (1966), Lantis (1947), and Silverman (1967), ath and the subsequent experience of rebirth sh for example, define the typical shaman as ab­ and illumination are the authentic initiation of ce normal and schizophrenic. Ackerknecht thinks the shaman" (Halifax, 1979:5, 65). "Death" is at that the "individual who is to become a shaman experienced through social symbolism, bodily ni passes through a _stage of very marked mental mortification, or mental trauma (Rasmussen, so disturbance" (1971:28). Bourguignon is more 1927). fu charitable and tends to classify the alleged The social-psychological process of creating a schizophrenic episode as an "altered state of shaman includes the imposition of a collec­ F1 consciousness," which may consist of a cultu­ tively validated role in the candidate. Often pr rally institutionalized trance (1976:48). How­ the candidate cooperates "with a mixture of hE ever much ethnologists may differ in the un­ cunning and good faith, progressively con­ hi derlying disturbance, virtually all agree that a structing the impersonation which is struck le: •chic upon him" (Levi-Strauss, 1967:30) . A graphic usually learned in family context, thus pre­ :ines description comes from the Zuni culture where cluding a larger selection process that might tasy an adolescent, accused of sorcery, actually usher disturbed persons into the role. How­ :nas- came to believe that he was a sorcerer . He ever, the question could be raised as to how the created the symptoms of "calling" (Stevenson, role of the witch was originally acquired. That y or 1906:406). In a similar vein, Boas reported the means, how did an ancestor initiate the family ,itch case of the famous Kwakiutl shaman Quesalid, tradition? Did a personality disturbance play a y al­ who started as a skeptic, play-acted, and fi­ role? If so and if there is validity to the claim mon nally seemed to believe in his shamanic power that certain mental disturbances have a This (1930). These observations illustrate the prin­ higher probability of recurring through hered­ m to ciple that the learning of one's role proceeds ity, then we may well deal with a higher in­ nov­ through community pressure . And what may cidence of such disturbances in witches . The ; Un­ start as role playing may finish as role identi­ many ifs of the issue preclude conclusion at . For fication. this time. boy, The role of witch in Franconia is no excep­ uac­ tion to this principle. I have personally ob­ (3) Techniques > the served the transference of the evil role from a The shaman's grand technique is the ecstatic 194). mother to a daughter in a village. The daugh­ trance. As mentioned earlier, there are ques­ .1ally ter was exposed to a double, mutually reinfor­ tions concerning the nature of the trance. Sev­ adel, cing impact : First , to the proximity and imit­ eral hypotheses: ability of a mother who had acquired the full­ a) It is a psychotic symptom; ;atus fledged reputation as a witch; and, second, to prompt the shaman to imagine , ~ntal the power of the community 's opinion that vir­ prescience, spiritual battles, whereabouts of 3.tion tually forced her into a cast similar to her straying souls, and cures for ailments. In such 1anic mother's. The end result was a daughter who visions the spirits reveal diagnosis, cure, loca­ ~ural mirrorred the attitudes and actions of her tion and preparation of effective herbs (Gel­ epsy, mother. Both learned to accept the social vali­ fand , 1965:132; Nadel, 1958:427; Halifax, :oun­ dation of their characteristics and to actively 1979:134) . rpre- seek causing harm by meddling, corrupting, ly­ b) It is a form of abreaction in which the sha­ 3:24). ing , and sowing disharmony wherever and man relives "death." Abreaction is a catharsis )le in whenever they could. becoming part of the trance "performance." In 1man In the shamanic setting, the public display of turn, the act induces abreactions in patients 1allu­ the shaman's ecstasy or trance - regardless (Levi-Strauss, 1967:37). Consequences of the :iucts whether schizophrenic or simulated - exposed patient's abreaction can be perceived as heal­ Hali- sufficient numbers of persons to the spectacle ing . This type of trance notably consists of "at­ 1g in so that it must have included some disturbed tacks of convulsive hysteria that occur only in to-be personalities . Selectivity could have prompted the presence of spectators" (Abse, 1958:276). h de­ persons with fitting inclinations to continue c) It is a drug-induced temporary psychosis. ·birth shamanism as a tradition. Nadel sees this pro­ (Halifax, 1978:132). Kennan, as early as the ion of cess as instrumental in offering deviant and 1860s, observed Siberian shamanic practices th" is abnormal personalities a legitimate social and noticed the natives ' ingestion of halluci­ >odily niche. It transforms emotionally disturbed per­ nogenic mushrooms and the subsequent drink­ 1ssen, sons into persons carrying out useful social ing and re-drinking of their hallucinogenic functions (Nadel, 1958:425) . urine (1920:156). ;ing a "Elect" symptomotology is at a minimum in d) It is an altered state of consciousness :ollec­ Franconia and fails to provide for "elect" inter­ through autohypnotism. This is probably the Dften pretation ofpsychopathological symptoms. The most commonly held interpretation of the sha­ ire of healer role consists of socially acceptable be­ manic trance (New Columbia Encyclopedia, con­ havior, thus attracting a more conforming and 1975:2491). This voluntarily induced and ac­ truck less deviant personality. The witch's role is tively sought state has been classified as "pos-

131 session" and contrasted with "hysterical psy­ supposed to have taken place in the 1910s and chosis" that is an involuntary, unintended, and '20s.) It is interesting that the peasants most likely neuropathological trance (Lan­ matched the shamanic interpretation of the V gness, 1976:59). Under autohypnotism the spirit flight. li shaman performs as a medium of spirits. (This, This belief may be a vestige of the medieval B however, is not a universal trait of shamans . and conviction that witches expe­ ] Plains Indians' practices exclude spirit posses­ rienced trances during which they flew sion (Boas, 1938:658).) through the night to attend the sacrilegious I e) Some opinions describe it as fake, a per­ Sabbath. Theologians and common folk alike C formance that may be culture-bound but fails accepted this notion as fact (Kraemer and I to convince the shaman himself. Sprenger, 1584; Bodin, 1580). However, the C } Trance defined as autohypnotic possession belief in the witches' nocturnal bacchanalia deserves further discussion . A range of meth­ has long since disappeared from Franconia. I ods to self-induce trance has been observed, va­ In this connection, some authors have raised rying from drugs to concentration. "In Uganda, the question of drug use. The so-called witches' it is said to be produced by the use of tobacco, ointment did indeed exist - at least according in parts of Polynesia by kava, in southern Cal­ to a medieval author who published a recipe ifornia by the , in Siberia by monoto­ (Porta, 1589). Several European ethnologists nous drumming, in by breath control" have experimented with it and reported that (Boas, 1938:659). The prototype of shaman fa­ they indeed experienced a trance with notable vors drumming, rattling, dancing, singing, and sensations of flying through the sky (Dobler, hyperventilating. Further into the seance, he 1977:24-25). However, reputable historian distorts limbs, trembles seemingly uncontrolla­ hesitate to say that hallucinogenic ointment bly, manifests olfactory hallucinations, yells, was actually used by witches, or, if used, to babbles, ventriloquizes, and speaks in forced which extent. Many medieval and modern falcetto voices (the voices of spirits possessing writers think that the witches' ointment has him). Finally he will collapse, showing signs of existed merely as a figment of culture-bound severe exhaustion (Bogoras, 1958; Nadel, imagination (Dupres, 1925; Weyer, 1563; Rose, 1958). 1962; Mackay, 1841). My acquaintance with Possession trance () is virtually and study of the peasantry has not revealed unknown to the Franconian magicians of mod­ any psychedelic drug use by witches or healers ernity (there are questions about the historical in modern Franconia (cf. Merzbacher, 1970). occurrence of this phenomenon). However, None of the elders ever hinted that such usage there exists the idea of the spirit flight, and ever occurred during their lifetime; neither two accounts came to my attention. One dealt could any one of them recall ever having heard with the witch-reputed blacksmith of the ham­ about it from their elders, which takes us back let of Gossweinstein. Elders reported that he into the early 1800s. If during medieval times used to be found lying unconscious in his there was psychedelic drug use within or with­ smithy each time after his chimney had emit­ out a magical framework, it has been forgot­ ted a conspicuous black puff of smoke, or, as ten. some claimed, after they had seen him exit Nonetheless, a number of ethnologists and through the chimney for a night flight. The folklorists take stock in the idea that psychede­ other account tells of a young man who, one lic drugs played a most significant role in medi­ day, found his girl friend "in a deep trance, and eval witchcraft (e.g., Duerr, 1978). Some of no attempt to wake her was successful. He, them see the role as etiological, i.e., halluci­ then, realized ... that the girl's spirit roamed nogenic drugs having created the notions and elsewhere as an evil witch and would return to the ideas that formed the basis of witchcraft the body after the nefarious mission was com­ belief(e.g., Kroll, 1979-1982, at the University pleted. The young man fled in terror never to of Bayreuth). This extreme view is unaccept­ return" (Sebald, 1978:123). (These events were able to the majority of scholars specializing in

132 md the history of witchcraft. Their explanations of gradually lost its zest for the incarnate. During nts witchcraft's origin dwell on the nature of re­ the years of the European witch mania, not the ligious ideas, cultural symbolism, and political only humans were suspect of Satanic servitude and economic conditions (e.g ., Russell, 1980; but also animals, with the proverbial val Monter, 1976; Midelfort, 1972). heading the list. This has largely become his­ pe­ Trance-inducing implements, as used by sha­ tory, and only in legends and occasional faint lew mans, are unknown among Franconian magi­ hear-say emerges the figure of the vivible fa­ ous cians. Drums, rattles, dance and song are not miliar. like part of their magical art. Remotely, one could What, however, has survived are the invis­ 3.nd call the witch's pronouncing of a formula or the ible spiritual entities. For the healer they are the healer's saying a prayer as vestiges of more ex­ the souls of the departed, , saints, God, alia pressive sorcery in the past. His son, His mother, and so forth; for the witch Both witch and healer practice mechanical they are and innumerable demons. To 1sed magic, believing that formulas or rituals pos­ the believers they are real; to the nonbelievers hes' sess innate power . This is particularly true of they are culture-bound imaginations . The re­ ling the witch who must rely on the grimoire. Tech­ alm of good and the realm of evil are theolog­ cipe nically any person rendering the magical for­ ically defined and reflect the dualistic nature of ;ists mula can accomplish magic. For example, Judeo-Christian thought. Each realm has its :hat many formulas in the grimoire include Hebrew representative in Franconian folk magic; the 3.ble (or pseudo-Hebrew) and phrases. healer is the mediator between humans and >ler, Though the meaning of the words is unknown the "forces of the light," and the witch of the rian to the witch, she that speaking them "forces of darkness." Each tries to marshal the rnnt (made possible by accompanying phonetics) forces of her realm. l, to will achieve magical effects. Similarly, the On the other side, the shaman's tech­ lern prayers of the healer include Latin phrases, nique is possession, with spirits play­ has the meanings of which are unknown to the per­ ing leading roles. Each shaman has his helping ,und former. Hence, rather than witch and healer spirits, which belong to him and like to be fre­ '.ose, being media, they are mechanics working with quently called and used (Balikci, 1967:195). .vith limited tools. This is why the tenor of their During the seance, the shaman calls his spirit aled magic is far less ecpressive, let alone ecstatic, helpers, converses with them, becomes them, 1lers than that of the shaman. The difference is due and asks them to accomplish tasks. The task J70). to different cosmologies . The shaman can be a may consist of finding a straying soul or of sage medium, i.e., an incarnation of a spirit, while gathering vital about distant ther witch or healer are mere mechanical mediators places and events. Upon return, they tend to eard between people and Satan or God. While sha­ possess the shaman and their voices can be oack manic work is capricious and individualistic, heard ventriloquized or in falcetto . imes the healer's or witch's work is sedate, predic­ The trouble with the shaman's is vith­ table, and influenced by theological principles that they often have a will of their own, turn rgot- of an established : Catholicism. fickle, develop jealousies among themselves, turn against their master, and switch to evil and (4) Familiars magic. Conversely, evil spirits can change 1ede­ A Familiar is considered a supernatural entity their minds and become goods ones. This tu­ nedi- sometimes incarnately disguised, as in an ani­ multuous spiritual universe explains the un­ 1e of mal, and sometimes believed to be an invisible, predictability of shamanic magic (Nadel, lluci­ spiritual entity. The pantheons of the shaman, 1958:27-28; Balikci, 1967:197, 206; Rasmus­ : and on one side, and healer and witch, on the other, sen, 1931:299). craft are teeming with them. Shamanism usually fo­ shamanic style sends into battle ·rsity cuses on invisible familiars; Franconian magic spirit familiars to help drive out or kill demons cept­ used to communicate with both visible and in­ (in the classic Siberian setting they are, respec­ ng in visible intities, but since the Renaissance has tively, tunraqs and tupiliqs). This maneuver is

133 similar to Christian exorcism, which calls on short of excuses for unsuccessful magic: Fault various saints, angels (some of them are de­ has been imputed to inadequately performed m~ picted in traditional Christianity with sword in or interfering stronger power. However pr, hand), and God Himself to intervene. Again demons of the witch and spirits of the heale; tit the significant difference is that the shaman have had . fixed qualities that made them far re1 becomes the medium of the spirit, while the more predictable and consistent than the su­ ~ av healer (or priest) is merely a mediator appea­ pernatural entities of the shaman. be ling to God and His helpful hosts. There is, tr• however, an identical element: The initial un­ (5) Healing th certainty as to the identity of the possessing The literature on shamanism overwhelmingly of demons and the vital task to identify them. describes healing as the main function of the Unless they can be identified, battle against shaman. Some definitions of shaman focus on n~ them is futile. (See Hindu example, Freed and this quality (Amie!, 1966:34; Eliade, 1956:208; It Freed, 1964:307; African example, Rogers, Kiev, 1968; Hippler, 1976:108; Pfister, nE 1976:35.) 1932:104). In contrast to the scientific appro­ Tl In the late 1970s an official exorcism took ach, "the shaman has never grasped ... that fo place in Franconia. It was sanctioned by the disease can be cured through the aiding of nat­ is bishop and carried out by two priests, who ex­ ural bodily repair work ... Primitive people as ti• perienced great difficulty in determining the a rule know nothing of physiology" (Rogers, "l identities of five demons and trying to evict 1976:3--4). Hence shamanic explanation of dis­ th them from a young woman (Goodman, 1981). ease is of a spiritual nature. The shaman re­ m The exorcism ended with the death of the "pos­ cognizes three etiological categories: a) Witch­ et sessed" Annelise Michel and culminated in a craft. Disease is seen as the result of someone ic trial with prison sentences for the priests. working evil witchcraft. Everyone is a poten­ m Another common element is fetishistic and tial victim of spells (Rogers, 1976:5). Such sl reveals the human penchant for sympathetic spells can be cast by the enemy him- or herself, SC magic: the wearing on one's body of an , or by someone hired to do so. b) Dreaming. Fol­ fa charm, or medal as "good medicine" to ward off lowers of shamanism believe that dreams can evil. The shaman will give the sufferer an bring on sickness, particularly if the is rr. amulet that represents a protective spirit, as about sickness. c) Moral delinquency. Viola­ R among the N etsilik Eskimo a tunraq (Balikci, tions of may lead to disease as punish­ il 1967:195), or among American Indians the ment. Punishing agents can be God, a myste­ bi medicine bag. Folk Catholicism, as ministered riously automatically avenging universe, or ri by the healer, proceeds similarly: Medals pic­ supernatural visitation. n turing saints or the Mother of God, often Besides explaining many diseases on a natu­ ti blessed in church, used to be part of the heal­ ralistic basis, Franconian folk magic also ex­ c: er's arsenal of implements to be offered plains some diseases and accidents within the VI to villagers in need of fortitude. categories of "witchcraft" and "moral delin­ ii In sum, witch and healer inhabit a dualistic quency," but discards the category of "dream­ b cosmology. What guardian angels are to the ing." Franconians believe in the reality of s· healer, are tunraqs to the shaman. What de­ witch-caused disease or accident and that the mons are to the witch, are tupiliqs to the sha­ witching person had to know the formulas man. The shaman is an holistic figure empo­ (available through ). On the other wered to work both magic. He hand, shamans in illiterate societies do not does so under the guise of familiars, which of­ have grimoires and hence their magic is more ten are unruly and unpredictable, and can use individualistic. However, both the Franconian them to deflect culpability from himself. If his and the shamanic systems assume that every­ sorcery fails, he can put the blame on the mis­ one is a potential victim. Like in shamanism, behavior or impotence of the spirit helpers. violating moral standards of the community Witch and healer, likewise, have never been can provoke the wrath of God, or trigger a 134 rnlt mysterious, inherent response in nature, or considered one and the same. (Today Gfrasch is ned prompt the visitation of avenging spiritual en­ increasingly understood as a symptom of mal­ ver, tities. The belief in an immanent punishment nutrition, particularly of calcium deficiency.) :1.ler response has animistic quality; for example, More frequently, disease in farm animals was far mistreated trees, fields, bee hives, or tools, can ascribed to intrusion of demons, who obeyed SU- avenge themselves. Responses are thought to the spell of a witch. b) Object-intrusion used to be particularly forthcoming if animals are mis­ be notorious proof of witchcraft at work, and treated. Another means of guarding taboos is many prosecutors during the years of the witch the fear of visitations, which can come in form hunt considered pins or needles voided by a 1gly of avenging angels or punishing demons. "victim" as signs of witch-caused intrusions. the However , Franconian tradition allows expla­ This is history by now, and I have no recent re­ , on nation of illness on two levels simultaneously. ports of such beliefs or happenings. c) Francon­ W8; It is understood that, in its immediacy, an ill­ ian folk magic knows of the possibility of soul :ter, ness or accident has a physical explanation. separation. As mentioned earlier, they have a pro­ The peasants understood the »how « of a mis­ legendary flavor, and belief in them is limited. ~hat fortune but wondered about the "why." There Moreover, the cases do not entirely fit this cat­ nat­ is always the question of "supernatural mo­ egory, since the persons involved were con­ e as tive" behind a seemingly natural occurrence. sidered witches and not patients. ~ers, "An illness could be recognized as natural, but Witches in Franconia, by definition, are dis- the causation behind it as supernatural. When ruled out as healers. Their exclusion is cate­ 1 re­ my grandmother suffered a hernia, almost ev­ gorical, even though the grimoire they use in­ tch­ eryone understood what it was - a physiolog­ cludes also curing formulas. The only way a ione ical disability. But why did it happen? Did a witch can approximate an act of healing is by ten­ malicious witch weigh down the basket when withdrawing her aggressive spell. One of my luch she tried to lift it? Or did God punish her for case studies deals with a woman who stole self, some mistake of her own or of someone in the from a witch-reputed neighbor. Soon thereaf­ Fol­ family?" (Sebald, 1978:175). ter she perceived a vengeance spell causing her can Duality of explanation is not part of the sha­ cows to milk traces of blood. Knowing the tra­ mis manic prototype. (See exceptions in Africa, ditional solution of Abbitte (asking to be for­ iola- Rappaport, 1976; in Mexico, Young, 1981.) An given), she visited the witch, offered restitu­ 1ish­ illness or injury can be understood as having tion, and begged that the curse be lifted from rste­ been inflicted directly by a . Supernatu­ her stable . The witch complied ; the cows re­ ·, or ral power and physical act coalesce. The sha­ turned to normal. In a strict sense, this is not manic diagnosis of illness can fall into one of classifiable as healing but as "justice magic." atu­ three categories: a) Spirit or demon intrusion The healer, unlike the shaman at the sea­ ' ex­ causing suffering. b) Disease-object intrusion, nce, usually visits the location of illness or mis­ . the whereby a foreign object of evil power is lodged fortune, where she performs rituals in privacy. elin­ in the body of the patient - a crystal, pebble, In the majority of cases, the problem is with iam­ ball of hair, small animal, and so forth. c) Soul farm animals - calves sicken, piglets die, and , y of straying or soul capture leaving the patient most often, cows milk traces of blood. In such ;the weak or unconscious. cases she enters the stable, closes the door, and ulas Franconian magic has counterparts in all after one or more hours reappears to announce ,ther three classes. a) Symptoms of inexplicable dis­ the exorcism completed. She usually leaves the not eases are often blamed on demonic intrusion, if family herbs with detailed instruction as to nore not outright possession. For example, a certain their application to the ailing animals. Her ex­ nian type of infants' convulsions - labeled Gfrasch orcism is usually rewarded with some simple rery- by the peasants - defied medical explanation. gift, usually farm produce, rarely money. Re­ 1ism, This was one of the rare instances where the ports on remuneration in shamanic healing dif­ 1nity Franconians adopted a shaman-like holistic ex­ fer . Most cases report no remuneration; in er a planation, i.e., symptoms and causation were other cases shamans were found to charge fees

135 and became exceptionally wealthy (Nadel, village of Rabeneck ... After the healer entered 1958:431). Witches almost always expected to the stable and closed the door, the family was Cr be paid , either in produce or in money . expected to stay in their quarters and wait for ical In cases of human affliction, the healer's him to complete the ritual. My confidante was som practice may be taken over by the priest if the a young teenager at the time and her curiosity ors supernatural visitation is considered major got the better of her sense of obedience . .. . she helJ and an official exorcism may be performed. Ac­ found a knothole and spied on the man. She tion cording to Nadel, similar hierarchies of healers saw him kneel, pray, make the sign of the cross and are found in some primitive societies and con­ numerous times, and light a blessed candle, spel sist of consecrated and nonconsecrated sha­ the so-called Waxstock, that normally is used the mans (1958:430). In Franconia , the healer of­ only in a requiem mass. After he had com­ ma1 ficiates in minor personal afflictions, working pleted the ritual in the stable, he asked to see ma1 with the patient directly and allowing the im­ the butter barrel and proceeded to carve three sen , mediate family as audience . From my infor­ crosses on the inside . This was to dispel the hex SUQ mants' reports I can generalize a number of that presumably impaired the implement, as it and characteristics: a) The healer is aligned with had failed to curdle butter ever since the trou­ WOI Catholic liturgy, using standard prayers, the ble began. sall sign of the cross, candles, herbs, and medals After the healer had finished the Anfangen, E that have been blessed by the priest during he reminded the family that they must not ac­ hea Thi mass. b) She prefers as much privacy as pos­ cept or lend any object for the next three days. atic sible for her rituals, except when the exorcism He also announced that within these critical he a involved persons; then she allows immediate days a person would call on them to borrow are family members as passive spectators. c) She something. This person was the one who put 1 chants certain prayers in a language patients the hex on the stable ... ing fail to understand; whether the prayers are in The second day after the healing ritual, Mrs. ma Latin, Hebrew, or a form of glossolalia has not Fruitgrower came and asked to borrow the fer1 been verified. d) She impresses people as an Grasstumpf (sickle) . The identity of the witch the expert herbalist. e) She functions as counselor, and the origin of the curse were now con­ der perhaps to some extent as oracle, whom people firmed . (Under some plausible excuse, her re­ sue consult in important decisionmaking. f) She quest was denied, since the witch, through (cf. frequently functions as midwife and "para­ handling a personal object, would be empo­ due medic ." g) Remuneration is so minor that heal­ wered to renew the hex.) grE ing is not used for making a living. The Anfangen by the healer appeared effec­ cas The healing efficacy of both shaman and tive, the animals recovered and the butter bar­ vie healer often appear wondrous to people. A rel again produced butter." (Sebald, 1978:103- sul number ofreasons bear explanation. When the 104). sh1 healer is called for an exorcism of the stable, it re, almost always is during the end phase of a dis­ In the case of humans, the most important rea­ en ease or an epidemic when the afflicted animals son for efficacy deals with a persuasive social­ an have either developed immunity or have peris­ psychological-somatic process. It is a process of WO hed. Livestock alive at the time of exorcism and its success depends on three str would most likely survive anyway . Here is the interrelated factors: a) The curer must believe al report of a first-hand witness to the practice of in his or her technique 's effectiveness. b) The stE A nf angen-healing. victim must believe in the curer's power. c) The tw community must have faith in the curer-pa­ "The Meddler family experienced "misfortune tient relationship and offer a positive definition te: in the stable." Piglets died, the cows milked (cf. Levi-Strauss, 1967:24). Essentially the effi­ WI blood and the calves sickened . No natural ex­ cacy of magic depends on belief in magic. These sh planation could be found. It was decided to call conditions are met in both the shamanic and ni on the services of a well-known healer from the Franconian situations. th

136 !Ted Certain ailments are more amenable to mag­ reorganization with group support" (1976:108). was ical healing than others . Neurotic or psycho­ In summary, magical healing in primitive and ; for somatic conditions , generated by fearful belief peasant societies can be understood as cultu­ was or self-harming , can be undone by rally institutionalized therapy (cf. Amiel, 1966; sity helping the patient to change belief or percep­ Kiev, 1968). she tion. For example, a person haunted by anxiety Techniques differ widely, of course. For ex­ She and believing to be suffering from a witch's ample, there is no in Francon­ ross spell may seek the help of a healer. Because ian culture . If she ever has used psychedelic dle , the anxiety may have resulted in psychoso­ drugs in recent generations , the Franconian 1sed matic disorder, the sufferer can be cured my a healer applied it only as an anesthetic or anal­ om- magician's persuasive ritual. The cure, in es­ gesic (members of the nightshade family have see sence, capitalizes on the suggestibility of the been used at child birth, for example). Sha­ 1ree subject. Since harmful of the world mans, on the other hand, have used drugs to hex and of ourselves are universal, curing by magic facilitate their mediumship. lS it works and therefore occurs equally univer­ A few folk techniques are, however, striking rou- sally. in their similarities. For example, Franconians Efficacy is enhanced by the shaman's or cut switches from a thorny member of the ~en, healer's insight into the patient's unconscious. nightshade family, the Bocksdorn bush (Ly ­ ; ac­ This ability permits psychosomatic manipul­ cium halimifolium), to whip hex-suspected ays. ation and tends to support the notion that folk cows; regular Bocksdorn-whipping was be­ ;ical healers indeed have extraordinary talents and lieved to keep the stable witch-proof (Sebald, row are not just lucky charlatans (cf. Pfister, 1932). 1978 :74). Rural Thais and Indian peasants put The community supports the belief in heal- - drove out bad spirits by whipping the afflicted ing and benefits from it . In folk healing (sha­ with a cane (Suwanlert, 1976:80; Freed & l'lrs. manic and otherwise) the magician uses trans­ Freed, 1964:317) . Franconians burned worm­ the ference tendencies of the client and channels wood (Artemisia absinthium) in the stable to itch them into social conformity. The client's depen­ keep witches and demons out, for it was be­ ~on­ dency needs are not attached to the healer as lieved they abhorred its smell. In North Indian . re­ such but are deflected back to the community villages, the smoke from certain ugh (cf. Boyer, 1964). I have seen this method re­ (available from the shaman) thrown into the 1po- duce social isolation through the person's inte­ fire was to banish and demons (Freed & gration or reintegration into the community. A Freed, 1964:308). Iec­ case in point was the peasant woman who had Shamanic as well as Christian can Jar- violated certain neighborly duties and as a re­ serve as subterfuge therapeutic devices for the 03- sult suffered guilt and perceived an ailment victim . The converses with the pos­ she had recently contracted as the neighbor's sessing demons; during the attempt to per­ revenge hex. The healer she finally consulted suade the evil spirits to leave the victim's body, rea­ encouraged her to reconcile with the neighbor the spirits are given ample opportunity to com­ ~ial­ and make amends for her offense - and all plain, curse, and insult the exorcist or any lS of would be well. In so counseling, the healer other person they wish to choose. This was con­ 1ree strengthened community integration, avoided spicuous throughout Anneliese Michel's Chris­ ieve a limited client-counselor attachment, and in­ tian exorcism, referred to earlier, and was The stead promoted a conciliatory relationship be­ equally clearly observed in shamanic exor­ The tween neighbors. cisms (Freed & Freed, 1964:301) . The out­ -pa­ This type of healing or counseling is charac­ pouring of rage , insults, and obscenities can be tion teristic of such folk healers as shamans and the a cathartic and go unpunished, even earning effi- women who do the Anfangen. Hippler called compassion. To prolong attention, the possess­ 1ese shamanism an "ethnopsychiatric healing tech­ ing demons may be slow in revealing their and nique that in the absence of (modern ) insight identities. This maneuver was apparent in therapy permits some degree of personal Christian as well as shamanic exorcisms . "De-

137 ception and confusion about the identity hold consensus is created. Humans, it appears, can the interest of spectators and prolong the cur­ bear negative and even frightening definitions ope ing procedure" (Freed & Freed, 1964:307). In better than no definitions at all. An anomic giv short, "possession" can bring gripes and griev­ unstructured situation is least bearable. Dis~ for, ances to the attention of the community and eases that defy natural explanations have been qw possibly win support of relatives. readily given a supernatural explanation by onl Side-by-side comparison of classical sha­ folk healers - an explanation that usually calls fea brE manic (among Netsilik Eskimos, Balikci, 1967) for exorcism. wh and Christian exorcisms (the Michel case, If the world of experience is divided in the He Goodman, 1981) shows resemblances. In order "normal" and the "pathological", it is the folk om of procedure: a) The demons must be identi­ healers' task to interpret the latter . They must fied. b) The shaman invites his tunraqs into his supplement an otherwise incomplete reality ge1 body. The priest or healer calls on the Holy and provide a multitude of meanings not to Spirit and angels. c) The shaman has the tun­ available through "normal" thought (cf. Levi­ (H raqs speak (in secret vocabulary) in front of the Strauss, 1967:37-38). If normal means of re­ sh: patient. The priest begins to speak prayers of cognizing the nature of events are insufficient, Pli exorcism in Latin over the victim. d) The tupi­ they may claim abilities, such as ca1 liqs or demons and Satan leave the body of the clairvoyance or other ESP talents (Balikci, mi victim. e) The shaman sends tunraqs after the 1967; Sebald, 1968:112, 180). of · tupiliqs to help him kill as many as he can. The Many authors assume that shaman and an priest's prayers intend to banish the demons healer further social cohesion. Levi-Strauss, to and order them to . f) Spectators join in for example, thinks that the public's participa­ ch chanting, singing, or praying aloud. (In the Mi­ tion in the cure results in experiencing "enthu­ en chel case, family members, relatives, and a few siasm and an intellectual and emotional satis­ th community members joined in the exorcism faction which produces support" with some expressivity .) g) If, inspite of efforts, (1967:35). Halifax's poetic rendition has it that vi, the victim continues to be possessed or even the shaman's work creates balance "between B< dies (as in the case of Michel), the tupiliqs or the community and the gods or divine forces ar the demons were too numerous, or returned af­ that direct the life of the culture" (1979:21). In­ m ter the exorcism, or the exorcism wasn't car­ dicative of the presumed unity of shaman and ju ried out adequately. culture, Balikci thinks that "the system st It must be remembered, however, that pos­ provided the shaman with an important ra­ ar session in the orthodox Christian context dif­ tionale for his practice" (1967:206). Others find m fers from the shaman's personal possession. that the shaman is integrated and has an inte­ a1 When the shaman becomes possessed, he tries grative function in the community (Nadel, cc to heal through being voluntarily possessed by 1958; Romano, 1965; Boyer, 1964; Billig, tr helpful spirits, by being a medium for super­ 1948). (e natural forces. Christian possession means the The statement that "mores do not live on of ~ intrusion of an evil spirit against the will of the themselves but must be recreated by ritual, cc possessed. ceremony" (Park, 1967:254) applies more to sl the shaman than to the healer. Franconian rr. (6) Other functions folk magic has a minimum of public ceremony. tc Explaining the world are unequivocal - albeit Perhaps the human desire for ceremony and e latent - functions of shaman and healer. The ritual is otherwise fulfilled by official Catholi­ t, witch's function is more egotistically goal-ori­ cism through colorful liturgy and festivals. II ented than explanatory. Shaman and healer Both, Franconian folk magic and shaman­ perform, among other tasks, the roles of ex­ ism, can be understood as providing ''.justice pi plainers: Giving meaning to a multiplicity of magic ." Many communal or personal misfor­ S( situations which otherwise would remain puz­ tunes are attributed to breaches of taboos. The tE zling to the community. In so doing, unity and shaman's function is to have these admitted b 138 1, can openly through confession at the seance. For­ creates certain fears and anxieties; (3) it sug­ tions giveness is then extended and supernatural gests cures; (4) the process of curing reintro­ omic, forces appeased. Similarly, the democratic duces the same fear- and anxiety-inducing cos­ Dis­ quality of witchery among the Franconians not mology; (5) therefore recreating the same or been only deters them from wrong-doing (through similar social, psychological, or psychosomatic ,n by fear of retaliatory hexes) but, if they indeed symptoms; (6) this circular process continues calls break a taboo, prompts them to go for Abbitte, ad infinitum. The symptoms will endlessly re­ which involves confession and restitution. cur as long as the belief system is operant. 1 the Hence witchcraft functions as preserver of tab­ 'folk oos. must Just as the witch, or the witching peasant mlity generally, the shaman "could serve as a threat Summary and Conclusions

1 not to the local bully, whom he could kill by magic" Comparison of ideal-type shamanism with Levi­ (Hippler, 1976:110). But even the power of the Franconian witchcraft yields similarities and )f re­ shaman is subject to justice magic. Among differences in a number of variables. ;ient, Plains Indians a malevolent shaman's magic (1) Personal characteristics. The shaman ~has can be counteracted by the aid of another sha­ practices totality of magic. Because of the total likci, man (Lowie, 1958:413). This is the equivalent range of sorcery his character is ambivalent - of"duels by means of witchery" as I found them he can work good and evil magic. Healer and and among the Jura peasants. Villagers who prefer witch have divided up the contrasting ele­ auss, to abstain from conjuring personally, have a ments and are predictable in basic attitudes 1cipa- choice of either consulting a healer for help or and functions. (2) Initiation. While the sha­ 1thu­ engaging a witch to do aggressive witchery for man, and to a lesser degree the healer, is often :;atis­ them. identified as "elect," the witch usually depends port" Describing the magician as exclusively pro­ on family lineage. Yet the three offices can also , that viding integrative functions must be modified. be obtained through apprenticeship. (3) Tech­ ween Both shaman and witch contribute to deep rifts niques. The central art of the shaman is medi­ orces and chronic fears in the community: the sha­ umship through possession. Witch and healer ). In­ man through ambiguous and sometimes un­ are mediators. While the shaman becomes the t and justly partisan sorcery; the witch through con­ incarnate of spirits, witch and healer merely stem stantly recreating suspicion and distrust entreat them. Shamanic magic is mostly ec­ t ra­ among the villagers. In such environment of static; Franconian magic is mostly mechanical. , find magical threat the only persons you can trust The shamanic seance is a public spectacle. inte­ are in your immediate family. Jura parents With few exception, Franconian magic is se­ adel, constantly admonish their children to avoid cretive and private. (4) Familiars. The cosmol­ lillig, tresspassing, to refuse gifts from strangers ogies of both systems teem with good and evil (even neighbors), and to never steal anything. spirits. They not only can be manipulated but on of Village life, because of this and other reasons, some can be chosen as intimate associates - tual, consists of isolated families. Likewise in the tunraqs among the Eskimo shamans, guardian re to shamanic community clan loyalty is at a pre­ angels or patron saints among healers, demons 1nian mium. Eskimos prefer first-cousin marriages among witches. (5) Healing. This is the main tony. to guard against infiltrators who might wreak function for healer and shaman alike. The and evil sorcery. Hence, a positive outcome of the witch reigning over the negative segment of ;holi- two magical systems is a strengthening of fa­ the shaman's spiritual spectrum, does not heal. l. milism. All three figures capitalize on human suggesti­ nan­ In sum, shamanism and Jura folk magic bility and can achieve success in psychosomatic ,itice present us with a repertoire of ambiguous and manipulation. (6) Other functions. Both belief 1sfor­ sometimes contradictory functions. Both sys­ systems function as justice magic, proposing a The tems expend their energies circularly: (1) The sanction system based on magical enforce­ itted belief system spells out a cosmology; (2) it ment. Both systems are fraught with para-

139 doxes, however. They induce integrative as manic vocation, they reveal certain parasha. well as divisive behavior; they cause distur­ manic characteristics which lead us to think of a bances and suggest spurious cures against common primitive cultural bas , or, at any rate of prehistoric contact ... " (1983:19). ' them. Corradi sees validity in replacing "lndoeur 0_ In general, the two belief systems reflect pean" by "Indouralic", suggesting a closer linguis­ greater differences than similarities. The holi­ tic, mythic, and general cultural link between an. stic, organic magic of shamanism contrasts cient European and Finno-Ugric peoples than is being claimed traditionaUy. with the dualistic, mechanical magic of healer A specific etiological theory proposed during and witch. Compared to shamanism, Francon­ the 1920s by Margaret Murray, a British Egyp. ian folk magic is an atrophied, if not necro­ tologist , relates witchcraft of the and tized, vestige of sorcery. It is too dependent on the Renaissance to ancient Celtic druidism (Mur­ rigid, institutionalized theology to be compara­ ray, 1921). She thought that "ritual witchcraft" had been an ongoing, highly organized pagan cult ble to idiosyncratic, dynamic shamanism. If until its more or less complete extermination at shamanism indeed ever was a pre-Christian the hands of the Inquisition, which redefined the and pan-primitive system of beliefs and prac­ pagan religion a Devil-workship. This is not the , tices, it has been fragmented in Franconia, as place to delve into the controversy whether Mur­ ray's t.heory can be supported by enough evidence F well as in the rest of Europe, and supplanted to convince such reputable historians as Monter A by a religio-magical system in which preside (1969), Russell (1980), Macfarlane (1970), and formal priest, informal healer, and black witch. others, who are highly skeptical of Murray's no­ A In its present form, Franconian folk magic can­ tion . Moreover, what is really important in this not be defined as a version of shamanism. context is the question whether druidism, if in­ A deed it should have influenced the development of While there are indeed several shamanic ele­ medieval witchcraft, had anything to do with sha- ' B ments, they fail to add up to an integrated pic­ manism. Here the answers run scarce. One of the ture. Franconian folk magic is primarily a fad­ foremost experts on Celtic culture, Stuart Pig- ' ing form of medieval Catholicism. And to what gott, dedicates most of his pages to combat the ro­ B mantic image that has come to enshroud the true , B extent medieval Catholicism was influenced by picture of the and was able to summarize ancient shamanism (or shamanic druidism) is the few facts we know about them in a very few still another question. pages at the end of his book (1968:158-164). So at B this time, conscientious scholarship would refrain from establishing any definitive relationship be­ tween druidism and shamanism. 3. A "kinship group" in this region was (to some ex­ E Notes tent still is) loosely identified by the Hausnam e,, 1. The author gratefully acknowledges the 1984/85 (»house •) associated with the patriarch; E sabbatical leave from Arizona State University hence all descendents from my maternal grandfa­ which facilitated the completion of this paper. ther were called Klopperer, those from my pa­ B 2. While this paper limits itself to a comparison, the ternal grandfather Schneider. Each villager could importance of the question of origi11 of the el - therefore claim belonging to two different clanlike men ts ofwitchraft is not lost on the author and he sets of relatives, each going by an informal Haus­ B wishes to at least make a note of it. namen that was neither written nor officially re­ Over recent years, inferences have been made corded but known and used by everyone in the vil­ linking European witchcrafl; to ancient, pre­ lage . Christian shamanism. Eliad alludes lo this link­ 4. An adequate discussion concerning the role of E age (1956), Duerr sees th desire of witches to en­ drugs in witchcraft would demand more attention gage helping spirit.'! as a derivative of the type of than can be allotted in this paper. The reader may shamanism that already prevailed in lower pal­ want to follow up on the topic by consulting Duerr C eolithic times (1984), and Corradi's thesis, based (1978:13-24), Mrsich (1957), Barnett (1965), on research of linguistics and myths, reads: Fulm er (1930), Raining (1977:33), Baroja C "Shamanism, which in the strictest sense is a (1965:254-255 ), the daring idea to explain the phenomenon typical of Northern Europe and Salem witch mania through ergotism by Caporael C America, has left its traces not only in the ancient (1976), and perhaps even the highly suspect 'ac­ culture oflndia, China, , Scythia, and Thrace counts by Castaneda (1968). There seems to be from where it probably spread to Greece but also evidence that leaves from members of the night- , (in) the West ... Despite the fact that the Indoeu­ shade family were sometimes boiled or smoked, I ropeans cannot be considered as people of sha- with the most frequent ones being Hyoscyamus

140 1sha­ niger, Aconitum napellus, Datura sanguinea, and Duerr, Hans Peter 1978: Traumzeit. Frankfurt. : of a Atropa belladonna - all being Old World plants Duerr, Hans Peter 1984: Sedna oder die Liebe zum rate, known virtually to all peasants. The decoctions Leben. Frankfurt. and ointments occasionally mentioned in the Dupre, E. 1925: Pathologie de l'lmagination et de l'E­ witch trials may have included these drugs and euro­ motion. Paris. guis­ may explain the perception of flying, attending Eliade, Mircea 1956: Schamanismus und archaische the witches' Sabbath, and experiencing other ex­ nan­ Ekstasetechnik. Zurich. an is traordinary things. Without doubt, the natural Frazer, James G. 1964: The New Golden Bough. pharmacopia of psychedelia can easily produce vi­ New York. sions of haunting realness and confirm all sorts of iring Freed, Stanley and Ruth S. FREED 1964: Spirit Pos­ 1gyp- ingredients of witchcraft. However, some over­ session as Illness in a North Indian Village. In: zealous writers seem to forget that it is not drugs Ethnology 3:152-171. 3 and Mur­ that create or infuse these images; drugs merely Fuhner, H. 1930: Los Estupefacientes. In: Investi­ :raft" activate the perception of already established cul­ gacion y Progreso 4:37. tural images and beliefs, lending them real-life Gelfand, 1965: : Traditional 1 cult mat appearance. Medicine Man of Rhodesia. New York. d the Goodman, Felicitas D. 1981: The Exorcism of Anne- ,t the liese Michel. New York. Mur­ References Raining, Peter 1977: Hexen. Hamburg. lence Halifax, Joan 1979: Shamanic Voices. New York. Jnter Abse, D. W. 1959: Hysteria. In: S. Arieti, ed. Ameri­ Harner, Michael 1980: The Way of the Shaman. New and can Handbook of , vol. I. New York. York. 's no­ Akcerknecht, Erwin A. 1971: Medicine and Ethnol­ Hippler, Arthur E. 1976: Shamans, Curers, and Per­ l this ogy. Baltimore. sonality: Suggestions toward a theoretical Model. if in­ Amie!, R. 1966: Hygiene mentale en Cote d'Ivoire. I: William P. Lebra, ed., Culture-bound Syn­ mt of In: Transcultural Psychiatric Research 3:34-35. dromes, Ethnopsychiatry, and Alternate Thera­ lSha­ Barnett, Bernard 1965: Witchcraft, Psychopathology pies. Honolulu. ifthe and . In: British Journal of Psychi­ Kennan, George 1920: Zeltleben in Sibirien. Leipzig. Pig­ atry 61:439--455. Kiev, A. 1968: Curanderismo - Mexican-American ie ro­ Baroja, Julio C. 1973: The World of Witches. Chicago. Folk Psychiatry. New York. , true Balikci, Asen 1967: Shamanistic Behavior among Kraemer, Henry Institor and Jacob Sprenger 1584: ,arize the Netsilik Eskimos, In: John Middleton, ed. . Lyon. y few Magic, Witchcraft, and Curing. Austin. Kroll, Joachim 1979-82: Personal Communication. So at Billig, 0., et al. 1948: Aspects of Personality and Cul­ University of Bayreuth. frain ture in a Guatemalan Community; Ethnological Langness, Lewis 1976: Hysterical Psychoses and p be- and Rorchach Approaches. In: Journal of Person­ Possessions. In: William P. Lebra, ed. Culture­ ality 16:326---368. bound Syndromes, Ethnopsychiatry, and Alternate le ex- Boas, Franz 1930: The Religion of the Kwakiutl. New Therapies. Honolulu. 2men York. Lantis, Margaret 1947: Alaskan Eskimo Ceremo­ arch; Bodin, Jean 1580: De la Demonomanie des Sorciers. nialism. New York. ndfa­ Paris. Levi-Strauss, Claude 1967: The Sorcerer and his Y pa­ Bogoras, Waldemar 1958: Shamanistic Performance Magic. In: John Middleton, ed. Magic, Witchcrafe, could in the Inner Room. In: William A. Lessa and Evon and Curing.Austin. nlike Z. Vogt, eds, Reader in . Lowie, H. 1958: Shamans and Priests among laus­ Evanston. the Plains Indians. In: William A. Lessa and Evon ly re­ Bourguignon, Erika 1976: Possession and Trance in Z. Vogt, eds. Reader in Comparative Religion. le vii- Cross-Cultural Studies of Mental Health. In: Wil­ Evanston. liam P. Lebra, ed. Culture-bound Syndromes, Eth­ Macfarlane, Alan J. D. 1970: Witchcrafe in Tudor >le of nopsychiatry, and Alternate Therapies. Honolulu. and Stuart . New York. ntion Boyer, L. B. 1964: Folk Psychiatry of the Apache of Mackay, Charles 1974: Extraordinary and ·may the Mescalero Reservation. In: A. Kiev, ed. Magic, the Madness of Crowds. New York (reprint of 1841 )uerr Faith, and Healing. New York. original). 965), Caporael, Linnda R. 1976: Ergotism: The Satan Malinowski, Bronislaw 1948: Magic, Science and Re­ aroja Loosed in Salem. In: Science 192:21-26. ligion. . 1 the Castaneda, Carlos 1968: The Teachings of Don Juan: Margolin, Malcolm 1978: The Ohlone Way: Indian ,orael A Yaqui Way of Knowledge. Los Angeles. Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area. Ber­ :t 'ac­ Corradi, Carla 1983: Finno-Ugric Shamanism and keley. fo be European Magic. Paper presented at the XIth In­ Merzbacher, Friedrich 1970: Die Hexenprozesse in 1ight­ ternational Congress of Anthropological and Eth­ Franken. Munich. oked, nological , Vancouver, Canada. Midelfort, H. C. Eric 1972: Witch Hunting in South­ amus Dobler, Hannsferdinand 1977: Hexenwahn. Munich. western Germany 1562-1684. Stanford.

10 Ethnologia Europaea XIV,2 141 Monter, E. William 1969: . New Rogers, Spencer L. 1976: The Shaman's Healing York . Ways. Ramona. E Mrsich, Wilhelm 1978: Erfahrungen mit Hexen und Ramono, 0. 1965: Charismatic Medicine, Folk Heal­ Hexensalbe. In: Unter dem Pf/aster liegt der ing and Folk Sainthood. In: American Anthropol­ Strand 9:109-119. ogist 67:1151-1173. I Murray, Margaret A. 1921: The Witch Cult in West­ Rose, Elliot 1962 : A Razor for a Goat. Toronto. ern Europe. Oxford. Russell, Jeffrey B. 1980: A History of Witchcraft _ E Nadel, Siegfried F. 1954: Nupe Religion. London. Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans. London. Nadel, Siegfried F. 1958: A Study of Shamanism in Sebald, Hans 1978: Witchcraft - The Heritage of a c the Nuba Mountains. In: William A. Lessa and . New York. Evon Z. Vogt, eds. Reader in Comparative Reli­ Sebald, Hans 1980: Franconian Witchcraft: The De­ R gion. Evanston. mise of a Folk Magic. In: Anthropological Quar­ New Columbia Encyclopedia 1975: New York. terly 53:173-187. Park, George D. 1967: and its Social Con­ Sebald, Hans 1981a: Franconian Witchcraft: A Dis­ texts. In: John Middleton, ed. Magic, Witchcraft , cussion of Functionalism. In: Deviant Behavior: An and Curing. Austin. Interdisciplinary Journal 2:349-370. Pfeiffer, W. 1966: Psychiatrische Besonderheiten in Sebald, Hans 1981b: Hexerei in Franken: Das Erbe Indonesien. In: Transcultural Psychiatric Re­ volkstiimlicher Magie. In: Unter dem Pflaster liegt search 3:116-119. der Strand 9:119-146. Pfister, Oskar 1932: Instinktive Psychoanalyse un- Sechste und siebente buch moses 1976: Berlin re­ ter den Navaho-Indianern. In: Imago 18: 81-109. print of older edition without date. Piggott, Stuart 1968: The Druids. Middlesex. Silverman, J. 1967: Shamans and Acute Schizophre­ Porta, Giambattista 1589: MagiaNaturalis. Naples. nia . In: American Anthropologist 69:21-31. Rappaport, Herbert 1967: The Tenacity of Folk Psy- Stevenson, M. C. 1905: The Zuni Indians . 23rd An­ chotherapy: A Functional Interpretation. Paper nual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology . presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Washington. Psychological Association New York. Suwanlert, Sangun 1976: Phii Pob: Rasmussen, Knud 1927: Across Arctic America. New in Rural Thailand. In: William P. Lebra, ed. Cul­ York. ture-bound Syndromes, Ethno-Psychiatry, and Al­ Rasmussen, Knud 1929: Intellectual Culture and the ternate Therapies. Honolulu. Iglulik Eskimos. Report of the 5th Thule Expedi­ Weyer, Johannes 1563: De Prestigiis Daemonum. tion , Vol. 7. Copenhagen. Basel. Rasmussen, Knud 1931: The Netsilik Eskimos. Re­ Young, James C. 1981: Medical Choice in a Mexican port to the 5th Thule Expedition, Vol. 8 Copenha­ Village. New Brunswick. gen.

A m UJ fr st rn a1 UJ d« ol w F. e1 T Il' Ir ei ei t1

142 10