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Sihiri Among the Swahili Muslims in Zanzibar: an Anthropological Analysis of the Belief and Practice of "Witchcraft" in Zanzibar in Light of the Islamic View of Sihr

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Sihiri Among the Swahili Muslims in Zanzibar: an Anthropological Analysis of the Belief and Practice of Muslim-Christian Encounter ｜ 83 Sihiri among the Swahili Muslims in Zanzibar: An Anthropological Analysis of the Belief and Practice of "Witchcraft" in Zanzibar in Light of the Islamic View of Sihr Caleb Chul-Soo Kim.* I. INTRoDuCTIoN Ⅱ. SIhR IN ThE oFFICIAl ISlAmIC TRADITIoN 1. Sihr in the Qur’an 2. Sihr in the hadīth 3. An Islamic Scholarly View on Sihr III. SIhIRI AmoNg ThE ZANZIbARI SWAhIlIS 1. Jinn as the Author of Sihiri: An Islamic Substratum 2. Sihiri and the African-Traditional Concept of Wachawi (“Witches”) IV. SIhIRI AS A SoCIAl QuANDARy V. CoNCluSIoN * Caleb Chul-Soo Kim : Associate Professor and Director of the Ph.D. Program in Inter-Cultural Studies at Africa International University, Located in Nairobi, Kenya *Acknowledgement: I deeply appreciate all my informants in Zanzibar for kindly sharing their cultural knowledge with me. Special thanks must go to Mr. Ali Abdalah, who arranged most of my interviews with a number of Zanzibari informants. NB: (1) Arabic words are transliterated, and both Arabic and Swahili words are italicized in this paper. (2) Some Arabic words that are commonly used among Muslims, such as jinn, Iblīs, kāfir, du‘a, dhikr, tawḥd, and the like, have not been defined in this paper. See Kim (2004:74-102) especially for Muslim beliefs in jinn and devils. 84 ｜ Torch Trinity Center for Islamic Studies Journal ABSTRACT 본고에서는 스와힐리 이슬람 지역 중 유구한 역사를 갖고 있는 탄자니아 동해의 잔 지바(Zanzibar) 섬을 중심으로 “시히리 (sihiri)”의 개념과 관습을 현상학적으로 기 술하고 분석하고자 한다. “시히리 (sihiri)”는 아랍어 “시흘 (sihr)”이 스와힐리 이슬 람의 종교문화적 상황에 토착화된 말이다. 흔히 영어로는 witchcraft라고 번역되고 그 뜻은 한국어로 주술(呪術)에 가깝지만 스와힐리 무슬림들의 역사와 삶의 양태가 서 구나 동양의 그것과 매우 다르므로 이 단어들의 종교문화적 개념 역시 큰 차이가 나는 것을 볼 수 있다. 따라서 영어나 한국어로 내부인들의 개념을 정확하게 전달하기 어려 우므로 본 고에서는 스와힐리 용어를 그대로 사용하기로 한다. 꾸란에서의 사용예와 하디쓰에 기록된 선지자 무함마드의 경험, 그리고 또 공식이 슬람의 가르침에 비추어 볼 때에, “시흘”은 “샤이딴 (shaihān, 악한 jinn)”들과의 교 통을 통하여 초자연적인 방법으로 이웃을 해치는 행위로서 심각한 죄이다. 영계에 접 촉하여 개인의 욕심을 채우거나 원한을 푸는것은 악한 진들의 사주를 받는 일인 고로 신실한 무슬림들은 절대로 “시흘”을 행해서도 안되고, 또 이러한 “시흘”을 행하는 주 술사들을 살려 두어서도 안 된다. 하지만 잔지바의 민속이슬람의 “시히리”에 대한 믿 음과 또 그와 관련된 풍습들을 자세히 살펴보면, 대부분의 무슬림들은 공식 이슬람의 엄격한 가르침을 따르기보다는 이슬람 이전의 아프리카 토속적 전통을 상당히 그대로 답습하는 것을 볼 수 있다. 오랜 정착 시기를 지닌 대부분의 아프리카 시골 농경사회에서 처럼 잔지바 무슬림들 도 자원이 제한되어 있다고 믿으며 (“limited good”), 따라서 자신들이 속한 사회의 삶의 평범한 기준치를 넘어선 부의 획득이나 사회적 지위의 상승은 제한된 자원의 불 공평한 분배의 결과라고 믿는다. 그러므로 보통보다 많이 얻은 것들은 시기의 대상이 되어 저주(bewitchment)의 표적이 된다. 이웃이나 친척들 가운데 경제적 혹은 사회 적으로 갑자기 흥하는 경우가 생기면, 이슬람 신앙이 약한 잔지바 무슬림들은 시기심 이 발동하여 종종 “시히리” 주술 행위를 하고 싶은 유혹에 빠진다. 이러한 이들을 위 해서 악의 봉사를 비밀리 해주는 주술사(sorcerer)들의 존재는 잔지바 사회의 어두운 구석을 더욱 암울하게 만들어 준다. Muslim-Christian Encounter ｜ 85 따라서 잔지바 무슬림들은 누군가 주술사들을 통하여 자신을 저주할지도 모른다는 두려움을 갖고 있다. 그런데 이에 더하여 “와차위”(단수는 “음차위”)라고 하는 초자연 적 능력을 지닌 악인(witch)들에 대한 두려움 역시 심각한 현실이다. “와차위”는 동 아프리카의 반투전통 개념에 그 뿌리를 두고 있다. 여기서 한 가지 혼돈을 피하기 위 하여 유념해야 할 것이 있다. 잔지바 인들은 저주를 직업으로 하는 주술사(sorcerer) 들과 존재 자체가 악하며 초자연적으로 악한 힘을 갖고 있다고 믿는 악인(witch)들을 구별한다. 그런데 이 구별을 하면서도 잔지바 스와힐리 사람들은 그들을 모두 다 “와 차위”라고 부른다. 본고에서는 이 두번째 범주의 “와차위”를 심도있게 논의한다. 이 “와차위”는 사회의 모든 악의 화신들로서 인간의 보통 능력으로는 대항할 수 없는 존 재들이다. 물론 이들의 실질적 존재 여부는 현대 과학적인 방식으로는 증명되지 않지 만 잔지바 무슬림들의 생각 속에는 당연한 현실로 늘 존재한다. 잔지바 무슬림들은 개 인이나 공동체의 재난의 원인을 이 “와차위”의 “시히리,” 즉, 이들의 저주 내지는 주 술의 결과로 본다. “와차위”에 대한 문화적 믿음과 이에 따른 두려움은 자신들을 저주했을지도 모르는 “와차위”를 찾아내고자 하는, 소위 “마녀사냥(witch-hunting)”이라는 고질적인 사 회적 병폐도 야기한다. 정통 이슬람에서는 알라를 신뢰하고 고난을 감내하며 자신들 의 선지자를 따라 살고, 절대로 이방인의 방식으로 저주나 악을 갚지 말라고 가르친 다. 그러나 이러한 이슬람의 공식적인 가르침은 평범한 잔지바 무슬림들에게는 지키 기 힘든 과제이다. 그래서 수많은 잔지바의 보통 무슬림들은 아직도 이렇게 아프리카 전통에 닿아 있는 “시히리” 패러다임에 의거하여 삶을 살아가고 있다. 그리스도인들은 이러한 패러다임 속에서 살아가는 잔지바 무슬림들의 정신세계를 깊이 이해하고 그들의 삶의 딜레마를 긍휼의 시각으로 바라볼 필요가 있다. 이러한 이 해와 긍휼함이 전달 될 때에 잔지바 무슬림들도 기독교에 대한 편견을 좀더 내려 놓고 그리스도인들의 이야기를 경청할 수 있을 것이다. 열정과 지식이 균형을 이룬 선교적 접근들이 더욱 많아지기를 바란다. ● Key Words : Islam, Jinn, Siḥr, Sihiri, Swahili, uchawi, Zanzibar, Wachawi, Witch, Witchcraft 86 ｜ Torch Trinity Center for Islamic Studies Journal INTRoDuCTIoN Non-Muslims tend to understand Muslim life and culture based on Islamic duties stipulated by the official Islamic sha- riah. They often fail to notice realities that most ordinary Mus- lims experience in daily life. Christians also often perceive Islam through the lens of its doctrinal differences from Christian beliefs rather than through lived experiences. A closer look at everyday Muslim life, however, will disclose a dualistic way of life. Muslims often experience an internal tension between the ob- ligation to seek “orthodox” Islamic ideals and the desire to satisfy their felt-needs in “popular” ways.1 It is often observed that this tension results in the disintegration between Islamic reli- gious ideology and cultural life. While many Muslim folks seek to comply with religious requirements by shariah and try their best to remain as sincere Muslims, they are simultaneously inclined to continue many cultural practices that do not seem compatible with the Islamic ideologies. Islamic mandates and pre-Islamic lo- cal customs coexist in most parts of the Muslim world, although the degree of allegiance to old cultural traditions differs from locality to locality. 1. Helpful materials on popular (or folk) Islam have been written by a few Christian writers, among whom are Bill Musk (1989), Phil Parshall (1983), David Maranz (1993) and Rick Love (2000). Muslim-Christian Encounter ｜ 87 Swahili Islam in Zanzibar is a good example of this syncretis- tic religio-cultural phenomenon. It is my conviction that Swahili Islam consists of cultural domains that are characterized by the synthesis of different religio-cultural elements. Among such do- mains, the “Domain of Total Synthesis” (Kim 2004:59-60) refers to a cultural area that demonstrates the complete mix of all the different elements. Swahili Islam is overall a result of histori- cal religio-cultural amalgamation of African traditions and Islam thus, many customs in Swahili society mirror the characteristics of the total synthesis. This amalgamation must be due to the Af- rican hospitality that embraced and accommodated Islam into the existing African cultural heritages throughout history. Among many Muslim cultural features in Zanzibar, the belief in sihiri, which is often ambiguously translated as “witchcraft,” is quite prevalent and retentive. The belief in sihiri is, like the jinn-possession healing ritual (called ngoma ya kupunga majini/ mashetani), a prominent religio-cultural representative of the Domain of Total Synthesis. Thus it would be almost impossible to grasp the Zanzibari worldview without apprehending the cultural mechanism of the belief in sihiri. Thus, this paper attempts to describe and examine some of the Swahili beliefs and practices of sihiri in light of Islamic teachings on sihr (the Arabic word from which the Swahili word sihiri stems) as well as by compar- 88 ｜ Torch Trinity Center for Islamic Studies Journal ing it with its traditional African (especially Bantu) counterpart, uchawi.2 Ⅱ. SIhR IN ThE oFFICIAl ISlAmIC TRADITIoN In the first half of this paper, I will describe the usage of the word sihr in the Islamic scriptural context as well as the stand- point of Islamic scholarship on sihr. Unquestionably this will provide the reader with a helpful understanding of the Islamic- religious background of the Zanzibari belief in sihiri. This ex- ploration will also help to disclose the cognitive gap between the Islamic “orthodox”teaching of sihr and the traditional belief about sihiri in Zanzibar, which will be part of the discussions in the next half of the paper. This will also help the reader glimpse the extent to which the Zanzibari Muslims have blended or inte- grated Islamic teachings into pre-Islamic African traditions. 2. It should be noted that I use different terms for what may be called “witchcraft” contextu- ally throughout this paper. This is because the term “witchcraft”is too broadly used in litera- ture to deliver a clear picture of it in different contexts. Cf. Stephen Ellis and Gerrie Ter Haar (2004:149). Therefore, the word “witchcraft”will be avoided as much as possible. Instead, con- textual words will be used: sihr in the official Islamic context, sihiri in the Swahili or Zanzibari context as derived from the Arabic sihr, and uchawi in the pre-Islamic or African-traditional context. Zanzibaris use both the words sihiri and uchawi interchangeably. However, it is in- triguing to observe my Zanzibari informants prefer the former over the latter, especially when they consign more of an Islamic attribution to the notion of witchcraft; hence, the word sihiri would suggest a certain degree of its Islamic connotation. In contrast, uchawi seems to denote an evil practice that is entirely pagan and to carry a somewhat contemptible tone due to its pre-Islamic origin. NB: The Arabic sihr is also used in a folk Islamic context, as among the Arabic speakers in Egypt, just as sihiri is used in the Zanzibari context.
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