HomeOld_PostsThe dreaded male witches among the BaTonga

The dreaded male witches among the BaTonga

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By Elliott Siamonga

WITCHCRAFT is as old as the earth itself and those who practised it have been persecuted over the years.
They have been thrown out of their communities, humiliated or publicly executed in some countries.
Although there are many reasons that drove people into witchcraft, the major one was revenge or simply jealousy of one’s wealth.
However, witchcraft in Zimbabwe has been largely confined to women as evidenced by the number of women caught in acts of witchcraft.
Male witches are much rarer than female witches and their practice of witchcraft is different.
The BaTonga elders say witchcraft among men is so fearsome that they are deemed more dangerous than their female counterparts.
Instead of moving around at night eating the flesh of the dead, theirs is concentrated more on the protection of one’s family, acquiring property, self enrichment by fatally harming others and revenge.
Authorities on African studies constantly refer to these men as sorcerers who practise evil by using medicines to harm or destroy.
The BaTonga admit the existence of the male witches and they attribute their power not to magic, but to their evil spirit.
The ailments caused by these male witches are usually typical in their manifestations and have special names which are commonly known in Shona as runyoka, mubobobo, mheni (lightning) and, zvitsinga.
Some male witches possess goblins, snakes and baboons to revenge or as self protection objects.
The type commonly used among the BaTonga men is chitsinga, this type is characterised by a severe pain in the leg which makes the victim unable to walk.
It is believed that a male witch, who has acquired chitsinga medicine looks around for someone who is rich or who owns a lot of cattle and goats.
BaTonga elders say in order for the male witch to obtain some of their victims’ wealth, they plant a poison on the path leading to the victim’s door so that he has to step on it and the poison enters his foot.
It is also believed that an ordinary person may obtain chitsinga from a witch and can himself put it in his victim’s path.
The victim, who develops the pain in his leg consults a n’anga who tells him that someone has bewitched them with the intention of getting some of their property.
Anxious to rid of the pain, the patient goes to the man, who the n’anga has told him is responsible and gives him part of his cattle in return for removing the evil.
However, if the n’anga fails to name the witch, who caused the chitsinga he simply prescribes some herbs to drive away the disease. As a result the patient is no longer obliged to buy off the witch.
Another type of magic medicine practised by the BaTonga male witches was one which prevented one from stealing the crops of another.
If for instance, a man’s maize or sorghum crops are particularly good and he is afraid that an evil wisher might help himself to them, he puts a herbal concoction called rukwa in his field to protect his crops.
Afterwards when a thief comes to steal the mealies or any other crops from the witch’s field he finds he cannot let go of the cobs or crops or they cannot remove the basket containing the crops from their heads.
The other type of rukwa causes the victim’s abdomen to swell after he or she has eaten the stolen crops.
The male witches have also been dreaded for using lightning although the BaTonga elders have demystified the mystery of lightning as a man made phenomenon and claimed to make lightning bolts for personal defence and for the protection of their sacred shrines, tombs and places of cultural importance.
According to the Ba Tonga, lightning has been used for many years in Binga as well as in neighboring Zambia among their Gwembe Tonga cousins.
Lightning bolts were and are still used to protect the tribesmen from marauding wild animals that raid their fields and homesteads as well as other enemies and witches that threaten their peaceful living.
But male witches have used it as a last resort to deal with their enemies or victims.
There are about four major types that are still used by male witches in Binga although there are numerous other types that are used on the other side of the Zambezi River.
The most commonly used type according to the Ba Tonga elders is the bird type, where a small weaver bird is caught on the banks of the river where they normally build their nests.
The bird is closed inside its nest and kept for a night and then liberated in the morning.
A small white cord is tied on one of its legs. The cord is first dipped in some special traditional herbs that are mixed with bark and sap from a tree that has been previously struck by lightning.
A small ritual is performed on the bird before it is released towards the direction of the enemy’s homestead or any target as perceived by the sender.
Once the enemy looks at the white cord it sparks therefore striking its target instantly.
Should the bird miss the target it continuously flies in circles around the homestead until it is spotted.
The cord only triggers if it is spotted by the target, and birds such as weavers and swallows are effectively used for this type of lightning, which is often conducted when there is a thunderstorm or heavy rain.
The second type used by the witches is one in which mixed herbs and animal blood are kept boiling in an earthenware pot for several days before it is removed from the fire.
The boiling enables the mixture to be strong and also allows it to blend well. Pieces of red and white cloths adorned with the intended target’s name are boiled together in the mixture.
Once the time comes a small fire is lit during the day and once the mixture starts boiling the cloths in the form of a bolt will dart out of the pot and head towards the target with lightning speed, once found the target is struck and killed immediately.
If the target is missed, the sender will call the name of the target three times; this is followed by the formation of small artificial rain clouds above the target’s homestead followed by a fatal thunderbolt.
The BaTonga elders said this is the most dangerous type as it does not require the weather to be rainy as it can be performed any season.
This type can strike a person even when they are at a village meeting, church or in their fields as the bolt selectively pulls them from where they will be.
So real is the BaTonga’s fear of witches that almost every village in Binga, and even most of the African homes in urban areas, are protected against the entry of a witch.
Four wooden pegs soaked in castor oil contents of the n’anga’s calabash are planted at night at each corner of the village and at the same time every man , woman, child is given a special portion to drink.
According to the elders, the pegs prevent the witches from recognising the village or homestead. The mixture will also protect the villagers from harm of any evil person they may meet when they leave their homes and move about the country.
This treatment is carried out whenever there is a witch scare in a particular area.
The BaTonga child is indoctrinated with the distaste of the terrible attributes of the witch and taught about the awful end liable to befall such persons who are unlikely to get away with their malpractices because of the skill of the n’anga.
Having had this fear instilled in him, the average adult BaTonga chooses good in preference to evil, he tries to behave well and endeavours to conform to the ordinary social pattern of his community.

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