Witchcraft And Black Magic

(A) What are the social representation of North Eastern youth of India on Witchcraft and Black Magic. (B) How the amalgamation of Witchcraft and Black Magic affect the traditional and cultural life of North Eastern India. For comprehensive understanding a questionnaire consisting of 11 questions relating to the practices of Witchcraft and Black Magic was formulated and conducted on 20 North East college students (10 males and 10 females) with the age group of 20-30 years. The participants were required to give their ideas regarding various practices like Voodoo, Mayong and Exorcism etc. also their suggestions regarding the abolition or continuation of such practices. Thematic analysis has been employed in data analysis. Interesting

Tribal people are the ecosystem people who live in harmony with nature and maintain a close link between man and environment. Animism, symbolism, superstitious beliefs etc. plays an important part in a tribal culture. They have deep faith in their traditional method of healing which often involves superstitions. These practices are considered as a part of culture, there are folktales on it since time immemorial. However with coming Christianity many of such practices, had been discontinued yet it’s still prevalent, such practices of northeast states are; Therii usually practice in Nagaland, it’s an old practice basically by womenfolk which can be inherited from mother to daughter. It is believed that the substance in powder form which is invisible to naked eye. It is spread through directly to indirectly such as physical contact or air respectively. The poison is lethal it can cause death if not removed in time. The victim of therii suffer severe headache, nausea and death in prolong cases, medical cure has been rare yet there are people who has the power to remove the poison through prayer. The culprit is not accepted by the society,

This particular Witchcraft is performed by Maiba (males who perform good or bad rituals for the community / shaman) or Maibis (females who perform the same). They perform this practice when a person seeks for something which would benefit with their lives. Another practice is MingselKanglonYengba, here a Maibi uses a mirror and chants mantras in order to find a thief or someone has lost something / goods, and then she will inform them the place where the goods may be kept. ThaodaYenga is again a different practice performed by Miabis. They uses oil, chant mantras and during this she can describe physical features of the culprit and can also tell the thief / place where the things have been lost would be found. In Meghalaya, there is myth of ‘menshohnoh’ (cut-throat’s) who worshiped supernatural being UThlen (a huge serpent that one can propitiate with human sacrifice). This sacrifice is made in hopes of acquiring wealth. The myth is quite commonly retold in the Khasi-Jantia hills. Many tribe communities practices indigenous faiths, and resort to mythical beliefs and related rituals for treating ailments too. Witch-Hunts, occult practices are old-aged traditional practices of Assam. Black Magic Practitioners are called Bez or Ojha, still hold sway in white swatches of tribe-dominated areas in the states. The Assamese dictionary define Bez as faith healer (chikitsok) who heals by incantation