WITCHCRAFT IN CUBA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 79

WITCHCRAFT IN CUBA.

From time to time Amencr and the world in general are "subject to an appeal from philanthropic parties and organisations for a better -moral- treatment for the negro. Looked at from a purely theoretical standpoint, such an appeal can be supported by very powerful arguments. But to those who have to do~ .with tfoe descendants of the slaves in everyday life the question assumes a very different aspect. To them it is every day more difficult to agree that the descendants of Ham will ever attain, that degree of civilisation and intelligence which will permit of entrusting them with jany responsibility In public affaire. Cuba, is "a favourite instance with .the philanthropists, and principally for the reason that some of the greatest leaders in the Wax of Independence were negroes, and that, hi reality,' without them the island would still be a misgoverned dependence of Spain. Tfiie much is true, that those blacks who fought in the armies of the revolution developed some of the best qualities of human nature. They were brave, enthusiastic, loyal, and just. But the same cannot be said of the black peppier of ■the island as a general rule. The coloured population of Cuba is permeated with crime and vice, worse than any ©ther other population in tke world. The* horrible*crim»s of savagery and^iolenoe,; <AMi executed , under the cloak of' some mystic religion, have at last "awakened • ,the Cubans and tihe American Government of the island to some idea of the field of cannibalism and witchcraft which is exploited under their very noses. In the Southern States' of America, the whole ' question of lynching, *• which every now and then arouses a wave or horror through civilisation, is caused by the lust<§ and passions of the negroes. But tho crimes of Louisiana, Georgia,, and. -Alabama are maid compared wfih>thi©.|ptTible orgies of cannibalism- whiqh J take""' place, with alarming frequency, irt,Cuba." After half a century of freedom, the blacks are no more civilised than when their forefathers were landed from the slavers in Havana Bay. The Cuban outrages may be divided into tiro classes : witchcraft and nanigism. For the latter there ifi hardly a word in English. Nanigism is the association of criminals in lodges or clubs for the purp.oee, of attacking rival clubs, or of committing"' offences against law and o*der. The only qualification for admittance into a, lodge id the murder of a white man in th& o£&£ street. Under the rule of Spain nanigism attained tremendous notoriety, and : tho. streets of the large towns were impossible after 6unset unless in par.tieSj ox under escort of the polke. During the American intervention strong measures were taken by General Wood to repress t.h© clubs, and for aome years the nanigi&ts were com-pa-ratirely quiet. During the past six months, however, they have again showed their heads, and several murderous aesaulte have been committed in the streets. Nanigiism i«, however, the lesser of the two evils. Brnjeria, or witchcraft, is holding many of tho raral districts of. the island in absolute terror. In every village there are to' be found ono- or more women who, by the use of superstitions and by their own force of character, have obtained absolute domination over the rest of their Tace. To them come ail the other blacks of the districts in time of physical or moral trouble, and in return for payment- in money or in kind the witch-doctor prescribes a remedy or works a charm. Some of the incantations are amusing in their absurdity, others again are most dangerous. One of tlie most common is the chicken cure. This is performed by burying a pail of water in the ground, and at a distance of five metres another hole ia dug, where a chicken is .burnt. The aches are buried in the hole, and the witch braveries the intervening space to the bucket, making mystic passes and howling incantntion;-. The pail is then raised from the earth, and the patiewt is bathed in the water. The theory is, of coui"3e, that tho urknown properti>es in the chicken pass from tho ashes to the water as the witch walks the five metres. Such a ceremony is Ii;:j-mk5f. to the patient, and, generally, the only damage us the disappearance of a chicktn fiom a neighbouring farm. In oUipv cane*, the hornb of oxen are Fupposed to be pos. e <-'fi&ed of splendid propertiei, cither wlir-n. bound on the witch's ioiehead or iubbf»d on the patient. Tlie worst and most r]isap,trous cure prescribed, however, is that known as the "■.vhitc- Mood"' cure. This means nothing kts than the eating of a human heart and drinking of human blood, taken from tbfl n^wly-killed body of a white person. Within the last month there have been in Cuba no les-s than three cases of this terrible ceremony having been performed by the witches in different parts. The v'ctim is almost always a white child, decoyed from its parents' cottsge. by.-tho offer of come sweets or of a ride t Jhe

' victim is generally taken from a district l-emoved some distance from the patient's abode, so -as to render discovery more difficult Once- arrived at the temple of the "brujos," a*, solenm ceremony is- held, during which ttos child is laid on the altar, ga,gged and bound. Then >he chief witch doctor plunges a knife into the body and slays the child. The blood runs into a cup and the heart is served on a plate to the [ patient. Whether the remains of the poor ! child are burnt or eaten is not known, ; but in a recent case the evidence was very ) strong that at least part of the body had been consumed. j The curious part of the whole thing is ■ -that patients declare that ohey have Te- { covered, after the .ceremony, which 6eems a supreme proof of /he efficacy of faith aa . a cure-all. j The discovery of these crimes is one of ; immense difficulty, for the witch. doctoTs constantly change their residence ; it is almost impossible to get any negro to give . evidence against the witch, and when the pursuit becomes too hot it is customary to sacrifice the temple and its ceremonial articles in an all-consuming fire. Politically, the evil is that very many of the black population -wre voters, and so long as the enormous coloured race has a powerful' voice in the legislation, so long will it be impossible for Cuba alone to efface these crimes from her calendar.