ZULU WITCH DOCTORS. 30/ 



various herl)s and roots that the natives are accjuainted with, and 

 who gathers them and makes me(Hcines for the rehef of sickness 

 and suffering among his people. It is tloubtful if such a person 

 exists outside the pages of romance. The native doctor in prac- 

 tice is a combination of wizard, witch doctor and medicine com- 

 ]X)under. He shares and promotes the universal native belief 

 that all sickness which has not an obvious cause is the result of 

 witchcraft, or magic, or of poison. To diagnose a case he must 

 be something of a smeller-out or witch doctor. To treat success- 

 fully a case of sickness caused by witchcraft, he must be some- 

 what versed in the black art— must be something of a wizard him- 

 self. He must use a stronger form of witchcraft to defeat the 

 wMtchcraft that caused the disease. And so the vicious circle 

 goes on. 



The nati\es" belief in witchcraft, and the jjractice of witcii- 

 craft bv tlie native doctors under the guise of the practice of 

 medicine, are to-day two of the strongest factors which are 

 preventing the natives from rising in the scale of civilization. 

 Listen to the opinion on this point of some of the men who are 

 devoting their lives to the education and elevation of the natives 

 of Natal and Zululand. 



The Rev. F. B. Bridgman. of Johannesburg, late of Natal. 

 savs : " .\s witchcraft springs from ignorance and superstition, 

 being the ready tool of revengful hate, it is in every way antagon- 

 istic to the progress of the native religiously, morally, and in- 

 lellecfually." 



The Rev. F. Suter. of Dumisa Mission Station. Natal, says: 

 ■' As to the influence of witchcraft, which, of course, includes that 

 of the witch doctor, there can be no question : the tendency is to 

 keep the natives in the blackest of darkness in everv respect." 



The Rev. Johannes Astrup. of Untunjambili Mission Station, 

 Krantz Kop. Natal, says in regard to witchcraft and witch doctors, 

 that they " engender super.stition to an incredible degree, rudely 

 and barbarously destroy the last remnant of decency and modesty 

 in wives and daughters, and envelop the intelligence in a j>erfect 

 maze of lies, deceit and folly. I have no patience whatever with 

 native doctors. I have fought them tooth and nail for twenty 

 years, and I could tell many weird and shocking stories al^out 

 their stupidity, barbarity and bestiality." 



The Rev. Mr. Feyling. of Mount Tabor Mission Station, 

 Zululand. says : " In my opinion the real rulers of the natives are 

 ihe witch doctors. This one thing I am sure of, that as long as 

 wHtchcraft and witch doctors govern the hearts and minds of 

 the.se people, there can be no real progress religiously, morally 

 or intellectually." Mr. Feyling classes all native doctors as witch 

 doctors. 



The Rev. Mr. Hawkins, of Lansdown Mission Station. Zulu- 

 land, says: " Both the herbalists and witch doctors are the greatest 

 hindrances to the (jospel and uplift of the people, for they liter- 

 ally have the Zulus completely subject to them. Thev are an 

 awful curse." 



