Comparison of 1628 German Witch Hunt and Madumo by Adam Ashforth

Throughout history, there have been many cases of witchcraft. Many of these spawn from personal fears and lack of knowledge, while others hold merit and substantial evidence of the supernatural. The cases to be looked at will be Madumo: A Man Bewitched, as well as the witch-hunt in Germany, 1628. Although the contrast is great, there are many similarities. In this essay, both will be intensely examined.

In Madumo: A Man Bewitched, the events focus around one specific case, Madumo, which takes place in South Africa in the early 1990s. The author, Adam Ashforth, first met Madumo on June 16, 1990. This was the anniversary of the 1976 Soweto Revolt. During this time, the government was very unstable. As the country tried to develop a democracy ""Residents suffered mysterious terrorist attacks on their homes and in trains. Beloved leaders were killed. It seemed as if secret forces within the government were mounting a concerted conspiracy to thwart the political birthright of the people."1

The people of South Africa, while looking for hope, only found disappointment. "...the benefits expected from democracy failed to materialize for the majority of the population. Jobs were few; wages were low. The value of the rand fell, resulting in a steep rise in the price of the imported consumer good that are so essential to marking status. The young men who had been feted as the Young Lions of the Struggle were now left to loiter on street corners. They soon found other avenues for expressing themselves and securing the means of status; crime and violence remained rampant."2

This phenomenon allowed the citizens to describe any kind of oddity to be associated with witchcraft. This is the world that Madumo came about it. After the death of his mother, along with his brother's accusation of him being involved in witchcraft, Madumo would soon become another victim to bewitchment.