Beliefs and practice of magic and witchcraft is a phenomenon that has captured the minds of millions since the beginning of history. These so called witches have caused fear, hatred, interest, widespread panic and variety of other emotions in other people from all over the world. Every society and civilization on this planet have all some form of witchcraft in their history, witchcraft itself ha e deep history of its own causing it to be recognized in literature and modern society.
Beliefs in witchcraft is a common phenomenon in some developing nations, particularly, Tanzania as well as sub-Saharan Africa. This belief has a very pronounced effect on the day to day lives of the believers. It burdens the economies of the societies where the belief is endemic.
An incredible 93% of Tanzanians believe in witchcraft, compared to only 27% in Kenya, 29% in Uganda and 37% in Nigeria. That’s according to a recent survey on religious belief in sub-Saharan Africa by the Pew Research Centre. Out of 19 countries surveyed, Tanzania has by far the highest belief in witchcraft, with only Cameroon (78%) coming close.
Other findings of the same survey support this, with Tanzanians also believing strongly in evil spirits, juju, curses, and the ability of spiritual people to offer protection and the value of sacrifices to ancestors. In all these cases, more Tanzanians believe in these things than in any other country surveyed.
All of this raises two important questions. First, why are these beliefs much more widespread in Tanzania than in the other countries? And second, what impact does this have on Tanzanian development?
CAUSES OF BELIEFS AND PRACTICES OF MAGIC AND WITCHCRAFT IN TAZANIA
i. Ignorance and lack of foresight among Tanzanians Due to lack of foresight and critical thinking among many Tanzanian citizens both literate and illiterate, it leads to the spread of belief in witchcraft among Tanzanian societies. Generally, the lower the education level and
Links: http://www.moodymanual.demonbuster.com/cause&e2.html http://blog.daraja.org/2010/04/93-believe-in-witchcraft-in-tanzania.html http://www.articlesbase.com/culture-articles/belief-in-spells-and-witchcraft-and-its-effects-on-african-societies-4122260.html