African magic is the form, development, and performance of

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

within the culture and society of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and the diaspora.

Meaning of the word magic

The word magic might simply be understood as denoting management of forces, which, as an activity, is not weighted morally and is accordingly a neutral activity from the start of a magical practice, but by the will of the magician, is thought to become and to have an outcome which represents either good or bad (evil). Ancient African culture was in the habit customarily of always discerning difference between magic, and a group of other things, which are not magic, these things were

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

divination Divination (from Latin ''divinare'', 'to foresee, to foretell, to predict, to prophesy') is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic, standardized process or ritual. Used in various forms throughout histor ...

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

and sorcery.''Volume 306 of European studies on Christian origins''

In relation to witchcraft

E.K. Bongmba finds Witchcraft, Oracles, and Magic among the Azande by

Evans-Pritchard Sir Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard, Knight Bachelor, Kt Fellow of the British Academy, FBA Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, FRAI (21 September 1902 – 11 September 1973) was an English anthropology, anthropologist w ...

(published 1937 Publication details
etrieved 2015-12-26/ref>) responsible for a reduction in appreciation of the value of magic as a definite subject of study. Peter Pels (1998) posits failing in thought similarly stemming from a mis-aligned focus on the negative aspect of

representing the ''totum'' of magic.''Volume 4 of Modernity and belonging''

Comparison to religion

Opinion differs on how religion and magic are related to each other with respect to development, or which developed from which. Some think they developed together from a shared origin; some think religion developed from magic; and others think magic developed from religion.''African Studies''

Types

There are two types of magic, good, or magic which is used to do well and enhance

well-being Well-being, or wellbeing, also known as wellness, prudential value or quality of life, refers to what is intrinsically valuable relative ''to'' someone. So the well-being of a person is what is ultimately good ''for'' this person, what is in th ...

, and bad, which is magic used to do

harm Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability *mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg gives an account of harm as setbacks to intere ...

or wrong or

evil Evil, in a general sense, is defined as the opposite or absence of good. It can be an extremely broad concept, although in everyday usage it is often more narrowly used to talk about profound wickedness and against common good. It is general ...

Roles

The traditional roles related to and of magic in African society is

medicine-man A medicine man or medicine woman is a traditional healer and spiritual leader who serves a community of Indigenous people of the Americas. Individual cultures have their own names, in their respective languages, for spiritual healers and ceremo ...

, divinator, rain-maker, and priest-magician.

Medicine men

These are at the simplest understanding people who function within a tribal setting as

herbalists Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remed ...

Divinator

Rain-maker

Rain-makers are thought to possess magical powers, although they possess these powers because they (the powers) are given them by the sky God or the Great Spirit. Rain-making is something which requires both religion and magic.

Priest-magician

The priest-magician must grasp

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

in many ways; understand the nature of

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...

, the forms of

energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...

of the

universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

, the functions of material objects. The priest-magician controls forces of

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

, and in doing this therefore has to understand how control of forces impacts upon perception and the

human consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

and

mind The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

s of people. He or she fulfills his or her role by exercising the

intellect In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gree ...

and discerning a way forward while under the possession or control of a spirit or force of a

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

, to which he or she is a

servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

Anti-roles

Sorcerers

With particular reference to people dwelling within the Southern areas of Sudan, individuals who are found to have been stricken with illness or misfortune are sometimes identified as having succumbed to the influence of sorcerers.

References

{{Reflist African culture Magic (supernatural)