The Furious Spinner

My friend Kevin in Hawaii sent me this article about Congo children being accused of being witches. The Congo, like most of Africa, is ravaged by AIDS. Many children are orphaned when their parents die of the disease. Relatives often can't take care of them, so they accuse them of being witches and throw them out into the streets. In front of a priest performing exorcisms, many of these children (estimated at about 20,000 accused) confess to being witches. One girl spoke about going out at night and flying around with her friends.

This sounds so familiar, doesn't it? The girls involved in the Salem witchcraft trials talked about flying around at night. (There is an amazing amount of good information now on the internet about the Salem witchcraft trials.)

During the "witch craze" that lasted at least from the mid-15th century to the 18th century, accused witches were tortured until they confessed to anything and everything. The modes of torture that were used were: first degree torture, second degree torture, and third degree torture. That's where the expression "getting the third degree" came from. Absolutely everyone who was given the third degree confessed. The accused witches often confessed to similar atrocities (for instance, flying around naked at night on a broom with their other naked women friends). This confused people who didn't necessarily believe the women (most of the accused were women) were witches. Why were they all saying the same things if they were innocent? They must be witches. Until they figured out the women were confessing to the same sins because the same inquisitors were torturing all of the accused and/or using the same manual of hate, written by those friends of women everywhere: The Malleus Maleficarum (The Witch Hammer). Talk about an evil book. It was written as a handbook to help inquisitors identify witches. It "documents," at length, how evil women are. I had this book in my house for a few hours one day and had to take it immediately back to the library. As a woman, especially, I found it chilling and revolting.

The witch burning craze is often referred to as the women's holocaust or The Burning Times. The information about that period of history is continually changing, and I can't find much on the net to pass on to you. For one thing, I can't get on many sites tonight for some reason, but also some sites say 9 million women were murdered during this time, and that figure now seems to be incorrect. Other sites argue that because 9 million isn't the correct number and that "only" 100,000 or 60,000 people were murdered (no one actually knows), that means the feminists are a bunch of liars. It's interesting in these arguments that people separate the witch burnings from the actual Spanish Inquisition where people were tried for being heretics. You know, right this minute, that feels like tomato (to-may-to) and tomato (to-mah-to). Innocents were killed by an out-of-control power system which targeted them because of their sex and religion (or lack of), their prosperity (or lack of), or their age. Lots of people died; one death was one too many. Don't want it to happen again.

The Pope apologized for the sins of Catholics in March of 2000; he included the Inquisition and the treatment of women in his apology. I don't have the text of the apology, but it was reported he apologized for the sins of Catholics, not the sins of the papacy and the Catholic church. Big difference. I don't care about the pope. I gave up on the Catholic church a long time ago, but I cried when I heard about the apology. Even though the pope may have not admitted to the complicity of the papacy in these atrocities, I was still surprisingly moved. It was about time someone stood up and said, "Gee, it's wrong to persecute people because of their differences and then torture and murder them."

There are not many "happy endings" to accused witch stories. I fantasize that there was an underground railroad of sorts to help these accused women. I hope it was true. In 1692, 75 year old Mary Bradbury was accused of witchcraft in Salem because—among other things—butter she had sold to a ship went bad. Unlike some husbands, Thomas Bradbury stood up for his wife, telling the court, "Concerning my beloved wife Mary Bradbury this is that I have to say: wee have been maried fifty five yeare: and shee hath bin a loveing & faithful wife to mee." Despite a petition signed by 110 people attesting to her virtuous nature, Mary Bradbury was found guilty and sentenced to death. Her friends and family broke the elderly woman out of jail, however, apparently not willing to allow her death. She escaped and was never recaptured. I love that story. Can you imagine it? The horror of her arrest, trial, fearing she would die along with the others who had died in jail or who had already been executed. Finally, as her execution date neared, her loved ones came and took her home.

Blessed be, Mary Bradbury, now one of our ancestors. And thanks to your friends and family for their bravery. They, too, are now our ancestors. They are heras and heroes all.

I hope someone stands up for these accused children in the Congo. Most children go flying about at night: dreaming, playing with invisible friends, drifting to the stars when in ecstasy or fear. Too bad adults have made flying a crime again.

Stand up, sisters and brothers, stand up and take these children in your arms. Fly with them in the night, then tuck them into bed and wish them sweet dreams. Shhhhh. I wish you well, sweethearts. 0 comments

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