Witchcraft and Demon Possession

     This has been one of the strangest weeks of my life.  Apparently Adam Secondary School has been plagued by witchcraft and evil spirits.  This past weekend, students accused the Matron of being a witch.  The Matron is an older Tanzanian woman who lives in the girls dormitory and looks after female students.  She is also one of the cooks and personally I really like her.  She is kind, cares about the students, tries to help me with my Kiswahili, and gladly cooked the rice I bought for my birthday.   While I was in town on Saturday, students claimed she was a witch and tried to kill her with sticks and knives. The headmaster told her to go home for a week for her own safety until this matter was cleared up.  I am really bothered by the fact that students can threaten the life of a staff member and not be punished.

     The students obviously had overwhelming evidence for their accusation.  First, they said the Matron only uses one toilet in the girl’s dormitory and she refuses to use the other toilets.  She even waits to use the toilet if someone is using the one she likes.  Also, after some of the girls used her toilet they became possessed by evil spirits.  Not all of the girls who used her toilet were possessed, but some.  Their second piece of evidence that she was a witch more convincing.  They said that the Matron refuses to walk between two people when they are talking.  She waits for them to stop talking or walks around them.  I tried to explain that this was considered polite in some cultures, but nobody listened to me.   I also didn’t believe this evidence and said this would open the gate for any staff member to be accused of being a witch.  I do weird things too.  I told him I only use one bathroom in my house even though I have two.  And I also try not to walk between people when they are talking.  Maybe I’m a witch…

     On Monday morning the witch trials began.  Students testified about why they thought the Matron was a witch.  Some said they had medicine from their home that allowed them to see who was a witch, and the medicine told them Matron was evil.  The discipline committee agreed to meet with the Matron to do a full investigation and that the trials would continue when it was safe for her to return.  I wasn't feeling well and my survival Kiswahili did not cover witchcraft, so I left the trials pretty early.  After the meeting the Academic Master explained what had happened.  One of the students I tutor gave me a student’s perspective later that evening.  She said she didn’t believe Matron was a witch but many of her friends did.  

               

     On Tuesday, the Headmaster said that students who fell over claiming demon possession would be beaten.  He said many students were just being foolish and that the Matron isn’t a witch.  Unfortunately, after the Headmaster left for a meeting in town the school erupted in chaos.  After chai, three students were suddenly possessed by evil spirits and demons.  They put mattresses on the floor in the staff room and students came to pray over them while they squirmed on the ground and yelled crazy things.  I kept hoping that the demons didn’t move from the students and find a new home at my desk.

     During this time, the teachers met to discuss whether we should postpone the exams that were supposed to be taking place this week.  The Academic Master said the environment had been disrupted by evil spirits so students couldn't focus on their studies.  I mentioned that there seemed to be a direct correlation between exams and the arrival of evil spirits, the students who are failing seemed to be the biggest victims of demon possession, and there was no guarantee that the evil spirits would be gone next week.  Plus, I think all students should learn how to take exams while they are distressed.  If this had happened during NECTA exams, the students would still have to take the exam.  Sometimes I get frustrated by how much people blame evil spirits.  If a student fails school, he or she can say it’s due to evil spirits.  It has nothing to do with a lack of studying and terrible attendance.  Similarly, illness isn't caused by drinking dirty water or sleeping without mosquito net in a malaria area.  It’s the demons that make people sick.   With these widespread beliefs, it can be difficult to change student behavior.  Students blamed the Matron for the demon possession even though she had left the school. 

     While the students were praying over those who were demon possessed, one teacher asked if I believed in God and if I had been baptized.  After I answered yes to both questions, he suggested that I go pray over the students.  I told him that my culture and belief system did not support this.  I believe in God and can’t say with 100% certainty that people don’t get possessed by demons, but evil spirits were taking over about ten students a day in a school of only one hundred.  That seems like a very high possession rate.  I also found it strange that students had the ability to remove the evil spirits themselves.  I thought demon possession would require the work of a priest who was experienced in exorcism.  The Academic Master said that only those with strong faith get possessed, but I know many people with strong faith who do not frequently get controlled by evil spirits.  Plus, wouldn’t the increased risk of demon possession discourage someone from having a strong faith? I am trying to be sympathetic, but sometimes it’s really difficult for me to understand parts of Tanzanian culture.  Especially since many other Tanzanians have told me that many students fake demon possession because they want attention, to get out of taking exams, etc.