1st Edition
Black Magic, Witchcraft and Occultism Secret Cultural Practices in India
Black magic, occult practices and witchcraft still evoke huge curiosity, interest and amazement in the minds of people. Although witchcraft in Europe has been a widely studied phenomenon, black magic and occult are not yet a popular theme of academic research, even though India is known as a land of magic, tantra and occult. The Indian State of Assam was historically feared as the land of Kamrup-Kamakhya, black magic, witchcraft and occultic practices. It was where different Tantric cults as well as other occult practices thrived. The Khasi Hills are known for the practice of snake vampire worship. The village of Mayong is the village, where magic and occult is still practiced as a living tradition.
This book is one of the rarest collections where such practices are researched, recorded and academically analyzed. It is one of those collections where studies of all three practices of Black Magic, Witchcraft and Occult are comibned into one single book.
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction
Sajal Nag
PART I: TANTRA AND ESOTERISM
1. Vaishnavite Occult Practices in Medieval Assamese Society: A History of Acceptance and Defiance
Chandan Kumar Sarma
2. Kec"aikh"at∂, Eater of Raw Flesh: A Profile of the Multifaceted Goddess in North-East
Jae-Eun Shin
3. Witchcraft, Sorcery and Tantricism in the Khasi Pnar Society
Hermina B. Lakiang
4. Magic, Religion and Mother Goddess Kamakhya: Esoteric Practices in Assam
Archana Barua
PART II: PRACTICES OF OCCULT
5. Some Astronomical Beliefs in the North-East and other Parts of India
J.H. Hutton
6. Remnants of Spiritual/Faith Healing System among the Lepcha and Limbu Communities in Sikkim
Mahendra Prasad Gurung & E .K. Santha
7. Leopard-Men in the Naga Hills
J.H. Hutton
8. U Thlen—The Snake Vampire: Belief and Practice among the Khasi
TEJIMALA GURUNG NAG
9. Chon Ritual and Head Hunting among the Kukis of North-East India
TINGNEILAM THANGEW
10. Human Sacrifice in Assam
EDWARD GAIT
11. Bej Bejali in the Assamese Socio-cultural Context
VANDANA GOSWAMI
12. Mayong: The Land of the Occult
ASSADUZZAMAN
PART III: MAGIC, SUPERNATURALISM
AND DIVINITY
13. Magical Attributes: Some Glimpses from Medieval India
M. PARWEZ
14. The Divine Origin, but Not Right, of Khasi Kings
KYNPHAM SINS NONGKYNRIH
15. Supernatural Belief of the Kuki: A Case Study of Witchcraft and its Cures
D.L. HAOKIP
16. ‘White Magic’ Practices of the Adivasis of Jungle Mahals: A Different World View
NIRMAL KUMAR MAHATO
17. Satanic Cult among the Christian Tribes of the North-East India
PHOIBI LALNIROPUI TUOLOR
18. Sylvan Spirits and Cultural Practices in Assam
RAJIB HANDIQUE
PART IV: WITCHCRAFT AND WITCH HUNTING
19. Witchcraft Viewed through the Legal Lens in Jharkhand: A Study of Witchcraft Practices and the Anti-Witchcraft Law in Jharkhand
BASHABI GUPTA
20. Witchcraft: Power Relations and Totemism of the Bodos
DINA SWARGIARI
21. Notions of Witchcraft among the Khamtis of Arunachal Pradesh
TAGE HABUNG & RANJEETA MANNOW
22. Society, Belief and Practice: Witchcraft and Witch Hunting in Assam
JAHNABI GOGOI NATH
23. The Enchanted Community: Kaose and Doi (Witchcraft) among the Kukis of North-East India
JANGKHOMANG GUITE
24. Witchcraft, Witch Hunting, Gender and Property Relationship
NIKITA SHANDILYA
25. Women as Witches, Women as Homo Sacer: A Study of Contemporary Witch Hunting
OBJA BORAH HAZARIKA
26. Witchcraft Practices in the Plantations of Upper Assam: A Case of the Santhals
OLYMPIA KURMI AND SARAH HILALY
27. Magic and Witchcraft (Dawi) among the Mizos
ROHMINGMAWII
28. Practice of Witchcraft among the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh
SARAH HILALY
29. Practice of Witchcraft among the Rabhas of Assam
BARNALI SHARMA
30. Contextualizing Witch Hunting Practices in Assam
DEBARSHI PRASAD NATH
Contributors
Biography
Sajal Nag is currently a Senior Professor and Head, Department of History and Dean, School of Social Sciences, Assam University, Silchar. He is the author of The Beleaguered Nation: Making and Unmaking of the Assamese Nationality (Manohar: 2016); and Contesting Marginality: Ethnicity, Insurgency and Sub Nationalism in North East-India (Manohar: 2002); among others.
