Nightmare Witches
08/19/13 • 19 min
In the previous four lectures, we considered witch-hunting in various contexts. Now we need to analyze what is going on in these cases. The basic idea is that “society creates the image of the witch, and pins this image down onto particular individuals” (Mayer 1982, p. 61). So what is this image and how can understand it? The image is the nightmare witch who “epitomizes all kinds of evils”. We consider this in relation to the Balinese nightmare witch—Rangda.
Copyright 2013 Nicholas Herriman / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.
In the previous four lectures, we considered witch-hunting in various contexts. Now we need to analyze what is going on in these cases. The basic idea is that “society creates the image of the witch, and pins this image down onto particular individuals” (Mayer 1982, p. 61). So what is this image and how can understand it? The image is the nightmare witch who “epitomizes all kinds of evils”. We consider this in relation to the Balinese nightmare witch—Rangda.
Copyright 2013 Nicholas Herriman / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.
Previous Episode
Indonesian Witch-Hunts
This lecture provides an overview of witch-hunts I have studied in Indonesia.
Copyright 2013 Nicholas Herriman / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.
Next Episode
Primordial Characters
One idea to explain the similarity of witch imagery between cultures is that the witch represents the opposite of good. As I show in this lecture, another idea is that the witch image is created through joining together some of the most basic elements of experience.
Copyright 2013 Nicholas Herriman / La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.
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