Witch smellers, almost always women, were important and powerful people amongst the Zulu and other

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle * Black Association for Nationa ...

-speaking peoples of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

, responsible for rooting out alleged evil witches in the area, and sometimes responsible for considerable bloodshed themselves. In present-day

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, their role has waned and their activities are illegal according to the

Witchcraft Suppression Act, 1957 The Witchcraft Suppression Act 3 of 1957 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa that prohibits various activities related to witchcraft, witch smelling or witch-hunting. It is based on the Witchcraft Suppression Act 1895 of the Cape Colon ...

Work

If it was determined that some misfortune which had befallen the area had been caused by a

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...

, the chief summoned his people to a great meeting, in which they all sat in a circle, sometimes for four or five days. The witch smellers then took their places in the center. The witch smellers wore extravagant costumes, usually including animal skins and feathered

headdresses Headgear, headwear, or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, d ...

, and face paint. Their hair was heavily greased, twisted in complicated designs, and frequently dyed bright red. They often carried

assegai An assegai or assagai (Arabic ''az-zaġāyah'', Berber ''zaġāya'' "spear", Old French ''azagaie'', Spanish ''azagaya'', Italian ''zagaglia'', Middle English ''lancegay'') is a pole weapon used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin ...

s and

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

s, and also a quagga-tail switch, the symbol of their profession.

Ritual

Surrounded by a circle of women and girls who clapped their hands and droned a low, monotonous chant, the rhythm of which changed occasionally with the stamping of feet, the witch smellers proceeded to work themselves up into a frenzy. In this state, they spun, stalked and leapt, eventually touching one or more of the people with their switches, upon which the person was immediately dragged away and killed. All the living things in the accused witch's hut, human and animal, were also killed. Sometimes an entire

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African settlement or village surrounded by a fence of t ...

was exterminated in this way.

In fiction

A notable fictional account of witch smelling features in

H. Rider Haggard Sir Henry Rider Haggard (; 22 June 1856 – 14 May 1925) was an English writer of adventure fiction romances set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a pioneer of the lost world literary genre. He was also involved in land reform t ...

's novel ''

King Solomon's Mines ''King Solomon's Mines'' (1885) is a popular novel by the English Victorian adventure writer and fabulist Sir H. Rider Haggard. It tells of a search of an unexplored region of Africa by a group of adventurers led by Allan Quatermain for the ...

'', in which the loathsome and inhumanly ancient witch smeller Gagool is a principal villain. In Robert A. Heinlein's science fantasy novella ''

Magic, Inc. ''Magic, Inc.'' (1940) is a science fantasy novella by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It was originally published in ''Unknown Fantasy Fiction'' of September 1940, under the title "The Devil Makes the Law". In the story, magic is a comm ...

'', main protagonist Archie Fraser consults with Dr. Royce Worthington, an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...

and witch smeller in attempt to track down the cause of various strange events troubling his business.

References

*Lewis Spence, ''The Encyclopedia of the Occult'', Routledge, London, 1988 {{DEFAULTSORT:Witch smeller Bantu Zulu culture African witchcraft Modern witch hunts