The Outlook for a Devil in the Colonies or a Colonial Viewpoint on Witchcraft, Homicide, and the Supernatural
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1959.tb01195.x |
| Author | H. R. J. Lewis |
| Date | 01 January 1959 |
| Published date | 01 January 1959 |
The
Outlook
for a Devil in
the
Colonies
or
a
Colonial
Viewpoint
on
Witchcraft)
Homicide)
and
the
Supernatural
by H. R. J.
LEWIS
Solicitor
General,
Fiji
IF Aperson in the
United
Kingdom
telephoned the police
and
reported
that
he
had
shot a
human
being, who,
at
the time of
the
shooting, was a
demon,
grave
doubt
would
be
entertained
as to
the
sanity
of
the pcrson
making
the
report, for belief in
the
supernatural
in this
country
is generally believed to
be a superstition.
In
most Colonies in
the
Commonwealth
however,
the
indigenous peoples believe
that
devils, spirits
and
demons exist. Witch-doctors,
obeah,
voodo,
'pointing
the
bone'
are
persons or ceremonies
which
are
an
integral
part
of
native
custom
and
belief. Ingredients of potions
and
philtres.
and
the
necessities for casting spells
are
on sale in most West African markets.
Occult
powers
are
believed in,
bought
and
sold,
and
fail
and
succeed in
gaining
their
ends. Words such as 'lion
man,
obeah,
ju-ju'
would
mean
nothing
to
an
English
jury,
but
to
many
in
the
overseas territories they
are
all
matters
connected
directly or indirectly
with
the
practice
of witchcraft.
Although
a
'lion-man'
is a
human
being he is often released after a series of
occult ceremonies.
His
existence has
been
judicially
recognised.
In
the
case
of
Muhandi
v. R.
where
'lion-man'
was defined (on
appeal)
as
"a
human
being
who
has
been
brought
up
as a beast to kill on
the
orders of those in
charge
of
him
and
to kill
with
bestial ferocity. While employed in its
inhuman
task, the
creature
disguises itself in
the
skin of a lion, or
partly
in lion skins
and
partly
in
baboon
skins".
The
Court
of Appeal for Eastern Africa said in
thejudgemcnt
in this
casc:-
"It
is a
common
feature of these fantastic
and
disgusting cases
that
the
'lion-man'
who
is
the
actual
killer in every case,
appcars
to be
under
the
control of a keeper
who
is sometimes a
man
and
sometimes a
woman,
but
who
is
invariably
paid
a sum of
money
before releasing the
'lion-man'
for
the
work
in
hand
...
The
Court
has come to the conclusion
...
that
where
there
is
evidence from
which
the
inference is inescapable
that
akeeper reicased a
'lion-man'
for
money
received
and
handed
him
to
another
with
the knowledge
that
the
hirer
intended
that
the
'lion-man'
should
proceed
to a spot
and
there
kill a person, such keeper is
the
principal
offender to
the
crime
of
murder".'
The
fact
that
the
background,
life
and
pattern
of
aColony,
may
be so
different
that
the
application
of
English legal principles to such asociety
may
have
to be
altered
is a principle
which
has
been
recognized in
many
cases.
The
difference between the beliefs
held
in a Colony
and
those
held
in
the
United
Kingdom
is
demonstrated
by a case
occurring
in
the
Colony of Fiji."
It
is to be
noted
that
these incidents
and
the
resulting
murder
trial
occurred
in
1954.
The
following facts were
proved
thereat.
The
daughter
of
an
Indian
I1957
Crim.L.R.814.
2 R. V.
Mahammed
Hussain
and
Another
1954.
Lavtoka
Session.
15
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