witchcraft

In the book, The Gebusi, the villagers believe in witchcraft and sorcery as it says that majority of Gebusi killings which is 61 percent is because of individual executions of sorcery suspects. According to Knauft, “Gebusi adults of both sexes and almost all age categories could be killed as sorcerers” (61). This sort of belief about sorcery and witchcraft is also prevalent in my country.
Nepal is a developing country and people have different many superstitions. One of them is witchcraft and sorcery. My elder sister was very skinny when she was small and my mother took her to Tantric which means a healer. She gave my sister a kaudi which is like a pendant. It was supposed to make her healthy and it could be coincidence or something else but my sister started to gain weight. Also my aunt's son used to get sick very often. She used to take her to the doctor but still he used to be unwell from time to time. Then she took him to the same Tantric and I tagged along with them. The room was small and there were many burning incense sticks. The Tantric uttered some prayer which was very fast and touched my little brother with a broom. She also sprinkled water on him. This lasted for couple of minutes. After she was done my aunt offered her some fruits and money as a gift. I was fascinated by these things when I was kid but I don't believe in it anymore.
With development many people in cities do not believe in these stuff either but there are still some who do especially in remote places. There have been many cases where people have been killed for bad sorcery. In December 2009, two women in eastern Nepal were stabbed and killed by a man because he thought they were practicing witchcraft. The man was sick and he went to Tantrik who said that he was possessed by am evil spirit. They sacrificed animals and found that two women who was his relatives were witches. As time passed by the man's health became worse so he went where those two women lived and killed them with Khukuri, a Nepali iron blade weapon. But in real he was suffering from typhoid. He was arrested later and put to trial.
There was another case which happened this February, 2010 in Pyutar village.low caste called Dalit who are untouchables. She was blamed for making a teacher ill. She was taken out of her house and locked in a cow shed. She was forced to eat faeces and drink urine. They tortured her a lot and cut her skin. She couldn't bear it anymore and lied that she was a witch to save her own life.
Superstition and caste-based discrimination still exists in different parts of Nepal. Women are attacked physically and humiliated after being blamed for practicing witchcraft. I think such beliefs are irrational and inhumane and our Nepalese society should cast such thoughts aside.