Black Magic, Witchcraft and Occultism: Secret Cultural Practices in India

by Sajal Nag (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032522500
Publisher:	Manohar
Publication date:	06/09/2023
Pages:	590
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

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