PNGBLOGS

by KLEO LEORNADE With improvements in Health, Wealth, Education and Justice in the 20th and 21st Century most countries in the world have to a large extent moved on from accusing and burning of witches in medieval Europe to accepting Wica (witchcraft) and sorcery in the west as mere “curiosities” that in reality are non-existent extensions of a warped mind. However, in few emerging (or ‘yet to emerge’) states where poverty and social oppression within an environment plagued with deficiencies in Health, Wealth Education and Justice, there continue to be strong beliefs in witchcraft, sorcery and the occult.  This is because the people find comfort in the supernatural to explain their ill fates because of their ignorance or deficiency in explaining the causes of deaths, loss of jobs, exam failures, passing the blame, bad luck, bad weather patterns, and crop failures, are all easily explained by Science nowadays. There is a regression in society’s development with people embracing

by CASPER DAMIEN   Introduction Why is Sorcery/witchcraft a problem for people in Papua New Guinea? Sorcery and witchcraft beliefs have affected our life and the way we think and perceive things in relation to other people in our society. As such, sorcery/witchcraft is something that is very real for us Papa New Guineans. It is experienced every day and its activity becomes normal to all in our society. Accepting the reality of sorcery/witchcraft as normal in everyday life makes us affirm it as an institutionalized reality. It becomes part and parcel of the community. The witchcraft beliefs and practices are deeply rooted in the social structure of the society. Thus, it becomes a way of life that is affirmed by our beliefs and actions of our people. Why violence against women In PNG women are the targeted victims of sorcery related violence. There are many reasons why women in PNG are always victims of sorcery related violence. Women are seen as second to men in PNG so