**5. Owls and witchcraft**

Many of the ideas revolve around two key beliefs. Owls are perceived as harbingers of evil, and usually, they are viewed as messengers who announce forthcoming illness or even death to the observer or the observer's family [1]. The other central belief is that owls are integrally involved in witchcraft. Should an owl appear to a person steeped in traditional lore, then the individual often makes one of two assumptions: either the owl is seen as a nocturnal form assumed temporarily by a witch during his or her nefarious practices, or the owl, while retaining its natural form, has somehow been coerced into service and is itself abroad on the witch's business. What is of significance is the fact that these negative ideas are widespread, have great potency, and are deeply rooted in parts of indigenous societies and even in contemporary Africa, the Middle and the Far East, and parts of South America [26].

**Table 1** shows that owls are widely killed and collected in Africa to supply magicomedicinal practices often connected with witchcraft. The witch doctors are required during the so-called "blood brotherhood" initiation, to mingle their blood with that of an animal. And whereas the blood bond is likely to be established with one of the more ferocious species, such as a lion, leopard, snake, or crocodile, night birds such as the owl are an acceptable alternative. Witches proper are renowned, of course, for preparing a variety of brews and potions, which form the crucial ingredients of their spells and the very basis of their magic [1].

Six contemporary medicine men (proven to be real witchdoctors) were interviewed in Malawi in 1997.

1. Dr. E. Kamwendo, as the name is written at a place in Lilongwe Market, where he operates, was interviewed on January 23, 1997. At that time, he had been a medicine man for the past 30 years and had an interesting recipe for preparing the bewitching medicine. Kazizi (an owl; also a Nyanja name for the Spotted Eagle Owl [*Bubo africanus*]) is killed—this can be done by a vehicle or by any other means. The fat is taken from the owl and mixed with "*mwavi*," which is a strong tree bark poison from Forest Ordeal Tree (*Erythrophleum suaveolens*).

In old times, "*mwavi*" liquid was used to define who is a witch or a wizard. People drank the liquid, and those with weak blood died and those with strong blood only

vomited. People believed that those who died were witches. In Dr. Kamwendo's bewitching medicine, some leftover "*nsima*" (maize porridge) and gravel from a fresh grave are added; the last mentioned has to be collected secretly. The last ingredient can be only a small stone, and everything is then pounded.

At night, between 9 and 10 pm, this preparation is taken to the roof of the intended victim's house. The witchdoctor stands on the roof at one corner of the house and throws some of the powder into the middle of the roof, then into the different corners of the house, and lastly again into the middle of the roof. Then early in the morning, an owl will be on the veranda or at the front of the house. The owl is captured and taken to the graveyard at night and told that this is his home!

Dr. Kamwendo was reluctant to reveal further his secrets about how the owl was then used for killing from the graveyard but asked us first to prepare an owl by using his method. Anyhow, he concluded that the power of his owl was the same as that of a poisonous snake. Later, Mr. Mvula visited Dr. Kamwendo again to ask what the owl that was created by the witchdoctor ate. He said that it ate what the normal owls ate. He added that even the lion that has been created by people (man) ate what the lions that God had created ate.

2. On January 25, 1997, Mr. Mvula interviewed the witchdoctor known by the name Balowe Shaba. Balowe means letting people bewitch him or her. By naming himself Balowe, he meant that even if people could bewitch him, nothing was going to happen to him. Mr. Shaba told that the owl parts are used in several ways; the parts he mentioned were the head and heart. A head or heart of an owl is taken and a place is chosen at the yard of a house, where the pounded owl part is put under the soil. It must be well prepared for planting a fruit tree or any other plant, which he will choose. The plant or seed of a fruit tree is planted so that the growing plant will pass through the middle of the pounded owl's head or heart. After this plant or fruit tree has grown enough, its roots can be used for bewitching. Before using it, the root is mixed with some other roots or herbs, which he did not reveal. When the witchdoctor wants his medicine to go and bewitch someone, he will talk to the root and some other roots, which will turn into an owl. The major component of the magic is called "*mphiyi*." These are small pieces of a branch of a tree or a root of a tree that are collected, and the outside part is removed and then cut into pieces of more or less one inch. When sending the bewitching medicine, the witchdoctor speaks to the "*mphiyi*" by saying: "I am sending you to such and such a person, to do such and such a job, because I want him or her to die." Immediately after the witchdoctor finishes talking, the "*mphiyi*" turns into an owl, which then flies to the person to whom it has been sent. The owl lands at the house of that person and hoots. After a few days, the person or one family member starts suffering due to some illness, which eventually kills that person some days or weeks later. Mr. Shaba confirmed that as long as the owl is kept in the form of "*mphiyi*," no feeding is needed. He also added that no part of an owl is used as medicine for healing any diseases. The owl is collected dead or alive; a road kill can also be used. Mr. Shaba felt that the strength of the owl-based medicine only differed slightly from potions prepared by lions, leopards, or reptiles.

3. On January 26, 1997, Mr. Mvula visited Mr. Msamale Wjiko, who was first very suspicious of what Mr. Mvula wanted from him. Later, he opened up and said that the owls were kept in the form of "*mphiyi*" and that "*Chizimba*" was the major component for the bewitching medicine to work. Chizimba means a substance made from a special part of a wild or domestic animal or a living creature. In this case, owl parts included are the heart, brain, legs, and beak, which are mixed with "*mono*," the black one, and "*kachebele*" from the river. "*Mono*" literally means a basket to catch a

#### *Owls Used as Food and Medicine and for Witchcraft in Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108913*

fish—but it is assumed that the black one is a fish. "*Kachebele*" is a local name for the common Water Hyacinth (*Pontederia crassipes*), which is considered toxic to humans. These elements are put together and ground. He also uses "*mwavi*," which is a strong tree bark poison from the Forest Ordeal Tree. That tree is found at Choma in Mkubazi Mountain and Vizala Rubber. It is the most powerful tree, so when taking it, the medicine man must not sleep with a woman for one month. "*Mwavi*" is added to the above-mentioned items, and all elements are burned together. Some other medicines are still added, but "*mwavi*" alone can kill a person. If the tree bark is taken, burnt, and ground and this powder is added to some food or beer, the eater or drinker will die. Another way of using the bark is just by drying it, after crashing it, then grinding it, or just soaking the bark in the water. This stuff and some "*mphiyi*" are put on a piece of a broken pot of clay, which is called "*dengere.*" This piece of clay with medicine on it is put on fire, and the snout is taken from the nose. "*Chimphonogho*" (snout) has two functions: One is for rubbing the medicine, and the second is for sending the medicine to where the owner wants. If the snout that is used for sending is taken from the right side of the nose, then the owl will be a male, and if taken from the left side of the nose, the snout will form into a female. If snout from both sides of the nose is mixed, then two owls will be made, and they will go to the place where the owner wants to bewitch the desired person. According to Mr. Msamale Wjiko, the female owl is more powerful than the male owl, showing that he is well aware of the sexual dimorphism in owls [20].

The "*mphiyi*" is rubbed with the oil of black "*mono,*" and the stuff is kept in a house until the day of use, when it is taken to a place where the rubbish (e.g., ashes) is thrown. Then, one has to wait and see if the medicine will turn into one owl or two owls. To improve the results, a song is sung, "*kazizi-kula-kula*" (owl-grow-grow). And the owl grows, and it becomes big, looking like a cat or a bat.

Mr. Msamale Wjiko also confirmed that owls were not used for healing medicines, and according to him, animals like leopards and lions, and even snakes are more powerful than owls. With the animals and snakes, the person who is a target is killed at once, whereas when using the owls, the victim suffers between 1 and 4 weeks.

4. On January 27, 1997, Mr. Chimutoto Mdhluli was interviewed. He was feared as a witch, and even Mr. Mvula went to see him with his old father. First, he only saw the nephew of Mr. Mdhluli, who is also a young medicine man. He was very suspicious toward Mr. Mvula and did not want him to write down anything. Later, the interview materialized with Mr. Mdhluli himself. He stated that an owl was not used as medicine for healing but only for bad things like the bewitching of people. He uses the roots and stem of a tree called "*Muchemani,*" a Latin or English name that is not known to us. Another new term in his magic was "*kutembelera*" (a curse word in Chichewa), which is used when talking to the roots or stem of the "*Muchemani*" tree. This tree is used in many ways: for the growth and prosperity of a business, for women to be loved by their husbands, or for males to be loved by women. People say that a tree has the power to attract something (e.g., women, if the user is a man).

After "*kutembelera,*" the owl in the bush becomes wild and goes to where it has been sent by the medicine man, the owner of the "*mphiyi.*" According to Mdhluli, lions, snakes, and leopards are more powerful than owls. The owl tells that something bad is going to happen in the village. The medicine man, like Mr. Mdhluli, can protect the house to avoid owls and any other form of witching to happen at the house of a person who does not want to bewitch. In the case of Mr. Mdhluli obviously, no owls are created or taken from nature, but only through "*kutembelera*" (cursing) by using the "*Muchemani*" tree.

5. The fifth medicine man interviewed was Mr. Msamale. His name means "*watch out,*" meaning that witchcraft people should be careful with him. He was the only interviewed person who told us of the use of owls for something other than killing people. His owl is used to save somebody who has committed a serious crime or to release someone already in prison. His medicine preparation is as follows: He goes into the valleys or gullies looking for a nest of an owl, which has young ones. The leg of a young owl is tied to a branch of a tree or to a tree itself. When the female or male owl comes back to the nest, it sees that a strand of bark from the rope tree tethers its young. The strand that is used is made from the bark of a "*mtondo*" tree, which is the sunbird or wild mango tree (*Cordyla africana*).

The parent owl then goes to look for a certain tree. The root is collected, and when it returns to the nest with that root, the strand tying the young owl cuts itself. Then the medicine man comes to collect the root that was brought by the parent owl. This same root is used for freeing the person from jail or to stop the jury from finding the accused criminal guilty of any crime. And the accused goes free.

6. Mr. Mvula tried to interview one more sorcerer called Mr. Moyo in Lonje but found such poverty in his house that he gave up by concluding: "I hate poverty." The sorcerer's house had three almost naked children and two wives. Boiled cassava was the only food, but when that was offered to Mr. Mvula, he found it below his standards. Mr. Moyo was suspicious and stated that he knew nothing about how the owls were used for bewitching people. Witchdoctors in the area were afraid to talk because some traditional healers had accused them of sorcery.

As seen above, all witchdoctors had slightly different ways of using owls, but in almost all recipes, the owl was similarly recreated through a complicated ceremony combining poisonous plants and a lot of magic. The owls are collected dead or alive, often they are road kills, but sometimes, owls are also especially killed for the bewitching medicine. If seen catching an owl, the medicine man tells suspicious people that he is going to eat the owl. The species of owls are not mentioned and do not make any difference in witchcraft. Indirectly, however, two species became known and are often used, Barn Owl and Spotted Eagle Owl. When the owl is in this "*mphiyi*" form, as it is called locally in Malawi, it will not need feeding according to some medicine men. Others say that owls are owls and eat what they normally eat.

The owl is used in several ways, but most often the head or heart is put into some place in the garden, which the medicine man has chosen. A seedling or seed of a fruit tree is planted into the pounded head or heart of an owl. When this fruit tree grows, its roots are used for bewitching. The root is mixed with some other roots or herbs, which are often poisonous. The medicine man or the owner of that fruit tree will talk to the mixed root and herb medicine, and the owl will be born again from the roots of the fruit tree. At the time, the medicine man sings a Nyanja song: "*Kazizi-kula, kazizikula-kula*" (grow owl, grow-grow). And the owl grows and becomes a big creature like a cat or a bat. The owl then flies to the person to whom it has been sent and lands on the roof of the house of that person. Then it hoots, and after a few days, the person or the family members start suffering from an unknown illness. Some days or weeks later, the suffering person dies. Almost hilariously, some interviewed medicine men concluded that owls should not be used for killing, as the victim suffers too much if dying takes 4 weeks or more. By using lion, leopard, or even snakes and crocodiles, death is instant. Again, healers disagreed with this.

During the interviews, Bob Milingo Mvula collected some plant remains that the witchdoctors had been using. Among those, we identified castor seeds (*Ricinus communis*). The plant is a shrub or small tree, and its seed (castor seed) contains ricin, one

### *Owls Used as Food and Medicine and for Witchcraft in Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108913*

of the highly toxic substances in the world. One to three seeds can be fatal to a human being. The deadly ricin can be used in aerosol or pellet form as a bioweapon. Heat disarms the toxin. The plant is originally from Africa but is nowadays cultivated and naturalized throughout the world [41].

After the Malawi interviews, Mark Cocker studied traditional medicine markets and interviewed two traditional sorcerers in Cameroon [42]. Although there are no developed markets for dead birds or their parts, the few skins that are being traded by the ubiquitous herbalists are almost all owls. In Cameroon, the owl heart is identified as especially prized for its magico-medicinal power, although both sorcerers in that country confirmed that all parts of the owl were an effective medicine.

One explained that patients came to them because of a curse by another sorcerer whose intention was to make them ill. The aggressor takes owl parts and prepares a spell. To counteract this type of practice and work on the same principle as an inoculation, the traditional healer also takes owl parts, or a whole bird, and cooks it. The charred powder is then added to other herbal ingredients and given to the patient to eat. Any witchcraft in his or her body will be driven out.

Another sorcerer reported that owl parts were used in conjunction with other herbal ingredients to construct a form of talisman worn by the person in an amulet or similar container. This both served as a protection against witchcraft and could also be effective against general bad luck. Should an owl fly into the house of an individual wearing such a charm, the bird would instantly fall dead on contact with the "medicine" contained therein.

In 2002, a female diviner from Sierra Leone was interviewed. She was explaining how you get the owl to do even worse things for you, like killing a baby or so. First, you catch the owl and keep it secretly in the house. You give the owl palm oil, snuff, bené, and pepper (you must force-feed the owl). Then you explain everything to the owl, and after that, you strip yourself naked and go on the floor and start moving round and round. Then, the owl will understand what evil you want to do. After that, you release the owl. In the end, she added that owls were not bad, but if you understand the owl, you can make it do a bad job for you. When I asked if she is personally afraid of owls, she said: "Me, I can't be afraid of owls – if I want to enter an owl, I can do it and come back as a human after my evil mission as an owl."

Also, in India, owls and their body parts are primarily used for black magic [21]. There are probably at least 50 active wild bird-selling points/localities in India where any bird trader is likely to be able to procure owls, although the birds are rarely on open display. Owls are used to control a person or a lover with "*vashikaran*" (hypnotism). Both an owl's ear tufts and castor seeds are mixed with milk and then dried, powdered, and served in paan (betel leaf). The person who is served it, or has it sprayed on their head, will be hypnotized. Another method is using the heart of an owl, which is grounded or mixed with *gorochan* (a product from a cow's bile duct) in equal parts to form a paste. This paste is blessed seven times with a prescribed mantra, then used as an eyeliner, and the person targeted becomes hypnotized.

The live owls are used for countering evil eyes. If a person is having a spate of evil luck, then it is obvious that a jealous friend has cast an evil eye on him or her. So, what can be done? He or she orders an owl. When the owl is received, the person instructs the shopkeeper to kill the owl and then skin it. The shopkeeper is so eager to get his reward that he almost skins the owl alive. Then, the skin is burnt, and the flesh is buried, and the person goes home comforted by the fact that he or she has been liberated from the evil omen. Generally, Spotted Little Owls (*Athene brama*) are used for this purpose, and Abrar Ahmed recorded up to 20 owls for sale during a single visit to the major bird markets [21].
