WITCHCRAFT: THE LEGEND LIVES ON

1. WHAT IS A SO-CALLED WITCH?

 "A witch or more commonly known as a 'Daayan' is a female paranormal spirit with her long hair (called a choti) being the primary source of her power. She is known to have long black nails, feet that face backwards and is said to be the doom of entire families if she ever casts an evil eye on one of its members."

Credit: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

2. WHY IS THE LEGEND STILL ALIVE?

The legend of the witches has been kept alive and passed on from the early medieval times to modern day 21^st century. Many people belonging to the modern urban cities do not believe in this and regard this as an absurd superstition but when asked about the witches, every one of them has their facts straight.

Believing in the so called superstition or not, the fact of the matter is that witchcraft is still quite renowned throughout India. A big part of this recognition of the practice by all is due to the curiosity of the human minds which is fascinated by these paranormal beings.

This has led to several pieces of literature, movies, documentaries, reports, etc. being publicized all across India to feed this curiosity. So even though people may not believe in this practice, the legend of the witches still lives on.

3. WHAT ARE THE SOURCES OF BROADCAST/PROMOTION OF THIS LEGEND?

a) REMOTE SOURCES

A perfect example of broadcasting of this legend is the recently released Indian movie, Stree. The movie seems to be based on a real urban legend that enveloped Bangalore in an icy blanket of fear in the ’90s. 

So when you see the warning, ‘Based on a ridiculously true phenomenon’ eighteen seconds into the movie trailer and think it’s just a marketing stunt, you couldn’t be more wrong.

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According to the massively popular urban legend, the witch would prey on men after dark, knocking on doors at night to lure them out of their homes. She would often call out by imitating the voice of a woman the victim loves — his mother, his wife, his sister — asking him to open the door. It is believed that any man who heeded her request would be found dead within a day. 

Credit: qz.com

The only way to get rid of her was to call out  from inside one’s home, “Nale Ba” or ‘come tomorrow’. The man was then safe for the night until she came back the next day.

This legend gained such popularity that the homes of believers and non-believers alike started having ‘Nale Ba’ written on their walls, the markings of which can still be seen in some parts of Bangalore.

Thus, though Stree appears as a delicious mainstream Bollywood horror comedy, the origins of the real story behind Stree are based in Kannada urban folklore. Its gross earnings of 180 crores also proves that even though witchcraft might be considered just a myth by many, the interest in the practice has still not diminished.

Credit: Wikipedia

Another example of promotion of this undying legend through movies is Imram Hashmi's,'Ek Thi Daayan', which brings back the notion of witches to the silver screen, intriguing several again.

b) GLOBAL SOURCES

In terms of international notions of witchcraft, various films starting way back in 1900s (Wizard of Oz) to the 2000s (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters) have been released that portray the practice as being evil and as something to be vanquished by mankind.

The 2013 hit, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, tells the story of 2 siblings, Hansel and Gretel, who having encountered a witch in their earlier years and defeating her, become witch hunters.

Credit: Wikipedia

Credit: tvtropes.org

  The movie also hints slightly at the practice of burning women identified as witches by rural villagers (inhabitants of Augsburg planned on burning girl named Mina for practicing witchcraft.

This practice of burning women identified as being witches on stakes is one of the popular outcomes of the witch hunt that started in medieval times, around 16^th century and still continues, the most recent case being the killings of women branded as witches in Rajasthan between 2005 and 2017.

Hence, we can say that the legend of the witches existing or not depends not only on superstitious beliefs of the people but on the constantly curious minds of the believers and the non-believers alike. As long as there is curiosity in the mind, there will be the need to feed it and so, the legend of the witches will live on.