Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1)

Scott Douglas Jacobsen
In-Sight Publishing, Fort Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Correspondence: Scott Douglas Jacobsen (Email: scott.jacobsen2025@gmail.com)

Received: July 16, 2024
Accepted: N/A
Published: January 8, 2025

Abstract

Dr. Arnie Wendroff explores the complex relationship between Christianity and traditional beliefs in Malawi, particularly within the educational system. His interview examines the challenges of integrating religious teachings with scientific education, highlighting widespread beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery. Wendroff differentiates between anthropological definitions of witchcraft and sorcery, drawing from his extensive research conducted between the 1970s and 2000s. He discusses the role of witchfinders, the impact of socio-economic changes on supernatural beliefs, and the persistence of these practices despite modernization efforts. This interview provides a nuanced understanding of the cultural and religious dynamics shaping contemporary Malawian society.

Keywords: Christianity in education, cultural anthropology, Malawi, sorcery, socio-economic factors, supernatural beliefs, traditional medicine, witchcraft, witchfinders

Introduction

Dr. Arnie Wendroff’s in-depth interview offers a comprehensive examination of Malawi’s cultural and religious landscape, focusing on the enduring beliefs in witchcraft and sorcery. Through his extensive fieldwork and research from the 1970s to the early 2000s, Wendroff sheds light on how Christianity has been integrated into the education system and its interplay with traditional medicinal practices. He distinguishes between witchcraft and sorcery from an anthropological perspective and discusses the societal roles of witchfinders. This interview delves into the socio-economic factors that sustain supernatural beliefs, providing valuable insights into the resilience of these practices in modern Malawi.

Main Text (Interview)

Interviewer: Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Interviewee: Dr. Arnie Wendroff

Section 1: Christianity in Malawi’s Education System

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: How is Christianity involved in this system in Malawi?

Dr. Arnie Wendroff: It is challenging since religion, particularly Christianity, has been integrated into school syllabi for a long time. In any event, they cannot teach Christianity and science simultaneously. They expect people to believe in science, its details, and the whole concept of randomness. Most people do not accurately describe this when it comes to things like cancer and misfortune. Religion purports to explain that, but it needs to do a better job. There are a lot of Christian rituals, songs, and et cetera. Imagery is in the context of traditional medicine, which involves finding—I have a picture in my office. Let me see if I can show it to you. If you can see this picture, it is a lady who would find her. Now, the national charge for the court is in terms of what they are doing, and typically, they are not.

Section 2: Supernatural Beliefs and Professional Use

Jacobsen: Is there a select group of people who know it is supernatural, therefore not real, but still use this cynically for some professional or political purpose?

Wendroff: It is hard to be inside people’s heads. From my experience, I am not always in contact with people. I have been there for a long time and have lived there for a few years. The last time I was there was in 2006. However, almost everyone believes in the supernatural and witchcraft, including many healers and certainly witchfinders. Some of them are charlatans in terms of how they use their work. But they believe in the supernatural etiology and the reality of witchcraft. By the way, from a technical terminology perspective, in terms of Malawi and many other places, but certainly Malawi, it is not witchcraft in the legal sense. It is sorcery. My dissertation dealt extensively with sorcery. I later found postdoctoral work in the late eighties.

Section 3: Defining Witchcraft and Sorcery

Wendroff: Witchcraft, by anthropological definition, is an inherent power in the person. They do not have to think about it sometimes, but they can wish evil things to happen to others. In many cases, it involves imbuing some object with the power to harm the victim remotely. In many cases, it is useful if the object can contain some piece of the victim, such as hair or menstrual blood. It almost invariably involves an object containing the essence of the evil thought.

Sorcery involves a more deliberate act, such as using objects or rituals to cause harm. The classic book by E.E. Evans-Pritchard describes how people in Sudan believed that witches had supernumerary organs in their abdomens that could harm others. This idea influenced how people understood witchcraft and sorcery. My dissertation research focused on medicinal and sorcery beliefs and how they interacted with biomedicine, religion, et cetera.

Section 4: Specialization and Definitions

Jacobsen: So this is your specialization. This is important. I am getting expert views. Within this interview context, we will speak purely within the context of Malawi and the doctoral-level definitions and implications of sorcery and witchcraft. I want you to go further on the definitions because you were defining witchcraft, but the definition of sorcery still needs to be finished.

Wendroff: Sorcery, again, is the ability of a person to take some object, preferably an object that has been in intimate contact with or has a piece of the person who is the intended victim, and cast a spell on it. It might be spoken or thought, whatever it is, but it is a spell or verbal command to this inanimate object to go and do harm. I can show you. I have many of these things upstairs on my parlour floor that I have collected from these witchfinders, which I can show you. I can send you some pictures at a later date.

Section 5: Practical Applications and Terminology

Wendroff: So, it might be worthwhile to at least peek at the chapter in this book I wrote. But from my experience, I can only talk about my experience. The way it works, there is a saving grace. Apropos of the fact that most of these bad things are what a witch doctor purports to do or is alleged to be done by their neighbours or the witchfinder, we do not use the word sorcery binder. We use the word witchfinder, but it is a sorcery binder.

Jacobsen: So the terms are backward, essentially, in practice?

Wendroff: Yes. Here is the deal. Almost everyone possesses some anti-sorcery charm, physical objects, and amulets, among other things. So there are lots and lots of witchcraft accusations that end up in front of these witchfinders.

Section 6: Witchcraft Accusations and Protective Charms

Wendroff: In many cases, the witchfinders will cleverly say that the purported accused witch had no evil intent. Some third parties made the protective amulet or charm. When that third party, a ritual expert who makes the protective charm, made a mistake, said the wrong word, or used the wrong ingredient, it enabled this protective charm to go renegade and unconsciously—not willed by the alleged sorcerer—go and harm someone else.

So, with that, I will stop here for a moment. You have a complainant. You have a person who is a victim, who is sick or has some emotional or work-related problem. The so-called ‘victim,’ believes that some sorcerer has victimized them. The witchfinder will often say, “Yes, I have identified the person or persons you suggested as the bad guy, the sorcerer, but they did not intend to do anything bad to you. It was this renegade charm made by some other person.”

Section 7: Neutralizing Sorcery

Wendroff: So I summon the alleged witch or sorcerer and command them to relinquish that charm, that renegade charm, that object. I will spread some material, magical medicine, or incantation over it to neutralize it. Therefore, this will no longer burden you, the victim.

At the same time, although the source was identified, the alleged perpetrator, the sorcerer, is absolved. So, the heat is taken off the alleged sorcerer, who can then be reintegrated into society. Everything is, as we said in the sixties, copacetic. From the guides I have observed, that is quite a commonplace scenario. I was lucky when I was doing my dissertation research.

Section 8: Dissertation Research and Mary Douglas

Wendroff: It was in the summer. I was a teacher every summer so that I could take off for a few months. I took leave without pay. So, I researched every summer for three to four months in Malawi from 1972 to 1979. While doing the library work and background reading, I found a compilation by a famous English anthropologist, Mary Douglas, titled “Witchcraft Accusations and Confessions,” an edited book with chapters by many anthropologists.

One was a lady anthropologist working several hundred miles north of where I worked in Tanzania. The tribe she was working with had many members flocking down to Malawi in the early sixties, before and around the time of independence for Malawi, to see a famous witchfinder who went by the name of Chicago. His real name was Brian Chindas. In any event, I heard a lot about him. When I was there in 1986, I was included in the census, the decennial census in Malawi, and the census taker took everyone, including me. So I saw the questionnaire, and most people at the time—and still today—have no birth certificate and do not know precisely when they were born.

Section 9: Understanding Historical Context Through Census

Wendroff: So, the census taker had a series of questions about historical events. This guy, Chicago, was such a notable figure that he was one of those historical events used to try to pin down when a person was born. So that is how I learned about Chicago. That was in 1986. When I went back after my dissertation in 1986, I found out that Chicago, which had been in exile for many years since independence, was back. There was a major welcoming ceremony with all sorts of dignitaries, police, and many traditional healers.

Section 10: Interaction with Prominent Witchfinder

Wendroff: I was introduced to him. I was the only white guy there. From my prior research, I knew how the system worked. I befriended him and his secretaries, who received the letters and kept records. In any event, they cannot teach Christianity and then teach science simultaneously and have people believe in science, the nitty-gritty and the whole concept of, why me or the whole concept of–what’s the word–randomness. Hence, most people don’t subscribe to that when it comes to life, chances, and misfortunes. So that’s something that religion purports to explain, but it doesn’t do a good job.

Section 11: Christian Rituals in Traditional Medicine

Wendroff: So there’s a lot of Christian ritual, songs, and imagery within the context of traditional medicine and witch finding. I have a picture here in my office. Do you see this picture here? This is a lady who finds her. Do you see the cross on her cap?

Jacobsen: Yes. So that’s par for the course regarding what goes on in traditional beliefs there. Is there a select group of people who know it’s supernatural, therefore not real, but still use this cynically for some professional or political purpose?

Section 12: Prevalence of Supernatural Beliefs

Wendroff: It’s hard to be inside people’s heads. I would surmise from my experience that I’m not always in contact with people. I’ve been there 20 times and lived there for two years. I haven’t been there since 2006. But pretty much everyone believes in the supernatural and witchcraft. The healers, many of them, and certainly the witchfinders, some of them, are charlatans in how they do their work. But they believe in supernatural ideologies and the reality of witchcraft.

And by the way, from a technical terminology standpoint, in terms of Malawi and many other places, but certainly Malawi, it is not witchcraft in the anthropological terminology. It’s sorcery. Witchcraft and my dissertation dealt exclusively with sorcery. I later found post-doc work in the late eighties when I went back. Witchcraft, by anthropological definition, is something that is an inherent power in the person. It doesn’t even have to think about it in some cases but can merely wish evil, bad things to happen to other people, whereas sorcery involves making an object which is then imbued by the sorcerer’s power, spells, and so on, to go and remotely harm the victim.

Section 13: Detailed Definitions and Dissertation Insights

Wendroff: In many cases, it’s useful if the object can contain some piece of the victim or has been in contact with it, like hair, menstrual blood, or whatever. But in any event, it almost invariably involves that object, which is the vector of the evil thoughts. Whereas in witchcraft, the evil thoughts can directly damage the intended victim. This was described initially by one guy, E. E. Evans-Pritchard, who wrote a classic book, something about witchcraft and sorcery among the Azande or something, where those people in Sudan at the time believed that the witch had a supernumerary organ in their abdomen, and they would perform an autopsy on people believed to be witches. They would find this organ on occasion, which gave rise to that organ, which I wrote about in my dissertation. I’ve never seen anyone else allude to it. It’s what’s called a teratoma, where you have a cyst of endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm, the three layers of the developing embryo. That ectoderm or skin occasionally in people, or they call it a hydatid mole. It’s this membrane, and inside it is hair and teeth.

Wendroff (continued): My dissertation research was on traditional medicine and sorcery beliefs, how they interacted with biomedicine regions, etc.

Section 14: Doctoral and Postdoctoral Specialization

Jacobsen: And this is where your doctoral or postdoctoral specialization was based?

Wendroff: My dissertation research focused on traditional medicine and sorcery beliefs in Malawi.

Section 15: Casting Spells and Collecting Artifacts

Wendroff: Sorcery, again, is the ability of a person to take some object, preferably an object that has been in intimate contact with or has a piece of the person who is the intended victim, cast a spell, it might be spoken, or it might be thought, whatever it is. But it is a spell, a verbal command to this inanimate object to go and do harm. I have many of these things upstairs on my parlour floor that I have collected from these witchfinders, which I can show you.

Section 16: Sharing Research and Terminology Clarification

Wendroff: Taking a peek at the chapter in this book I wrote is worthwhile. From my experience, I can only talk about my experience. There’s a saving grace to it. Apropos, we don’t use the word “sorcery binder” for most of these bad things that a sorcerer purports to do or is alleged to do by his neighbours or the witchfinder. We’re using the word witch binder, but it’s a sorcery binder. The terms are essentially backward in practice.

Section 17: Anti-Sorcery Practices and Witchfinder Accusations

Wendroff: Here’s the deal. Almost everyone possesses some anti-sorcery charms, physical objects, amulets, and other things because of this ubiquitous belief in sorcery. There are lots of witchcraft accusations that end up in front of these witchfinders. In many cases, the witchfinders will cleverly say that the accused witch had no evil intent. The protective amulet or charm, made by some third party, was made by some ritual expert who made a mistake, said the wrong word, or used the wrong ingredient. That enabled this protective charm to go renegade and unconsciously harm someone else, not willed by the alleged sorcerer. The witchfinder will command the alleged sorcerer to relinquish that renegade charm. I will spread some material, magical medicine, or incantation over it to neutralize it. Therefore, this will no longer burden you, the victim. At the same time, although the source was identified, the alleged sorcerer is absolved. So, the heat is taken off the alleged sorcerer, who can then be reintegrated into society. Everything is, as we said in the sixties, copacetic.

Section 18: Dissertation Research and Mary Douglas’s Work

Wendroff: That’s quite a commonplace scenario, at least from the guys I’ve observed. I was lucky when I was doing my dissertation research. It was in the summer. I was a teacher every summer so that I could take off for a few months. I took these without pay. I researched in Malawi for 2 to 4 months every summer from ’72 to ’79. While doing background reading on this, I came across a compilation by a famous English anthropologist, Mary Douglas, called “Witchcraft Accusations and Confessions,” or “Confessions and Accusations.” It was an edited book with chapters by different anthropologists. One was a lady anthropologist working several hundred miles north of where I worked in Tanzania. She found that many people from her area had migrated to Malawi in the early sixties, before and around the time of Malawi’s independence, to see a super-famous witchfinder named Chicago, whose real name was Bryton Chuenda. In any event, I heard a lot about him.

Section 19: Census Research and Learning About Chicago

Wendroff: When I was in Malawi in 1986, I was included in the decennial census. The census taker included everyone, and they included me. I saw the questionnaire. Most people at the time, and even today, do not have birth certificates or know exactly when they were born. The census taker asked a series of questions related to historical events to estimate a person’s birth year. One of the notable historical figures, Chilembwe, was used as a reference point to help determine birth years. That’s how I first learned about Chilembwe back in 1986.

Section 20: Returning to Malawi and Meeting Chicago

Wendroff: When I returned to Malawi after completing my dissertation in 1986, I discovered that a prominent figure who had been in exile for many years since Malawi’s independence had returned. There was a major welcoming ceremony with numerous dignitaries, police, and many traditional healers. I was introduced to him. I was the only white person there, but I understood how the system worked from prior research in the region. I befriended him and his secretaries, who were responsible for receiving letters, keeping records, and drafting his responses to the headmen who wrote referral letters for diagnoses.

Section 21: Witch-Finding Activities and Cleansing Rituals

Wendroff: To give you an idea of how significant this was, there had been a hiatus in major witch-finding activities. There was a great deal of unresolved belief in witchcraft and sorcery. I provided this figure with a registered book at the time, in which his secretaries listed the names of people referred for witchcraft cleansing. Often, a whole village, sometimes 12 or more people, would come under one referral letter to be cleansed of supposed witchcraft.

I’m not exaggerating. I can send you photocopies. During the first full year, this prominent figure was back in the office; he registered 25,000 clients using my register book. There were thousands of letters. As I mentioned, one letter might cover 15 to 20 people, indicating the high demand for these cleansing rituals.

Section 22: Ongoing Beliefs and Global Perspective

Wendroff: I finished my research there but returned briefly in 2006. From what I can ascertain, the issue has only increased. The anthropological and socio-psychological rationale for witchcraft beliefs tends to stem from social differentiation, stratification, and jealousy — particularly among those who have less toward those who have more. Given the economic and social changes and political and economic difficulties in places like Malawi, one of the poorest countries in the world, these beliefs persist and even escalate. The problem is not isolated to Malawi; many countries in the region and around the world face similar issues.

It appears that belief in witchcraft is only growing among the unenlightened, who attribute their troubles to random causation. My long-term research assistant, whom I spoke to about a week ago, mentioned a resurgence of witchcraft beliefs. He is located at the famous mission station in Northern Malawi, where I initially conducted my research.

Section 23: Comparative Analysis with the United States

Wendroff: As we know, there are numerous reports and stories about this issue. I have 5,479 news articles on the subject, many detailing murders. It’s a serious problem and virtually intractable. If we can see irrational beliefs here in the United States with figures like Donald Trump, you can imagine what we’re dealing with globally. I could elaborate further, but I don’t want to delve into politics. Nonetheless, it’s a major problem.

Discussion

This interview with Dr. Arnie Wendroff provides a comprehensive examination of the interplay between Christianity and traditional beliefs in Malawi, particularly within the educational system. Dr. Wendroff highlights the challenges of integrating religious teachings with scientific education, noting the pervasive belief in witchcraft and sorcery among Malawian communities. He distinguishes between witchcraft—defined anthropologically as an inherent personal power to cause harm—and sorcery, which involves the deliberate use of objects and rituals to inflict harm.

Dr. Wendroff discusses the role of witchfinders in mediating accusations of sorcery, often absolving alleged sorcerers by attributing harm to malfunctioning protective charms created by third parties. This process reflects the intricate social dynamics and economic factors that sustain supernatural beliefs in Malawi. The persistence and escalation of witchcraft beliefs are closely tied to socio-economic disparities, social differentiation, and political instability, which Dr. Wendroff identifies as key drivers behind the resilience of these practices despite modernization efforts.

Furthermore, Dr. Wendroff’s insights into the historical and cultural context of Malawi reveal how traditional beliefs are intertwined with contemporary societal challenges. His research underscores the importance of understanding local terminologies and practices to effectively engage with and address the issues related to witchcraft and sorcery. Future research may explore the impact of globalization on these beliefs, the effectiveness of interventions by witchfinders, and comparative studies across different cultural settings to better understand the universal and unique aspects of supernatural beliefs.

Methods

The author conducted an in-depth, semi-structured interview with Dr. Arnie Wendroff, an anthropologist with extensive fieldwork experience in Malawi. The interview was held either online or in person, depending on logistical feasibility, and was recorded with the consent of Dr. Wendroff. Following the interview, the conversation was transcribed verbatim to ensure an accurate representation of Dr. Wendroff’s insights and experiences. The transcript was then meticulously edited for clarity and conciseness, preserving the original nuances and depth of the discussion. This methodological approach facilitated a thorough exploration of Dr. Wendroff’s research on witchcraft and sorcery, providing valuable qualitative data for analysis.

Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current article. All interview content remains the intellectual property of the interviewer and interviewee.

References

Evans-Pritchard, E. E. (1937). Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Douglas, M. (Ed.). (1970). Witchcraft confessions and accusations (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780415611619

Journal & Article Details

• Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
• Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
• Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
• Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
• Journal: In-Sight: Interviews
• Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
• Frequency: Four Times Per Year
• Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
• Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
• Fees: None (Free)
• Volume Numbering: 13
• Issue Numbering: 2
• Section: A
• Theme Type: Idea
• Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”
• Theme Part: 33
• Formal Sub-Theme: None
• Individual Publication Date: January 8, 2025
• Issue Publication Date: April 1, 2025
• Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
• Word Count: 3,134
• Image Credits: Photo by Japhet Khendlo on Unsplash
• ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 2369-6885

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Dr. Arnie Wendroff for his time and willingness to participate in this interview.

Author Contributions

S.D.J. conceived and conducted the interview, transcribed and edited the conversation, and prepared the manuscript.

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

License & Copyright

In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
© Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing 2012–Present.

Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.

Supplementary Information

Below are various citation formats for Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1).

1. American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition)
   Jacobsen S. Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1). January 2025;13(2). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/wendroff-1
2. American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)
   Jacobsen, S. (2025, January 8). Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1). In-Sight Publishing. 13(2).
3. Brazilian National Standards (ABNT)
   JACOBSEN, S. Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1). In-Sight: Interviews, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 2, 2025.
4. Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition)
   Jacobsen, Scott. 2025. “Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1).” In-Sight: Interviews 13 (2). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/wendroff-1.
5. Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition)
   Jacobsen, S. “Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1).” In-Sight: Interviews 13, no. 2 (January 2025). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/wendroff-1.
6. Harvard
   Jacobsen, S. (2025) ‘Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1)’, In-Sight: Interviews, 13(2). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/wendroff-1.
7. Harvard (Australian)
   Jacobsen, S 2025, ‘Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1)’, In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 2, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/wendroff-1.
8. Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition)
   Jacobsen, Scott. “Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1).” In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 2, 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/wendroff-1.
9. Vancouver/ICMJE
   Jacobsen S. Conversation with Dr. Arnie Wendroff on Sorcery Accusations in Malawi (1) [Internet]. 2025 Jan;13(2). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/wendroff-1

Note on Formatting

This layout follows an adapted Nature research-article structure, tailored for an interview format. Instead of Methods, Results, and Discussion, we present Interview transcripts and a concluding Discussion. This design helps maintain scholarly rigor while accommodating narrative content.