witch who had killed his niece, and she see that his heart was sore.’ Annie’s accusation, however, ‘could laid the blame on the dead girl’s mother, Bakipile. At the trial, Annie’s own testimony weakened her defense. In describing how she had gained her supernatural powers she said: I have never received religious instruction in a school. I do not know how I learnt to pray, but at one time I was sick. I became unconscious on one occasion and while I was still unconscious an invisible person spoke. That person told me that if I wanted to be cured I should place my hands on the sick. I belong to a church and was born a churchwoman. We belong to the American Board Mission. I do not go about bula’ing, smelling out people [accusing people of practicing witchcraft]. I pray for the people who come to me. I believe that they will get assistance from God . . . God has given me powers to be able to do this. I often pray for people who are sick. To those listening in the magistrate’s courtroom, this narrative would have seemed reminiscent of the traditional ancestors’ call to become a diviner. In addition, other actions that Annie reported suggested a familiarity with the practices of divination. While she denied having lodged any direct accusations against the dead child’s mother, she did acknowledge her belief that Bakipile possessed some potentially dangerous According to Cele’s own court statement, said the medicine was very strong and ‘medicine’. ‘I could have affected the child. I asked the woman if she was going to admit or not and she admitted having the medicine’—comments that contained echoes of a diviner’s demand that a witch confess to using supernatural medicines. In the end the white magistrate did conclude that Annie was a witchdoctor. Annie and her (white) lawyer appealed the verdict, but the conviction was upheld. Her sentence consisted of either paying a substantial fine of £20 or serving three months in jail. Annie paid the fine. Annie Cele’s healing ritual combined Christian practices with older methods of divination. This article will argue that Cele was not unique: women’s importance as spiritual actors in South Africa in the period from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries stemmed from their abilities to embrace hybrid spiritual identities that corresponded closely to the lived reality of African rural life, and that by embracing those identities, women expanded their roles as social healers. As Karen Flint suggests
witch who had killed his niece, and she ‘could see that his heart was sore.’ Annie’s accusation, however, laid the blame on the dead girl’s mother, Bakipile. At the trial, Annie’s own testimony weakened her defense. In describing how she had gained her supernatural powers she said: I have never received religious instruction in a school. I do not know how I learnt to pray, but at one time I was sick. I became unconscious on one occasion and while I was still unconscious an invisible person spoke. That person told me that if I wanted to be cured I should place my hands on the sick. I belong to a church and was born a churchwoman. We belong to the American Board Mission. I do not go about bula’ing, smelling out people [accusing people of practicing witchcraft]. I pray for the people who come to me. I believe that they will get assistance from God . . . God has given me powers to be able to do this. I often pray for people who are sick. To those listening in the magistrate’s courtroom, this narrative would have seemed reminiscent of the traditional ancestors’ call to become a diviner. In addition, other actions that Annie reported suggested a familiarity with the practices of divination. While she denied having lodged any direct accusations against the dead child’s mother, she did acknowledge her belief that Bakipile possessed some potentially dangerous ‘medicine’. According to Cele’s own court statement, ‘I said the medicine was very strong and could have affected the child. I asked the woman if she was going to admit or not and she admitted having the medicine’—comments that contained echoes of a diviner’s demand that a witch confess to using supernatural medicines. In the end the white magistrate did conclude that Annie was a witchdoctor. Annie and her (white) lawyer appealed the verdict, but the conviction was upheld. Her sentence consisted of either paying a substantial fine of £20 or serving three months in jail. Annie paid the fine. Annie Cele’s healing ritual combined Christian practices with older methods of divination. This article will argue that Cele was not unique: women’s importance as spiritual actors in South Africa in the period from the late nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries stemmed from their abilities to embrace hybrid spiritual identities that corresponded closely to the lived reality of African rural life, and that by embracing those identities, women expanded their roles as social healers. As Karen Flint suggests
Diviners%2520and%2520Christian%2520Women%2520in%2520South%2520Africa%2520December%25202015.docx