VooDoo

Is it to be believed that there are people so primitive that they cling to the notion of malign spirits, and practise witchcraft? In a sense witchcraft, wizardry, witch doctors, are not all that removed from religion. It represents a leap of human faith, a belief in something out of the ordinary, of powers that transcend human imagination. Human beings ascribe violent natural phenomena to the moods of a divine creature they cannot see, but imagine to exist, manipulating the world.

The primal experience of viewing and noting the world around us without understanding that nature and science control the elements is frightening. Human beings have no idea how to cope with events that cannot be managed, but which threaten and often do great harm. The idea comes to them to propitiate that great malign force that they cannot see but imagine to exist. They must give some kind of sacrifice to the unseen presence to indicate their complete subjection to its will.

And in so doing they somehow assure this great, powerful, unseen presence that they do not seek to compete with it in any way. But they do, hugely, respect and fear it. And are desirous of serving it by being faithful to their belief in its presence. And they imagine what it might be that would please the powerful presence. And often enough what comes to mind is to sacrifice some living thing to it.

If they ascribe all life to have emanated from that powerful presence's machinations, then death too must represent a symbol of that being's invisible yet manifest power. No living thing willingly wishes to die. But if, in offering one's life to indicate undying devotion to that great power, it is possible to convince the power that this represents their utmost dedication to its supreme glory, then death it is.

And since no one wants to die themselves, they select a representative human to become the victim. Someone young, perhaps, so that the sacrifice becomes more meaningful; all those years of potential life given in persuasion of divine devotion. Which may go a long way to explaining what occurred to a three-year-old little girl in Indonesia.

Indonesian residents appear to have blamed her condition on witchcraft. Doctors in Makassar on Sulawesi Island have removed over two dozen 10-centimetre rusty nails, broken syringe needles and aluminum rods from the child's legs. Including the removal of a nail lodged very close to her spine. The child is in the process of recovering from the operation, and said to be in good condition.

She was discovered back in September to have all manner of foreign objects in her legs, revealed through X-rays. The little girl must have suffered horribly. Her surgeon, Kamaruddin, claimed she is now playing again: "The girl is recovering from the operation and is generally in good condition. She is already playing again."

Her parents informed media that the scars resulted from the child trying to remove the nails. They had no idea whatever how the nails became embedded in their child's legs. Local residents are said to have claimed they were somehow inserted magically.