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48-516: Unlike the Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 (which was directed against witch-hunting ), the proposed Witchcraft Control Act would explicitly acknowledge the existence of witchcraft and criminalise it. Drafting of the Bill was suspended the following year following opposition from traditional healers and Neopagans which also led to a review of existing national witchcraft legislation by

96-644: A handfasting , performed by someone other than a legally designated marriage officer could be legalised in a second civil ceremony although this option was restricted to opposite-sex couples prior to the implementation of the Civil Union Act. In accordance with section 5 of the Civil Union Act, a Pagan organisation may apply to the Department of Home Affairs for designation as a religious organisation and when designated as such must formally nominate suitable candidates from within their organisation to be designated by

144-695: A consequence of the proposed Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill in 2007, both the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (representing Neopagans ) and the Traditional Healers Organisation (representing African traditional healers ) approached the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) for a review of both the Mpumalanga bill and the 1957 act. In 2010, an investigation was approved for inclusion in

192-543: A doctoral thesis on witchcraft-related crime in 2009, was invited to become part of an advisory committee to assist in the review. Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 The Witchcraft Suppression Act 3 of 1957 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa that prohibits various activities related to witchcraft , witch smelling or witch-hunting . It is based on the Witchcraft Suppression Act 1895 of

240-761: A double degree: as women and as older persons. Pagan organisations which have been designated as religious organisations by the Department of Home Affairs in accordance with section 5 of the Civil Union Act include the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA), the South African Pagan Council (SAPC), the Correllian Nativist Tradition South Africa (CNTSA) and the Circle of the African Moon (CAM). The South African Pagan Council (SAPC)

288-570: A knowledge of witchcraft, conducting specified practices associated with witchcraft including the use of charms and divination, and accusing others of practising witchcraft. In 2007 the South African Law Reform Commission received submissions from the South African Pagan Rights Alliance and the Traditional Healers Organization requesting the investigation of the constitutionality of the act and on 23 March 2010

336-510: A new national Witchcraft Control Act including penalties for practising, or pretending to practise, witchcraft and also recommended new legislation to regulate traditional healers. Unlike the Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 , the proposed Witchcraft Control Act would explicitly acknowledge the existence of witchcraft and criminalise it. The Ralushai Commission defined a witch as follows in their report: The English word witch

384-458: A traditional African context, relating to concepts such as evil and harmful magic, and are not terms generally used by practitioners of traditional African religion to identify themselves. Accusations of witchcraft can lead to violent witch-hunts and are therefore considered a criminal offence in South Africa under the Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 . Pagans do not generally believe in

432-767: Is celebrated in September whereas Easter is celebrated in March/April. The final harvest festival is celebrated on 30 April whereas Halloween is celebrated on 31 October. Since 2004 South African Pagans have also celebrated Pagan Freedom Day on Freedom Day , a public holiday celebrated on 27 April to commemorate South Africa's first democratic elections and the end of apartheid in 1994. The majority of South African Pagans have European ancestry and live in urban areas. There are no official statistics about South African Pagans. Historical Census statistics for religious denominations do not include an explicit count of Pagans and

480-595: Is for those for whom diversity is a cause for celebration and not division. Professor Philip Harrison of Wits University 's School of Architecture and Planning included an overview of Paganism in a series of specialised travel books: Wallace (2006) outlined common beliefs and practices uniting South African Pagans: Notwithstanding the fragmentation within the community, there exists a cognitive, although differentiated, understanding of certain features that unite South African Pagan individuals and groups. The most applicable of these features are, – That Pagans recognize that

528-532: Is gender specific and confined to women only. The male equivalent is wizard. The Sesotho word moloi (pl. baloi) is derived from the verb loya, which means to bewitch and is attributed to those people who, through sheer malice, either consciously or subconsciously, employ magical means to inflict all manner of evil on their fellow human beings. They destroy property, bring disease or misfortune and cause death, often entirely without provocation to satisfy their inherent craving for evil doing. The Tsivenda word for witchcraft

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576-462: Is mostly women advanced in age that are persecuted as witches by communities holding traditional beliefs. These innocent victims are vulnerable to a double degree: as women and as older persons. In March 2012 the South African Law Reform Commission advised that Ms Jennifer Joni has been designated as researcher and Judge Dennis Davis has been designated as project leader for Project 135: Review of witchcraft legislation. Dr Theodore Petrus, who completed

624-489: Is related to comparable trends in the United States and Western Europe and is mostly practiced by White South Africans of urban background; it is to be distinguished from folk healing and mythology in local Bantu culture . While there are no official statistics, the movement has been described as "small but growing" as of 2004. Representatives of the movement have published claims of numbers of adherents ranging in

672-446: Is restricted to South African citizens who identify as Pagans. SAPRA is an affiliated member of the South African Pagan Council (SAPC) formed in 2006 and represents the SAPC in matters relating to the defence and protection of the rights of South African Pagans. In 2007 SAPRA and SAPC were represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, an independent human rights organisation, in their request to

720-629: Is supposed to be a person who is endowed with powers of causing illness or ill luck or death to the person that he wants to destroy. In 1998 the Commission for Gender Equality issued the Thohoyandou Declaration on Ending Witchcraft Violence , recommending urgent legislative reform to mitigate harmful witchcraft practices and violent witch hunts including new legislation to regulate the practices and conduct of traditional healers. The draft Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill of 2007 expanded on

768-491: Is vhuloi. The Nguni equivalent is ukuthakatha (verb) and umthakathi (noun). African terminology referring to witches or wizards is gender neutral (Minnaar et al 1998.) Testifying before a Truth and Reconciliation Commission amnesty hearing in July 1999 about his knowledge about witchcraft matters and other related issues, Professor Ralushai defined a witch as follows when requested to do so by practising attorney Patrick Ndou: A witch

816-469: The ANC 's 1994 National Health Plan with respect to traditional healers include the right of access to traditional practitioners as part of their cultural heritage and belief system and the control of traditional practitioners by a recognised and accepted body so that harmful practices can be eliminated and the profession promoted. This ultimately led to the national Traditional Health Practitioners Act of 2007 which

864-570: The Cape Colony , which was in turn based on the Witchcraft Act 1735 of Great Britain . The act criminalises a number of actions. The following two crimes, the most serious under the act, attract a fine of up to R 400,000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years. If the person in question was killed as a consequence, or if the accused is by habit or repute a witch-finder , the sentence is increased to imprisonment for up to 20 years, and in that case

912-556: The Census 2011 form did not include any questions about religion due to low priority. In 2003 then president of the Pagan Federation of South Africa Norman Geldenhuys stated there were approximately 50,000 Pagans in South Africa. In 2008 Donna Vos stated there were an estimated 10,000 to 50,000 Pagans in South Africa. The Civil Union Act , which came into effect on 30 November 2006, legalised same-sex marriage and also allowed for

960-789: The National Department of Health only started to implement in December 2011 under pressure from frustrated traditional healers. In 1995 the Minister of Safety and Security of the Northern Province commissioned the Commission of Enquiry into Witchcraft Violence and Ritual Murder in the Northern Province of the Republic of South Africa chaired by Professor Victor Ralushai. The Committee proposed

1008-433: The South African Law Reform Commission . Despite the ongoing existence of the national Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 based on colonial witchcraft legislation, which criminalises the "pretence of witchcraft" and accusations of witchcraft, violent witch-hunts have persisted in rural areas of South Africa. Various legislative reforms have been proposed to try and address this complex problem. The principal tenets of

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1056-585: The Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 and the Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill of 2007 . On 23 March 2010 the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development approved a South African Law Reform Commission project to review witchcraft legislation. One of the SALRC's other new projects, the review of witchcraft legislation, will support the constitutional guarantee to freedom of religion, but will also serve to protect vulnerable groups. It

1104-542: The Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 , defining witchcraft as harmful magic and attempting to regulate the conduct of traditional healers in Mpumalanga . The Mpumalanga Department of Local Government was mandated by the Provincial Executive Council to draft a Bill to address the high level of violence in the province caused by allegations of witchcraft. The Bill was mentioned in the 2007/08 Budget speech for

1152-613: The autumnal equinox (in March) and the final harvest festival (30 April). Seasonal holidays do not coincide with the corresponding Christian holidays which originated in the Northern Hemisphere and absorbed the European pagan holidays based on Northern Hemisphere seasonal dates. The winter solstice is celebrated in June whereas Christmas is celebrated midsummer in December. The spring equinox

1200-569: The Constitution. The South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) is a faith-based human rights organisation which promotes the guaranteed liberties and freedoms enshrined for all South African Pagans in the Bill of Rights of the South African Constitution and assists South African Pagans whose constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms have been infringed due to unfair discrimination to obtain appropriate redress. Membership of SAPRA

1248-559: The Department of Home Affairs as religious marriage officers for the purpose of solemnising marriages according to the rites of that religious organisation. A Pagan organisation may also apply to the South African Revenue Service for registration as a tax-exempt public-benefit organisation (PBO) conducting public-benefit activities involving "religion, belief or philosophy". The Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 based on colonial witchcraft legislation criminalises claiming

1296-491: The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development approved a South African Law Reform Commission project to review witchcraft legislation. One of the SALRC's other new projects, the review of witchcraft legislation, will support the constitutional guarantee to freedom of religion, but will also serve to protect vulnerable groups. It is mostly women advanced in age that are persecuted as witches by communities holding traditional beliefs. These innocent victims are vulnerable to

1344-815: The Mpumalanga Provincial Government's Department of Local Government and Housing delivered on 31 May 2007: I am sure that you are all aware that the province is drafting the Mpumalanga Witchcraft Suppression Bill. The purpose of the bill is to suppress Acts of witchcraft including naming and pointing of any body as a wizard or witch. To deal with the violence associated with allegations of witchcraft and deal with killings including ritual killing associated with witchcraft and empowering Traditional leaders to deal with witchcraft aspects. In July 2007 members of organisations representing Neopagans and traditional healers met with officials of

1392-453: The Mpumalanga Provincial Government's Department of Local Government and Housing to discuss their concerns about the Bill from very different cultural viewpoints. Pagans who self-identify as witches , albeit in a contemporary Western sense, objected to the unconstitutional suppression of their religious beliefs and practices and the negative stereotype of witchcraft in the Bill: "Witchcraft" means

1440-716: The PFSA constitution took into account the principles of the UK-based Pagan Federation formed in 1971, it has never been affiliated with it, nor with the Pagan Federation International (PFI), which has been represented in South Africa since 2007. South African Pagans actively participate in a diverse variety of groups or function primarily as solitary practitioners . Pagan traditions practised in South Africa include Wicca , Neopagan witchcraft , Heathenry and Druidry . Wicca and contemporary Witchcraft are

1488-524: The SALRC's programme; a discussion paper was published in 2016 and a further revised discussion paper in 2022. The discussion paper proposes that Parliament should repeal the Witchcraft Suppression Act and enact a "Prohibition of Harmful Witchcraft Practices Act" which would prohibit accusations of witchcraft, witch-finding, specific practices of harmful witchcraft, and acts related to muti killing . Dr Dale Wallace (1 February 2012). "Healers, Heretics and Witches: African diviners and Pagan Witches contest

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1536-517: The South African Law Reform Commission regarding the constitutionality of the Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1957 in February 2007, prior to the leaking of the Mpumalanga Bill. The South African Law Reform Commission subsequently received further submissions from the South African Pagan Rights Alliance and the Traditional Healers Organization requesting the investigation of the constitutionality of both

1584-426: The actual practise of witchcraft, unlike the current act which focuses on accusations and pretended witchcraft. In 1998, the Commission for Gender Equality held a "National Conference on Witchcraft Violence", which produced a statement (the "Thohoyandou Declaration on Ending Witchcraft Violence") calling for the repeal of the act and the introduction of new legislation to deal with witchcraft and witch-hunts. As

1632-660: The boundaries of religion and magic in Africa" (PDF) . inter-disciplinary.net . Retrieved 15 November 2012 . Academic paper providing insight into the history of the Witchcraft Suppression Act and related terminology during colonisation, apartheid and the post-apartheid era. Neopaganism in South Africa Neopaganism in South Africa is primarily represented by the traditions of Wicca , Neopagan witchcraft , Germanic neopaganism and Neo-Druidism . The movement

1680-450: The concept of the Devil or identify themselves as Satanists . The term occult , meaning hidden or secret, may be applied to Western esotericism practised by Pagans among others. The terms occult , occultism and occultist generally only have negative connotations in a Christian fundamentalist context. South African Pagans celebrate the cycles and seasons of Nature throughout

1728-515: The end of apartheid in 1994, there have been a number of reviews of the witchcraft legislation. In 1996, the government of the Northern Province appointed a " Commission of Enquiry into Witchcraft Violence and Ritual Murder", also known as the Ralushai Commission after its chairman Professor Victor Ralushai . The commission recommended that the act should be repealed and replaced by a Witchcraft Control Act which would definitely criminalise

1776-494: The five digits as of 2008. South Africa's first democratic elections were held on 27 April 1994. The new Constitution provided for the right to freedom of religion , belief and opinion, paving the way for Paganism in South Africa. Early public activity included the first publication of Penton Pagan Magazine in December 1995, edited by Damon Leff, and the formation of the Pagan Federation of South Africa (PFSA) in June 1996, with Donna Vos elected as its first president. While

1824-473: The legal designation of religious marriage officers without any religious restriction in accordance with the Constitution. Previously, religious marriage officers could only be legally designated as such "for the purpose of solemnizing marriages according to Christian, Jewish or Mohammedan rites or the rites of any Indian religion" in accordance with the Marriage Act . A Pagan wedding ceremony, also referred to as

1872-431: The offence is presumed to have caused the killing unless proven otherwise. The following three crimes attract a fine of up to R200,000 or imprisonment for up to five years or both. The following crime attracts a fine of up to R80,000 or imprisonment for up to two years. The act also repealed the various witchcraft laws inherited from the colonies from which South Africa was formed. The Witchcraft Suppression Bill

1920-417: The predominant traditions practised and the majority of South African Pagans identify themselves as Wiccans or Witches in a contemporary sense. While beliefs and practices vary, Donna Vos broadly defined Paganism as follows in an interview: Paganism is simply a nature-based religious-spiritual system of beliefs and practices which recognises and acknowledges nature as a manifestation of divinity. Paganism

1968-401: The purposes of curing diseases, helping others who come to consult to them for whatever purposes and including causing harm to others or their properties. On 24 June 2008 the Mpumalanga Provincial Government issued a statement that they had suspended drafting of the Bill until further notice after consultation with different stakeholders. The South African Pagan Rights Alliance first approached

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2016-452: The sacred is manifest in Nature and in the material world. – That divinity is expressed in both masculine and feminine forms. – A belief in the efficacy of magic as a means of connecting with the sacred for change and transformation. – The celebration of the eight seasonal festivals and an emphasis on the lunar calendar. South African Pagans experience prejudice and discrimination due to

2064-412: The secret use of muti, zombies, spells, spirits, magic powders, water, mixtures, etc, by any person with the purpose of causing harm, damage, sickness to others or their property. Traditional healers objected to an inyanga , a local term for a traditional healer, and muti , a local term for medicine, being associated with harmful practices and traditional healers effectively being labelled as witches,

2112-455: The use of misleading terms of identification and the narrow interpretation of certain terms by other members of society. The capitalised terms of self-identification Pagan , Heathen , Witch and Witchcraft have been reappropriated by Neopagans worldwide, however historical negative stereotypes persist in the mainstream media and society in general. The colonial terms witch and witchcraft also have strong negative connotations in

2160-496: The witch term having strong negative connotations in an Afrocentric context: "Inyanga" means a person who uses muti to cause harm, damage, suffering, bad luck, cure diseases, protect from evil spirits and uses mixtures shells, coins, bones, etc. to foretell the future of people, identify witches, perform spells for good and or evil purposes. "Muti" means any mixture of herbs, water, wollen cufs, etc, used by wizards, igedla, inyanga, African Churches, Foreign traditional Healers, etc for

2208-649: The year according to the Wheel of the Year based on Southern Hemisphere seasonal dates where applicable. The major seasonal festivals of the year known as sabbats are the winter solstice (in June), the first spring festival (1 August), the spring equinox (in September), the first summer festival (31 October), the summer solstice (in December), the first harvest festival (1 February),

2256-532: Was also registered as a tax-exempt Public Benefit Organization (PBO) by the South African Revenue Service in 2008. Prior to the passing of the Civil Union Act in 2006, the Pagan Federation of South Africa (PFSA) formed in 1996, the South African Pagan Rights Alliance (SAPRA) formed by Damon Leff in 2004 and the Circle of the African Moon (CAM) formed by Donna Vos in 2001 lobbied for the reform of marriage legislation to bring it into line with

2304-693: Was introduced in Parliament in January 1957 by Charles Robberts Swart , the Minister of Justice . It was intended to consolidate the existing laws on witchcraft and to increase the penalties applied. The act was very similar to the Cape Colony 's Witchcraft Suppression Act of 1895, which had remained in force in the Cape Province until 1957. In 1970 the act was amended to add one offence and to replace fines denominated in pounds with fines denominated in rand . Since

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