Magic and the Supernatural - Lancaster University

Echenna B. Okeja
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admitted by Scientists unless it has links with this accepted truth. 5 Apart from this,
there is a second difference between Magical and Scientific thought which lies in
their attitude to causality. The contention of this second point is that a magician has
no interest in causality. Succinctly put, a practicing Magician has no interest in the
philosophical problems which torment the Scientist. 6
In African context, the meaning of magic is somewhat complex. This is due, in
part, to the fact that there is no direct equivalent of the word magic in this context
or, at least, the Igbo context with which I am conversant. This observation seems to
be at variance with conventional discourses on the concept of magic in African
context, especially as these discourses have come to establish a construal of the
African hemisphere of the world as a place full of magic and the magical. As a
concept, magic can only be understood within African (Igbo) context by means of
interpretation of different phenomena which have direct resemblance to the
Western understanding of the concept. Thus, the practice of exorcism, use of
charms and potent portions, wearing of amulets, voodoo dolls and invocation of
non-physical persons or powers by means of incantations have all come to be
regarded as the basic manifestation of magic within African context. Close
scrutiny, however, reveals that this kind of conceptualization is problematic. Why,
for instance, is incantation an act that is considered a paradigm of magic? One
answer that readily suggests itself is that it is an act that seeks to manipulate the
physical by invocation of the supernatural. But, if this is true, then it surely should
be considered appellation or prayer of a sort and, prayer, surely, is not normally
understood as magic. The same also goes for the use of charms, amulets and
portions and the practice of exorcism. Mostly, charms and amulets are worn as
protective mediums which could attract something good or at least offer protection
against evil for those who believe in their ability to offer them such protection. To
consider such practices as magic would be as absurd as considering the wearing of
medals (of the Blessed Virgin Mary, saints and other holy people) by many
Catholics as magic. The basic point is not that the existence of similar practices
elsewhere automatically exonerates the African practices just considered from
being magic; rather, the contention is that what, in fact, might be considered or has
come to be considered by many as magic within the African context is only an
integral part of a larger belief system. Those practices are mainly practices within a
system of belief which cannot be isolated and interpreted outside the supportive
foundations upon which they stand. This, then, seems to be the short-coming of
some Western Anthropologists, who, on comparing the African belief system with
theirs, declared that the African world is full of superstition and magic.
Does the foregoing mean that there is no manifestation of the phenomenon of
magic within the African context? The answer is a resounding no! This no,
however, needs a raider. The raider is that, magic, when understood as
preternatural rather than supernatural, is ubiquitous in the African context. Now, let
me explain what I mean. By making the foregoing claim, I mean that magic within
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