Indigenous witchcraft: between dances, embodiments and spirits

Abstract

This research presents an analysis of Ludovina Ferreira's case, a woman who lived during the 18th century in the city of Mairi Belém and was accused by the Inquisition of practicing witchcraft. It was said that Ludovina played with the devil embodied as a goat, danced to the sound of songs in unknown languages, and, together with her disciples, embarked in night trips. The descriptions of Ludovina's ritual practices reveal indigenous elements and frequent contact with spirits —called either pajés or demons— who granted her wishes, guidance and divinations. The analysis here is centered on the elements of dance and body as a tool and an instrument, respectively, to move between worlds and open the field for the spiritual phenomena to arise. Elements such as drums, maracas, hookahs and smoke lead the body of Ludovina into a deep trance. Because it was part of the indigenous cultural universe, this body was marginalized and, because it opted for the traditional rites of such universe, it was demonized. The documents analyzed are archived at Torre do Tombo, in Lisbon. The index paradigm method, proposed by Carlo Ginzburg, and the concept of cosmohistory, proposed by Federico Navarrete Linares, are used in this study.