gossip, for this disclosure and explicit description of the situation
immediately make him or her an ally of the victims. So the nature of
bad news seems to disinfect the teller, so to speak, in this case but also
puts him or her in great danger. The fight between witch and
"unwitcher" is a deadly one. What is at stake is to deprive the witch of
his vital force so as to force him to desist; in other words antiwitch-
craft fights are witchcraft operations. This is another important reason
why no one ever talks about all this. Talking about witchcraft, for the
people concerned, means talking about a particular case, and this in
turns implies taking sides. Saying that so-and-so is not actually
bewitched means siding with their aggressors; accepting that they are [193]
is tantamount to declaring war on their enemies. Disinterested dis-
course is not an option, which is why Favret-Saada only found out
about such fights when she was enlisted by friends as a knowledgeable
and therefore potentially powerful ally against witches.
The actual rituals, helping prayers, magical formulae and protec-
tive amulets used by people vary a lot. Their detail may be less impor-
tant than the fact that people can now reconsider all sorts of past and
present occurrences in terms of the fight against an overly powerful
agent. Witches are described as having an excess of "strength" or
"force." While normal people's strength is invested in their farm and
household, that of the witch flows over and invades the domains of
others, supposedly to the point where it will kill them. The struggle
comes to an end only when the witch realizes that the forces gathered
against him are just as awesome. This is why it is crucial to counter the
witch's threat by sending clear signals of defiance. Every time the
witch looks at the intended victim—there is no way in this environ-
ment that you could always avoid an encounter—the victim must try
to sustain his gaze; looking down is a defeat.^14
What anthropologists call witchcraft is the suspicion that some
people (generally, within the community) perform magical tricks to
plunder other people's health, good fortune or material goods. Con-
cepts of witches are found in more or less all human groups, although
in different forms. In some places there are explicit accusations and
the alleged witches must either prove their innocence or perform
some special rituals to pay for their transgression. In general, however,
suspicion is conveyed through gossip, seldom coming out into the
open. (Note that in anthropology the term "witchcraft" is used exclu-
sively for situations in which being a witch is criminal, so that very few
people would admit to having used witchcraft. Those who confess do
WHYDOGODS ANDSPIRITSMATTER?