Witchcraft and Return To Laughter

There was always the possibility that the witch’s powers were stronger then anyone could have control over. Redwoman had seen many husbands with their wives sick and medicines, consulting with the elders and ceremonies performed but never had she seen anything like Poorgbilin’s sick wife. However, the possibility of witchcraft was alive and it was evident that Poorgbilin’s wife believed someone was killing her. Udama who was with Redwoman at Amara’s believed that there was magic in what was going on. Another example of witchcraft was seen when Amara is sick. He is only one of the examples of men as witches in this culture and Poorgbilin is another unfortunate example of the consequences of practicing witchcraft. In Yabo’s case, he kept saying that he did not kill his wife, however, the possibility still could have been pointed towards Yabo because he had been denying the death.

Both instances of witchcraft had haunted women in the family and the men could have been the reasons for the witchcraft. She believed that only evil bear by man could prevent something this horrible. However, in this instance, Yabo is in fact a witch and he is punished for his acts of witchcraft. Unfortunately for Amara she dies and she is unable to overcome the witchcraft that is haunting her family. In chapter eleven, Poorgbilin’s wife is sick and was given medicine to try and make her better.

Redwoman encounters another episode of witchcraft when Amara was pregnant but grew sick while she was in labor.