Why Do Women Accuse Other Women Of Witchcraft?

Witchcraft accusations are alive and well today in Africa, often in the context of polygynous marriages which are very common in some parts of Africa.

There is significant cross-cultural variation in the sex of individuals most likely to be accused of practising witchcraft. Allegations of witchcraft might be a mechanism for nullifying competitors so resources they would have used become available to others. In this case, who is targeted may result from patterns of competition and conflict (same-sex or male–female) within specific relationships, which are determined by broader socio-ecological factors. 

Here we examine patterns of sex-specific accusations in historic cases from sub-Saharan Africa (N = 423 accusations). 

Male ‘witches’ formed the greater part of our sample, and were mostly accused by male blood-relatives and nonrelatives, often in connection to disputes over wealth and status. 

Accusations of women were mainly from kin by marriage, and particularly from husbands and co-wives. The most common outcomes were that the accused was forced to move, or suffered reputational damage. 

Our results suggest that competition underlies accusations and relationship patterns may determine who is liable to be accused.

Sarah Peacey, Olympia L. K. Campbell and Ruth Mace, Same-sex competition and sexual conflict expressed through witchcraft accusations, 12 Scientific Reports volume 6655 (April 22, 2022) (open access) via Tyler Cohen.