A01=Barbara Rieti
Author_Barbara Rieti
Category=JBGB
Category=JBSF1
Category=QRYX5
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eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Product details
- ISBN 9780773541054
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 28 Nov 2012
- Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
- Publication City/Country: CA
- Product Form: Paperback
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There is a little-known tradition of witch lore in Newfoundland culture. Those believed to have the power to influence the fortunes of others are not mythological characters but neighbours, relations, or even friends. Drawing from her own interviews and a wealth of material from the Memorial University Folklore and Language Archive, Barbara Rieti explores the range and depth of Newfoundland witch tradition, looking at why certain people acquired reputations as witches, and why others considered themselves bewitched. The tales that emerge - despite their seemingly fantastic elements of spells and black heart books, hags, and healing charms - concern everyday affairs and reveal the intense social interdependence central to outport life. Frequently featuring women, they provide fascinating new perspectives on female coping strategies in a volatile economy. By addressing the perennial human issues at the heart of witchcraft - construction of enmity and intertwined fate - these narrative accounts also illuminate older witch beliefs revealed in witchcraft trial documents.
Making Witches shows that in storytelling communities with a rich legacy of witch lore, witch tradition has endured well into the twentieth century.
Barbara Rieti is an independent researcher based in St John's, Newfoundland. Her book, Strange Terrain: The Fairy World in Newfoundland, won the Raymond Klibansky Book Prize.
