Not a laughing matter

Congo (Photo credit: babasteve)

Americans joke about magic, make light of witches and witchcraft in October, and even decorate their homes with images of witches, ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and gore. In places like Congo, those images and the things they represent are not a laughing matter. Many people in the Democratic Republic of Congo believe and participate in magic, ndoki (witchcraft) and fetisheurs, or witchdoctors. One of the shocking things I have learned since coming here is that even people who claim to be Christians still hold on to these old beliefs and take them quite seriously. Magic and animism have been handed down from their ancestors and are deeply ingrained in their culture.

I have no doubt that some things do have a spiritual cause. When a witchdoctor casts a spell or makes a prediction, and it works, obviously he is either an extremely lucky guesser or there is a demonic force at work. Pastors here have first hand experience with demonic powers that we do not understand, but unfortunately many have not experienced the power available in God to rule over those demonic powers.  On the other hand, many things here that occur are incorrectly blamed on magic, curses, etc. such as a bug bite that gets infected after it is scratched with dirty fingernails, or a baby that has a weak cry and a sunken soft spot because he is dehydrated.

The prevalence of these beliefs, even among Christians, and the negative social, spiritual, and physical impacts, really hit me when a friend of mine had a direct encounter with it. A boy, whom we will call "Bikuma" to protect his privacy, had an infection develop in a sore on his leg, growing in size and severity until it was serious and fearsome to look at. Bikuma had been told that it was "mbasu," black magic, that someone had thrown or shot at him with some charm or powder they had purchased from a witchdoctor as revenge for something he had supposedly done to them. He went to the witchdoctor and pay paid him to figure out who Bikuma had wronged, then paid for a "cure."  Bikuma and his family believed his wound was demonic in origin and that conventional medicine, i.e. antibiotics, would not work. He was also malnourished, which did not improve his ability to fight the infection. His face, hands and feet swelled from the lack of protein in his diet, causing further breakdown in his skin. My friends found out about Bikuma and sent food and antiseptic for him and offered to help. His family was too impoverished to give him the care he needed and agreed to let him be hospitalized.

 The first FOUR hospitals that Bikuma was taken to rejected him, possibly simply because he had "mbasu."

 After six weeks in the hospital with antibiotics and proper nutrition he is much better. The doctors said he needs a skin graft but because of the malnutrition his skin is not in good condition for the procedure so he still has a large open wound that will have to be dealt with later. That is now being treated on an out patient level. Perhaps in the future a skin graft will still be an option.  In the meantime, it is a continued battle to keep him healthy and the large wound free from infection.



Another good thing that came out of this was that people took notice that someone unrelated to Bikuma was paying for his care and asked why strangers would do that, so it provided opportunities to witness and share about the love of Christ.

The word "mbasu" comes from the Bayaka tribe, but it has many other names. It is not limited by education level, ethnic group or tribe, geographic location, or socio-economic status. People who are labeled with having mbasu are stigmatized and subjected to atrocious "treatments" from witchdoctors, many of which do more harm than good. Pray for Bikuma's continued healing. Pray that his recovery will open people's eyes to the truth and that they will praise the Great Physician and stop placing their faith in witch doctors. Pray for pastors and leaders here to have access to discipleship and training that are soundly based on the Word of God.