Tituba
Gender played a huge part in the occurrence of the Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts. One individual has a significant role that independently started the Salem Witch Trials itself, battling gender, as well as culture. This individual was Tituba, the first woman to be accused as a witch and using the power of witchcraft. Tituba was a slave maid of Samuel Parris, previously a merchant but later became a clergyman (Breslaw 537). Samuel Parris was the father of the first child, Elizabeth or “Betty”, and the uncle of the second child, Abigail Williams, who claimed to be victimized by the Salem witches (Breslaw 538). Tituba was between the ages of thirteen to eighteen when she was brought to Boston, and later taken to Salem by Parris, in the year 1680 (Breslaw 537). She was in her early thirties when her accusation was publicized and when the trials began (Breslaw 537). Tituba, along with another slave who later became her husband, John Indian, was brought from Barbados to Salem, Massachusetts by Samuel Parris (Breslaw 537). There in Salem, Tituba became his slave maid.
Tituba’s cultural background is a quite a mix. Much of her background has given her accusation of being a witch more believable in the community of Salem (Breslaw 537). The people of Massachusetts were particularly religious people. They flourished on the ideas written in the Bible and the belief in one divinity. This can be displayed by holding services in churches and reverends and priests proclaiming sermons. However, Tituba’s upbringing was centered upon a different religion. Her religion was based on African belief and a Creole culture taken on by the lives of the slaves (Breslaw 537). This belief was related to the ideas of witchcraft to the English.Tituba, being a woman, a slave, and of African descent, the accusation of witchcraft brought against her was no surprise to the town of Salem. Especially being of African descent, her religion was known for containing voodoo-like and spell-related magic, things the English strongly disagreed with (McMillan 103). Originally, a woman was not equal to the authority of a man, and an African slave being even lower in status than a woman.
In Samuel Willard’s sermon given on April 29, 1692, he illustrates from Genesis in the Bible when Adam and Eve were tempted to eat an apple from the “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” by the Devil disguised as a serpent (Breslaw 301). He states, “She first hearkened to the temptation of Satan”, directed toward Eve, or women in general (Breslaw 302). He also makes a statement almost condemning women as a gender for being in partnership with the Devil. He says, “Now she joined with the seducer, and became a tempter of Adam to sin with her” (Breslaw 302). Being a woman in Massachusetts in the late 1600s was sufficient enough for Tituba to be accused of witchcraft.
The accusations brought against her began between late December of 1691 and early January of 1692 (Breslaw 538). At this time, the children of the Parris house, Elizabeth Parris (age 9) and Abigail Williams (age 11), became strangely, physically ill (Breslaw 538). They described a feeling of pinching, would crawl into corners and under chairs, and began to mumble inaudible words (Breslaw 538). The children’s diagnosis by Dr. William Griggs was described to be done by the “evil hand” or the work of the Devil (Breslaw 538). When hearing of this, the Parris household’s neighbor, Mary Sibley, came into contact with the two Indian slaves of the house, Tituba and John, to use their knowledge of counter magic to cure the girls of their evil infliction (Breslaw 538). After a few weeks, the Indian couple, with Sibley’s supervision, made a concoction known as “witch cake”, made of rye meal and the girls’ urine baked into ashes (Breslaw 538). Once that was made, it was fed to the household dog (Breslaw 538). The cake was fed to the dog because there was belief that the dog was a witch’s “familiar” or friend, and the it would reveal the witch or power afflicting the victim, in this case, the girls (Breslaw).
On February 25, 1692, Tituba was the first woman accused of witchcraft (Rapley 68). Betty Parris and Abigail Williams were the ones to first accuse Tituba of being a witch. They claimed “she did pinch, prick, and grievously torment them, and that they saw her here and there, where no body else could” (Rapley 69). Tituba was brought into jail and was put to trial on March 1, 1692 by Judge John Hathorne (Breslaw 377). Throughout the course of her trial, she denies having anything to do with witchcraft, but does mention that the Devil tempted her “to bid me to serve him” (Rapley 72). At the conclusion of Tituba’s trial, she was not given punishment for her accusation (Rapley 73). Her title of a slave is what might have saved her from anything too harsh, for slave then in Salem was property, and property cannot be taken easily in this case (Rapley 73). The trial ruled that Tituba was only practicing what they assumed a slave from Barbados and a Creole culture would practice (Rapley 73).
Tituba was the very first woman to be accused of witchcraft. Gender was such a significant factor based on the fact that Tituba was a woman of African descent. Being of African descent, she was influenced by the people and their religion containing, for example, the use of talisman and charms for protection as well as a belief in ghosts and spirits thriving among the living (McMillan 103). Tituba came from a different culture and from a different world. When an accusation of witchcraft came about, especially about her, people believed it because of the fact that she is different and not like the Salem community. The sermons preached on the topic of women clearly illustrate how women were seen in a religious light, weak and vulnerable to the works of Satan, and how easily they can be manipulated by the Devil. Therefore, most of the accusations of witchcraft were directed toward women based on this belief. Tituba, however, really made a significant imprint in the Salem with trials, first, for being the first to be accused, and two, for bringing forth her knowledge of her own beliefs and of what her culture taught her throughout the course of these trials. A woman, a slave, and of African descent, these all played a role in her conviction in the Salem witch trials.
Bibliography
Breslaw, Elaine G. "Tituba's Confession: The Multicultural Dimensions of the 1692 Salem Witch-Hunt." Ethnohistory, 44.3 (1997): 535-556.
Breslaw, Elaine G. "Gender." Witches of the Atlantic World: A Historical Reader & Primary Sourcebook. New York: New York UP, 2000. 283-354.
McMillan, Timothy. "Black Magic: Witchcraft, Race, and Resistance in Colonial New England." Journal of Black Studies, 25.1 (1994): 99-117.
Rapley, Robert. Witch Hunts : From Salem to Guantanamo Bay. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007.
Rosenthal, Bernard. "Tituba's Story." The New England Quarterly, 71.2 (1998): 190-203.
Gender played a huge part in the occurrence of the Salem Witch Trials of Massachusetts. One individual has a significant role that independently started the Salem Witch Trials itself, battling gender, as well as culture. This individual was Tituba, the first woman to be accused as a witch and using the power of witchcraft. Tituba was a slave maid of Samuel Parris, previously a merchant but later became a clergyman (Breslaw 537). Samuel Parris was the father of the first child, Elizabeth or “Betty”, and the uncle of the second child, Abigail Williams, who claimed to be victimized by the Salem witches (Breslaw 538). Tituba was between the ages of thirteen to eighteen when she was brought to Boston, and later taken to Salem by Parris, in the year 1680 (Breslaw 537). She was in her early thirties when her accusation was publicized and when the trials began (Breslaw 537). Tituba, along with another slave who later became her husband, John Indian, was brought from Barbados to Salem, Massachusetts by Samuel Parris (Breslaw 537). There in Salem, Tituba became his slave maid.
Tituba’s cultural background is a quite a mix. Much of her background has given her accusation of being a witch more believable in the community of Salem (Breslaw 537). The people of Massachusetts were particularly religious people. They flourished on the ideas written in the Bible and the belief in one divinity. This can be displayed by holding services in churches and reverends and priests proclaiming sermons. However, Tituba’s upbringing was centered upon a different religion. Her religion was based on African belief and a Creole culture taken on by the lives of the slaves (Breslaw 537). This belief was related to the ideas of witchcraft to the English.Tituba, being a woman, a slave, and of African descent, the accusation of witchcraft brought against her was no surprise to the town of Salem. Especially being of African descent, her religion was known for containing voodoo-like and spell-related magic, things the English strongly disagreed with (McMillan 103). Originally, a woman was not equal to the authority of a man, and an African slave being even lower in status than a woman.
In Samuel Willard’s sermon given on April 29, 1692, he illustrates from Genesis in the Bible when Adam and Eve were tempted to eat an apple from the “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” by the Devil disguised as a serpent (Breslaw 301). He states, “She first hearkened to the temptation of Satan”, directed toward Eve, or women in general (Breslaw 302). He also makes a statement almost condemning women as a gender for being in partnership with the Devil. He says, “Now she joined with the seducer, and became a tempter of Adam to sin with her” (Breslaw 302). Being a woman in Massachusetts in the late 1600s was sufficient enough for Tituba to be accused of witchcraft.
The accusations brought against her began between late December of 1691 and early January of 1692 (Breslaw 538). At this time, the children of the Parris house, Elizabeth Parris (age 9) and Abigail Williams (age 11), became strangely, physically ill (Breslaw 538). They described a feeling of pinching, would crawl into corners and under chairs, and began to mumble inaudible words (Breslaw 538). The children’s diagnosis by Dr. William Griggs was described to be done by the “evil hand” or the work of the Devil (Breslaw 538). When hearing of this, the Parris household’s neighbor, Mary Sibley, came into contact with the two Indian slaves of the house, Tituba and John, to use their knowledge of counter magic to cure the girls of their evil infliction (Breslaw 538). After a few weeks, the Indian couple, with Sibley’s supervision, made a concoction known as “witch cake”, made of rye meal and the girls’ urine baked into ashes (Breslaw 538). Once that was made, it was fed to the household dog (Breslaw 538). The cake was fed to the dog because there was belief that the dog was a witch’s “familiar” or friend, and the it would reveal the witch or power afflicting the victim, in this case, the girls (Breslaw).
On February 25, 1692, Tituba was the first woman accused of witchcraft (Rapley 68). Betty Parris and Abigail Williams were the ones to first accuse Tituba of being a witch. They claimed “she did pinch, prick, and grievously torment them, and that they saw her here and there, where no body else could” (Rapley 69). Tituba was brought into jail and was put to trial on March 1, 1692 by Judge John Hathorne (Breslaw 377). Throughout the course of her trial, she denies having anything to do with witchcraft, but does mention that the Devil tempted her “to bid me to serve him” (Rapley 72). At the conclusion of Tituba’s trial, she was not given punishment for her accusation (Rapley 73). Her title of a slave is what might have saved her from anything too harsh, for slave then in Salem was property, and property cannot be taken easily in this case (Rapley 73). The trial ruled that Tituba was only practicing what they assumed a slave from Barbados and a Creole culture would practice (Rapley 73).
Tituba was the very first woman to be accused of witchcraft. Gender was such a significant factor based on the fact that Tituba was a woman of African descent. Being of African descent, she was influenced by the people and their religion containing, for example, the use of talisman and charms for protection as well as a belief in ghosts and spirits thriving among the living (McMillan 103). Tituba came from a different culture and from a different world. When an accusation of witchcraft came about, especially about her, people believed it because of the fact that she is different and not like the Salem community. The sermons preached on the topic of women clearly illustrate how women were seen in a religious light, weak and vulnerable to the works of Satan, and how easily they can be manipulated by the Devil. Therefore, most of the accusations of witchcraft were directed toward women based on this belief. Tituba, however, really made a significant imprint in the Salem with trials, first, for being the first to be accused, and two, for bringing forth her knowledge of her own beliefs and of what her culture taught her throughout the course of these trials. A woman, a slave, and of African descent, these all played a role in her conviction in the Salem witch trials.
Bibliography
Breslaw, Elaine G. "Tituba's Confession: The Multicultural Dimensions of the 1692 Salem Witch-Hunt." Ethnohistory, 44.3 (1997): 535-556.
Breslaw, Elaine G. "Gender." Witches of the Atlantic World: A Historical Reader & Primary Sourcebook. New York: New York UP, 2000. 283-354.
McMillan, Timothy. "Black Magic: Witchcraft, Race, and Resistance in Colonial New England." Journal of Black Studies, 25.1 (1994): 99-117.
Rapley, Robert. Witch Hunts : From Salem to Guantanamo Bay. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007.
Rosenthal, Bernard. "Tituba's Story." The New England Quarterly, 71.2 (1998): 190-203.