| The girl, destined to be known as Tituba, was kidnapped from her South American home, shipped to the English colony of Barbados. She was captured as a slave from Barbados and purchased by Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem, Massachusetts. During the 1670s, Tituba lived on the Caribbean island; her nights were spent with Africans and her days with Europeans. Here she was introduced to African religious beliefs, became acquainted with European culture, and began to master the English language. In 1679, Tituba was sold to Samuel Parris, a man who was to play an important role in the Salem witch trials. In 1680, the Arawak Indian slave girl, now between 12 and 17 years of age, stood on the rocking deck of a ship and watched the steeples of Boston rise in the distance. By 1692, she had married, given birth, and become acquainted with Puritan theology. When Tituba, in early March 1692, confessed to witchcraft, she confirmed the community's worst fears that practicing witches did inhabit their village and most importantly, it provided the legal evidence needed to purge the community of its witches. Tituba confessed that an evil power in the form of the Devil lived among them. Trying to save her own life, Tituba’s testimony was skillfully crafted to satisfy her audience; incorporating her knowledge of Arawak, African, and Puritan cultures. Her performance had the additional ramification of widening the search beyond the traditional targets of the Massachusetts witch hunts. Her testimony justified not only the arrest of wealthy citizens of Salem, but also of prominent Puritans throughout Massachusetts and Maine. This new dimension to the witch hunts, attacking residents from outside the local community, is directly attributable to Tituba's incorporation of Arawak Indian beliefs into her confession. The most feared of all evil forces in the Arawak world were the kenaimas. These beings were compelled to commit evil acts; although they were "real people," they had monstrous features, the ability to metamorphose into animal form, and were associated with foreign tribes. Hence, Tituba's claim that a Bostonian led the witches' coven was influenced by her Arawak Indian heritage. Tituba was quickly tried and hung for witchcraft on March 1, 1692. She had confessed to influencing 4 girls in the practice of witchcraft, but her role in causing the symptoms of being afflicted by witchcraft displayed by the girls was not true. Below: The House Where the Salem Witchcraft Accusations Began. |
First American Witch Was an Indian
First American Witch Accused is an Indian
