Le "magas" de Salem, Massachusetts / The "witches"
of Salem, Massachusetts

In 1692 occurreva in Salem, Massachusetts, un episodio
multo vergoniose in le historia del Statos Unite.
Illo comenciava quando un gruppo de pueras subitemente
presentava evidentia de incantamento hysteric.

Dece pueras, de nove a dece-septe annos, se assemblava
in le cocina del reverendo John Parris e ascoltava
le historias de Tituba, un sclava qui habeva venite
a Massachusetts de un del insulas del Mar Caribe.

Tituba esseva un conversa al christianitate, mais
ante su conversion illa habeva apprendite le secretos
del magia del vudu traditional del cultura que la
habeva producite.  Illa terrificava con historias
de incantamento e homocidio iste dece pueras, cuje
familia habeva inseniate a illas le doctrina christian
severissime de aquelle epocha.

Elizabeth Parris, le filia de un ministro puritan,
se eveliava un nocte critante e insistente que il
habeva in su camera alcun creaturas monstruose
horribile.  Su familia faceva venir a illa un medico
qui, in aquelle dias de medicina prescientific,
diceva que un maga habeva incantate malignemente
le povre puera.

Totos de Salem deveniva hysteric post audir iste
nova.  Postea le altere pueras qui habeva audite
le narrationes de Tituba deveniva victimas de simile
attaccos hysteric.

Il ha habite debattos interminabile pro determinar
si le pueras fingeva iste attaccos de incantamento
o si illas solmente habeva delusiones de haber essite
incantate.  Il es possibile que iste pueras comenciava
solmente con le desiro de attrahaer a se attention
e sympathia e que, con le tempore, illas comenciava
creder vermente que illas esseva incantatate
malignemente.

Mais tote le gente de Salem credeva iste pueras
e anque credeva in le Biblia, que habeva iste
instruction:  "Tu non permittera que un maga vive."

Iste circumstantias provocava le processo legal
de tres feminas, Tituba, Goodwife Osburn, e Sara
Good--e postea le accusation frenetic de multe
alteres.  Post comprender le natura e extension
de iste hysteria communitari, un del pueras, Mary
Warren, confessava que su historias de incantamento
esseva fingite.  Mais le altere pueras accusava
Mary mesme de esser un maga e diceva que illas habeva
vidite su phantasma ectoplasmic.

Necuno trovava credibile lo que diceva Mary proque
totos esseva convincite que illa habeva essite
incantate.  Totos credeva que le demonstration de
convulsiones hysteric per le altere pueras (qui
se mordeva le brachios, critava, e faceva accusationes
contra un grande serie de magas) probava lor
accusationes.

Un puera de cinque annos confessava que illa esseva
un maga e que illa manteneva un serpente nigre como
un spirito personal.  Iste confession ganiava pro
illa octo menses in le carcere durissime incantenate.
On credeva que le catensas pesante esseva necesse
pro prevenir que illa faceva incantamentos contra
altere personas.

Le povre puera Dorcas Goode esseva le filia de Sara
Goode, que le communitate habeva executate con Tituba
e Goodwife Osburn post que illa habeva negate que
illa esseva un maga.  Solmente aquellas qui negava
esser magas esseva pendite.

Eventualmente, on concedeva le libertate a tote
le alteres que habeva confessate que illas esseva
magas.  Un total de dece-nove personas esseva pendite
e un, Giles Corey, de octanta annos de etate, qui
non voleva admitter o negar su uso del magia, esseva
gradualmente occidite per le pression incremente
de petras que on gradualmente placiava sur un planca
super su corpore.

In septembre, 1692, iste crise habeva diminuite
quasi completemente, e multe personas timeva que
on habeva executate personas innocente a causa de
iste hysteria.  Ben que le pueras continuava lor
accusationes e convulsiones, le major parte del
population de Salem non las credeva.

Un de iste pueras, Anne Putnam, declarava que illa
habeva facite accusationes de incantamento contra
personas innocente, e su confession esseva
publicamente
legite in un del ecclesias local de Salem.
Eventualmente, le judices e juratos involvite in
le processo declarava publicamente que illes habeva
errate.

Illes signava un documento confessante que illes
"habeva essite victimas de un forte delusion general."

E pro un periodo de multe annos post iste triste
episodio in nostre historia, le gente de Salem
exprimeva su regret con un die annual de jejuno
e penitentia.

Historicos moderne ora crede que le delusiones de
incantamento in iste pueras esseva producite per
le intoxication de ergotismo, causate per un fungo
in le secale que illas habeva mangiate.

(Publicate in "Confluentes", vol. 2, numero 4,
octobre-decembre 2003, p. 22)

---

In 1692 a very shameful episode in the history of
the United States occurred in Salem, Massachusetts.
It started when a group of girls suddenly presented
evidence of being bewitched.

Ten girls, from nine to seventeen years old, got
together in the kitchen of the reverend John Parris
and listened to the stories of Tituba, a female
slave who had come to Massachusetts from one of
the islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Tituba was a convert to Christianity, but before
her conversion she had learned the traditional voodoo
magic of the culture that had produced her.  She
terrified with stories of witchcraft and homicide
these ten girls, whose family had taught them the
very severe Christian doctrine of that time.

Elizabeth Parris, the daughter of a Puritan minister,
awoke one night crying and insisting that there
were in her bed some monstrously horrible creatures.
He family summoned to her side a physician who,
in those days of prescientific medicine, said that
a witch had cast an evil spell over the poor girl.

Everyone in Salem became hysterical after hearing
this piece of news.  Afterwards the other girls
who had heard Tituba's stories became victims of
similar hysterical attacks.

There have been long ongoing debates to establish
whether the girls were pretending to be bewitched
or whether they were deluded into thinking they
were under these spells.  It is possible that these
girls started out by wanting to attract attention
and sympathy to themselves and that, in time, they
started really believing that they were the victims
of evil spells.

But all the people in Salem believed these girls
and also believed in the Bible, which had this
instruction "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
(In anglese moderne:  "You must not allow a witch
to live." / "You musn't let witches live.")

These circumstances gave rise to trials for three
women, Tituba, Goodwife Osburn, and Sara Good--and
afterward to hysterical accusations of many others.
After understanding the nature and extent of this
community hysteria, one of the girls, Mary Warren,
confessed that she made up her stories of evil spells.

The other girls, however, accused Mary herself of
being a witch and said that they had seen her
ectoplasmic body.

No one believed what Mary said because all were
convinced that she had been bewitched.  Everyone
believed that the display of hysterical convulsions
by the other girls (who bit themselves on their
arms, cried, and made accusations against a great
number of witches) proved their accusations.

A five-year-old girl confessed that she was a witch
and that she maintained a black snake as a personal
spirit.  This confession earned for her an eight-month
jail sentence under heavy chains.  People believed
that the heavy chains were needed to keep her from
casting spells on others.

This poor girl, Dorcas Goode, was the daughter of
Sara Goode, who had been executed by the community
along with Tituba and Goodwife Osburn after she
had denied she was a witch.  Only people denying
that they were witches were hanged.

Eventually, all the others confessing that they
were witches were freed.  A total of nineteen people
were hanged and one of them, Giles Corey, eighty
years old, who did not want to enter a plea, was
pressed to death.

In September, 1692, this crisis had passed almost
completely, and many people feared that they had
executed innocent people because of this hysteria.
Though the girls continued their accusations and
convulsions, most of the population of Salem did
not believe them.

One of these girls, Anne Putnam, declared that she
had falsely accused innocent people of witchcraft,
and her confession was publicly read in one of the
local churches of Salem.  Eventually, the judges
and jury members involved in the trial declared
publicly that they had erred.

They signed a document confessing that they "had
been victims of a strong general delusion."  And
for many years after this sad episode in our history,
the people of Salem expressed their regret with
an annual day of fasting and penitence.

Contemporary historians now believe that the delusions
of witchcraft in these girls were produced by ergotism
caused by a fungus in some rye that they had eaten.


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