School of Witchcraft Opens in Taiwan

[Hauke Haien]

A school of witchcraft has been started by an aboriginal tribe in southern Taiwan who fear that their ancestral rituals would otherwise vanish.

Witchcraft is an important part of the Paiwan tribe’s culture, but the number of practising witches it has produced has recently dropped sharply.

The school, which opened last July, has ten students, but the organisers hope it will expand.

Wong Yu-hua, a social affairs official in Pingtung county, where the school is based, told AFP: “We are witnessing the disappearance of the ancient ritual. We are trying hard to preserve it.

Passing on psychic acts to the young generation is a good way to understand Paiwan culture. We can go back to see how ancestors lived."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/exp...in-Taiwan.html

[Bearkinder]

Good for them.

The more people who realize they must preserve their heritage, the more will wake up.

May globalism rot.

[tigerlily]

Just because something is traditional, it does not mean that it is good.. If this opened in one of our countries I'm sure it would be denounced. Young minds are still being twisted by nonsense. Many things with a long history are not necessarily beneficial to people.

[Neophyte]

A school of witchcraft... Why not call it a theological seminar?

You do know that the Christian gesture of the cross sign is taken straight out of kabbalah, i.e. Jewish ritual magic?

[Friedrich]

I'm glad the Taiwanese aboriginal people are preserving their culture.

In many countries "witchdoctor" is now replaced with the term "shaman" or "healer", so it probably simply refers to the indigenous religion rather than black magic or Hogwarts.

It's their culture on their lands, so good for them.

The Japanese preserved some aboriginal culture in Taiwan during the occupation, and the fact that it still survives today in the face of massive Chinese immigration and acculturation is quite laudable.

Taiwan has 490,000 aborigines – descendants of people who have lived on the island for millennia – out of a total population of 23 million.

Paiwan witches are seen as mediums between gods and humans, and the school teaches pupils rituals for blessing people and protecting them from evil.

Witches can use their powers to worship gods and ancestors, pray for weather and for their harvests and perform healing treatments and rituals for hunting and tattooing.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/exp...in-Taiwan.html

[Bearkinder]

Just because something is traditional, it does not mean that it is good.. If this opened in one of our countries I'm sure it would be denounced. Young minds are still being twisted by nonsense. Many things with a long history are not necessarily beneficial to people.

It's good for the culture in question.

Perhaps more of the Germanic persuasion will wake up and seek to preserve their heritage.