Abstract

NETZAHUALCOYOTZI MENDEZ, Marciano. Witch Bite or Disease? The Deaths of Children in a Small Village in Tlaxcala (México), 1917-1922. Historelo.rev.hist.reg.local [online]. 2015, vol.7, n.13, pp.112-145. ISSN 2145-132X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/historelo.v7n13.43131.

Supported in their prehispanic and colonial beliefs, the people of San Bernardino Contla believed in the evil intentions of the witch, especially with newborns. Immersed in their own world view, this research will explain why the deaths of children resulting from the bite of a witch were backed by the civil authority, and conversely, the position of the Catholic priest in arguing the presence of childhood diseases, such as: epilepsy and fever. Thanks to the parents report of night attacks of the witch, the myth gains a fantasy, legendary and at the same time fearful sense. Alternatively, to prevent the witch attack protection rituals were performed. In order to feel confident, at the beginning of the night, parents placed a mirror in the child's bed and scissors behind the door of the house, a crucifix and a bucket of water. Regarding the physical traces of the dead two possibilities arise: one associated with a disease and the other with suffocation. In addition, the Tlaxcalteca legislation that allowed the registration of deaths related to mythical causes will be released.

Keywords : witchcraft; diseases; health history.

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