Pastoral Ethics and Belief Baggage: A Critical Look at Animal Symbolism in Witchcraft

Introduction

            One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl…

So begins the old British rhyme about magpies. I would have dismissed this as silly superstition, but for my experience one spring afternoon in 2014.

I was writing in my studio in North London, seated at a desk facing the window. Outside, a magpie nestled on a big tree facing my direction and stayed there all day. In time, it moved to other branches but did not fly away. Occasionally, I looked up, hoping it was no longer there, but it stayed put, still staring in my direction. The following morning, I was back at my desk, and there was again this magpie. At first, I thought the bird was ill or maybe even dead. But no, it was still alive. Yet it did not leave the tree.

I got on with my work. Then, late in the afternoon, I texted my good friend, David, from whom I had not heard for some days. To my surprise, one of his family members replied, revealing he had died the day before. The several thousand miles between the UK and the USA meant most of our communication had been virtual, but being overwhelmed with work, I had not checked on social media, where I would have learned of his demise…when the magpie began perching outside my window. Now looking out the window, I saw the magpie was gone!

After my experience with the magpie, I became acutely aware of how deeply ingrained beliefs about animals can affect our perceptions and actions. This essay examines the profound implications of such beliefs, particularly concerning cats in the context of witchcraft. By scrutinising the teachings of influential figures like Pastor Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, we will explore how these beliefs can perpetuate harmful ideologies and lead to stigmatisation and harm to individuals.

This essay focuses on the symbolic interpretation of false beliefs about animals connected to witchcraft and how such viewpoints further enhance and promote unnecessary ideologies. In regards to the above narrative, I have developed beliefs about magpies based on experiences like most people. Before David’s passing, I had only seen the magpies and never had any close encounters with them. This incident made me aware of their presence in connection to other aspects of my life, and my respect for these birds has changed with each encounter.

If that incident had not occurred, but I held such the belief that a single magpie brings sorrow, then I would be deceiving not myself but others. This is what happens with beliefs connecting cats with witchcraft, witches’ craftiness via manipulation, and the eventuality of labelling the targeted victims.

The Cat in Witchcraft Beliefs

Although the cat was revered in ancient Egypt, negative perceptions worldwide and through the ages outweigh positive ones. Historically, black cats have been associated with witchcraft and bad omens in European and North American traditions. During the Middle Ages and witch hunts, they were believed to be the familiars of witches or even transformed into witches. This superstition led to the widespread belief that encountering a black cat brings bad luck.

In the 13th century, Pope Gregory IX’s papal bull Vox in Rama linked black cats to witchcraft. This document described alleged heretical rituals with cats. Its accuracy remains controversial, as have the Church’s strict anti-heresy methods from that era.[1] Lorenzo Lotto’s Annunciation, painted around 1534, illustrates how this belief became established in mainstream religion. The painting features a black cat being chased away by the angel Gabriel. The cat symbolises the devil’s creature, and its rapid departure in the face of the divine message represents the scattering of evil or darkness in the presence of divine light or truth.[2]

Nigerians, particularly the Yoruba of Nigeria, make the symbolic connection between cats and witchcraft, which has found its way into Nigerian Pentecostalism via religious syncretism. Witchcraft beliefs are prevalent in Yorùbáland.[3] Among the Yoruba, there is a belief that witches can metamorphose into different animals, such as birds or cats.[4] This leads to the belief that black cats crossing one’s path early in the morning while going to a business rendezvous or hearing the meowing of one or more cats in the middle of the night symbolises a negative omen sent to that person by a witch.

If cats are predisposed to attracting demons, so are humans susceptible to attracting demonic forces. Humans, not animals, commit many of the world’s current atrocities. Does this mean that these inhumane acts are committed because they are possessed by demons or out of personal or collective choices in their bid for control?

Embracing such a cat-to-witch ideology is often to the detriment of both the believer and the suspected witch. First, people who discard their religion do not necessarily also cast off their sociocultural and religious beliefs. In describing Africans in the diaspora, Afe Adogame states that they often take “their religion or aspects of it” as baggage with them when they leave their homeland because “their theology is not in books but in their heads, thoughts, utterances and day-to-day actions and life modes.”[5] Nor do these believers need to step off the shores of Africa to carry their beliefs into a new religious setting. This is the case of the Pentecostals in Nigeria, given that many mega-Neo-Pentecostal church leaders are Yoruba, who have syncretised their traditional beliefs into their doctrinal practices and beliefs. It is worth noting that Neo-Pentecostals also referred to as third-wave churches, are usually included in any discussion of Pentecostalism. This is because, while their beliefs and practices conform to Western standards, they also incorporate the experience of the Holy Spirit and charismatic gifts.[6]

The Pastor and His Belief Baggage

One of these Neo-Pentecostal churches in Nigeria is the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), founded by Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, a Yoruba who earned a PhD in molecular genetics from the University of Reading, UK. The central focus of MFM doctrinal beliefs and deliverance practices is the elimination of witchcraft. These deliverance sessions are means of “Shedding of evil loads that the enemy [the witch] has put in place to prevent the movement of God’s power into people’s lives.”[7] Some ways of ensuring deliverance entail breaking away, disgracing the opponent, destroying, sending back to the sender, spiritual cleansing, attacking, pursuing, and killing.[8]

Olukoya embraces an enchanted worldview that suggests witches and evil forces are agents of the devil that have polluted the wicked world. He sees witchcraft as the spiritual embodiment of the devil through any human entity with the principal intention of carrying out evil activities. To Olukoya, anyone can be a witch, regardless of age, sex, or race. In an enchanted worldview, the world one knows is filled with magical or supernatural forces and entities. If Christians do not do anything to address their situation by dealing with the oppressor (enemy), they will be the loser because the enemy will gain the upper hand to mess up that person’s life. Thus, rituals and practices are designed to appease, communicate with, or harness supernatural forces or entities believed to inhabit the world. However, in Olukoya’s world, the best method is to eradicate all witches in order to live happily. Doing so requires launching spiritual warfare against all objects or animals, including cats, suspected to be used diabolically by these witches.

In many of his publications, which are based upon his sermons, Olukoya refers to cats as one of the symbolic animals that “easily attract demons.”[9] In the world of Olukoya, some demons are witches who often transubstantiate themselves as cats when carrying out their wicked deeds, and Olukoya disguisedly encourages killing them. For instance, his many exaggerated narratives detailed how cats were maimed by his followers after he gave them prayer points to pray against demonic attacks. In one instance, a brother threw a cutlass at a cat, inflicting a wound, and the injured cat cried out, speaking in Yoruba.[10] Consider the case of a woman who collected prayer points directly from Olukoya while experiencing demonic attacks. While praying at her home, a big black cat attempted to flee the house via the window, and in doing so, the woman “forcefully closed the window”, cutting off the cat’s leg. The next day, this woman found out the assistant matron in her office was rushed to the hospital after “some unexplainable thing had cut off her leg.” This is a clear case of an unfounded narrative.

To convince his audience without verifiable proof of his stories, Olukoya must present himself as authoritative, confident, and connected to God. An outsider would ask many questions about the preceding story. Did the cat belong to the woman? Had she left her window open while she was away that the cat managed to slip in? What happened to the cut-off cat’s leg? What really happened with the assistant matron? Whose truth should one believe since most of Olukoya’s stories are often incomplete? To a typical Pentecostal, these questions are from a non-spiritual person and are irrelevant. The questions is: what does or does not constitute spiritual?

If that story needs to be more convincing, what about this one? In Prayer Passport to Crush Oppression, Olukoya relayed a story of a brother (member) who had trouble sleeping because of a cat meowing regularly outside his house window.

He went to sleep but was suddenly awakened by the cat’s cry. He got up, took his Bible and anointing oil [bottle] and went outside. The cat was glued to the window and began to talk: “Please, I did not come on my own, I was sent here.” He summoned courage, killed the cat and burned it.[11]

Interjecting his thoughts, Olukoya adds, “The devil thought he was mad enough to torture this fellow by programming a cat to his window. However, when he met a higher level of madness, his power subdued.” He then stated this prayer, “Evil cats being sent against you shall die, in the name of Jesus”.[12]

Conclusion

Anyone has the fundamental right to uphold their ideology, just as I do with the magpie, as long as that belief does not cause harm to another person. While Olukoya’s convictions regarding witchcraft and cats may find roots in his sociocultural milieu, it is crucial to recognise that such beliefs are not confined to Africa, as illustrated by historical precedents. Regardless of their domain or influence, leaders are responsible for ensuring that their proclamations promote peace, understanding, and unity. When messages demonise certain animals, such as cats, or label individuals, especially vulnerable groups, such as women and children, as practitioners of witchcraft, the ramifications can be dire. Olukoya’s persistent allusions to witchcraft and shape-shifting narratives may fracture trust, inflict psychological harm, and even incite physical violence against those accused of witchcraft. It is incumbent upon leaders, especially those with substantial influence, to ensure their teachings and sermons are rooted in love, compassion, and understanding, guarding their followers and the broader community from harm and prejudice.

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References

[1] Julien Théry, APOSCRIPTA database – Lettres des papes: aposcripta-666 TELMA (IRHT) (22/04/2023).

[2] Irene Cioffi Whitfield, Apocalypse Now: A Psychology of Conception in Lorenzo Lotto’s Annunciation of 1535 Aras (28/10/2023).

[3] Claire Princess Ayelotan, Transnational Yoruba (Nigerian) Pentecostalism, Child Witchcraft, and Deliverance. PhD thesis, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Roehampton, London: University of Roehampton. 2021.

[4] Toyin Falola and Akintunde Akinyemi, Encyclopedia of the Yoruba (Indiana University Press, 2016), 30.

[5] Afe Adogame, The African Christian Diaspora (Bloomsbury Academic, 2013), 139.

[6] William Kay, SCM Core Text: Pentecostalism (SCM Press, 2009).

[7] Daniel Olukoya,  Deliverance from Excess Load (MFM Press, 2010), 9.

[8] Daniel Olukoya, Deliverance: God’s Medicine Bottle (3rd edn, The Battle Cry Christian Ministries, 2014), 18-23.

[9] Daniel Olukoya, Dealing with Hidden Curses (Battle Cry Christian Ministries, 2001).

[10] Daniel Olukoya, Slaves Who Love Their Chains Shall Remain in Their Bondage (MFM Publication, 1999) 271.

[11] Daniel Olukoya, Prayer Passport to Crush Oppression (MFM Press, 2006), 46-47.

[12] Daniel Olukoya, Prayer Passport to Crush Oppression (MFM Press, 2006), 47.

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© Claire Princess Ayelotan, 2024.

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Cover Image: Created by the author.