Witchcraft, Sorcery, Magic, and Other Psychological Phenomena and their Implications on Military and Paramilitary Operations in the Congo, 1964

July 2, 2021

This report has been prepared in response to a query regarding the purported use of witchcraft, sorcery, and magic by insurgent elements in the Republic of the Congo Leopoldville. Magical practices are said to be effective in conditioning dissident elements and their followers to do battle with Government troops. Rebel tribesmen seen to have been persuaded that they can be made magically impervious to Congolese army firepower. Their fear of Government forces was diminished and, conversely, fear of the rebels grew within army ranks. A review of available literature indicates that in Africa, uprisings embodying supernatural practices have tended to occur generally whenever the continued physical safety or internal power structure of a tribe or tribes has been seriously threatened. Manifestations of witchcraft and sorcery in these instances can be said to reflect, in part, a return to traditionalism. A tribe unites more readily when a threat is explainable and solutions are propounded in terms of tribal common denominators of belief. To determine the degree to which such a generalization is applicable to the current situation in the Congo, a brief recapitulation of certain aspects of recent Congolese history serves as a useful point of departure.