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INTRODUCTORY
In a study of the beliefs and practices of primitive people it is difficult to draw the line between religion and magic. The general view is that magic is anti-social; that is to say, that it grew up to satisfy the desire of man to manipulate supernatural powers for his own private benefit.
Robertson Smith expresses the position as follows: “The gods watched over a man’s civic life, etc., but they were not sure helpers in any private need, and, above all, would not help him in matters that were against the interests of the community as a whole. There was therefore a whole region of possible needs and desires for which religion could and would do nothing, and if supernatural help was sought in such things it had to be sought through magical ceremonies designed to purchase or constrain the favour of demoniac powers with which the public religion had nothing to do.”[1]
This line of argument is probably unassailable, but in the people with whom we are dealing the belief in demoniacal powers, as apart from the ancestral spirits, has not reached a high pitch of development, and is not at all concrete. They practise magic extensively and have a firm belief in it, but it is difficult to say with certainty exactly what powers they believe are being influenced by the magical ceremonial.
The guild of smiths, both in Kikuyu and Ukamba, possess hereditary magic powers; one clan of the Kikuyu, called the Eithaga, is believed also to possess similar powers. A leading elder in Kikuyu, for [[166]]example, who is also the priest in charge of a sacred tree, is said to have the power of destroying plagues of caterpillars. Such a person, however, could scarcely be considered anti-social, as the destruction of the pest must benefit the crops of the whole community. There is also the case of another elder who is apparently a past master in the art of detecting criminals, and more especially thieves; this power would, of course, only be exercised at the request of the owner of the property, and incidentally to the advantage of the magician.
The power of the “evil eye” probably belongs to magic, although the power is regarded as an infliction which a person unfortunately possesses at birth. It is a very ancient belief, and has existed from the time of the ancient Assyrians to the present day. It still flourishes among the Semitic races, and also in Morocco; all round the Mediterranean basin, in fact, as well as in Arabia and Palestine, people wear armlets or charms to protect them from this evil influence. [[167]]