Ça fait suite au billet sur les ‘African Witch Children’ (publié ici le 13 avril 2009) :

AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA – Just after midnight, the pastor seized a woman’s forehead with his large hand and she fell screaming and writhing on the ground. “Fire! Fire! Fire!” shouted the worshippers, raising their hands in the air.

Pastor Celestine Effiong’s congregants are being delivered from what they firmly believe to be witchcraft. And in the darkness of the city and the villages beyond, similar shouts and screams echo from makeshift church to makeshift church.

“I have been delivered from witches and wizards today!” exclaimed one exhausted-looking woman.

Pastors in southeast Nigeria claim illness and poverty are caused by witches who bring terrible misfortune to those around them. And those denounced as witches must be cleansed through deliverance or cast out.

As daylight breaks, and we travel out to the rural villages it becomes apparent the most vulnerable to this stigmatization of witchcraft are children.

A crowd gathered around two brothers and their sister. Tears streamed down their mother’s face as she cast out her children from the family, accusing them of causing the premature deaths of two of their siblings with black magic.

“I am afraid. They are witches and they can kill me as well,” she sobbed.

Taking his time to talk to the mother, Sam Ikpe-Itauma, an imposing man wearing a “Child’s Rights & Rehabilitation Network” t-shirt, has come to try to rescue the three children.

“If we are not here there’s a possibility of them being thrown into the river, buried alive or stabbed to death,” Sam said.

He tries to persuade their mother and a crowd of villagers that the three children are not witches – but no one believes him. And so, putting the children in his white pick-up, he drives away to his orphanage and safety.

Sam runs Child’s Rights & Rehabilitation Network, or CRARN – an orphanage that supports nearly 200 children. All of them were accused of witchcraft and cast out by their families, often after being tortured. The orphanage provides security, healthcare, nutrition and counseling.

Godwin’s story is typical. As he sat next to the quiet 5-year-old, Sam said that after Godwin’s mother died, the church pastor told his family that “Godwin is responsible.”

From his own investigation, questioning Godwin and talking with neighbors, Sam said that when a relative asked Godwin if he was a witch, “he said no and was beaten and made the confession that he actually killed the mother.”

Sam said Godwin was locked up with his mother’s corpse every night for three weeks with little food or water before a neighbor contacted Sam, who was able to rescue him.

Other children at his orphanage bear the scars of being beaten, attacked with boiling water, and cuts from machetes. But these children are the ones lucky to be alive.

“A child witch is said to be a witch when that child possessed with certain spiritual spells capable of making that child transform into cat, snake, vipers, insects, any other animal and that child is capable of wreaking havoc like killing of people, bringing diseases, misfortune into the family,” Sam said.

“When a child is accused of being a witch – that child is hated absolutely by everybody surrounding him so such children are sent out of the home… But unfortunately such children do not always live long. A lot of them, they’re either killed, abandoned by the parents, tortured in the church or trafficked out of the city.”

Sam doesn’t believe in witchcraft and is trying to raise awareness in local communities now gripped by hysteria.

Belief in witchcraft is rooted in centuries of tradition, but it’s only in the last 10 years, that it has become associated with child abuse, he said.

“It’s a social crisis,” he added. “Poverty propels this child witch phenomenon and poverty is a twin sister to ignorance“.

“Most vulnerable children come from single parents, divorced parents, dysfunctional families.”

But the orphanage has very little space for more children. Overstretched finances mean he can barely pay a skeleton staff of four people, as well as feed the children.

Instead, many children are left to roam the streets.

“My parents sent me out of the house – said I’m a witch,” said Samuel, a 15-year-old who has lived on the streets for five years after a local pastor blamed him for unexpected deaths in the family.

“I was beaten by the prophet in the church,” he said in a quiet voice.

Samuel lives in an abandoned building with 10 other children accused of witchcraft. A local group, ‘Stepping Stones Nigeria,’ which is dedicated to helping street children, visits them.

“Religious leaders capitalize on the ignorance of some parents in the villages just to make some money off them,” said Lucky Inyang, project coordinator for ‘Stepping Stones Nigeria’.

“They can say your child is a witch and if you bring the child to the church we can deliver the child but eventually they don’t deliver the children… The parents go back to the pastor and say, ‘why is it you have not been able to deliver the child’ and the pastor says ‘Oh – this one has gone past deliverance – they’ve eaten too much flesh so you have to throw the child out.’”

And most pastors charge a fee for deliverance – anywhere from $300 to $2,000.

One of the most notorious and influential pastors is Helen Ukpabio of Liberty Gospel Church. Her 1999 film, the widely distributed, “End of the Wicked“ has been attacked by child rights groups for its depictions of Satan possessing children.

She had agreed to an interview but the meeting was continually postponed for two days.

But in her preaching at Liberty Gospel Church, she heralds success stories of how she has driven out demons through deliverance.

“Witches and wizards, they started getting afraid. I never gave them rest!” she shouted to a cheering congregation.

Some pastors believe education is a more powerful tool against witchcraft fears.

“One of the things that caused the parents to abandon the children is ignorance,” explains another local pastor, Celestine Effiong.

The local government, however, accuses Sam Ikpe-Itauma and Lucky Inyang of using the children to run a scam.

“We insist that the name of Akwa Ibom state must not be smeared and the people of the world should not be deceived by certain NGOs who are claiming to be taking care of stigmatized children of Akwa Ibom,” said Aniekan Umanah, the Information Commissioner of Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom state.

“This is a ruse, they are making money for themselves.”

Stories of NGOs rescuing children, say the government, are exaggerated. They argue instead, that a new Child Right’s bill outlawing child stigmatization has largely ended the problem.

But despite some arrests, so far, the government acknowledges, there have been no prosecutions.

“There may be problems yes but it’s been blown out of proportion and people are capitalizing, on what ordinarily may be a social problem, across the globe in painting Akwa Ibom state black – that is the aspect we say no to. We will not allow the image of our state to be smeared.”

Sam and other NGOs deny any improprieties, insist their finances are a matter of public record and plead with the government to support their cause.

“Relevant government agencies, working on security and protection of children must step up their efforts to make sure any child that is stigmatized must – that parent, the churches, the law must be evoked to make sure such people face the law immediately, otherwise it must go on and on, on and on.”

With the night comes the screams of more deliverances – and more witches to be cast out.

Christian Purefoy
CNN (Video)

À voir ici.

***

Häxan : Witchcraft Through The Ages (1922) is in the public domain, and can be downloaded here for free.

Fukpig ‘Sadism in the name of god‘

Réalisé à partir d’images du film ‘Häxan : Witchcraft Through the Ages‘ (Celui de 1968, narration de William S. Burroughs, collaboration de Jean-Luc Ponty à la trame sonore), tout comme leur vidéo pour la pièce ‘The Horror is Here‘ … Spécial ‘vendredi 13′.

Häxan sur The Criteron Collection

‘Le 12 janvier 1983, le groupe Kiss amorce sa tournée canadienne au Colisée de Québec, devant plus de 9000 spectateurs. Comme le rapporte Maxence Bilodeau, l’événement musical a fait réagir des membres du mouvement pentecôtiste. Selon eux, le groupe rock proclamait une violence extrême sous l’influence de Satan‘ – Archives de Radio-Canada (Date de diffusion : 13 janiver 1983)

Merci Marco Santos

Diamanda Galas ‘The Litanies of Satan’

Y’a comme quelque chose avec l’alignement des astres cette semaine … La lune décroissante ou je sais pas …

C’est vraiment rien de nouveau mais la première fois qu’il avait été publié ici on l’avait retiré de youtube peu de temps après.

‘Satanis: The Devil’s Mass is a 1970 American documentary film about Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan. It was directed and produced by Ray Laurent’.

Dvd available here.

“Boyd is an iconoclast.”
- Anton LaVey, Church of Satan

Dear Friends,

My new documentary, ICONOCLAST does more than just tell the story of Boyd Rice. ICONOCLAST is so much more than just the definitive biographical film about one of the world’s most extraordinary artists. ICONOCLAST is one of those rare documentaries that transcends being about something to actually being the subject itself. Now for the first time Larry Wessel presents the real Boyd Rice.

It all began when I received an email from Boyd Rice telling me that he was a big fan of my documentaries and that they were “more than just watching something, they were like experiencing A PHENOMENON!!” He continued, “What about doing a documentary about ME?”.

Needless to say I was thrilled about this opportunity and gave Boyd a call to say, “YES!!”. I started shooting ICONOCLAST in June, 2004 and just wrapped up shooting in August, 2007.

It is now over 3 years since I began ICONOCLAST and I can honestly say that I have never had more FUN!!

I just completed a trailer for the documentary, ICONOCLAST which is having it’s Worldwide Premiere here on ICONOCLASTMOVIE.COM. The trailer for ICONOCLAST will also be screened for live audiences at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival 8 this month, Sept. 21, 22, 24 and 27th, and Boyd Rice will be screening the trailer Oct. 26 in Vilnius, Lithuania, Oct. 28 in Zagreb, Croatia and Oct. 31 in London, UK…

I am now editing approx. 200 hours of interviews with Boyd Rice, Daniel Miller, Ray Dennis Steckler, Allison Anders, Bob Larson, Jeffrey Vallance, Coop, Johanna Went, Adam Parfrey, Blanche Barton, Don Bolles, Z’EV, Douglas P, Vadge Moore, Beth Moore-Love, Jim Morton, Richard Wolstencroft, Steve Hitchcock a.k.a. Ferrara Brain Pan, Tom Griswold, Bob Ferbrache, Gidget Gein, Michael Uhlenkott (Monitor), Frederik Nilsen (B People), Brian Clark, Shaun Partridge, Giddle Partridge, James “Papa Partridge” Fairley, Snow, Lorin Partridge, Stanton LaVey, Ed Colver, Johnny Strike, Little Fyodor, Michael Sheppard, Kim Fowley, Robert Thurman, El Vez, Rubber O Cement, Diane Bartley and Mike Bartley and many others mastered to DVD and released in 2009. Oh, did I mention Rodney Bingenheimer and Kitten Natividad? How about the people that protest Boyd’s shows? They are also in ICONOCLAST!!

ICONOCLAST, the documentary will be followed by ICONOCLAST, the book, a big fat book of these interviews I did with Boyd Rice and his friends and associates that I will be putting together which is even more interviews and material that I didn’t have room to squeeze onto the DVD!!

My sweet wife, Tora has been busy as a bee transcribing these interviews for my book. She also created this beautiful website to provide up to date information on ICONOCLAST. Please bookmark this site on your computer and Stay Tuned for more developments as they come in!

Until Then My Friends,
Wild Wishes!!

Larry Wessel

iconoclastmovie.com

Black magic has been big business for years in Indonesia.

People seek help of witch doctors to fulfil their goals and dreams and remedy their problems – be it personal, financial or political.

But now there is growing fear that sorcery has gone out of control and some believe the government should regulate it.

Al Jazeera’s Step Vaessen reports from Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital, where she met Ki Joko Bodo, the most successful witch doctor in the country.

A U.S. cage fighter ripped out the heart of his training partner while he was still alive after becoming convinced he was possessed by the devil, it was alleged today.

Jarrod Wyatt also cut out Taylor Powell’s tongue and ripped off most of his face in a brutal assault that police said looked like a scene from a horror film, officers said.

They claim they found the 26-year-old standing naked over his friend’s body with parts, including an eyeball, strewn around the blood splattered room in Klamath, California.

Wyatt allegedly told police he had drunk a cup of tea spiked with hallucinogenic mushrooms and became convinced Powell was possessed.

According to an autopsy Powell, 21, bled to death after his heart was ripped out.

The coroner said Powell had been alive when the organ was ripped out after his chest had been sliced open with a knife.

Wyatt told the police he thrown the heart into a fire along with other organs that he had removed from the body, it was claimed.

He allegedly told investigators he cooked the body parts because he was fearful Powell was still alive and he ‘needed to stop the Devil’.

Police had been called to the grisly scene after a third friend had witnessed a sudden mood change in Wyatt after they had all ingested wild mushroom tea.

Justin Davis told police he returned to the flat to find Wyatt naked and covered from head to toe in blood.

He noticed an eyeball lying in the middle of the floor and saw Powell’s mutilated body.

A lawyer representing Wyatt has claimed the wild mushrooms caused him to act in such a violent way and had not control over his actions.

‘My client was trying to silence the devil,’ said James Fallman.

‘I think he was having a psychotic fit based on the mushrooms he had.’

Wyatt has been charged with first degree murder and torture.

Prosecutors added the torture charge as Powell was still alive when his heart was removed.

Paul Thompson
Daily Mail

Merci Christian Ouellet.