Big Anthony and the Magic Ring is a children's book written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola. The book was first published in 1979 and tells the story of Big Anthony, a bumbling character who gets himself into trouble when he discovers a magic ring. In the story, Big Anthony is a helper to Strega Nona, an elderly Italian witch. Strega Nona is known for her magical potions and spells, and she has a special magic ring that she uses to control her magic. Big Anthony is fascinated by the ring and wishes he could use it himself. One day, when Strega Nona is away, Big Anthony discovers the magic ring and puts it on his finger.
The Witches: Salem, 1692, by Stacy Schiff. Little, Brown. 512 pages. $32.
In a sign of just how strenuous life in the new colonies could be, the first person in New England who confessed to entering into a diabolical pact, a servant in Connecticut, had asked the devil for help with her chores. Before I reveal the funky little recipe from the late sixteenth century which I doubt you ll like it is important for us to know about the inventor and more importantly the events leading to its invention.
One day, when Strega Nona is away, Big Anthony discovers the magic ring and puts it on his finger. He immediately feels the power of the ring and realizes that he can do all sorts of magical things with it. However, he quickly learns that he doesn't have full control over the ring's magic, and it causes chaos wherever he goes.
Witch Hunt: Seal up the mouth of hunger for a while
“Since man cannot live without miracles, he will provide himself with miracles of his own making. He will believe in witchcraft and sorcery, even though he may otherwise be a heretic, an atheist, and a rebel.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky
A trip to Mayong, Assam. the land of Black Magic
My recent trip to rural Mayong in Morigaon (Assam), with a badly sprained ankle, inspired me to think about witches today. A free to all exhibition of my funny walk and the impish limp was quick to attract rural eyeballs and concomitant flood of unsolicited advises. Plethora of curative advises, occasionally punched by preventive ones, were frantically tossed at me with a fervent fervor. The ready-made and foolproof solutions ranged from mantra fortified brutal oil massages to other mystical and occult practices. Thanks to my colleagues from urban Assam who shielded me and my 'to be amputated leg' with a missionary zeal. On my way back to Guwahati, they enlightened me with heart wrenching folklore of black magic and witchcraft in rural Assam. They cautioned me to refrain from heeding any such occult advises, unless I was excited about the idea of an inorganic change in my species to something placed much lower down the food chain (Goat? Chicken?).
The discussions made me shudder at the thought of becoming a roasted non-vegetarian delicacy and catapulted an improbable allegiance towards extreme vegan movements. The three and half hour flight back to Mumbai was a flashback on witches. A flashback comprising of everything I had heard or read about witches in my life. My village back in Bihar too boasts of many juicy tales about witches called 'Daayan' and their witchcraft. 'Daayan' or 'Daayani' is a term which descended from the Sanskrit word 'dakini', which refers to a female supernatural being. The 'dakini' appeared in medieval legends in South Asia such as 'Puranas' as a demon who feeds on human flesh. I actually had the opportunity to meet and talk to few so called (ratified?) 'daayans' witches in my village. Though I could never broach the topic of 'witchcraft' out of sheer courtesy and fear, I did have the rare opportunity to observe witches first hand. This helped me identify the common socio-economic threads binding their lives in a predictable pattern.
“Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft were written by men.” ― Neil Gaiman
And the witches were omnipresent.
Later on I learned that the concept of witchcraft was very universal in its nature and not at all limited to India. It was so widespread that it played a conspicuous part in even the earliest law codes of ancient Egypt and Babylonia. One of the oldest deciphered Code of Hammurabi (18th century BC) clearly prescribes the process of identifying spells and the punishment for the same. The classical period of witch-hunts took place around the early modern period (1450-1750 AD) across Europe and North America, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 100,000 executions. If illegal and summary executions are also accounted for, it is estimated that over two lakh 'witches' were tortured, burnt or hanged in the Western world. In other geographies such as Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported and official legislation against witchcraft is still found in countries like Saudi Arabia and Cameroon.
“A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest, because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.” ― Terry Pratchett
And so were the antidotes.
While the legislation were more curative in nature. many preventable, cheap, affordable and home grown remedies found its takers across the world. Most of such popular remedies such as the 'witch cake' or 'witch bottle' boasted of indigenous inventors and served distinct purposes. For an example - While the witch bottle was used as defensive magic, the witch cake was used to diagnose if the symptoms emanated from witchcraft. So what was this witch cake? And what led to its invention?
Witch Cake - A Recipe You surely won't try!
Before I reveal the funky little recipe from the late sixteenth century (which I doubt you'll like) it is important for us to know about the inventor and more importantly the events leading to its invention. Sometime in February 1692, in Salem Village (Massachusetts), several girls began behaving erratically. One of these girls named 'Betty', a nine years old, was daughter of the minister of the Salem Village Church. The anxious minister tried prayer, held congregations and requested other local clergy to pray for the girls. When prayer failed, the local physician was summoned to observe the symptoms in the girls. The physician could not find any physical reason and hence contributed the ailment to witchcraft. To confirm the diagnosis, a local woman invented a foolproof remedy. The remedy comprised of the accused (witch) making a cake out of rye meal - adequately moistened with urine from the bewitched girls. After the cake was baked (I wonder how the kitchen smelled!) it was fed to a dog, who then would be studied for signs of bewitchment. As if any dog would not act strangely after eating such a cake! Nevertheless, as per the inventor, if the dog acted strangely after eating the cake, it was the proof of girls being under the influence of malignant magic.
“The logic behind magic is that we create what we are imagining.” ― Mary Faulkner
The cake might be weird but the logic wasn't.
Although witch cake in all probability sounds weird to us, there was a solid theory behind it. The puritans believed that because witches directed their magic towards a person's body, the magic would also be present in the products of that person's body. Therefore, if someone had evil magic operating on them that magic would also be in their blood or urine, and could be passed onto anything that consumed them (like the poor dog). Strangely, there's no record of what happened to the dog who tasted the witch cake to test witch craft. The girls didn't improve, and the trials began for those accused (by the girls) of witchcraft. By the end of such trials in the following year, four accused witches had died in prison, one had been pressed to death, and nineteen were hanged.
The social anatomy of witch hunt.
Modern scholars opine that such accusations were rooted in a community's hysterics, conditioned by trust in the supernatural powers. The politics within the church likely played a part too - With the minister of the Salem Village Church at the center of controversy over power and compensation. The colony was struggling to resolve its status with the King on one side and wars with the French and Indians on the other. This perched the colony's politics at a rickety juncture and hence in all likelihood fostered the hysteria. Some scholars point to the ongoing hullabaloo over inheritance, especially targeting those who interfered with inheritances. There were also quite a few old squabbles and factions among community members. A few scholars have also argued that fungus (ergot) contaminated grain may have caused some of the symptoms. Overall, some or all these factors are credited by the historians as the drivers of the infamous accusations and trials. I cannot dare to disagree with these laureates and their cerebral interpretations of these witch hunts. And certainly these factors must have contributed to the phenomena but there is something to it which doesn't hit the senses immediately. the invisible economics of witchcraft!
“The logic behind magic is that we create what we are imagining.” ― Mary Faulkner
The sociology of witch-hunt or just the economics of it?
Socio-religious beliefs and ignorance unquestionably play a role in orchestrating witch killings but it would be naive to presume that witch purge results solely from cultural and not economic factors. In case of the infamous Salem witch trials, America's average income was hovering around $900 resulting in poverty fostered witch killings. The majority of the charges in Salem were leveled by economically desperate farmers against more prosperous merchant families, according to the authors of 'Salem Possessed: the Social Origins of Witchcraft'. Unsurprisingly, the Salem madness was preceded by a series of unusually cold winters causing crop failures. Cold weather and subsequent deteriorating economic conditions also correlated with more witch killings in Europe, just as crop-ruining rainfall levels often precede witch hunts in Tanzania.
“The trial of Jesus of Nazareth, Joan of Arc, any one of the witchcraft trials in Salem ― the victims were already condemned to death before the trial took place, and it took place only to cover up the real meaning: the accused was to be put to death. These are trials in which the judge, the counsel, the jury, and the witnesses are the criminals, not the accused. There is the frightful possibility in all such trials as these that the judgment had already been pronounced and the trial was just a mask for murder.” ― Katherine Anne Porter
Hunger and Witch-hunt - Poor's Economics?
Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee in their book 'Poor Economics' clearly attribute witch-hunts to hunger which could not be addressed. They say that "the pressure of just getting enough food to survive seems to have driven some people to take rather extreme steps. Witches were most likely to be single women, particularly widows. When resources are tight, it makes economic sense to sacrifice some people, so that the rest have enough food to be able to work and earn enough to survive. Evidence that poor families might occasionally be forced to make such horrific choices is not hard to find — a convenient way to get rid of an unproductive mouth to feed at times when resources are very tight. Families, it seems, suddenly discover that an older woman living with them (usually a grandmother) is a witch, after which she gets chased away or killed by others in the village."
Maiming the hunger in its fetus?
Elaina Rose in her paper titled 'Consumption Smoothing and Excess Female Mortality in Rural India' directly examines the correlation between consumption smoothing and excess female mortality. The results clearly indicate that favorable rainfall shocks increase the ratio of the probability that a girl survives to the probability that a boy survives. To put it simply, little girls in landless households were much likely to die than boys, but girls and boys death rates were not so different during normal rainfalls.
Gunning to be a witch or just hunger games?
Emily Oster in her paper titled 'Witchcraft, Weather and Economic Growth in Renaissance Europe' explores the possibility that the witchcraft trials are a large-scale example of violence and scapegoating prompted by a deterioration in economic conditions. The paper concludes "Our understanding of events such as the witchcraft trials often relies on explanations revolving around psychological factors in the population. This finding argues for mindfulness about potential economic macro-foundations of historical events. The witchcraft trials suggest that even when considering events and circumstances thought to be psychological or cultural, key underlying motivations can be closely related to economic circumstances."
The economics of Witch-hunt - A buffer against income shock?
A final paper worth mentioning before we conclude this discussion is Miguel's 2005 paper titled 'Poverty and Witch Killing'. The study uses rainfall variation to estimate the impact of income shocks on murder in rural Tanzania. Extreme rainfall (drought or flood) leads to a large increase in the murder of “witches”— typically elderly women killed by relatives — but not other murders. The findings provide novel evidence on the role of income shocks in causing violent crime, and religious violence in particular. Unlike in medieval Europe, where killings in this period were quite common and not within-family, a Tanzanian village sees one witch killing approximately every five years, and the victims are generally the oldest woman in the household, killed by her own family members. Miguel finds that in years when there is extreme rainfall (either too little or too much) the number of witch murders is significantly increased. Miguel argues that in Tanzania the killings may reject an elimination of the least productive household member in the face of food shortages.
“First Thoughts are the everyday thoughts. Everyone has those. Second Thoughts are the thoughts you think about the way you think. People who enjoy thinking have those. Third Thoughts are thoughts that watch the world and think all by themselves. They’re rare, and often troublesome. Listening to them is part of witchcraft.” ― Terry Pratchett
The study of witch economics as if people mattered.
To conclude, we need to also admit that poverty and ignorance do not necessarily lead to mass killings in the name of witch hunt - but they certainly seem to make violence more likely. The 'Crow Creek Massacre' site excavated in South Dakota shows a staggering 60% of the population wiped out in violent conflicts. The most plausible hypothesis so far points towards overpopulation, land-use patterns, and an unstable climate forcing people to compete fiercely for available resources. The excavated bodies show two faced symptoms of the same coin - Signs of violent death coupled with extensive nutritional deficiencies, suggesting starvation-level poverty preceded deadly violence. And my lovely niece Adya, still reeling under the shock of stories I told her about witches and black magic in Assam and Bihar, enquired innocently: “Mama, does this kind of thing happen to women elsewhere too?”. For a moment the reminiscence of my native village, Salem, Bengal Famine, Tanzania and elsewhere flashed through my mind. “Yes, dearie it does,” I responded with a nonchalant apathy “One way or another, haven't women been under attack everywhere?”
Epilogue: Arguments have typically a plurality of causes and hence, the only thing constant about my views and perspectives is that they change. and sometimes. @ diapers changed by an old man under the twin influence of - mobility impairment & loose motion. I rationalise it as an essential cost for being open! The views expressed are fluid in nature and a result of the subject, length and tone of my conversation/s at 'Brown Chai ki tapri'; the intensity and duration of scolding received from my mother; number of zombies killed by me in 'Plant vs. Zombies' & the gestation period of both the view & research done on the idea I am writing about. and hence, liable to change in time, space, degree or manner. even contrary to those you read today! Feel free to challenge, disagree, or share the wisdom that God is supposed to bless and not replace psychiatric treatment. The skeptics with action bias are further encouraged to file an RTI demanding the details, duration and expenses incurred towards my psychotherapy. but. I reserve my right to delete any comment even if your comment is an insufficient but important part of an unnecessary but sufficient argument! Or for any reason I may create (abusive, profane, rude, anonymous, not appreciative enough) – so would you just keep it polite. if you may. please.
Disclaimer: It would be dangerously unwise – even if the concomitant pauperism is not factored in – to play tic-tac-toe between my personal and professional opinion (read life), as defunct as either might be. Hence, if any/some/every-thing is stupid here - It is mine and mine alone (Sorry. you can't have what is mine!). Apologies, in advance for the cliched repeat "The opinions expressed here are strictly personal and my own and not those of my employer."
Big Anthony accidentally floods the town square, turns Strega Nona into a frog, and even brings a statue to life. Each time, he tries to use the ring to fix his mistakes, but only ends up making things worse. Eventually, Strega Nona returns and discovers what Big Anthony has done. She takes back the magic ring and uses it to undo the chaos that Big Anthony has caused. Strega Nona forgives Big Anthony for his mistake, but warns him to never touch the ring again. Big Anthony learns his lesson and promises to stay away from the ring. He realizes that magic is best left to the experts, like Strega Nona. From then on, Big Anthony becomes a more responsible helper and relies on his own abilities rather than trying to use magic. The story of Big Anthony and the Magic Ring teaches children about the importance of responsibility and the consequences of trying to use things that are beyond their control. It also emphasizes the idea that it is important to trust in our own abilities and not rely solely on magic or outside help. Overall, the book is an entertaining and valuable lesson for young readers..
Reviews for "The Inexhaustible Powers of Big Anthony's Magic Ring"
- Sarah - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Big Anthony and the Magic Ring". The plot was predictable and the characters lacked depth. I found Big Anthony to be a rather one-dimensional and annoying protagonist. The writing style was also quite basic and didn't engage me as a reader. Overall, I wouldn't recommend this book as there are much better options out there.
- Mark - 1 star - "Big Anthony and the Magic Ring" was a complete waste of time. The story was incredibly boring and lacked any originality. The humor just felt forced and fell flat. I couldn't connect with any of the characters and didn't care about their journey. The illustrations were also lacking and didn't enhance the reading experience at all. I regret even picking up this book.
- Emily - 2 stars - I can't say I enjoyed "Big Anthony and the Magic Ring". The storyline was predictable and offered nothing new or exciting. The writing felt clunky and lacked finesse. The attempts at humor felt forced and didn't make me laugh. The illustrations were okay, but they couldn't make up for the overall lackluster reading experience. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone looking for an engaging and enjoyable read.