The Bewitching

Brujeria, the Spanish word for “witchcraft,” refers to a set of folk spiritual beliefs and practices rooted in the Indigenous traditions of the lands that now encompass Mexico and much of the southwestern United States. Brujeria includes herbalism and folk remedies, limpias (spiritual cleansings), spellcasting and incantations, protection against the evil eye, bewitching, and ceremonies of intercession to various folk saints. These ceremonies might make use of ritualistic objects like altars, prayer candles, milagros (small, tin replicas of various body parts often used in folk cures for bodily ailments like sprained or broken limbs, illnesses, and other injuries), or retablos (paintings of saints). Brujeria, although rooted in Indigenous beliefs and practices, contains elements of Catholic traditions brought to Mexico during colonization. This co-mingling of Indigenous and colonial (in the case of brujeria, Spanish) cultural traditions is called “syncretism.” The author notes in her afterward that much of this book is rooted in her own family’s history, and that although her grandmother would not have used the word “syncretism,” it did accurately describe the co-existence of Indigenous and Catholic wisdom passed down through the generations by the women in her family. The Bewitching uses its depictions of brujeria to add historical richness to the narrative and as part of its broader engagement with the politics of gender and class.

Although brujeria is the Spanish word for witchcraft, brujeria differs from the way that the term “witchcraft” is used in American English and should be understood within its own specific context. Brujeria is also distinct from various other Latin American folk traditions that fuse spellcasting, herbalism, and ritual ceremonies, and are also, in part, syncretized with various aspects of Catholicism. It should not be conflated with practices such as Santería (Cuba), Candomblé (Brazil), or Vodou (Haiti), all of which make use of Afro-Indigenous cultural practices that did not make their way to Mexico.

During the novel’s first few flashback chapters, the author depicts a clear division between the folk practices still employed by characters like Alba and Valentín and the modern, enlightenment-based belief system of her mother and Arturo (before he is revealed as a warlock). There is a marked association between folk magic, spellcasting, and the use of protective talismans against the evil eye and what Arturo characterizes as an “uneducated, backwards” worldview. The judgment evident in Arturo’s and Luisa’s attitude toward folk magic is representative of historical cultural divisions in Mexico: There has long been prejudice against brujeria because it is seen by many privileged members of society as the result of a lack of proper education. This kind of judgment is rooted in a Eurocentric belief system that prioritizes Western cultural practices over Indigenous ones and seeks to erase not only Indigenous wisdom but also Indigenous culture. It is assimilationist in nature and reflects the cultural violence of colonialism. After occupying New World lands, the Spanish sought to convert Indigenous populations to Catholicism and impose their own belief systems on Indigenous culture. Folk remedies and brujeria were coded “uneducated” and “lower class,” while Spanish and later Mexican traditions were privileged and prioritized.

The novel’s depiction of brujeria also speaks to its interest in gender. Although there have historically been male practitioners of brujeria, it is a practice most often associated with women and with female power. Practitioners were often women of the lower and working classes, and brujeria was a way to earn money outside of the mainstream economy from which they were excluded. Brujas would sell, like the women in Los Pinos, protective amulets and jewelry meant to ward off the evil eye, milagros, and other ceremonial objects, but they also sold their knowledge, just as Perpetua shares what she knows about defeating teyolloquani with Valentín and Alba. These kinds of transactions are rooted in the history of brujeria in Mexico and speak to the way that brujas reclaimed economic power: As women, their career options were limited, and working as brujas and curanderas (healers) was often one of the few ways they were able to generate an income.

Brujeria’s gender politics extend beyond economics. The novel’s depiction of bewitchings focuses on the harm that they inflict on individuals like Alba, Tadeo, and Minerva, but the history of brujeria’s bewitchings is actually rooted in feminism and women’s attempts to reclaim power in their relationships and domestic lives. In her groundbreaking work on the history of brujeria in Mexico, Cubano-Jewish anthropologist Ruth Behar notes that in many cases, women employed brujas to bewitch abusive or oppressive male partners, that bewitchings were a way for disempowered women to seek “relief from male dominance” (Behar, Ruth. Translated Woman: Crossing the Border with Esperanza’s Story. Beacon Press, 1993, p. 3). Behar describes stories of women who bewitch their fathers, husbands, or other men in their lives to stop abusive behavior and regain autonomy. Much of The Bewitching’s thematic structure explores the way that disempowered women like Alba, Tremblay, and Minerva can reclaim power and increase their agency. The author uses brujeria in her novel, at least in part, as a way to add depth and complexity to her characters. In crafting characters who use brujeria, she creates a point of connection between the fictional world of her novel and the real-life history of women’s empowerment in Indigenous and Mexican spaces.

Although the novel’s engagement with brujeria helps Moreno-Garcia to explore the complex intersection of race and class both in Mexico and the United States, she is also known for historically rich novels that provide a window into Mexican culture. The supernatural beings she describes are creatures described in Mesoamerican myths. The teyollocuani (from the Nahuatl language) is a malevolent witch that sucks its victims’ blood and draws its own strength from theirs. Etymologically, teyollocuani is related to the word yollotl, or “heart,” which speaks to the way that it drains its victims’ life forces. Nahuals, which Alba’s father believes in, are individuals that transform into the shape of various animals. The word Nahual derives from the Nahuatl word nahualli, which means to disguise or shapeshift. The novel’s depiction of various characters’ desire to protect themselves from the evil eye is also rooted in both Indigenous and Western beliefs. Although evil eye charms are often associated with Turkish and Greek culture, belief in the potential harm of the evil eye is also found in various Indigenous cultures in the Americas.