ABSTRACT
In the last decade the region of Melanesia has seen the appearance of extremely violent and brutal killings of people claimed to be ‘witches’ or ‘sorcerers’ as reported by the media. Just by a simple Google search for the words ‘witch’ or ‘sorcerer’ and ‘Melanesia’ we find shocking media descriptions of people being tortured, burned, hanged or beheaded. 1 In most of these cases the question of guilt has been established in village courts, in meetings, in chiefly councils, or in church gatherings, and the decision to torture or kill the accused is often unanimously collective.
