American Indian Conjuring
American Indian Conjuring
Brett Gibbons
Northland Pioneer College
Conjuring is said to be the second-oldest profession in the world, and may well be the oldest of the theatrical arts. It was the carefully guarded weapon of the priesthood used to establish a belief in supernatural powers among an uninformed public (Randi, 1992, p.XI). The dictionary defines a conjuror as “a person who practices legerdemain [sleight of hand]; juggler“. (Webster’s College Dictionary, 1992, p. 281). Another source defines conjuring as the art of “producing the appearance of genuine magic by means of trickery and deception” (Randi, 1992, p. XI). Anyone who attended Sunday school as a child can recall the biblical account of Aaron’s battle with two sorcerers in Pharos’s court. In the story, each of the magi cast down rods that became snakes. The secret to the trick was the snakes had been drugged or hypnotized which made them look like sticks, then became mobile when stroked by the conjurors (Randi, 1992, p. 1). Eunios, a Syrian, stopped a rebellion of Sicilian slaves about 135 B.C. with his awe provoking fire breathing. He claimed a Syrian goddess had made him immune to fire. Florus, the chronicler, had other ideas. He insisted that Eunios had the fiery substance secreted in nut shells in his mouth (Christopher, 1962, p. 6). In 1865 Robert Houdin, a French magician and clock maker, prevented a rebellion in Algeria with legerdemain. The French government asked the magician to discredit the Marabouts, an Arab religious faction who were using magic to incite a rebellion. He proved his illusions were more powerful than the magic of the Marabouts, thus stopping talk of rebellion (Magic History n.d.). The line between natural and supernatural is often poorly drawn. Among the American Indian people, sleight of hand feats, simple tricks, and snake charming were invested with mystical significance during tribal rites. Witch doctors and medicine men used the devices of
Brett Gibbons
Northland Pioneer College
Conjuring is said to be the second-oldest profession in the world, and may well be the oldest of the theatrical arts. It was the carefully guarded weapon of the priesthood used to establish a belief in supernatural powers among an uninformed public (Randi, 1992, p.XI). The dictionary defines a conjuror as “a person who practices legerdemain [sleight of hand]; juggler“. (Webster’s College Dictionary, 1992, p. 281). Another source defines conjuring as the art of “producing the appearance of genuine magic by means of trickery and deception” (Randi, 1992, p. XI). Anyone who attended Sunday school as a child can recall the biblical account of Aaron’s battle with two sorcerers in Pharos’s court. In the story, each of the magi cast down rods that became snakes. The secret to the trick was the snakes had been drugged or hypnotized which made them look like sticks, then became mobile when stroked by the conjurors (Randi, 1992, p. 1). Eunios, a Syrian, stopped a rebellion of Sicilian slaves about 135 B.C. with his awe provoking fire breathing. He claimed a Syrian goddess had made him immune to fire. Florus, the chronicler, had other ideas. He insisted that Eunios had the fiery substance secreted in nut shells in his mouth (Christopher, 1962, p. 6). In 1865 Robert Houdin, a French magician and clock maker, prevented a rebellion in Algeria with legerdemain. The French government asked the magician to discredit the Marabouts, an Arab religious faction who were using magic to incite a rebellion. He proved his illusions were more powerful than the magic of the Marabouts, thus stopping talk of rebellion (Magic History n.d.). The line between natural and supernatural is often poorly drawn. Among the American Indian people, sleight of hand feats, simple tricks, and snake charming were invested with mystical significance during tribal rites. Witch doctors and medicine men used the devices of
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