Papua New Guinea Woman Burned At Stake
By Wyatt Earp | January 8, 2009
The reason? She was suspected of witchcraft. Seriously.
A woman in rural Papua New Guinea was bound and gagged, tied to a log and set ablaze on a pile of tires this week, possibly because villagers suspected her of being a witch, police said Thursday.
Sources say she was suspected of witchcraft after she cleaned the house and made dinner for her husband. Heh.
Her death adds to a growing list of men and women who have been accused of sorcery and then tortured or killed in the South Pacific island nation, where traditional beliefs hold sway in many regions.
“We have had difficulties in a number of previous incidents convincing people to come forward with information,” said Simon Kauba, assistant commissioner of police and commander of the Highlands region, where the killing occurred.
Good to know that the witnesses in Papau New Guinea cooperate with police as well as the ones in Philadelphia.
Early Tuesday, a group of people dragged the woman, believed to be in her late teens to early 20s, to a dumping ground outside the city of Mount Hagen. They stripped her naked, bound her hands and legs, stuffed a cloth in her mouth, tied her to a log and set her on fire, Kauba said. (H/T - CNN)
Maybe it’s just me, but when I hear about these stories, the first thing I think is: “Ya know, some of these cultures need to be re-educated and dragged kicking and screaming into the 19th Century.”
Yes, I know it is currently the 21st Century, but for these savages, we need to start with baby steps.
Topics: WTF? |
January 8th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
They could have made a bridge out of her. hmph
January 8th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
So, I’d rate that as a really bad day.
Seriously, though, she could have any number of issues that caused others to think she was a witch. That’s sad.
January 8th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Was she at least lighter then a duck?
January 8th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Scratches New Guinea off her list of places to ever visit.
January 8th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Sources say she was suspected of witchcraft after she cleaned the house and made dinner for her husband. Heh.
Well that about clears the Oberfrau of suspicion…double heh!
January 9th, 2009 at 7:28 am
Marvin you’ve been watching The Holy Grail to much:) LOL You forgot other things which float on water..small rocks:) LOL
January 9th, 2009 at 7:33 am
All hail diversity!
January 9th, 2009 at 10:53 am
And yet these people never stop to think that, if these people really were witches, they’d zap you before you could tie them up and light the fire. So, if they didn’t …
January 9th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
There’s a different society that I would like to bring out of the 7th century.
January 9th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
DL474 - I’m surprised they didn’t eat her.
RT - Lousy backward country.
Marvin - She should be so lucky. Of course, she was probably lighter after the fire. (Sorry.)
E.L. - Yeah, that’s probably a good thing.
Captain - POW!
Jon Brooks - And African swallows.
KY person - Amen to that.
Doghouse - They probably say, “If you free yourself with witchcraft, kindly come back so we can burn you then.”
Alan B - There are plenty of frakked up societies in the world anymore.
January 9th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
What I found interesting is her age. It says she was in her late teens to early 20s. When a woman in such a society as this in New Guinea is accused of being a witch, they are usually a way lot older than she was. I think this witchcraft charge is a cover for something else. Either that, or she wasn’t a hottie.
January 9th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Leoni2 - Well, she certainly didn’t get hotter after the fire. Actually . . .
January 10th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Since she was in her late teens to early twenties, maybe she had joined some new age religion, and the burned her less for being a witch, and more for just being really annoying.