Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft.Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur.
Rumors of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo's sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings.
Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Just One More Thing for Men to Worry About
From Reuters:
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1 comment:
When I was in New Orleans, I thought it curious that I failed to see any Voo Doo dolls with pins stuck in their genital area! (Most voodoo dolls were androgonous.)
Contrary to popular culture's depiction of the voodoo doo--the pin is inserted into the doll at the part of the body that is hoped to be healed--not hurt.
I have learned rather late in my life that most men spend their lives worrying about the size of their penis, their brain, or their bank accounts. What a pity! If they would only have spent that time working about the size of their heart (metaphorically speaking of course) the world would be different.
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