witch doctor

n. In certain traditional cultures, especially in Africa, a sorcerer or shamanistic healer.

witch doctor

n 1. (Anthropology & Ethnology) Also called: shaman or medicine man a man in certain societies, esp preliterate ones, who appears to possess magical powers, used esp to cure sickness but also to harm people 2. (Anthropology & Ethnology) a person who seeks out or hunts witches in some African tribal cultures

witch′ doc`tor

n. a person in some societies who attempts to cure sickness and to exorcise evil spirits by the use of magic. [1710–20]

witch doctor

Also called an “obeahman,” “jujuman,” root doctor, conjure man and leaf doctor, this is a priest and physician called upon by African tribal members and followers of religions such as vodoun, Santería and macumba. Witch doctors who use their powers only for good are known as “ngangas.”

Thesaurus

Noun

witch doctor - someone who is believed to heal through magical powersconjure man, conjurer, conjuror - a witch doctor who practices conjurynecromancer, sorcerer, thaumaturge, thaumaturgist, wizard, magician - one who practices magic or sorcery

witch doctor

noun shaman, healer, sangoma (S. African) He believed the village witch doctor had put a curse on him.

Translations

witch doctor

witch doctor:

see medicine manmedicine man,
among Native Americans and other traditional peoples as far back as Paleolithic times, a person believed to possess supernatural healing powers. Like the shaman the medicine man was a specialist in spiritual healing.
..... Click the link for more information. ; shamanshaman
, religious practitioner in various, generally small-scale societies who is believed to be able to diagnose, cure, and sometimes cause illness because of a special relationship with, or control over, spirits.
..... Click the link for more information. .

N'Ganga, or witch doctor, in Zimbabwe. Courtesy Cynthia Hind/Fortean Picture Library.

Witch Doctor

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

A term used for a shaman or practitioner of magic and healing in primitive cultures. Among the indigenous peoples of Africa, Haiti, Australia, Polynesia, South Africa and elsewhere, the local wise man or woman who uses spells and charms to cure and exorcise may be referred to by outsiders as a Witch Doctor. He or she is akin to the Hedge Witch but has no real connection to the European Witch in the sense of a Wiccan and follower of the Old Religion.

W I T C H O F E N D O R see ENDOR, WITCH OF

witch doctor

1. a man in certain societies, esp preliterate ones, who appears to possess magical powers, used esp to cure sickness but also to harm people 2. a person who seeks out or hunts witches in some African tribal cultures

witch doctor

traditional healer

Ethnomedicine
A person in a primitive society who uses long-established methods passed down from one healer to another to treat a person suffering from various illnesses, many of which have psychological underpinnings. Methods used by traditional healers include the use of roots, fetish dolls, voodoo dolls, and the smoking out of a possessing spirit or spell.

witch doctor

witch doctor

witch doctor

witch′ doc`tor

witch doctor

witch doctor

witch doctor

witch doctor:

Witch Doctor

witch doctor

witch doctor

traditional healer

witch doctor

Synonyms for witch doctor

noun shaman

Synonyms

Words related to witch doctor

noun someone who is believed to heal through magical powers

Related Words