In considering Tituba for an episode of the Missing Witches podcast, we came upon another paradox – the kind that our non-binary universe of magic is known (and unknown) for. Tituba, like magic itself, is both known and unknown. She is perhaps the most famous name of the Salem Witch Trials, but at the same time, very very little is known about her. She felt both too known and too unknown to dare to invite her to this party.
But as we make our way through this world of Witches, we are getting more and more comfortable with not knowing, with giving dreams credence and myth credibility in our world-building.
We’ve got Witches and spirits and channelled writing, a society divided by values and fears, both real and imagined, the echoing of history… It’s all too juicy. So Amy is going to tell you about Tituba, what little we know from her recorded testimony, some details her spirit whispered to Maryse Condé, and then Risa is going to join us in the second half of the episode to help us explode and explore the themes that arise so we can share the juice with each other and with you.
Angela Davis called this book “Tituba’s Revenge”
Artists imagine what Tituba may have looked like.
