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The book is framed by the research tradition of social anthropology, and at the same time the analysis is relying on the results of Hungarian and Romanian ethnographical works that scrutinize the phenomena of harmful magic most often labelled by ethnographers as 'rontás' (the approximate local term is 'csináltatás'). The structure of the book is as follows: the first chapter is summarizing the most important data about the field site and the circumstances of the fieldwork started in 1992 and most intensively carried out in the period 1997-2001. The second chapter is reviewing the scholarly works on the topic coming from the local scientist and international literature. Chapter three synthesizes the characteristics of harmful magic in the region, based on the field data from the village. Through case studies contained in chapter four, particular aspects of the phenomena are discussed in detail. The conclusions summarize the most important findings of the research. Bibliography and annex are closing the book.
The harmful magic in the region is linked with three types of social problems: (1) marriage and love-affairs, (2) problems connected to health and well being, (3) and broadly defined economic problems. While problems of relationships and economic issues are most often seen by the local population as causes of the harmful magic, the damages to health are seen only as the outcome. In addition to magical health damages, witchcraft can have an impact on both the relationships and in the economic sphere. Magic is ambivalent according to the local view, therefore it can be both negative and positive according to the social judgment. In cases when it is seen as positive it has the role of an alternative justice. These cases are most prominently related to economical damages caused by theft or attributed to witchcraft. The health damages attributed to witchcraft are usually diagnosed incurable by medical doctors and therefore they are passed into the hand of specialists dealing with unwitching (kuruzsló) or the patients address more often a Romanian Orthodox priest who is working as faith healer in many cases. Orthodox priests are called for healing illnesses caused by witchcraft and evil spirits, but they can be also actors in the process of alternative justice.
I made a distinction between the spiritual and physical magical techniques based on local ideas on the transmission of magical power. The distinction can be made based on the existence or inexistence of the physical contact between the witch and the victim. My conclusion is that the spiritual techniques are characteristically used in the processes of the alternative justice, while physical techniques are most often associated with creating and unmaking relationships.
Although the villagers may request the help of a specialist, my study reveals that in most of the cases they perform magical acts by themselves. Through the analyses I review the social relations that can be seen as important from the perspective of the magical acts. The most important finding in this domain is that witchcraft in this society is a family matter or is linked to close kin-relations. A small proportion of the witchcraft accusations are between neighbours.
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