In the villages of northeastern Poland — where dialects, borders, and faiths mix — women known as szeptuchy (“whisperers”) have healed with prayer for generations. They’re Orthodox, of Belarusian descent, and pray in Old Church Slavonic. The Orthodox Church accuses them of consorting with the devil. Locals call them "babkas," sometimes "witches."The Church calls them heretics.
There Were No Witches, Only Women
In the early 1600s, Logroño, Spain, was the site of Europe’s largest documented witch trial. More than 7,000 people were interrogated and tortured. Four centuries later, a group of writers and scholars is reclaiming this buried history.
“People think we Roma are trapped in the past. Europe is obsessed with integrating us. I created the Cyber-Witches and Roma Futurism to show them we’re people of the future,” says Miheala Drăgan, a Romanian actress and playwright.
“The ones in suits, on the other side of the barricade, don’t always take me seriously. I’m a woman. An artist. An environmental activist. A mother with a child under one arm who might spill something or make a mess.” Meet Cracow-based artist Cecylia Malik.
