Tituba

Tituba was the first woman to be accused of practicing witchcraft during the 1692 Salem witch trials in Massachusetts. She was the slave of Samuel Parris, and although her origins are debated, it is commonly believed that she was a native of Barbados. Nothing is known of her life before her enslavement.  It is known that she was married to a Native American named John, who would later go on to accuse her of witchcraft. She became an instrumental figure in the witch trials when she confessed to witchcraft, simultaneously accusing Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne. She was imprisoned but later released – upon which she disappears from history. 

Tituba was the first person to be accused of witchcraft by Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams - her master’s daughter and niece. It has been suggested that Tituba had entertained the girls with stories of witchcraft and voodoo, which is possibly given the prominence of the tradition in the Caribbean. In March 1692, she became the first woman in Salem to confess to witchcraft. Despite originally pleading innocence, she later confessed to making a “witchcake” (believed to determine if illness was caused by witchcraft). It is important to note however that this confession was extracted after receiving numerous beatings from her master in an attempt to illicit a confession – so I would argue that it doesn’t exactly stand up in a court of law. Under further questioning, she admitted to learning of occult techniques from her mistress in Barbados, who taught her how to protect herself from evil powers. However, she maintained that she had only used her occult “magic” to make a healing witchcake for Elizabeth Parris, rather than for evil purposes. Tituba, and her co-accussed Sarah Good, and Sarah Osborne were sent to jail in Boston to await trial.

Tituba is an interesting case as not only did she confess and accuse others, she spoke of animals aiding her in her witchcraft including dogs, hogs, cats, and rats. She also talked about riding sticks as a means of travel. She accussed Sarah Osbourne of owing a creature who resembled a woman but had wings. Her testimony confused the town since it mixed various notions of witchcraft, but its similarities to demonology bolstered fears that Satan was amongst the Salem residents.

Following the trials, Tituba remained in jail because Samuel Parris refused to pay her jail fees. In April of 1693, Tituba was sold to an unknown person for the price of her jail fees. In an interview with Robert Calef for his collection of papers on the trial Tituba confirmed that Parris had beaten a confession out of her and then coached her in what to say and how to say when first questioned. (Surely this can’t be true, he sounds like such a lovely man!!!!)

Tituba has long been portrayed as an "other" or an outcaste in her Puritan society, due to her racial and socioeconomic status as a South American Native Indigenous and an indentured servant woman. It has been credibly suggested by some that her race and “otherness” contributed to her accusation and arrest owing to the fear of foreigners and stereotypes about their religion that were prevalent at the time. As a poor black woman under the control of a powerful and respected white man, she was especially vulnerable and would have been an easy target for the prosecution (and indeed for her master himself).

It is also worth noting that fictionall portrayals of witchcraft and sorcery have created an almost symbiotic relationship between truth and myth when it comes to the Salem trials. Fictional works have assisted in the idea of what the Salem Witch Trials were like and what events lead to the convictions, trials and confessions, but without factoring in racial, political, religious and economic influences of the time. Thus, the enduring image of Tituba is largely informed by fiction rather than fact.

Most famously, Tituba is featured prominently in the play The Crucible by Arthur Miller (1953), the opening theme of which portays Tituba as the instigator of the witchraft in the village. It was heavily informed by Marion L. Starkey's historical work The Devil in Massachusetts (1949). The play suggests that Abigail Williams and the other girls who began the mania attempted to appropriate Tituba’s knowledge and rituals to dangerous effect – and thus accussed her to cover up their own guilt.  It is ironic that the belief that Tituba led these girls astray has persisted in popular lore, fiction and non fiction alike. The charge, which is seen by some as having barely disguised racist undertones.