The belief in “witchcraft” as a way of relating to the occult world has existed in several human societies throughout history. However, the so-called witch hunt functioned as an instrument of punishment to encourage people to adapt to the local rules of the time, even if they had no involvement with the supernatural.
The story of Mima Renard is an example of this. Her presence was simply uncomfortable.
What is known about this story is that she got married in France and immigrated to Brazil, with her husband, René.
It was common, in the 17th century, that Europeans decided to migrate to the New World in order to find their fortunes. It is believed, therefore, that this was the motivation for the couple's move, although little is known about their lives before the first accusations of witchcraft that took place in Brazil.
Since she arrived in the village of São Paulo, she has attracted attention for her beauty. Arousing the strong interest of men and much discomfort from women.
Everything indicates that her crime was being too beautiful. It could just be a witch thing…
The uproar was so great that one of the men interested in her killed her husband.
With his death, as she no longer has any way to support herself, she is forced to become a prostitute.
Obviously, the story of the young woman who bewitched men only grew after that.
Until a fight between two of her clients, who were married, ends in death when they were both fighting over her. She then takes the blame.
As a result, the wives of their clients take the witchcraft complaint to the local parish. According to them, Mima bewitched men and was dangerous.
In 1692, she was cruelly executed, burned at a public stake.
This story shows that the witch hunt was not limited to a rebuke of religious practices that diverged from those preached by the Church, but also served as an instrument of repression of female lives and bodies.
As Silvia Federici, author of the book Caliban and the Witch, said, “we also need to understand the witch hunt through a principle of solidarity with these women, not letting the crimes of the past be ignored. There is something very wrong with not bringing what happened to these women into the present.
#TIP
Caliban and the Witch Book.