ABSTRACT
Witches and spirits alike are "known", in the first instance, through the learning of a culturally transmitted cognitive (belief) system, rather than through encounters with such beings. Although Burmans are reluctant to discuss witches, they will do so under certain circumstances and for certain incentives. Unlike the case of master witches, the Burmese are either more knowledgeable or more willing to talk about witches. Innate witches can not only cause illness and death, but they possess other forms of magical power as well. Fearing their attacks, the Burmese employ three types of protection against master witches and witches: preventive, therapeutic, and offensive. If witchcraft beliefs arouse anxiety in the Burmese, encounters with specific witches or with cases of witchcraft evoke their fear. The belief in and fear of witches are not restricted to uneducated villagers.
