In Search of the Roots of Stregheria

Abstract

This chapter is a preliminary exploration of the links between three layers of ver- nacular religion and the experiences underlying them: Italian vernacular religion and healing, Italian American versions of these customs, and Stregheria-, or Italian American revival Witchcraft,¹ a Neo-Pagan religion practiced by second-, third- and fourth-generation Italian Americans seeking new ways to connect with spirituality and construct ethnic identity. I argue that Italian vernacular religion was linked to a number of geographic, economic, religious, and social factors that were particular to the regions and towns in which it developed, but also partook of a broader cosmol- ogy that I am calling “the enchanted worldview.” In this chapter, I will outline some of the parameters of this worldview and sketch its particulars, especially in the areas of vernacular healing, magic, and witchcraft. I also propose that American scholars reconsider historical approaches to the study of tradition, especially when these can shed light on how traditions change over time to incorporate elements from elite and ecclesiastical cultures. This is the first step of a much broader study in which I hope to examine each of these aspects of Italian vernacular culture in greater detail. It grows out of my previous research on Italian religious festivals, Italian American ethnicity, and the reclamation of European folklore by contemporary Pagan religions.