Tituba, the Salem Slave

Tituba

Tituba was a Caribbean Indian slave owned by Samuel Parris, the pastor for Salem Village. Since Parris was often absent from his home and Mrs. Parris was often ill, his nine-year-old daughter Elizabeth, and her cousin Abigail Williams, who lived with the Parris family in Salem Village, were often left in the care of Tituba. It was unusual for New Englanders to own Slaves and as Caribbean Indians, rather than Negroes, Tituba and her husband John Indian were often looked upon with suspicion. This was because most Puritans believed that Native Americans were in league with the devil if not the very devil himself. So here was the extremely pious Samuel Parris, who was obsessed with the sinfulness he observed every where, allowing a possible devil to care for his home and children.

Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams

Both Abigail and Elizabeth, being reared under the stern eye and tongue of Samuel Parris, could not have avoided absorbing something of Parris' opinions and outlook of the wicked world that lay around them. Elizabeth had been subjected all of her nine years to her father creating a home filled with fear, guilt, and suspicion. Abigail, having become an orphan and transferred into Parris' care, three years prior to the Salem Witch Trials, had suffered the situation for a much shorter time.

Christianity, Magic, and Voodoo

Tituba, whose background involved heathen voodoo, had been converted to Christianity and regularly attended church. However, the Bible stories she told Salem Village girls often included a portion of magic and superstition. Eventually, the story telling moved on to telling the girls their fortunes by reading the lines in their palms. Soon the fortune telling advanced to breaking the whites of eggs into a glass of water to see what shapes they flowed into.

By Puritan standards this was all sinful and these girls knew it. But it was fun, that is, until one of the floating egg whites sank to the bottom of the glass in the shape of a coffin.

Talk and Gossip in Salem Village

In Salem, Massachusetts in the early days of 1692 there was much to talk, or gossip, about. A good deal of the gossip centered considerably on two Salem women: Bridget Bishop who had sewn herself a scarlet bodice and Tituba who liked to wear colorful turbans. Many felt that Parris should be chided for allowing Tituba's turbans.

A Gathering of Girls

With all this talk and gossip going on apparently little notice was being given to the young girls, a group whose ages eventually ranged from nine to nineteen, that gathered in the Parris kitchen with Tituba.

The youngest of these girls was Mr. Parris' daughter Elizabeth. With her of course was her cousin Abigail who was eleven years old. Usually at these gatherings was Abigail's best friend, Ann Putnam who had reached the age of twelve.

Also included in this group was Mary Walcott who, although five years older than Ann Putnam, tended to follow Ann's lead. It has been said that that Ann was always polite and well behaved when adults were present. It was a different story when the grownups were absent. At those times, Ann Putnam is described as being extremely cruel and rude to other children.

Three older girls that often joined the group were seventeen and eighteen years old. These three girls also allowed Ann Putnam to boss them around. Of all the girls that gathered in that kitchen only Mercy Lewis ever stood up to Ann.

A Very Witchey Baking Day

Some weeks after these girls began meeting in the Parris kitchen Elizabeth Parris and Abigail Williams began acting strangely and were declared by a doctor to be bewitched. When neighbors learned of their torment one neighbor, Mary Sibley the aunt of Mary Walcott, suggested the baking of a witch cake.

A Devilish Delight

Sibley convinced Tituba and her husband to bake the witch cake. The most important ingredient in the cake was Elizabeth and Abigail's urine. The purpose of the witch cake was to make certain that the two supposedly bewitched girls were truthfully under the influence of witchcraft. To prove out this theory, the cake was fed to the family dog. If the two girls were bewitched the dog would also act as though bewitched. There is no surviving record, however, of the result of the cake's effect on the dog. But Parris considered the very act of baking the urine-laced witch cake an evil act. He was convinced that it made his daughter and his niece's condition far worse.

Sources:

Hill, Frances. A Delusion of Satan: The Full Story of the Salem Witch Trials. De Capo Press, 1995.

Jackson, Shirley. The Witchcraft of Salem Village. Random House, New York, 1956.

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