Tituba
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Tituba was the first woman to be accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Tituba was a Carib Indian from Barbados, a slave owned by Reverend Samuel Parris in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. As she had been known in the town to tell tales of omens, voodoo, and witchcraft from her native folklore, she became the first to be accused along with Sarah Good and Sarah Osborn.
The Witch Trials might have ended with admonishments were it not for Tituba. Perhaps afraid of being made a scapegoat, Tituba confessed to being a witch and that she and four other witches, including Good and Osborn had flown through the air on their poles. Tituba's confession succeeded in transforming her from a scapegoat to a central figure in the expanding prosecutions. Her confession also served to silence most skeptics of the trial, and Parris, along with other ministers began witch hunting with zeal. She was jailed rather than being hanged.
She was married to John Indian and is, therefore, referred to as Tituba Indian. After the Witch Trials ended, she was released and relocated.
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