An Arawak slave woman who featured prominently in the Salem Witch Trials.
Her true origins are unknown, but she was brought to Barbados as a slave by adolescence and she was eventually purchased by businessman turned minister, Samuel Parris, and would later be brought to Salem Village, Massachusetts, and serve the Parris family, including caring for the children.
In early 1692, Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, age 9, and her cousin, 11-year-old Abigail Williams, began acting strangely, and several other girls in the community soon displayed the same symptoms. Convinced that it was witchcraft, the fanatical Parris grilled his daughter and niece until they named Tituba as the witch who afflicted them; as an Arawak slave woman in a Puritan community, she was very obvious and an easy target.
After the testimonies of Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, who both denied harming anybody, Tituba's testimony (probably to avoid any more trouble) confirmed the fears of the village: she had been coaxed by a mysterious man in black to sign her name in his book, offering her magical powers in exchange for her soul. Tituba claimed that her name and those of Osborne and Good were among a list of six other names that she could not see; this confession was like Pandora's box had opened.
Her true origins are unknown, but she was brought to Barbados as a slave by adolescence and she was eventually purchased by businessman turned minister, Samuel Parris, and would later be brought to Salem Village, Massachusetts, and serve the Parris family, including caring for the children.
In early 1692, Elizabeth "Betty" Parris, age 9, and her cousin, 11-year-old Abigail Williams, began acting strangely, and several other girls in the community soon displayed the same symptoms. Convinced that it was witchcraft, the fanatical Parris grilled his daughter and niece until they named Tituba as the witch who afflicted them; as an Arawak slave woman in a Puritan community, she was very obvious and an easy target.
After the testimonies of Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, who both denied harming anybody, Tituba's testimony (probably to avoid any more trouble) confirmed the fears of the village: she had been coaxed by a mysterious man in black to sign her name in his book, offering her magical powers in exchange for her soul. Tituba claimed that her name and those of Osborne and Good were among a list of six other names that she could not see; this confession was like Pandora's box had opened.
Although portrayed as an African slave in many dramatizations, the historical Tituba was actually a First Nations slave, most likely Arawak.
While there is little contemporary evidence, the legend is that Tituba entertained her young wards with tales of her life in Barbados, tales involving magic. As the winter continued, Tituba grew bolder and began demonstrating magic tricks for the girls, including a divination method in which an egg white was suspended in a glass of water and the shapes that it made were interpreted.
By this time, other girls and young women from the village were coming to these secret meetings. Their excitement was mixed with guilt, for they knew that this was forbidden; during one divination, the egg settled into what looked like the shape of a coffin, an image that snapped their nerves.
While there is little contemporary evidence, the legend is that Tituba entertained her young wards with tales of her life in Barbados, tales involving magic. As the winter continued, Tituba grew bolder and began demonstrating magic tricks for the girls, including a divination method in which an egg white was suspended in a glass of water and the shapes that it made were interpreted.
By this time, other girls and young women from the village were coming to these secret meetings. Their excitement was mixed with guilt, for they knew that this was forbidden; during one divination, the egg settled into what looked like the shape of a coffin, an image that snapped their nerves.
by Lorelili August 02, 2011
Get the Tituba mug.A subsistence pattern distinguished by intensive gardening. Essentially small-scale farming, growing all manner of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and other plant products.
In societies that subsist on horticulture, there is a strong association with matrilineal families; daughters inherit the land from their mothers. The men clear a patch of forest for a garden and the women take over. This is usually accomplished by slash-and-burn.
The most important relationship in a horticultural society is usually the bond between brother and sister (as opposed to between father and son in many farming societies); a woman marries and her husband is recognized as the father of her children, husband and wife generally live separately and the main father figure for her children is their maternal uncle.
In societies that subsist on horticulture, there is a strong association with matrilineal families; daughters inherit the land from their mothers. The men clear a patch of forest for a garden and the women take over. This is usually accomplished by slash-and-burn.
The most important relationship in a horticultural society is usually the bond between brother and sister (as opposed to between father and son in many farming societies); a woman marries and her husband is recognized as the father of her children, husband and wife generally live separately and the main father figure for her children is their maternal uncle.
Among the societies that practice horticulture are the Maroons of Suriname, the Mosuo and Naxi of China, and numerous indigenous peoples in Indonesia and the Americas, like the Iroquois, Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, and Zapotec. All of these nations are traditionally matrilineal.
by Lorelili November 07, 2012
Get the horticulture mug.1. Holding the power, status, and authority of a monarch: a hereditary leader of a country.
2. Of or relating to people of royal rank and their families, collectively.
3. Informally used to describe entertainers whose offspring at least try to follow in their parents' footsteps; some succeed and some don't, but this "royalty" is merely entertainment and they generally bear little political power outside of voicing their own opinions.
2. Of or relating to people of royal rank and their families, collectively.
3. Informally used to describe entertainers whose offspring at least try to follow in their parents' footsteps; some succeed and some don't, but this "royalty" is merely entertainment and they generally bear little political power outside of voicing their own opinions.
Many nobles across the land were related by blood or marriage to royalty... and many of them wanted the crown, ready to walk over anybody to capture it.
Many peasant women cunningly sought flings with the king, establishing a link with royalty through their children... and very well could have kept the royal family healthier by giving them a more diverse genepool.
Liza Minnelli, Janet Jackson, Moon Unit Zappa, Drew Barrymore, and Miley Cyrus are a few members of entertainment royalty.
Many peasant women cunningly sought flings with the king, establishing a link with royalty through their children... and very well could have kept the royal family healthier by giving them a more diverse genepool.
Liza Minnelli, Janet Jackson, Moon Unit Zappa, Drew Barrymore, and Miley Cyrus are a few members of entertainment royalty.
by Lorelili January 18, 2011
Get the royalty mug.When an animal (humans included) is so horny and eager to mate, that they'll hump whoever comes along.
Some people think that only females experience this state, but male animals also have a reputation for being achingly randy.
Some people think that only females experience this state, but male animals also have a reputation for being achingly randy.
"Great...! Just great! We forgot to neuter our cat, and now she's in heat! I can't stand the howling!"
"While in Frankfurt (appropriately), I once asked a German storekeeper for a 'heißer Hund'- literally 'a hot dog.' He burst out laughing, as 'heißer Hund' in German suggests a dog in heat." -Richard Lederer
"While in Frankfurt (appropriately), I once asked a German storekeeper for a 'heißer Hund'- literally 'a hot dog.' He burst out laughing, as 'heißer Hund' in German suggests a dog in heat." -Richard Lederer
by Lorelili February 05, 2006
Get the in heat mug.The Gaelic word for a noblewoman, a lady. Used as a form of address or a formal title for a woman.
Ireland: "ban-WAH-sal"
Scotland: "ben-WAH-sal"
Ireland: "ban-WAH-sal"
Scotland: "ben-WAH-sal"
Thuirt Bean-uasal nic Bheatha ri a fear-cèile a mharbhadh an Rìgh Donnachadh.
(Lady MacBeth said to her husband to kill King Duncan.)
(Lady MacBeth said to her husband to kill King Duncan.)
by Lorelili March 20, 2006
Get the bean-uasal mug.The Tutsi are one of the native peoples of Rwanda, along with the Hutu and Twa. Historically, the Tutsi and Hutu were known mainly by their role; the Tutsi were mainly pastoral and usually of the nobility and the ruling class while the Hutu were more often peasant farmers, although there were Hutu rulers and Hutu and Tutsi could easily exchange roles. Hutu and Tusi share the same language and culture and intermarriage between Hutu and Tutsi is common (although a Tutsi man marrying a Hutu woman is very rare and a Hutu man marrying a Tutsi woman is quite common).
The Belgians, upon colonizing Rwanda, were taken by the (seemingly) more "European" facial features of the Tutsi (stereotypically, the Tutsi are taller and thinner, with longer, more pointed noses, straighter hair, and more angular features) and favored them over the stockier, medium-sized Hutu. Never mind that there are Hutu who look Tutsi, Tutsi who look Hutu, that many Rwandans fit neither discription and that intermarriage is common, this played a huge role in creating tension between Hutu and Tutsi... thus leading to the 1994 genocide.
The Belgians, upon colonizing Rwanda, were taken by the (seemingly) more "European" facial features of the Tutsi (stereotypically, the Tutsi are taller and thinner, with longer, more pointed noses, straighter hair, and more angular features) and favored them over the stockier, medium-sized Hutu. Never mind that there are Hutu who look Tutsi, Tutsi who look Hutu, that many Rwandans fit neither discription and that intermarriage is common, this played a huge role in creating tension between Hutu and Tutsi... thus leading to the 1994 genocide.
By Belgian definition, a Tutsi was a person with more than ten cow and a long, pointed nose, while a Hutu was a person with less than ten cows and a broad, short nose. Discriminatory? I think so.
Tutsi were referred to by the Radio-Television des Los Mille Collines as "cockroaches," thus showing how the Hutu felt about them.
Tutsi were referred to by the Radio-Television des Los Mille Collines as "cockroaches," thus showing how the Hutu felt about them.
by Lorelili November 07, 2006
Get the tutsi mug.A good excuse to use the words "nigger".
She who supported the war in Iraq and lied about the war, resulting in the deaths of innocent people: Iraqi civilians, woung men and women who had their whole lives ahead of them... now thanks to George W. Bush and this stupid cunt, among others, the United States are in deep shit.
She who supported the war in Iraq and lied about the war, resulting in the deaths of innocent people: Iraqi civilians, woung men and women who had their whole lives ahead of them... now thanks to George W. Bush and this stupid cunt, among others, the United States are in deep shit.
by Lorelili March 28, 2005
Get the condoleezza rice mug.