in tindang, the fetish priest is also the village chief. it was his father who founded the refuge for alleged witches almost 50 years ago. >> the spirits decide whether someone is a witch or not. the chicken shows us what they decide. if there's a guilty verdict, we give the woman a concoction of chicken blood, water, and sacred earth. then the power of the witch is banished. if she's not guilty, she can go where she wants. >> whether they're found to be witches or not, most women stay in tindang. once the suspicion has been voiced, the stigma is like a stain. the persecution of witches isn't peculiar to africa. during the middle ages the catholic church was a driving force in rounding up suspected witches. priest jabaab from the neighboring village knows that his parishioners are prone to believing in witchcraft. >> there's no scientific explanation to things so we have to use other explanations. man needs reason why things happen. in europe, scientific explanation is widespread. but here, that is not here. the belief in witchcraft is embe