Video: Witches

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b5crJpmAYA

Transcript and Translation

The witch, an iconic Halloween character, usually dressed all in black with green skin, a tall pointy
hat and flying a broomstick across a full moon, but witches aren't just a Halloween cliche, they've
got a long and tumultuous history that we bet you didn't know.

(A bruxa, uma figura icônica do Halloween, geralmente toda vestida de preto com a pele verde, um
chapéu pontudo e uma vassoura voadora atravessando a lua cheia, mas as bruxas não são
apenas clichês de Halloween, elas têm uma longa e tumultuada história que nós apostamos que
você não sabia).

Though many stereotypes come from Western culture, witchcraft has existed around the world and
throughout history including Asian, African, and many Native American societies.

(Apesar de muitos estereótipos virem da cultura ocidental, a bruxaria existe ao redor do mundo e
através da história incluindo lugares como a Ásia, África, e muitas culturas nativo americanas);

Long before the advent of science, witches were blamed for storms, accidents, disease and other
bad things that happened.

(Muito antes do advento da ciência, as bruxas eram culpadas pelos temporais, acidentes, doenças
e outras coisas ruins que aconteciam).

In medieval Europe, anywhere between 100,000 and 200,000 people were arrested on suspicion of
witchcraft, about half of them were executed. And did you know the accused witches were not just
women, but men too? And even some children!

(Na Europa medieval, cerca de cem a duzentas mil pessoas foram presas suspeitas de bruxaria, e
cerca de metade delas foram executadas. E você sabia que as bruxas acusadas não eram apenas
mulheres, mas homens também ? E até mesmo algumas crianças!)

Even after the witch hunts ended, Western culture remained fascinated with witches. The witches
filled fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, and inspired L. Frank Baum to
create his modern fairy tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which featured the most famous witch in
pop culture history: the Wicked Witch of the West.

(Mesmo depois da caça às bruxas ter terminado, a cultura ocidental continuou fascinada com as
bruxas. As bruxas se encontram nos contos de fadas dos irmãos Grimm e de Hans Christian
Andersen, e inspiraram L. Frank Baum a criar seu conto de fadas moderno, O Mágico de Oz, o
qual caracterizou a bruxa mais famosa da história da cultura pop: a Bruxa Má do Oeste);

And did you know Baum didn't intentionally make the witch's skin green in his book? But that's how
she appeared in the technicolor film version in 1939 and the image stuck.

(E você sabia que Baum não fez a pele da bruxa ser verde em seu livro? Mas foi assim que ela
apareceu na versão colorida do filme em 1939 e a imagem ficou famosa).
And what about that tall black pointy hat that witches wear? Members of Europe's upper classes
wore similar hats during the 15th century and the style later spread to commoners, the same poor
country folk who were typically accused of paganism and witchcraft.

(E aquele chapéu preto e pontudo que as bruxas usam? Membros das classes abastadas da
Europa usavam chapéus similares durante o século 15 e o estilo se espalhou entre os plebeus, o
mesmo povo pobre que eram tipicamente acusados de paganismo e bruxaria).

The broom, a common household tool, was used by pagans during ancient crop fertility rites; it later
became a common symbol of witches, who were set to use their brooms to hide their wands during
the witch hunts.

(A vassoura, um item doméstico comum, era usada pelos pagãos durante os ritos antigos de
fertilidade para as colheitas; mais tarde se tornou um símbolo comum das bruxas, as quais se dizia
que usavam suas vassouras para esconder suas varinhas mágicas durante o período de caça às
bruxas).

People also believed that witches would rub a special ointment into their brooms and use them to
fly across the sky and perform their magic.

(As pessoas também acreditavam que as bruxas passavam um unguento especial nas suas
vassouras e as usavam para voar através do céu e praticar magia).

And did you know that witches still exist in modern times? The modern form of witchcraft known as
Wicca was founded in England in the 1950s, its members worship nature and a female deity known
as the Goddess and they take an oath to do no harm with their magic.

(E você sabia que as bruxas ainda existem nos tempos modernos? A forma moderna de bruxaria,
conhecida como Wicca, foi fundada na Inglaterra em 1950, seus membros veneram a natureza e
uma deidade feminina chamada de a Deusa, e elas fazem um juramento de não provocar danos
com sua magia).

There are now more than 400,000 Wiccans in the United States, but you probably won't recognize
them on the street. They don't wear pointy hats and not a single one of them has green skin.

(Há agora mais de quatrocentos mil Wiccanos nos Estados Unidos, mas você provavelmente não
os reconhecerá na rua. Eles não usam chapéus pontudos e nenhum deles tem a pele verde).

1. Text comprehension. Answer the questions about the text.

a. When people think of a witch, how are they usually characterized?
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b. Before the advent of science, what were witches blamed for?
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c. In Medieval Europe, how many people were arrested on suspicion of
witchcraft?
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d. Who is the most famous witch in pop culture history? What book is she from?
And who wrote it?
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e. What is the origin of the pointy black hat witches wear?
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f. What were brooms used for by pagans during ancient crop fertility rites?
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g. What is the modern form of witchcraft? When and where was it founded?
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h. How many Wiccan are estimated to exist in the United States now?
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