Peran Sihir Dalam Perang

 (Magic Goes To War)

Oleh: Gordon Rutter

 Doing the unexpected has always been the key to military success, but there's more to victory than just careful planning. With a flash and a bang and just a hint of sleight of hand, our fortean prestidigator Gordon Rutter opens our eyes to the role of magic in bringing hostilities to a satisfactory conclusion. 

Since the first shaman cast the runes before the tribe went into battle, magic has always played a part in war – it may surprise some people to discover that such has been the case even in relatively recent conflicts.

To cover every known instance of the magical arts being pressed into service in times of war would require a book of prodigious size, so in this article I am going to cover only a few instances – although they will be very different instances indeed, offering, I hope, some sense of the subject's scope.

The Collins Concise Dictionary defines magic as “the art that, by the use of spells, supposedly invokes supernatural powers to influence events; the practice of illusory tricks to entertain; any mysterious or extraordinary quality or power”. As we shall see, each of these aspects of magic has played its part in warfare. For our first look at magic at war we must travel back in time to the late 19th century, when France was a major colonial power. But the natives were restless.

In 1856, there were rumblings in French Algeria. It was clear that revolution against French rule was brewing and France wanted to avoid conflict – while the colonisers wanted neither the loss of life nor the associated financial implications of quelling a rebellion, they also had no desire to give up their colony. Such a decision would surely be the first step on a slippery slope down which France had no wish to go. Enter, stage left, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. Originally a clockmaker, Robert-Houdin had become a magician, or conjurer if you prefer, in 1845, at the relatively late age of 40. He was quite clear about what he did, describing himself as a conjurer and never claiming to possess genuine supernatural powers; he was the Paul Daniels of his day (and I mean that as a great compliment to both gentlemen). Very soon, Robert-Houdin was amazing audiences all over the world. He was one of the first magicians to perform in theatres rather than fairs and marketplaces, bringing to magic, in the process, a certain respectability. And he also imparted to it a touch of style – he was the first conjurer to perform in evening wear rather than the previously traditional wizard's hat and robes, establishing for magicians a ‘look' that would persist for the next century.

Robert-Houdin was a true innovator in the art of magic – and also the science. When he wanted an effect that didn't exist, he invented it. When the required technology wasn't already in place, he pushed the boundaries. Interested, it seems, in virtually every subject under the sun, he kept his mind – and his act – sharp and up-to-date by incorporating all sorts of new developments into his routines, often before they became generally known. For instance, he used electromagnetism when it was in its infancy; when it became widely understood, he modified his act accordingly. He even had a luminescent filament inside a glass bulb long before Edison or Swann had even thought about it. But, let us return to 1856.

Robert-Houdin was enjoying his retirement when he was approached by the French government seeking his help in dealing with problems in French Algeria. One of the main leaders of the potential revolution was a Marabout (a member of an Arab religious faction who were using demonstrations of magic to incite the population to revolt) named Zoras al Khatim. The Algerian wizards were highly accomplished, and anyone who commanded their power was listened to attentively. Many of the locals were wholly certain that when a Marabout showed them magic it was the real deal. Tricks such as eating glass without suffering any injury (a standard geek trick) and healing wounds were common practice. Faced with these god-like powers, people were willing not only to sit up and pay attention to the magic itself, but also inclined to go along with what the Marabouts wanted – and what they wanted was the French out of their country.

Robert-Houdin was dispatched to the capital city of Algiers, where he was booked to perform for several days at a local theatre. The word had gone out that a great French wizard was in town, and many important chiefs and Marabouts were invited to the performance. All shows were standing room only. People tried to gain entry by any method they could, and there are even reports of French nationals blacking up to try and get in! The French placed interpreters amongst the audience to ensure that everyone followed exactly what was happening.

The theatre was full, the audience was expectant, and if the reviews were bad they would probably precipitate a war. It's safe to say that the stakes in this performance were high. 

 Robert-Houdin began his act. Initially, he produced some five-franc coins from his empty hand – impressive enough, but hardly sufficient to halt a revolution. But then he upped the ante. From his empty top hat, he produced a cannon ball. Now, this – or at least such was the implication – could be a problem. Who wanted to fight an enemy that could conjure up ammunition from thin air? He had planned to follow this with one of his signature tricks – the inexhaustible bottle – in which an empty bottle is shown to the crowd and then drinks of every kind (as named by members of the audience) flow from it. However, there was a slight problem. French Algeria was a Muslim country and Robert-Houdin was trying to avert a war; to insult people by offering them the alcohol their religion expressly forbade would have been distinctly counter-productive. So, tailoring his act to his audience, he brandished an empty bowl which then was miraculously filled and refilled with sweetmeats. Eventually tiring of this, he followed the sweetmeats with a magical stream of boiling coffee that was passed around to the assembled masses. Initially, the Arabs refused to drink such an unnatural brew – well, would you accept a drink from the Devil himself?

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