What would you do if...a sorceress lived next door?

Well, I'll bet that most of you have never contemplated such a question. About two months ago an old woman moved into our neighborhood. We first met her when she came over to our house to ask for food and work. We said we would pay her to sweep our yard (Side note: It actually is like that scene from the Flintstones where Betty rubble is sweeping the dirt off the dirt floor. That happens here all the time, and the world actually does look better for it). After she swept our yard a couple of our neighbors warned us to keep our distance from her, that she was a sorceress.

How do you know someone practices sorcery? The fact that she lives alone and has no family are pretty solid grounds in and of themselves for accusing someone of sorcery here. Additionally, people claim to seen her practicing sorcery (making incantations, working with certain local plants).

What is sorcery here? Well it's a sort of “black magic” I guess (not voodoo) that certain people practice to cause harm to others. Sorcery can only be used for bad things. Everyone here seems to believe in it, from village kids to well educated citizens. When bad times befall a family, particularly with mysterious deaths, sorcery is to blame. Our neighbors are all firm in their belief that sorcery exists, and there's no changing that.

So what's complicated? Well it's that whole “be kind to your neighbors” thing. The woman is very very poor, so if she comes begging for food we want to help her out. However, in doing so our neighbors believe we are ignoring their well-intentioned advice to stay away from her. More than that, our neighbors believe she could cause harm to their families, and we are helping her! I can understand why they would feel insulted! Do I believe she can cause harm to their families? No. Therefore, I should continue to be neighborly to her, right? The complicated thing is being kind and neighborly to her without hurting the good relations we have established with our neighbors, which are extremely important to us here. I know that it involves finding a balance, but I'm just not sure where that lies yet.