What really happened during the Salem Witch Trials - Brian A. Pavlac

Reviewer: aditya prayogi

You’ve been accused of a crime you did not commit.

Kau telah dituduh atas kejahatan yang tidak kau lakukan.

It’s impossible to prove your innocence.

Mustahil untuk membuktikan kau tak bersalah.

If you insist that you’re innocent anyway,

Meskipun kau bersikeras,

you’ll likely be found guilty and executed.

kau tetap akan dinyatakan bersalah dan dieksekusi.

But if you confess, apologize, and implicate others for good measure,

Namun jika kau mengaku, minta maaf, dan menuduh yang lain sebagai gantinya,

you’ll go free.

kau akan bebas.

Do you give a false confession— or risk a public hanging?

Akankah kau memberi pengakuan palsu— atau berisiko digantung di muka umum?

This was the choice facing those accused of witchcraft

Inilah pilihan yang dihadapi mereka yang dituduh penyihir

in the village of Salem, Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693.

di desa Salem, Massachusetts antara Februari 1692 dan Mei 1693.

They were the victims of paranoia about the supernatural,

Mereka adalah korban paranoia kekuatan gaib,

misdirected religious fervor—

ketaatan agama yang salah arah—

and a justice system that valued repentance over truth.

dan sistem peradilan yang mementingkan pertobatan di atas kebenaran.

Salem was settled in 1626 by Puritans, a group of English protestants.

Salem didirikan tahun 1626 oleh kaum Puritan, sekelompok Protestan Inggris.

Life was strict and isolated for the people of Salem.

Hidup amat ketat dan terpencil bagi penduduk Salem.

Battles with their Native American neighbors

Peperangan dengan suku pribumi Amerika

and groups of French settlers were commonplace.

dan kelompok pendatang Perancis sudah menjadi hal yang lumrah.

People feared starvation and disease,

Mereka takut akan kelaparan dan wabah penyakit,

and relations between villagers were strained.

hubungan antara penduduk desa pun tegang.

To make matters worse, 1692 brought one of the coldest winters on record.

Untuk memperparah keadaan, musim dingin terparah terjadi di tahun 1692.

That winter, two cousins,

Di musim dingin itu, dua orang sepupu,

9 year old Betty Parris and 11 year old Abigail Williams

Betty Parris berusia 9 tahun dan Abigail Williams 11 tahun

started behaving very strangely.

mulai bertingkah aneh.

A physician found nothing physically wrong —

Dokter tak menemukan masalah pada fisik mereka—

but diagnosed the girls as under “an evil hand.”

tetapi dia mendiagnosis mereka berada di bawah “pengaruh jahat.”

Puritans believed that the Devil wreaked havoc in the world through human agents,

Kaum Puritan percaya Iblis mengacau di bumi lewat kaki tangan manusia,

or witches, who blighted nature, conjured fiendish apparitions,

atau penyihir, yang mengutuk alam, memanggil penampakan jahat,

and tormented children.

dan menyiksa anak-anak.

As news swept through the village, the symptoms appeared to spread.

Ketika beritanya menyebar di desa, gejalanya tampak meluas.

Accounts describe 12 so-called “afflicted” girls contorting their bodies,

Kesaksian menyebut 12 gadis “penderita” menekukkan tubuh mereka,

having fits, and complaining of prickling skin.

mengamuk, dan mengeluhkan kulitnya yang gatal.

Four of the girls soon accused three local women of tormenting them.

Empat gadis itu menuduh tiga wanita setempat yang menyiksa mereka.

All three of the accused were considered outsiders in some way.

Ketiganya memang dianggap sebagai orang luar.

On February 29th, the authorities arrested Sarah Good,

Tanggal 29 Februari, pihak berwenang menahan Sarah Good,

a poor pregnant mother of a young daughter,

ibu hamil yang miskin dari seorang anak perempuan,

Sarah Osbourne, who had long been absent from church

Sarah Osbourne, yang sudah lama tak datang ke gereja

and was suing the family of one of her accusers,

dan sedang menuntut keluarga salah satu penuduhnya,

and Tituba, an enslaved woman in Betty Parris’s home

dan Tituba, wanita budak di rumah Betty Parris

known by her first name only.

yang hanya dikenal dengan nama kecilnya.

Tituba denied harming the girls at first.

Awalnya Tituba menyangkal telah menyakiti gadis itu.

But then she confessed to practicing witchcraft on the Devil’s orders,

Namun kemudian dia mengaku mempraktikkan sihir atas perintah Iblis,

and charged Good and Osbourne with having forced her.

dan menuduh Good dan Osbourne telah memaksanya.

Osbourne and Good both maintained their innocence.

Osbourne dan Good sama-sama bersikeras tak bersalah.

Osbourne died in prison, while Good’s husband turned against her in court,

Osbourne tewas di penjara, sementara suami Good mengkhianatinya di pengadilan,

testifying that she "was a witch or would be one very quickly."

dengan bersaksi dialah” penyihirnya” atau akan jadi penyihir tak lama lagi.”

Good’s 4 year old daughter was imprisoned

Putri Good yang berusia 4 tahun dipenjara

and eventually gave testimony against her mother.

dan akhirnya memberi kesaksian yang memberatkan sang ibu.

Meanwhile, Good gave birth in jail.

Sementara itu, Good melahirkan dalam penjara.

Her baby died, and she was convicted and hanged shortly thereafter.

Bayinya meninggal, ia pun dinyatakan bersalah dan dihukum gantung.

Tituba was held in custody until May, and then released.

Tituba ditahan hingga bulan Mei, kemudian dibebaskan.

These three victims were just the beginning.

Ketiga korban ini hanyalah permulaan.

As accusations multiplied, others, like Tituba,

Saat tuduhan makin banyak, yang lainnya, seperti Tituba,

made false confession to save themselves.

membuat pernyataan palsu untuk menyelamatkan diri sendiri.

The authorities even reportedly told one accused witch

Petugas bahkan dilaporkan meyakinkan seorang tertuduh

that she would be hanged if she did not confess, and freed if she did.

dia akan digantung jika tidak mengaku, dan akan bebas jika sebaliknya.

They were not particularly interested in thoroughly investigating the charges—

Mereka tak tertarik menyelidiki tuduhan-tuduhan itu sepenuhnya—

in keeping with their Church’s teachings, they preferred that the accused confessed,

demi menjaga ajaran Gerejanya, mereka lebih suka si tertuduh mengaku,

asked for forgiveness, and promised not to engage in more witchcraft.

meminta maaf, dan berjanji tak akan terlibat praktik sihir lagi.

The court accepted all kinds of dubious evidence,

Pengadilan menerima segala barang bukti yang meragukan,

including so-called “spectral evidence”

termasuk "bukti spektral"

in which the girls began raving when supposedly touched by invisible ghosts.

ketika para gadis kejang-kejang saat disentuh hantu tak kasat mata.

Complicating matters further, many of the jurors in the trials

Masalah makin rumit karena banyak juri di persidangan

were relatives of the accusers, compromising their objectivity.

merupakan keluarga penuduh, mengurangi objektivitas mereka.

Those who dared to speak out, such as Judge Nathanial Saltonstall,

Bagi yang berani berbicara, seperti Hakim Nathanial Saltonstall,

came under suspicion.

turut dicurigai.

Di musim semi 1693, lebih dari 100 orang telah ditahan,

By the spring of 1693, over a hundred people had been imprisoned,

and 14 women and 6 men had been executed.

dan 14 wanita serta 6 pria telah dieksekusi.

By this time, accusations were starting to spread beyond Salem

Seketika tuduhan mulai menyebar ke luar Salem

to neighboring communities, and even the most powerful figures were targets.

ke komunitas sekitar, bahkan tokoh berkuasa pun turut jadi sasaran.

When his own wife was accused,

Saat istrinya sendiri dituduh,

the governor of Massachusetts colony suspended the trials.

gubernur koloni Massachusetts menangguhkan persidangan.

Sentences were amended, prisoners released, and arrests stopped.

Putusan dirubah, para tahanan dilepas, dan penahanan dihentikan.

Some have speculated that the girls were suffering from hallucinations

Beberapa berspekulasi gadis-gadis itu mengalami halusinasi

caused by fungus;

yang disebabkan oleh jamur;

or a condition that caused swelling of the brain.

atau kondisi yang mengakibatkan pembengkakan pada otak.

But ultimately, the reason for their behavior is unknown.

Namun akhirnya, alasan perilaku mereka tak diketahui.

What we do know is that adults accepted wild accusations by children

Yang kita ketahui adalah orang dewasa menerima tuduhan liar anak-anak

as hard evidence.

sebagai bukti kuat.

Today, the Salem Witch Trials remain a cautionary tale

Hari ini, Pengadilan Penyihir Salem tetap dianggap kisah peringatan

akan bahaya opini publik dan pengkambinghitaman,

of the dangers of groupthink and scapegoating,

and the power of fear to manipulate human perception.

serta kekuatan rasa takut yang memanipulasi persepsi manusia.