Diablo III Witch Doctor
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| Monk | Wizard | Demon Hunter | Barbarian |
Most believe the fearsome witch doctor of the umbaru race a
legend, but I have seen one in battle with my own eyes. And it
was difficult to believe, even then. He dispatched his opponent
with terrifying precision, assaulting his victim's mind and body
with elixirs and powders that evoked fires, explosions, and
poisonous spirits. As if these assaults were not enough, the
witch doctor also had at his command the ability to summon
undead creatures from the netherworld to rend the flesh from his
enemy's body.
I came upon this rare display as I ventured deep into the
interior of the dense Torajan jungles that cover the southern
tip of the great eastern continent, in the vast area known as
the Teganze, with the goal of seeking out the tribes that reside
there. This area is extremely secluded, and heretofore unseen by
foreign eyes. I was fortunate to befriend the witch doctor I saw
in battle, and, through him, his tribe: the Tribe of the Five
Hills.
The culture of the umbaru of the lower Teganze is fascinating
and perplexing to those hailing from more civilized walks of
life. For instance, the Tribe of the Five Hills frequently
engages in tribal warfare with both the Clan of the Seven Stones
and the Tribe of the
Clouded Valley, but these are matters of
ritual and not of conquest. I had heard tales that these wars
are waged in order that the victors may replenish their supply
of raw materials for the human sacrifices that their
civilization revolves around, and when I timidly asked my hosts
more about this topic, I must admit their laughter made me fear
for my safety. However, through stumbled attempts at
communication of such complex topics as what constitutes heroism
and honour in their society, I gathered that only those taken in
battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice, much to my
relief.
Upon further discussions with my hosts, I discovered that these tribes define themselves by their belief in the Mbwiru Eikura, which roughly translates to "The Unformed Land" (this is an imprecise translation, as this concept is completely foreign to our culture and language). This belief holds that the true, sacred reality is veiled behind the physical one we normally experience. Their vitally important public ceremonies are centred upon sacrifices to the life force that flows from their gods, who inhabit the Unformed Land, into this lesser physical realm.
The witch doctors are finely attuned to this Unformed Land
and are able to train their minds to perceive this reality
through a combination of rituals and the use of selected roots
and herbs found in the jungles. They call the state in which
they interact with this other world the Ghost Trance.
Alongside the primacy of the belief in the life force and the
Unformed Land, the second most sacred belief of the tribes is
their philosophy of self-sacrifice and non-individuality, of
suppressing one's self-interest for the good of the tribe. This
idea, so foreign to our culture, struck me as something I wished
to delve into much more deeply.
Unfortunately, there was intense social upheaval among the
tribes due to an incident involving their most current war
(inasmuch as I could discern in the ensuing bedlam), and the
charged atmosphere warranted my quick departure before I could
ask anything further of my hosts.
