Daughters of magic

Dates

2019 - 2020
Author

Johanna Maria Fritz
Location Romania
Recognition

Main Prize Shortlist - PhMuseum 2020 Women Photographers Grant

Mihaela Minca, is the most powerful witch in Romania. For her kind, being a witch is not a job, but a calling. Mihaela is a witch when she gets up, and also when she goes to sleep. It's a tradition: her mother and grandmother were already witches.

Together with her daughters Cassandra and Anna and her daughter-in-law Larissa, she runs a flourishing business: from love charms to curses, they have everything on offer; they receive inquiries from all over the world via the Internet. In the midst of their tightly-knit community, this Roma family runs a business that draws profit from magic and mysticism — for them a very natural part of life. Their witchcraft is also an expression of female strength within an everyday culture shaped by men.

Flowers to be thrown into the river Chitila during a witches’ ritual. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

Mihaela at a baptism party held by friends in one of the event halls in Bucha- rest, Romania, 2019.

Mihaela prepares a fish for dinner at her house. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

© Johanna Maria Fritz - Image from the Daughters of magic photography project

Ana and her son Joseph in their room, in the house of the Minca family. Ana is the daughter of the famous witch Mihaela Minca. Each daughter born in this family can become a witch. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2020.

The Mercedes star on Mihaela’s steering wheel is decorated with rhinestones. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

Larissa and Mihaela stand beside the river Chitila during a ritual. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

The pigeon was brought to Mihaela for a love spell, by two young men from Hungary. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

The burning of brooms is a staple part of many rituals. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

Mihaela at the graveyard where her mother is buried. Chitila, Romania, 2020.

Larissa and Ana almost always use the internet to communicate with their customers. This has enabled them to build up a worldwide clientele. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

A church in the countryside. Romania, 2019.

Cassandra in her parents’ house, a day before the birth of her first child. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2020.

Larissa’s son during the witches’ baptism in Mihaela’s house. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

Ana and Mihaela gather elderflowers for their ritual by the roadside. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

The crucifix was decorated with plants, for the nocturnal ritual. Mogoșoaia, Romania 2019.

Mihaela during a family ritual at Christmas. Mogoșoaia, Romania 2019.

Cassandra (21), Mihaela’s second daughter, holds up an ox’s heart that the women have used in a ritual. Cernica, Romania 2019.

Ana, Larissa, and Cassandra during a love ritual at Lake Cernica. Cernica, Romania, 2019.

Ana’s daughter Bianca (7), in the house of her grandmother Mihaela. Mogoșoaia, Romania, 2019.

Daughters of magic

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