A New York mother and grandmother were charged with setting a 6-year-old girl on fire during a voodoo ritual that caused life-threatening burns over 25 percent of the child's body, prosecutors said on Thursday.

The girl suffered physical and emotional scars after she was set ablaze with lighter fluid and kept at home overnight until another relative insisted she be taken to the hospital, prosecutors said.

During the performance of a Haitian voodoo practice ... the child's mother is alleged to have intentionally poured an accelerant over her young daughter's body, causing her to be engulfed in flames, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement.

The 29-year-old mother was charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child. If convicted, she faces up to 25 years in prison. The grandmother, 70, was charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. She faces up to 7 years if convicted.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Michelle Nichols)