Perspectives on African Witchcraft

by Mariano Pavanello (Editor)

Overview

This volume draws on a range of ethnographic and historical material to provide insight into witchcraft in sub-Saharan Africa. The chapters explore a variety of cultural contexts, with contributions focusing on Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia and Eritrean diaspora. The book considers the concept of witchcraft itself, the interrelations with religion and medicine, and the theoretical frameworks employed to explain the nature of modern African witchcraft representations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138217560
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/13/2016
Pages:	238
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

This volume draws on a range of ethnographic and historical material to provide insight into witchcraft in sub-Saharan Africa. The chapters explore a variety of cultural contexts, with contributions focusing on Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia and Eritrean diaspora. The book considers the concept of witchcraft itself, the interrelations with religion and medicine, and the theoretical frameworks employed to explain the nature of modern African witchcraft representations.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Agencies, Jurisdictions and Paradigms in the Shaping of Witchcraft 2. Witchcraft, Medicine and British Colonial Rule: Anthropological Analysis of Colonial Documents in the Gold Coast 3. Witchcraft and Dream. A Discussion of the Akan Case 4. Witchcraft and Religion in the Process of Formation of the Public Space in Ghana 5. Where Christianity is Ancient. Pentecostalism, Evil in the World, and the Break with the Past in Ethiopia 6. ‘Byesus Sh’m’. Breaking with the National Past in Eritrean and Ethiopian Pentecostal Churches in Rome 7. ‘I went out into the street…and now I fight for my life’. Street children and witchcraft accusations in Bangui (Central African Republic) 8. Fields of Experience: In Between Healing and Harming. On Conversation between Dogon Healers and Sorcerers