Chapter 9: The Discourse of �Ritual Murder� (original) (raw)
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The Discourse of 'Ritual Murder': Popular Reaction to Political Leaders in Botswana
Social Analysis
In re-engaging the classic theme of sorcery and witchcraft in African anthropology, it is asserted that something new is happening in terms of the manifestation and magnitude of the phenomena that are commonly included in these notions. 1 Geschiere, for one, claims that 'nearly everywhere on the continent the state and politics seem to be true breeding grounds for modern transformations of witchcraft and sorcery' (1999: 6). And Jean and John Comaroff (1999) speak of escalations of what they label 'occult economies' in postapartheid South Africa, escalations they also trace in other parts of the world, including the West and the post-communist East. Although the intensity and public character of what seems to be going on in various parts of Africa apparently resemble the witch-hunting that took place during the colonial era, it has been argued that 'witchcraft' in post-colonial times is situated in a new kind of context that transforms it into something else. The Comaroffs, for example, maintain that '[i]n its late twentieth-century guise … witchcraft is a finely calibrated gauge of the impact of global culture and economic forces in local relations' (Comaroff and Comaroff 1993: xxviii-xxix). And Geschiere (1999: 214) enquires 'why there is such a strong tendency in many parts of post-colonial Africa to interpret modern processes of change in terms of "witchcraft"'. He argues that 'the paradoxical combination between, on the one hand, "globalization" with its connotations of open-endedness and unboundedness, and, on the other, "identity" seems to require definition and clarification that can help us to understand why "witchcraft" or related moral concerns play such a prominent part in people's perception of modernity' (ibid.: 216). These statements are thought-provoking when addressing such a case as the present one: the heightening concern amongst people in Botswana about what is conceived as 'ritual murder'. Generalising notions of 'globalisation' and 'modernity' raise, however, a number of theoretical difficulties, amongst others because of their lack of analytical distinction. Case studies help to overcome some of these difficulties, as they speak more specifically about these notions
2019
The analysis of African occult belief systems provides a unique example for demonstrating that seemingly outdated and exotic African modes of thought, such as the belief in magic and witchcraft, are modern and have significant impact on social, economic and political structures. Official approaches, designed to cope with the problems of witchcraft violence in Africa, have since the advent of colonial rule been based on eurocentric views and colonial jurisdiction, legitimised by Western social science. These answers are inadequate; in fact, they constitute part of the problem itself. African religions could provide a framework for valuable indigenous solutions to actual problems of contemporary life, including the problem of witchcraft violence. Besides, they might, under certain conditions, provide the outside world with an inspiring new dimension of philosophic thought and emancipative action, for example, within the realm of conflict resolution and reconciliation. However, even in...
Journal of Modern African Studies, vol. 41, Nr. 2, pp. 217-245 [author's version], 2003
ABSTRACT & RÉSUMÉ: The strange collusion between occult belief systems and different trans-national social networks, embedded in specific transformations of local and global modes of production, results in unique but reinforcing modifications of witchcraft belief, its underlying structures and its impact on the process of democratisation. The amazing range of possible results has been indicated by the analysis of two outstanding examples of witchcraft violence in South Africa in times of transition: in the former homelands of Venda and Lebowa, seemingly 'traditional' elements of witchcraft accusations, mediated by a misguided struggle for liberation, stimulated the sympathetic attention of stakeholders beyond the local setting. On the other hand, the occult base of violence in the Transkei became so blurred by involvement of 'modern' elements of globalised markets of violence that it was hardly visible any more, although undercover its repressive effects were still very much alive. These different roots of witchcraft violence had serious repercussions on conflict resolution and genuine reconciliation, the base for any sustainable democratisation and development. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RÉSUMÉ: [ La Sorcellerie et les espaces sociales transnationales - la sorcellerie, la réconciliation et le développement dans le processus de transition de l'Afrique du Sud ] - La collusion étrange entre les systèmes de croyances occultes et les différents réseaux sociaux transnationaux, intégré dans les transformations spécifiques des modes de production locaux et mondiaux, à contribuer au renforcement de croyance de la sorcellerie, ainsi que à la modifications de ses structures sous-jacentes et de son impact sur le processus de démocratisation. L'incroyable éventail de résultats possibles a été indiqué par l'analyse de deux exemples remarquables de la sorcellerie en Afrique du Sud en période de transition : dans les anciens homelands du Venda et Lebowa, des éléments « traditionnels » de l’accusation de sorcellerie, médiée par une lutte malavisée pour la libération, ont stimulé l'attention sympathique des parties prenantes au-delà du cadre local. D'autre part, la base occulte de la violence dans le Transkei est devenue tellement floue, à cause de la participation des éléments «modernes» de la mondialisation des marchés de violence, qu'il était à peine plus visible, bien que ses effets répressifs couvert étaient encore très vivante. Ces différentes racines de violence de la sorcellerie ont eu des répercussions graves sur la résolution des conflits et la réconciliation véritable, qui constituent la base de toute démocratisation et du développement durable. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Image: National Conference on Witchcraft Violence in South Africa, 1998. Source: front page of conference report, Commission on Gender Equality, 1999 (cover of the final report)
HAU: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 2020
What are the current trends in the study of witchcraft in Africa? Twenty years ago, the “modernity of witchcraft” approach was very influential. Although key texts from that framework are still often cited, its heyday seems to have passed. This overview of scholarly debates about witchcraft in Africa after 2010 shows three trends: the attempt to explain witchcraft, which stands in a long anthropological history; the focus on human rights, mainly by authors from fields beyond anthropology; and, influenced by the ontological turn, efforts to take witchcraft seriously. The article gives a critical overview of these current trends in the study of witchcraft in Africa, placing them in the context of theoretical perspectives that have preceded them, as well as looking to the future.
Recent anthropological and religious, especially Christian, discourses on African witchcraft normalize the witchcraft imagination on the continent by failing to show how damaging the imagination has been to Africa's move toward modernization. While anthropologists normalize it by studying the phenomenon ahistorically and by rationalizing and reinterpreting it, scholars and preachers of African Christianity see it as the context necessary for the growth of Christianity on the continent. However, this normalization of the witchcraft imagination stifles the African imagination because it does not encourage Africans to think in scientifijic ways that may be more helpful in the transformation of the continent in our modern world. This article is an attempt to liberate the African imagination by critiquing the witchcraft imagination from a rational and theological perspective. It also proposes policies that need to be taken in order to overcome this ruinous imagination and facilitate Africa's dignifijied participation in the modern world.
The modernity of witchcraft: examples from Cameroon
Leidschrift Historisch Tijdschrift, 1994
One of the most striking aspects of everyday life in post-colonial Africa is the pervasiveness of 'sorcery', 'witchcraft', 'sorcellerie' or whatever term people use to indicate the occult. 1 Discourses on the occult forces seem to pervade all aspects of society, especially the more 'modern' ones. Whether it concerns football matches or national politics, the success of new entrepreneurs or the failure of a development project, it seems hardly possible to discuss what 'really' happened without referring to these discourses. To many western observers, this 'modernity' of witchcraft may come as a surprise. The idea that such beliefs are 'traditional' obstacles which will fade away under the impact of 'Modernization' or 'Development' is very tenacious: despite all the critique of the modernization paradigm, this basic idea keeps surfacing. Ho wever, if one wants to understand why these discourses remain so relevant in present-day Africa, it is important to emphasize that far from being merely 'traditional', they do address and interpret the modern changes in ail sorts of ways. It is true that in some contexts, these discourses can have a 'traditionalising' tenor, opposing development and change. But it seems that there are also all sorts of articulations possible: these discourses seem to intertwine very easily-be it following different patterns-with new developments, such as the pénétration of money, the émergence of wagelabour and the spread of new consumption goods, but also with new forms of individualism and violence, or whatever form 'modernity' may take in Africa.
2001
This volume sets out recent thinking on witchcraft in Africa, paying particular attention to variations in meanings and practices. It examines the way different people in different contexts are making sense of what 'witchcraft' is and what it might mean. Using recent ethnographic materials from across the continent, the volume explores how witchcraft articulates with particular modern settings for example: the State in Cameroon; Pentecostalism in Malawi; the university system in Nigeria and the IMF in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Tanzania. The editors provide a timely overview and reconsideration of long-standing anthropological debates about 'African witchcraft', while simultaneously raising broader concerns about the theories of the western social sciences.