To many Westerners, the disappearance of African traditions of witchcraft might seem inevitable wuth continued modernization. In The Modernity of Witchcraft, Peter Geschieres uses his own experiences among the Maka and in other parts of eastern and southern Cameroon, as well as other anthropological research, to argue that contemporary ideas and practices of witchcraft are more a response to modern exigencies than a lingering cultural custom. The prevalence of witchcraft, especially in African politics and entrepreneurship, demonstrates the unlikely balance it has achieved with the forces of modernity. Geshiere explores why modern techniques and commodities, usually of Western Provenance, have become central in rumors of the occult.
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Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Original Language: French --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
About the Author
Peter Geschiere is Professor of African Anthropology at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands. He is the author of Pathways to Accumulation in Cameroon, Old Modes of Production and Capitalist Encroachment, and Village Communties and the State.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excelent book on the cultural implications of Witchcraft in central Africa,
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This review is from: The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa (Paperback)
This book is a little dated, 1997-98, but it is still an excellent resource about the implications of witchcraft in modern Africa. It covers legislation, persecution, and social views on Witchcraft. It also addresses the fact that the term "witchcraft" is a colonialist term, and is problematic in post-colonial Africa.
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Inside This Book
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This book originates from an experience at the beginning of my fieldwork among the Maka in southeast Cameroon in 1971. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nyongo witches, leveling side, former fellow villagers, witchcraft rumors, witchcraft discourse, witchcraft affairs, witchcraft notions, link between witchcraft, leveling impact, concrete sanctions, forest societies, new witchcraft, old notables, party summit, occult forces, regional trajectories, new inequalities, state authoritarianism, true obsession, daytime world, segmentary societies, modern changes, unified party Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nkal Selek, East Province, Pierre Mimbang, Achille Mbembe, Eric de Rosny, Jean-Pierre Warnier, Radio Trottoir, President Paul Biya, Robert Muchembled, Bertua Court of Appeal, Edwin Ardener, Jean Mabaya, Maka Grands, Miriam Goheen, National Assembly, Philippe Laburthe-Tolra, Pierre Menkambe New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
This book originates from an experience at the beginning of my fieldwork among the Maka in southeast Cameroon in 1971. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
nyongo witches, leveling side, former fellow villagers, witchcraft rumors, witchcraft discourse, witchcraft affairs, witchcraft notions, link between witchcraft, leveling impact, concrete sanctions, forest societies, new witchcraft, old notables, party summit, occult forces, regional trajectories, new inequalities, state authoritarianism, true obsession, daytime world, segmentary societies, modern changes, unified party Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Nkal Selek, East Province, Pierre Mimbang, Achille Mbembe, Eric de Rosny, Jean-Pierre Warnier, Radio Trottoir, President Paul Biya, Robert Muchembled, Bertua Court of Appeal, Edwin Ardener, Jean Mabaya, Maka Grands, Miriam Goheen, National Assembly, Philippe Laburthe-Tolra, Pierre Menkambe New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 43
books:
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41
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- RL E: Anthropology and Ethnography: Witchcraft Confessions and Accusations (Routledge Library Editions: Anthropology and Ethnography) by Mary Douglas on 6 pages
- Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande by E. E. Evans-Pritchard in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Unhappy Valley : Conflict in Kenya and Africa: Book One: State and class (Eastern African Studies ) by Bruce Berman in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Anthropology of Violence by David Riches in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- RL E: Anthropology and Ethnography: Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa (Routledge Library Editions: Anthropology and Ethnography) by John Middleton in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 43 books this book cites
- Magical Interpretations, Material Realities: Modernity, Witchcraft and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa by Henrietta L. Moore on 4 pages
- Transparency and Conspiracy: Ethnographies of Suspicion in the New World Order by Harry G. West in Front Matter, page 61, and page 122
- Africa's Armies: From Honor to Infamy--A History from 1791 to the Present by Robert Edgerton in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Politics of Evil: Magic, State Power and the Political Imagination in South Africa (African Studies) by Clifton Crais in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- For the City Yet to Come: Changing African Life in Four Cities by AbdouMaliq Simone in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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