The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa

The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa

by PeterGeschiere (Author), JanetRoitman (Translator)

Synopsis

In the Modernity of Witchcraft, Peter Geschiere 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. Geschiere explores why modern techniques and commodities, usually of Western provenance, have become central in rumors of the occult.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 311
Publisher: University of Virginia Press
Published: 30 Jun 1997

ISBN 10: 0813917034
ISBN 13: 9780813917030

Author Bio

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.