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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
social sciences
Who believes in witches? Institutional flux in Sierra leone
African Affairs, Volume 112, No. 446, Article ads077, Year 2013
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Description
Witchcraft has been documented across the globe. The widespread occurrence of such beliefs in modern Africa affects politics, economic development, and poverty alleviation. Anthropologists have analysed the semiotics of African witchcraft, but there is less information on distributional issues. An important question is which communities are most affected, and why? Using data from a survey of 182 villages and 2,443 household heads in the Gola Forest region of eastern Sierra Leone, we examine three manifestations of witchcraft - concerns, conflicts, and detection. We find that where patrimonial relations of agrarian production remain strong, and in settings where market forces are now well established, witchcraft is less of a concern. By contrast, witchcraft manifestations are higher in communities experiencing the competing pull of patrimonial and market norms. Witchcraft, we conclude, is a product of normative ambiguity. © The Author 2012. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal African Society. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Van De Grijspaarde, Huib
Unknown Affiliation
Voors, Maarten
Unknown Affiliation
Bulte, Erwin H.
Unknown Affiliation
Richards, P.
Unknown Affiliation
Statistics
Citations: 17
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1093/afraf/ads077
ISSN:
00019909
e-ISSN:
14682621
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Approach
Quantitative
Study Locations
Sierra Leone