African Witchcraft and Otherness

African Witchcraft and Otherness

Author: Elias Kifon Bongmba

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2015-01-21

Total Pages: 254

ISBN-13: 0791490505

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This work of African philosophy and theology uses the thought of Emmanuel Levinas to provide an analysis of tfu (witchcraft) among the Wimbum people of Cameroon along with a critique of intersubjective relations. Taking an approach he calls "critical contextualism," author Elias Bongmba employs Levinas's philosophy, particularly the concept of the Other, to engage in cross-cultural philosophy that does not destroy the perspective of the culture under study. Insights from anthropology, African studies, and the author's own experiences are also important throughout the book. Bongmba discusses the cultural background of the Wimbum people and explores the concepts and terms used to discuss the acquisition of several categories of power generally described as tfu. Bongmba argues that when properly explored and understood, these terms refer to complex practices that involve power that can be used for good and power that can be abused. Drawing from Levinas, the author demonstrates that negative use of tfu constitutes a totalizing praxis. He goes on to endorse Levinas's call for a phenomenology of eros as a way of reconfiguring interpersonal relationships.


Book Synopsis African Witchcraft and Otherness by : Elias Kifon Bongmba

Download or read book African Witchcraft and Otherness written by Elias Kifon Bongmba and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2015-01-21 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work of African philosophy and theology uses the thought of Emmanuel Levinas to provide an analysis of tfu (witchcraft) among the Wimbum people of Cameroon along with a critique of intersubjective relations. Taking an approach he calls "critical contextualism," author Elias Bongmba employs Levinas's philosophy, particularly the concept of the Other, to engage in cross-cultural philosophy that does not destroy the perspective of the culture under study. Insights from anthropology, African studies, and the author's own experiences are also important throughout the book. Bongmba discusses the cultural background of the Wimbum people and explores the concepts and terms used to discuss the acquisition of several categories of power generally described as tfu. Bongmba argues that when properly explored and understood, these terms refer to complex practices that involve power that can be used for good and power that can be abused. Drawing from Levinas, the author demonstrates that negative use of tfu constitutes a totalizing praxis. He goes on to endorse Levinas's call for a phenomenology of eros as a way of reconfiguring interpersonal relationships.


Perspectives on African Witchcraft

Perspectives on African Witchcraft

Author: Mariano Pavanello

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-08

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1315439905

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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.


Book Synopsis Perspectives on African Witchcraft by : Mariano Pavanello

Download or read book Perspectives on African Witchcraft written by Mariano Pavanello and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-12-08 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.


African Religions

African Religions

Author: Bongmba

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Published: 2013-07-03

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9781405161763

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African Religions are not a homogenous group and there is no single defining feature. However, there are similarities and these traditional religions continue to survive and prosper many years after the first missionaries appeared. In this book, Elias Bongmba examines the colourful and dynamic religions of sub-Saharan communities such as the Wimbum, Yoruba, Zulu, Kikuyu, Ashanti, Dogon and Kongo. He adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the discussion of rituals, spirit possession, sacred space and death and immortality and considers the contribution made by African Religions and the challenges that lie ahead, particularly the HIV/AIDS crisis. Create new blurb: Additional Promotions ANZ Blurb Author Promotion Form Blurb Cover Blurb Short Blurb Web Coltrane Author details Coltrane Full Title Contents Short Pre Pub Reviews Proposal Author Blurb Proposal Main Blurb Readership Review List Review Quotes For Publicity Special Features Website AnnouncementClick to create Blurb from list above


Book Synopsis African Religions by : Bongmba

Download or read book African Religions written by Bongmba and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 2013-07-03 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African Religions are not a homogenous group and there is no single defining feature. However, there are similarities and these traditional religions continue to survive and prosper many years after the first missionaries appeared. In this book, Elias Bongmba examines the colourful and dynamic religions of sub-Saharan communities such as the Wimbum, Yoruba, Zulu, Kikuyu, Ashanti, Dogon and Kongo. He adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the discussion of rituals, spirit possession, sacred space and death and immortality and considers the contribution made by African Religions and the challenges that lie ahead, particularly the HIV/AIDS crisis. Create new blurb: Additional Promotions ANZ Blurb Author Promotion Form Blurb Cover Blurb Short Blurb Web Coltrane Author details Coltrane Full Title Contents Short Pre Pub Reviews Proposal Author Blurb Proposal Main Blurb Readership Review List Review Quotes For Publicity Special Features Website AnnouncementClick to create Blurb from list above


Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa

Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa

Author: John Middleton

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-11-05

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 113655145X

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Containing ten essays by anthropologists on the beliefs and practices associated with witches and sorcerers in Eastern Africa, the chapters in this book are all based on field research and new information which is studied within its wider social context. First published in 1963.


Book Synopsis Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa by : John Middleton

Download or read book Witchcraft and Sorcery in East Africa written by John Middleton and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Containing ten essays by anthropologists on the beliefs and practices associated with witches and sorcerers in Eastern Africa, the chapters in this book are all based on field research and new information which is studied within its wider social context. First published in 1963.


African Science

African Science

Author: Douglas J. Falen

Publisher:

Published: 2018-11-27

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 0299318907

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A sensitive investigation into Benin's occult world, in which magic, science, and the Vodun religion converge into a single universal force. Falen demonstrates how a deep engagement with another lived reality opens our minds and contributes to understanding across cultural difference.


Book Synopsis African Science by : Douglas J. Falen

Download or read book African Science written by Douglas J. Falen and published by . This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sensitive investigation into Benin's occult world, in which magic, science, and the Vodun religion converge into a single universal force. Falen demonstrates how a deep engagement with another lived reality opens our minds and contributes to understanding across cultural difference.


Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust

Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust

Author: Peter Geschiere

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2013-08-09

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 022604775X

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In Dante’s Inferno, the lowest circle of Hell is reserved for traitors, those who betrayed their closest companions. In a wide range of literatures and mythologies such intimate aggression is a source of ultimate terror, and in Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust, Peter Geschiere masterfully sketches it as a central ember at the core of human relationships, one brutally revealed in the practice of witchcraft. Examining witchcraft in its variety of forms throughout the globe, he shows how this often misunderstood practice is deeply structured by intimacy and the powers it affords. In doing so, he offers not only a comprehensive look at contemporary witchcraft but also a fresh—if troubling—new way to think about intimacy itself. Geschiere begins in the forests of southeast Cameroon with the Maka, who fear “witchcraft of the house” above all else. Drawing a variety of local conceptions of intimacy into a global arc, he tracks notions of the home and family—and witchcraft’s transgression of them—throughout Africa, Europe, Brazil, and Oceania, showing that witchcraft provides powerful ways of addressing issues that are crucial to social relationships. Indeed, by uncovering the link between intimacy and witchcraft in so many parts of the world, he paints a provocative picture of human sociality that scrutinizes some of the most prevalent views held by contemporary social science. One of the few books to situate witchcraft in a global context, Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust is at once a theoretical tour de force and an empirically rich and lucid take on a difficult-to-understand spiritual practice and the private spaces throughout the world it so greatly affects.


Book Synopsis Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust by : Peter Geschiere

Download or read book Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust written by Peter Geschiere and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2013-08-09 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Dante’s Inferno, the lowest circle of Hell is reserved for traitors, those who betrayed their closest companions. In a wide range of literatures and mythologies such intimate aggression is a source of ultimate terror, and in Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust, Peter Geschiere masterfully sketches it as a central ember at the core of human relationships, one brutally revealed in the practice of witchcraft. Examining witchcraft in its variety of forms throughout the globe, he shows how this often misunderstood practice is deeply structured by intimacy and the powers it affords. In doing so, he offers not only a comprehensive look at contemporary witchcraft but also a fresh—if troubling—new way to think about intimacy itself. Geschiere begins in the forests of southeast Cameroon with the Maka, who fear “witchcraft of the house” above all else. Drawing a variety of local conceptions of intimacy into a global arc, he tracks notions of the home and family—and witchcraft’s transgression of them—throughout Africa, Europe, Brazil, and Oceania, showing that witchcraft provides powerful ways of addressing issues that are crucial to social relationships. Indeed, by uncovering the link between intimacy and witchcraft in so many parts of the world, he paints a provocative picture of human sociality that scrutinizes some of the most prevalent views held by contemporary social science. One of the few books to situate witchcraft in a global context, Witchcraft, Intimacy, and Trust is at once a theoretical tour de force and an empirically rich and lucid take on a difficult-to-understand spiritual practice and the private spaces throughout the world it so greatly affects.


Magical Interpretations, Material Realities

Magical Interpretations, Material Realities

Author: Henrietta L. Moore

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2003-09-02

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1134575572

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'Magical Interpretations, Material Realities brings together many of today's best scholars of contemporary Africa. The theme of "witchcraft" has long been associated with exoticizing portraits of a "traditional" Africa, but this volume takes the question of occult as a point of entry into the moral politics of some very modern African realities.' - James Ferguson, University of California, USA 'These essays bear eloquent testimony to the ongoing presence and power of the occult imaginary, and of the intimate connection between global capitalism and local cosmology, in postcolonial Africa. A major contribution to scholarship that aims to rework the divide between modernity and tradition.' - Charles Piot, Duke University, USA 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.


Book Synopsis Magical Interpretations, Material Realities by : Henrietta L. Moore

Download or read book Magical Interpretations, Material Realities written by Henrietta L. Moore and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-09-02 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Magical Interpretations, Material Realities brings together many of today's best scholars of contemporary Africa. The theme of "witchcraft" has long been associated with exoticizing portraits of a "traditional" Africa, but this volume takes the question of occult as a point of entry into the moral politics of some very modern African realities.' - James Ferguson, University of California, USA 'These essays bear eloquent testimony to the ongoing presence and power of the occult imaginary, and of the intimate connection between global capitalism and local cosmology, in postcolonial Africa. A major contribution to scholarship that aims to rework the divide between modernity and tradition.' - Charles Piot, Duke University, USA 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.


The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to African Religions

The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to African Religions

Author: Elias Kifon Bongmba

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2012-05-21

Total Pages: 634

ISBN-13: 1405196904

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The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to African Religions brings together a team of international scholars to create a single-volume resource on the religious beliefs and practices of the peoples in Africa. Offers broad coverage of issues relating to African religions, considering experiences in indigenous, Christian, and Islamic traditions across the continent Contributors are from a variety of fields, ensuring the volume offers multidisciplinary perspectives Explores methodological approaches to religion from anthropological, philosophical, and historical perspectives Provides insights into the historical developments in African religions, as well as contemporary issues such as the development of African-initiated churches, neo traditional religions, and Pentecostalism Discusses important topics at the intersection of culture and religion in Africa, including the arts, health, politics, globalization, gender relations, and the economy


Book Synopsis The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to African Religions by : Elias Kifon Bongmba

Download or read book The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to African Religions written by Elias Kifon Bongmba and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-05-21 with total page 634 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to African Religions brings together a team of international scholars to create a single-volume resource on the religious beliefs and practices of the peoples in Africa. Offers broad coverage of issues relating to African religions, considering experiences in indigenous, Christian, and Islamic traditions across the continent Contributors are from a variety of fields, ensuring the volume offers multidisciplinary perspectives Explores methodological approaches to religion from anthropological, philosophical, and historical perspectives Provides insights into the historical developments in African religions, as well as contemporary issues such as the development of African-initiated churches, neo traditional religions, and Pentecostalism Discusses important topics at the intersection of culture and religion in Africa, including the arts, health, politics, globalization, gender relations, and the economy


Encounters with Witchcraft

Encounters with Witchcraft

Author: Norman N. Miller

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2012-01-30

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 1438443579

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A renowned authority on East Africa examines the effects of witchcraft beliefs on African culture, politics, and family life.


Book Synopsis Encounters with Witchcraft by : Norman N. Miller

Download or read book Encounters with Witchcraft written by Norman N. Miller and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2012-01-30 with total page 243 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A renowned authority on East Africa examines the effects of witchcraft beliefs on African culture, politics, and family life.


African Magic

African Magic

Author: Heidi Holland

Publisher: Penguin Random House South Africa

Published: 2012-09-26

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 0143527851

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Africa's traditional beliefs - including ancestor worship, divination and witchcraft - continue to dominate its spiritual influences. Readers in search of a better understanding of the continent will be enriched by this book's timely exploration of sub-Saharan Africa's natural philosophy. The author's meticulous research reveals that, whereas technology-driven Western societies prefer to rely largely on logical explanations, many Africans continue to obey their intuition - trusting in images, dreams and divination to rationalise misfortune and illness. African Magic explains why so many Africans understand the relationship between people and unfortunate events not through the Western concept of chance in the case of accidents, or germ theory in the case of illness, but through belief in witchcraft. The book records a collection of true stories which illustrate this traditional belief system. Included are the famous Malawian diviner whose prophecies were considered so accurate that people flocked from neighbouring countries to consult him; a group of Western-trained Mozambican psychologists who successfully refined cross-cultural therapy by working with traditional healers to combat post-traumatic stress syndrome among child soldiers; Ghanaian and Zimbabwean 'witches' living in a nightmare world where popular belief becomes their reality; and a Zambian archbishop whose attempt to embrace traditional African beliefs provoked serious conflict within his Christian church.


Book Synopsis African Magic by : Heidi Holland

Download or read book African Magic written by Heidi Holland and published by Penguin Random House South Africa. This book was released on 2012-09-26 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Africa's traditional beliefs - including ancestor worship, divination and witchcraft - continue to dominate its spiritual influences. Readers in search of a better understanding of the continent will be enriched by this book's timely exploration of sub-Saharan Africa's natural philosophy. The author's meticulous research reveals that, whereas technology-driven Western societies prefer to rely largely on logical explanations, many Africans continue to obey their intuition - trusting in images, dreams and divination to rationalise misfortune and illness. African Magic explains why so many Africans understand the relationship between people and unfortunate events not through the Western concept of chance in the case of accidents, or germ theory in the case of illness, but through belief in witchcraft. The book records a collection of true stories which illustrate this traditional belief system. Included are the famous Malawian diviner whose prophecies were considered so accurate that people flocked from neighbouring countries to consult him; a group of Western-trained Mozambican psychologists who successfully refined cross-cultural therapy by working with traditional healers to combat post-traumatic stress syndrome among child soldiers; Ghanaian and Zimbabwean 'witches' living in a nightmare world where popular belief becomes their reality; and a Zambian archbishop whose attempt to embrace traditional African beliefs provoked serious conflict within his Christian church.