| Witchcraft, Power and Politics: Exploring the Occult in the South African Lowveld Contributor(s): Niehaus, Isak (Joint Author), Mohlala, Eliazaar (Joint Author), Shokaneo, Kally (Joint Author) |
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ISBN: 0745315585 ISBN-13: 9780745315584 Publisher: Pluto Press (UK) OUR PRICE: $38.00 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2001 Annotation: This is an extraordinary contemporary account of witchcraft andwitch-hunting in the modern world. A powerful ethnographic study ofwitch-hunting in 1980s South Africa - a period of rapid social change with the dismantling of apartheid and the reinstating of the ANC - this book demonstrates the extent to which witchcraft must be seen, not as a residue of 'traditional' culture but as part of a complex social drama which is deeply embedded in contemporary political and economic processes.Isak Niehaus provides the context for this fascinating study of witchcraftpractices. He shows how the witchcraft was politicized against the backdrop of the apartheid state, the liberation struggle and the establishment of the first post-apartheid regime all affected conceptions of witchcraft.Niehaus demonstrates how the ANC and other political groups used witchcraft beliefs to further their own agenda. He explores the increasingly conservative role of the chiefs and the Christian church. In the process, he reveals the fraught nature of intergenerational and gender relations.The result is a truly insightful and theoretically engaged account of amuch-studied but frequently misunderstood practice. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | History & Theory - General - Religion | Cults - History | Africa - South - Republic Of South Africa |
| Dewey: 133.430 |
| LCCN: 00-012646 |
| Series: Anthropology, Culture and Society (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.72" H x 5.43" W x 8.5" (0.90 lbs) 272 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1980's - Cultural Region - Southern Africa - Religious Orientation - New Age - Topical - New Age |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This is an extraordinary account of witchcraft and witch-hunting in the modern world. A powerful ethnographic study of witch-hunting in 1980s South Africa - a period of rapid social change - this book demonstrates the extent to which witchcraft must be seen, not as a residue of 'traditional' culture but as part of a complex social drama which is deeply embedded in contemporary political and economic processes. Isak Niehaus provides the context for this fascinating study of witchcraft practices. He shows how witchcraft was politicised against the backdrop of the apartheid state, the liberation struggle and the establishment of the first post-apartheid regime, which all affected conceptions of witchcraft. Niehaus demonstrates how the ANC and other political groups used witchcraft beliefs to further their own agenda. He explores the increasingly conservative role of the chiefs and the Christian church. In the process, he reveals the fraught nature of intergenerational and gender relations. The result is a truly insightful and theoretically engaged account of a much-studied but frequently misunderstood practice. |
Contributor Bio(s): Niehaus, Isak: - Isak Niehaus is a senior lecturer in anthropology at Brunel University London, where he currently coordinates the MSC program in Medical Anthropology. His books include Witchcraft, Power and Politics and Witchcraft and a Life in the New South Africa. |