Sorcery, Totem, and Jihad in African Philosophy (Suspensions: Contemporary Middle Eastern and Islamicate Thought)

"In this significant new work in African Philosophy, Christopher Wise explores deconstruction's historical indebtedness to Egypto-African civilization and its relevance in Islamicate Africa today. He does so by comparing deconstructive and African thought on the spoken utterance, nothingness, conjuration, the oath or vow, occult sorcery, blood election, violence, circumcision, totemic inscription practices, animal metamorphosis and sacrifice, the Abrahamic, fratricide, and jihad. Situated against the backdrop of the Ansar Dine's recent jihad in Northern Mali, Sorcery, Totem and Jihad in African Philosophy examines the root causes of the conflict and offers insight into the Sahel's ancient, complex, and vibrant civilization. This book also demonstrates the relevance of deconstructive thought in the African setting, especially the writing of the Franco-Algerian philosopher Jacques Derrida."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover page 1 Halftitle page 2 Series page 3 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Dedication page 6 Contents 8 Series Foreword 9 Introduction: Deconstructing Azawad 10 Race and blood ideology in the Sahel 13 Chomsky, Keenan, and US foreign policy 19 Keenan and Cartesian ethics 21 Deconstruction and ethics 24 The nobleman and the négraille 28 Conclusion 32 1 The Plundering of Mali, Past and Present 34 The fall of the north, past and present 36 France to the rescue 39 Leo Africanus, the European Arab 42 The Meccan sharif of Timbuktu 43 The blood of the Askiyas 44 Conclusion 46 2 The African Trace 48 Nyama, an occult materialism 49 Nyama, heka, and psychē 53 Nyama and the body’s fluids 58 Nyama, gender, and the musical instrument 60 Nyama and the apparition of the inapparent 62 Conclusion 65 3 The Sahelian Specter 66 Augustine and the Egyptian trace 67 Hauntology and the Sahelian trace 69 Orality-literacy contrasts in the Sahel 71 Major Denham’s reading lesson 73 Specters of the Askiyas 76 The Sahelian leviathan 82 Nyama and violence 86 The fecal epiphany 90 The tombs of Timbuktu and the work of mourning 93 Conclusion 99 4 The Duty of Violence 100 The heart of the mother 104 The tears of the mother 108 Ouologuem and the messianic remnant 112 Tall, Ogotemmeli, and circumcision 116 Ouologuem and The Duty of Violence 120 Conclusion 123 5 Nyama, Fratricide, and Reconciliation 126 Occult sorcery in the Tarikh al fattash and the fall of the Songhay Dynasty 127 La genèse, nyama, and reconciliation 135 La genèse, hostipitality, and the covenant 138 La genèse and the myth of blood purity 143 La genèse and the new republic 145 Timbuktu, fraternal conflict, and animal sacrifice 147 Sorcery, fetishism, and jihad in Sissako’s Timbuktu 155 Conclusion 157 6 What Is To Be Done? 160 Hemingway’s “bipartisan hero” and Mali 162 The French occupation of northern Mali 166 Conclusion 168 Epilogue Zongo, Sankara, and the Burkinabe Revolution 170 Notes 176 Bibliography 202 Index 212