Witchcraft, Power And Politics: Exploring the Occult in the South African Lowveld (Anthropology, Culture and Society)

This is an extraordinary contemporary 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 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 witchcraft practices. 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 a much-studied but frequently misunderstood practice. Introduction: Exploring Witchcraft, Power And Politics -- Society, Cosmology And The Making Of Witchcraft: Continuity And Change In The History Of Green Valley, 1864-1995 -- Witches Of The Lowveld And Their Familiars: Conceptions Of Duality, Power And Desire -- Witchcraft And Whites: Further Notes On The Symbolic Constitution Of Occult Power -- Witches, Cognates, Affines And Neighbours: The Changing Distribution Of Witchcraft Accusations -- 'a Witch Has No Horn': Social Tensions In The Subjective Reality Of Witchcraft -- Witch-hunting And Political Legitimacy: Chiefs, Comrades And The Elimination Of Evil, 1930-1989 -- The Anc's Dilemma: The Symbolic Politics Of Four Witch-hunts In The 1990s -- Conclusion: Witchcraft And The Postcolonial State -- Appendix A. Fieldwork Revisited -- Appendix B. Public Perception Map Of South Africa -- Appendix C. The Witchcraft Suppression Act No. 3 Of 1957 -- Appendix D. Details Of The Alleged Witches Violently Attacked, Green Valley, 1971-1985 -- Appendix E. Details Pertaining To The Victims Of Witch-hunts Organised By The Comrades, Green Valley, 1986-1989 -- Appendix F. Details Of Those Accused Of Witchcraft, Green Valley, The Christmas Witch-hunts, 1990 -- Appendix G. Details Of Those Accused Of Witchcraft, New Lines, Arthur's Seat, October 1993 -- Appendix H. Details Of Those Accused Of Witchcraft, Rooiboklaagte, November 1994 -- Appendix I. The Witchcraft Control Act As Proposed By The Commission Of Inquiry Into Witchcraft Violence And Ritual Murders In The Northern Province Of The Republic Of South Africa. Isak Niehaus, With Eliazaar Mohlala And Kally Shokane. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 228-240) And Index. Annotation. This is an extraordinary contemporary 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