The modernity of witchcraft
Subtitle: politics and the occult in postcolonial Africa = Sorcellerie et politique en Afrique : la viande des autres
By: Peter Geschiere ; translated by Peter Geschiere and Janet Roitman.
Publisher: University Press of Virginia
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Charlottesville [Va.]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 311
Subjects: Maka (African people) -- Social conditions; Maka (African people) -- Politics and government; Maka (African people) -- Religion; Witchcraft -- Cameroon; Cameroon -- Social conditions; Cameroon -- Politics and government
Description: In the Modernity of Witchcraft, Peter Geschiere uses his own experiences among the Maka and in other parts of eastern and southern Cameroon, as well as other anthropological research, to argue that contemporary ideas and practices of witchcraft are more a response to modern exigencies than a lingering cultural custom. The prevalence of witchcraft, especially in African politics and entrepreneurship, demonstrates the unlikely balance it has achieved with the forces of modernity.

Geschiere explores why modern techniques and commodities, usually of Western provenance, have become central in rumors of the occult.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 283-299) and index.