Who believes in witches? Institutional flux in Sierra Leone

Bibliographic Data

ID6023403
AuthorsHuib Van De Grijspaarde, Maarten Voors (0000-0001-5907-3253, Centre for Development Economics), Erwin Bulte (0000-0001-9491-5268, Centre for Development Economics), P Richards (0000-0001-5813-0228, Wageningen University & Research, corresponding author)
Year2013
Volume112
Issue446
Pages22-47
Publication date2013-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrican Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-9909 • E-ISSN: 1468-2621
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/afraf/ads077
OpenAlexW2169795542
LanguageEN
Citations received9

Witchcraft has been documented across the globe. The widespread occurrence of such beliefs in modern Africa affects politics, economic development, and poverty alleviation. Anthropologists have analysed the semiotics of African witchcraft, but there is less information on distributional issues. An important question is which communities are most affected, and why? Using data from a survey of 182 villages and 2,443 household heads in the Gola Forest region of eastern Sierra Leone, we examine three manifestations of witchcraft – concerns, conflicts, and detection. We find that where patrimonial relations of agrarian production remain strong, and in settings where market forces are now well established, witchcraft is less of a concern. By contrast, witchcraft manifestations are higher in communities experiencing the competing pull of patrimonial and market norms. Witchcraft, we conclude, is a product of normative ambiguity.

Ethnology · Library science · Political science · Sierra leone · Sociology · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies