essay
On the articulation of witchcraft and modes of production among the Nupe, northern Nigeria
Hexenglauben im modernen Afrika : Hexen, Hexenverfolgung und magische Vorstellungswelten = Witchcraft in modern Africa : witches, witch-hunts and magical imaginaries / Burghart Schmidt, Rolf Schute (Hg • Hamburg • Published In 2007 • Pages: 55-87
By: Kohnert, Dirk.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this paper Kohnert discusses the development of witchcraft accusation over time as an indicator of social and political conflict within Nupe society. A long-term study of the Nupe state since pre-colonial times would seem to indicate a close relationship between the content and form of witchcraft accusations based on the type of life and work of Nupe individuals, serving different and often antagonistic ends of the persons involved. According to the author there is much confusion in the literature about seeming contradictions in the functions of witchcraft beliefs that could be avoided by studying the relationship between "…modes of production, witchcraft accusations, and the underlying vested interests of the ruling powers" (p. 55).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Sorcery
- Congregations
- Reviews and critiques
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Trial procedure
- Sociocultural trends
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Nupe
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2014
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Africa
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Western Africa
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 2012
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1975, 1982, 1990
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1975-1990
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Bida Emirate, Niger state, Nigeria
- NotesAdditional notes
- Dirk Kohnert
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Nupe (African people)