article

The Atinga cult among the south-western Yoruba: a sociological analysis of a witch-finding movement

Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire, Série B sciences humaines18 • Published In 1956 • Pages: 315-334

By: Morton-Williams, Peter.

Abstract
This article is a study of a movement which originated in southern Ghana during the mid-1940's and which is ultimately derived from the rites of an earth-deity in the Northern Territories. The 'witches' caught by the witch-finders were generally old women past the child-bearing age. Morton-Williams believes that in this case it is likely that witchcraft fears and accusations are the cultural expression of the psychological impact on the individuals in Yoruba society, of the social relations generated by the Yoruba pattern of marriage, of anxiety and guilt in the women and ambivalent sentiments in the men. The author is with the West African Institute of Social and Economic Research, University College, Ibadan.
Subjects
Sorcery
Comparative evidence
Revelation and divination
Offenses against the person
Government regulation
Congregations
Prayers and sacrifices
Infant care
Functional and adaptational interpretations
Cult of the dead
Spirits and gods
culture
Yoruba
HRAF PubDate
2009
Region
Africa
Sub Region
Western Africa
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Timothy J. O'Leary ; 1959
Field Date
1950
Coverage Date
1940-1956
Coverage Place
Nigeria
Notes
P. Morton-Williams
Includes bibliographical references
LCCN
43021789
LCSH
Yoruba (African people)