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A B S T R A C T : Accusations, trials and executions of witches and sell-outs frequently occurred at the MPLA's Eastern Front in Angola (1966-75). These events do not fit the general self-portrayal of the MPLA as a socialist, secular movement that was supported by the Angolan population without recourse to force. The people interviewed, mostly rural civilians from south-east Angola who lived under MPLA control, suggested many links between treason and witchcraft, yet at the same time differentiated between these accusations. Witchcraft cases were often initiated by civilian families and the accused were mostly people who had a longstanding reputation of being a witch. While the MPLA leadership was often suspicious of the accusations of witchcraft, many civilians regarded the trials of witches as more legitimate than those of treason. Civilians held that the accusation of treason was often used by the guerrillas to get rid of political or personal rivals and/or to control the population. The accusations showed few patterns and cannot be interpreted as deliberate attempts to overcome structural forms of domination, of chiefs over followers, men over women or old over young.K E Y W O R D S : Angola, independence, witchcraft.

Abstract:This article shows the links between naming practices and war. The focus is on MPLA war names used during the Angolan struggle for independence. These names are framed in the wider context of the relations between language and war. In many African contexts, names are not singular and fixed, but may change with every personal transformation. Entering the life of a soldier constitutes just such a drastic change. The article shows that through war names, a kaleidoscope of issues may be addressed, including the relations between language, rank, and power, personal history and popular culture, spirit possession and resurrection, self-description and labeling, writing and legitimacy, and secrecy and identity.

Si le concept de communauté demeure largement associé à sa dimension géographique, les études sur le transnationalisme dans les années 1990 ont conduit envisager la communauté comme un réseau plutôt que comme un lieu. C'est dans cette optique que s'inscrit cette contribution, en développant l'idée de « chaînes de personnes » liées entre elles pour former une communauté. Les recherches menées au Cameroun et en Angola/Namibie montrent l'ancienneté d'une telle notion de communauté, dont les membres ont toujours été considérés comme des chaînes d'individus dans des lieux divers. Au fur et à mesure des contacts qu'ils établissent les uns avec les autres, les individus construisent et entretiennent des relations communautaires. Les nouvelles technologies de l'information et de la communication permettent de se focaliser sur la mobilité et les interrelations entre les personnes à travers leurs histoires de vie et la manière dont ils utilisent ces des nouvelles technologies au quotidien. Mots-clés : Communicationmobilitécommune-Angola/Namibie-Cameroun. MIRJAM DE BRUIJN, INGE BRINKMAN, "Communicating Africa", Researching Mobile Communities, Communication Technologies and Social Transformation in Angola and Cameroon Although communities are still often conceptually bound to geographical place, transnational studies in the 1990s have led to viewing a community more as a network than as a place This contribution expands this argument by developing the idea of "strings of people", with connections and communities being intrinsically linked. Based on material from Cameroon and Angola/Namibia, we argue that such notions of community have been in existence for a long time and that people have always viewed their communities as strings of people in various locations. As people contact each other, they construct and/or maintain community ties. Focusing on the life histories of mobility and connections, and on the ways in which people are making new technologies fit into their daily lives, this article discusses relations between new ICTs, community and mobility.