Pentecostal Witchcraft: Neoliberal Possession and Demonic Discourse in Ivoirian Pentecostal Churches

Abstract

While Pentecostal churches derive their growing popularity in large part from their ability to combat witchcraft in society, I argue here that Pentecostalism is itself an alternative form of witchcraft discourse. As such, it falls prey to the same ambivalent relationship between power, success and social obligation that witchdoctors and politicians must face. I discuss Pentecostalism and witchcraft in terms of their relationship to neoliberal understandings of individual agency and economy in contrast to the moral economy of social obligations. At the same time I draw parallels between the ritual techniques of Pentecostalism and witchcraft cosmology, demonstrating that, despite Pentecostal churches' efforts to transcend the power of witchcraft, they in many cases become encompassed by witchcraft discourse, often taking on the appearance of witchcraft itself.

German Pentecostal Witches and Communists: The Violence of Purity and Sameness

“…Differently put, the radical horizons of orientation that were propagated directly by these German witches implied having dipped into forces of not only cosmological creation-in visions of the coming of Christ, or in communist ideals for the future; they also implied, for my interlocutors, that they were knowledgeable about practices of predation (see also West 2005 on witchcraft in Northern Mozambique). This dynamic bears some similarity to what Newell (2007) proposes, based on the research in Cote d'Ivoire: there, the Pentecostal church attacks on witchcraft, constituting its threat as real, meant that the church itself increasingly became encompassed by witchcraft themselves. In Honde, the phantasmagoric space of uroi was similarly appropriated by the Pentecostal Germans and, ultimately, they were consumed by it (see, again, Rio and Eriksen 2013 for a comparative case from Vanuatu).…”

Demons, Devils, and Witches in Pentecostal Port Vila: On Changing Cosmologies of Evil in Melanesia

“…But Pentecostalism has a total presence also for the nonconverts who relate to the claims, observations, and stories of spiritual and divine presence. In this chapter, we claim, in accordance with the general argument of this book, that an escalation of witchcraft and sorcery activity is integral to this Pentecostal world (see also Newell 2007). Furthermore, we argue that in order to understand the reason for the escalation, we need to understand the emergence of what we will call a new cosmology of evil.…”

“…It might easily be corrupted by evil, through the influence of overseas businessmen or missionaries, or from ancestral traditions brought in from the outer islands, but also from within the city itself in terms of envy, selfishness, and greed. These corruptive and disruptive influences are the foundation for the "Pentecostal witchcraft" (see Newell 2007), that the many new churches around Port Vila are focused on. They define this realm very widely and populate it with "demons," "spirits," (devil in Bislama), "black magic," "poisoning" with herbs, and sorcerous remedies such as su (instruments of homicidal sorcery).…”

Branhamist Kindoki: Ethnographic Notes on Connectivity, Technology, and Urban Witchcraft in Contemporary Kinshasa

“…"African witchcraft" (kindoki ya biso, 'our witchcraft'), by contrast, refers to the occult practices that witches and so-called traditional healers activate. Scholars of witchcraft in Accra (Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu 2007), Abidjan (Newell 2007), and Cameroon ) mention the same division. This distinction does not necessarily attribute spiritual powers to these objects; rather the concept of witchcraft here suggests "knowledge", "techne", and craftsmanship.…”