Witch-hunting and political legitimacy: continuity and change in Green Valley, Lebowa, 1930–91

Abstract

With reference to the history of the village of Green Valley in the South African bantustan of Lebowa over the past six decades, this article examines the complex relation-ship between witch-hunting and political action. I argue against common notions in anthropological literature that political actors engage in witch-hunting in an attempt to mystify exploitation or to intimidate opponents. Such notions overemphasise the instrumental dimensions of the witchcraft complex and pay insufficient attention to its intrinsic/existential dimension as a personalised explanation of misfortune. By taking full cognisance of the latter, witch-hunting can be seen as a creative attempt to eliminate evil and avoid the future occurrence of misfortune. It is argued that, through time, chiefs and Comrades have found it politically convenient to identify and punish witches in their efforts to attain legitimacy among villagers.

Sorcery in the Era of ‘Henry IV’: Kinship, Mobility and Mortality in Buhera District, Zimbabwe

“…It has argued that witchcraft discourse can be seen as a symbolic language in which tensions and insecurities in kin-based rural-urban migration networks are interpreted in terms of life forces. Contemporary studies, analysing witchcraft in so-called 'modern' contexts such as the city, the market, and state politics -thus stressing the modernity of the witchcraft discourse (Comaroff & Comaroff 1993;Geschiere 1997) -have generally paid little attention to the relation between witchcraft and kinship (Green 1997;Niehaus 1993). An exception is Geschiere's authoritative study of the occult in Cameroon.…”

“…Accusing someone of deploying witchcraft may thus be regarded as part of a fierce competition for positions in the so-called 'traditional' leadership structure, which corresponds to the general obsession with such positions in Buhera societies (Andersson 1999: 554). Nevertheless, one cannot reduce witchcraft discourse to a direct form of instrumentalist political action (Niehaus 1993). Although Fambirai's succession is an element in this case, this does not explain why he should be accused at this moment.…”

“…This is at odds with situations that have recently been documented elsewhere in Africa. Geschiere (1997), Niehaus (1993), and Yamba (1997), for instance, have described social situations in which witchcraft is an all-powerful and inescapable discourse that dominates the mind of actors. This article presents a case-study in which local actors contest the interpretation and narratives of the domain of witchcraft, and challenge its applicability.…”

Gender and Witchcraft in Agrarian Transition: The Case of Kenyan Horticulture

“…Similarly, Kohnert (1996) discusses the spate of witchcraft accusations against the nouveaux riches who flout customary rules of redistribution and kinship norms of solidarity. In the same vein, Niehaus (1993) traces the historical shift from witches attacking communities to witches targeting individuals and households, reflecting the deterioration of communal ties and heightened friction within and between households. 7.…”

History and Agrarian Change in South Africa

“…John Sharp and Andrew Spiegel have analysed the social relations shaping rural people's suMval strategies (Sharp 1987;Sharp and Spiegel 1990). Edwin Ritchken and Izak Niehaus have shown the links between social relations and emerging forms of consciousness and social and political conflict (Ritchken 1990;Niehaus 1993). These writers show how developments in the political economy of the regions concerned connects with social relations at the local level.…”