Witchcraft and a Life in the New South Africa

• Author(s): Isak Niehaus,
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Pages: 267
• ISBN_10: 1139560735
  ISBN_13: 9781139560733
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural & Social , History / Africa / General , Social Science / Disease & Health Issues , Body, Mind & Spirit / Witchcraft ,

Description:... Witchcraft and a Life in the New South Africa reconstructs the biography of an ordinary South African, Jimmy Mohale. Born in 1964, Jimmy came of age in rural South Africa during apartheid, then studied at university and worked as a teacher during the anti-apartheid struggle. In 2005, Jimmy died from an undiagnosed sickness, probably related to AIDS. Jimmy gradually came to see the unanticipated misfortune he experienced as a result of his father's witchcraft and sought remedies from diviners rather than from biomedical doctors. This study casts new light on scholarly understandings of the connections between South African politics, witchcraft and the AIDS pandemic.