Description
Book SynopsisIn this sensitive investigation into Benin's occult world, Douglas Falen wrestles with the challenges of encountering a reality in which magic, science, and the Vodun religion converge into a single universal force. He takes seriously his Beninese interlocutors' insistence that the indigenous phenomenon of
àze (“witchcraft”) is an African science.
Trade ReviewA stunning achievement in the anthropology of religion. Weaving together narrative and analysis, Falen provides a gripping account of the imponderables that constitute the occult in Benin. He demonstrates how African science can refine our comprehension of fidelity and betrayal, health and illness, science and religion, and life and death- the philosophical themes that define our humanity."" - Paul Stoller, author of
In Sorcery's Shadow,
""Guides readers straight into the untranslatable Beninois world of
àze on its own terms. Falen's sensitivity and commitment to local framings and his accessible experiential narratives make this an ideal ethnography with which to explore the ontological turn, as well as a marvelously provocative challenge to the bulwarked categories separating science from magic and religion."" - Sasha Newell, author of
The Modernity BluffTable of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Note on Fon Transcription and Pronunciation
- Introduction
- 1 Àzě and Bǒ: Witchcraft and Sorcery in Benin
- 2 Black and White: Witchcraft, Science, and Identity
- 3 Whose Reality?
- 4 Religion and the Occult: Opposition and Connection
- 5 Healing and the Globalization of Witchcraft
- Conclusion
- Notes
- References
- Index
