Description

Book Synopsis
Some babies and toddlers in parts of West Africa are considered spirit children - non-humans sent from the forest to cause misfortune and destroy the family. Aaron Denham offers a nuanced ethnographic study of this phenomenon in Northern Ghana that examines both the motivations of the families and the structural factors that lead to infanticide.

Trade Review
The work that Denham has carried out and disseminates in this finely written and sensitive book is absolutely ground-breaking."" - Ethos

""Denham’s narratives on the human-spirit interactions in Nankani are fascinating. . . . Anyone who did not realise that Denham was born and raised outside of Africa might think that the book was written by a native African who was born and nurtured in this particular culture."" - Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books

""Although his book is based on a small community, the nuance with which Denham treats ‘infanticide’ contributes broadly to medical anthropology, childhood studies, and religious studies."" - Choice

Spirit Children Illness Poverty and Infanticide

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    A Paperback / softback by Aaron R. Denham

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      View other formats and editions of Spirit Children Illness Poverty and Infanticide by Aaron R. Denham

      Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
      Publication Date: 30/07/2019
      ISBN13: 9780299311247, 978-0299311247
      ISBN10: 0299311244
      Also in:
      Cultural studies

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Some babies and toddlers in parts of West Africa are considered spirit children - non-humans sent from the forest to cause misfortune and destroy the family. Aaron Denham offers a nuanced ethnographic study of this phenomenon in Northern Ghana that examines both the motivations of the families and the structural factors that lead to infanticide.

      Trade Review
      The work that Denham has carried out and disseminates in this finely written and sensitive book is absolutely ground-breaking."" - Ethos

      ""Denham’s narratives on the human-spirit interactions in Nankani are fascinating. . . . Anyone who did not realise that Denham was born and raised outside of Africa might think that the book was written by a native African who was born and nurtured in this particular culture."" - Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books

      ""Although his book is based on a small community, the nuance with which Denham treats ‘infanticide’ contributes broadly to medical anthropology, childhood studies, and religious studies."" - Choice

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