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The Father as Witch

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Elizabeth Colson
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Abstract

In the 1990s the feared witch among Tonga-speakers of Gwembe Valley, Zambia, is often the father, whose adult children accuse him of using witchcraft to gain power over the child's life force to use in his enterprises. Suspicions of the father arise from changing family dynamics associated with restricted economic opportunities and a changing agricultural system involving cash cropping where family labour is of vital importance. Witchcraft fears, as elsewhere in Zambia, have become more salient as worsening economic conditions have led to general malaise and the loosening of restraints on public accusation. Feeling victimised and vulnerable in a world where transport minimises distance has led to witches being endowed with the power to operate without regard to distance. Nevertheless witchfinding deflects hostility from national political figures to elders in the neighbourhood, especially fathers, who are continuous sources of immediate frustration and are also vulnerable to local action.

Résumé

Dans les années 90, la sorcière que l'on craint au sein de la population de langue Tonga de la vallée du Gwembe, en Zambie, est souvent le père, que les enfants adultes accusent d'user de la sorcellerie pour manipuler leur force vitale à son profit. Les suspicions à l'egard du père résultent d'un changement de la dynamique familiale, à laquelle s'ajoutent des perspectives économiques limitées et une agriculture en pleine évolution impliquant des cultures commerciales pour lesquelles la main-d'oeuvre familiale est d'une importance vitale. Comme dans le reste de la Zambie, la peur de la sorcellerie est devenue plus frappante au fur et à mesure que la situation économique se dégradait, créant un malaise général et un laisser-aller quant aux accusations publiques. Le sentiment d'être persécuté et vulnérable dans un monde où les transports minimisent les distances fait doter les sorcières du pouvoir d'exercer leurs pouvoirs à des distances illimitées. Néanmoins, la chasse aux sorcières détoume l'hostilité des personnalites politiqués nationales pour la porter sur les anciens des communautés, notamment les pères, que sont une source permanente de frustration immédiate et sont vulnérables à l'action locale.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 70 , Issue 3 , August 2000 , pp. 333 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2000

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