An Intimate Rebuke - Female Genital Power in Ritual and Politics in West Africa (Paperback)

Throughout West African societies, at times of social crises, postmenopausal women-the Mothers-make a ritual appeal to their innate moral authority. The seat of this power is the female genitalia. Wielding branches or pestles, they strip naked and slap their genitals and bare breasts to curse and expel the forces of evil. In An Intimate Rebuke Laura S. Grillo draws on fieldwork in Cote d'Ivoire that spans three decades to illustrate how these rituals of Female Genital Power (FGP) constitute religious and political responses to abuses of power. When deployed in secret, FGP operates as spiritual warfare against witchcraft; in public, it serves as a political activism. During Cote d'Ivoire's civil wars FGP challenged the immoral forces of both rebels and the state. Grillo shows how the ritual potency of the Mothers' nudity and the conjuration of their sex embodies a moral power that has been foundational to West African civilization. Highlighting the remarkable continuity of the practice across centuries while foregrounding the timeliness of FGP in contemporary political resistance, Grillo shifts perspectives on West African history, ethnography, comparative religious studies, and postcolonial studies.

General

Imprint:	Duke University Press
Country of origin:	United States
Series:	Religious Cultures of African and African Diaspora People
Release date:	November 2018
First published:	2018
Authors:	Laura S. Grillo
Dimensions:	229 x 152 x 21mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback - Trade
Pages:	296
ISBN-13:	978-1-4780-0155-3
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > African history > General Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Ethnic or tribal religions > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Gender studies > Women's studies > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology > Social & cultural anthropology > General Books > History > African history > General Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Ethnic or tribal religions > General Promotions
LSN:	1-4780-0155-0
Barcode:	9781478001553

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