Compelling if somewhat unsettling account of a white American
anthropologist's personal experiences with the techniques and
effects of a form of present-day African sorcery. Husband-and-wife
team Stoller (West Chester U.) and Olkes tell a fast-moving tale of
times spent among Songhay peoples in the northwestern comer of
Niger, a land replete with vast stretches of sand dunes in
skin-blistering heat, mud-brick compounds, drought-stricken
agriculture, pythons, egrets, and small towns in which hospitality
centers around gifts of goats and chickens. In a series of extended
anthropological field trips between 1976 and 1984, Stoller found
himself ever more deeply enmeshed not only in learning about but
also in participating in older magical power systems that lie
beneath the Islamic surface. Practitioners of sorcery in the towns
of Mehanna, Tillaberi, and Wanzerbe appeared with perfect timing to
instruct him on names and uses of a vast number of magical powders,
sacred incantations, animal sacrifices, possession dances,
divination by cowry shells, and knowledge of the family of Tooru
spirit deities. Portraits of individuals and community lifestyles
are deftly drawn, revealing Stoller's deep respect for Songhay
culture and the people within it, creating a believable, sometimes
humorous, engaging blend of exotic travel and hidden mysteries -
with a comforting dose of pragmatic skepticism. Unlike so many
contemporary writings, this is not a book about discovering an
ancient wisdom of love and compassion; despite some reports of
healings and protective spells, it is primarily about the fiercely
competitive and spiteful uses of powers that created an attitude of
defensive, even paranoid, social interactions so intense that they
eventually frightened Stoller enough to call a halt to his
participation. A well-written glimpse into a generally unfamiliar
world that may shed light on some of the sources of Voodoo and
Condomblein the Americas. (Kirkus Reviews)
The tale of Paul Stoller's sojourn among sorcerors in the Republic
of Niger is a story of growth and change, of mutual respect and
understanding that will challenge all who read it to plunge deeply
into an alien world.
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