Article Sidebar
Article Details
Issue
Section
Articles
The editorial policy on copyright is not to hold restrictive copyright on manuscripts for publication in the journal, but to require authors to assign to the Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology the right to publish their texts both electronically and in any other format they see fit, along with the right to store manuscripts in an electronic archive. As with accepted scholarly practice, authors wishing to quote text from this journal must cite in full the details of the author, title, journal title, edition number and date of the article/s they wish to cite. The IPJP's policy in this regard accords with the best practice models supported by SHERPA. Authors might also wish to visit the SPARC hosted site dealing authors' rights as well as the Scholarly Communications section of the Duke University Library.
Main Article Content
Natural and Supernatural: Intersections Between the Spiritual and Natural Worlds in African Witchcraft and Healing with Reference to Southern Africa
Abstract
For generations, African beliefs and practices regarding witchcraft and traditional healing have been located at the intersection between the natural world and the supernatural world. Despite the impact of both colonialism and, in the contemporary context, modernization, the complex interplay between these worlds has not been reduced. The interaction between nature and religion, as a facet of culture, has long been a subject of inquiry in anthropology, and nowhere is
this more evident than in the study of African witchcraft and traditional healing. A distinct relationship exists between witchcraft beliefs and traditional healing methods. This relationship brings these two aspects of African culture together in such a complex manner that it is difficult to attempt to understand the dynamics of African witchcraft without referring to traditional healing methods, and vice versa. In this paper, the authors outline the various ways in which African witchcraft beliefs and practices, as well as traditional healing beliefs and practices, interact
within the nature/culture domain. This interaction will be conceptualised in a Merleau-Pontian sense, focusing on the indeterminacy of the natural and supernatural worlds. In its presentation of an essentially anthropological case study focused on southern Africa, the paper draws on various ethnographic examples of African communities in the southern African context.
Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, Volume 7, Edition 1 May 2007
this more evident than in the study of African witchcraft and traditional healing. A distinct relationship exists between witchcraft beliefs and traditional healing methods. This relationship brings these two aspects of African culture together in such a complex manner that it is difficult to attempt to understand the dynamics of African witchcraft without referring to traditional healing methods, and vice versa. In this paper, the authors outline the various ways in which African witchcraft beliefs and practices, as well as traditional healing beliefs and practices, interact
within the nature/culture domain. This interaction will be conceptualised in a Merleau-Pontian sense, focusing on the indeterminacy of the natural and supernatural worlds. In its presentation of an essentially anthropological case study focused on southern Africa, the paper draws on various ethnographic examples of African communities in the southern African context.
Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, Volume 7, Edition 1 May 2007
