Witchcraft and a Life in the New South Africa

The International African Library

by Isak Niehaus

Witchcraft and a Life in the New South Africa reconstructs the biography of an ordinary South African, Jimmy Mohale. Born in 1964, Jimmy came of age in rural South Africa during apartheid, then studied at university and worked as a teacher during the anti-apartheid struggle. In 2005, Jimmy died from an undiagnosed sickness, probably related to AIDS. Jimmy gradually came to see the unanticipated misfortune he experienced as a result of his father's witchcraft and sought remedies from diviners rather than from biomedical doctors. This study casts new light on scholarly understandings of the connections between South African politics, witchcraft, and the AIDS pandemic.

259 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 2012

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

After studying African religion, this book written by Niehaus was certainly one of the most interesting works that I have read and I implore anyone with an interest in this area to read this book.