African Magic: Traditional Ideas That Heal A Continent

by Heidi Holland

Africa's traditional beliefs, including ancestor worship, divination and witchcraft, continue to dominate its spirituality. Readers in search of a better understanding of the continent will be enriched by this book's timely exploration of sub-Saharan Africa's natural philosophy.

211 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2003

About the author

Heidi Holland was a South Africa–based Zimbabwean journalist and author who was involved in the journalism industry for over thirty years. She worked as a freelancer writer on such publications as The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, International Herald Tribune, The New York Times and The Guardian and has also worked on research projects for British television documentaries.

Reviews

[Larissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative intro to African magic and ideas about witches and sorcery and traditional healing on the continent written by a white Zimbabwean journalist who set out to understand better the traditional African cultures and lay it out in a way that makes it comprehensible to readers who were not raised with these beliefs. Each chapter is a different topic in a different region. I learned about the mass suicide of the Xhosa of South Africa in the 1850s, the Lion children of Tanzania, how witch trials are conducted, about healers in various cultures, and about the use of spirit mediums in the guerilla warfare in Angola. I had not finished the book one day before I came across a real life incident of massive intercultural conflict, American witches protesting a Zimbabwean web page about witches, that only made sense to me because I had just read about witchcraft views in Africa. Just for the insight into that alone I would recommend this book.

[Conrad K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scholarly review of the superstitions and beliefs of the African people. How even the elite grow up in the rural areas under the supervision of their Grandmothers, who instill in them all the primitive rituals and superstitions that govern their society.