Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rumors, and Gossip combines two classic topics in social anthropology in a new synthesis: the study of witchcraft and sorcery and the study of rumours and gossip. It shows how rumour and gossip are invariably important as catalysts for accusations of witchcraft and sorcery, and...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Stewart, Pamela J. 1958- (Author)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2004
Series:	New departures in anthropology
Subjects:	Witchcraft / Cross-cultural studies Gossip / Cross-cultural studies Social conflict / Cross-cultural studies Violence / Cross-cultural studies Klatsch Kulturvergleich Hexerei
Online Access:	BSB01 UBG01 Volltext
Summary:	Witchcraft, Sorcery, Rumors, and Gossip combines two classic topics in social anthropology in a new synthesis: the study of witchcraft and sorcery and the study of rumours and gossip. It shows how rumour and gossip are invariably important as catalysts for accusations of witchcraft and sorcery, and demonstrates the role of rumour and gossip in the genesis of social and political violence, as in the case of both peasant rebellions and witch-hunts. Examples supporting the argument are drawn from Africa, Europe, India, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. They include discussions of witchcraft trials in Essex, England in the seventeenth century, witch-hunts and vampire narratives in colonial and contemporary Africa, millenarian movements in New Guinea, the Indian Mutiny in nineteenth-century Uttar Pradesh, and rumours of construction sacrifice in Indonesia
Item Description:	Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
Physical Description:	1 online resource (xiv, 228 pages)
ISBN:	9780511616310
DOI:	10.1017/CBO9780511616310