Contemporary witchcraft accusations and customary justice

• This paper focuses on contemporary witchcraft accusations and customary justice. By using a case study from Côte Ivoire as example, it looks at how supposed witched are detected, how innocence or guilt is established in witchcraft cases, and how witchcraft is understood in relation to state laws and the practice of customary justice. It is shown that divination plays an important role in the customary judicial process, as divination creates the conditions for the settling of communal disputes. It is further shown that communication with the spirit world is essential in the divinatory process, and that the role of diviners is important in the reconciliation process. Overall, divination has an important role to play when bridging the gap between state legality and local norms and practices.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialantropologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Anthropology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Witchcraft

Divination

Customary justice

Ivory Coast

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)