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Acknowledgments This book draws on fieldwork I conducted in Chavuma, northwest Zambia, mostly between May  and December . I thank the Wenner-Gren Foundation and Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for their financial support . I conducted two months of preliminary research in  thanks to the Indiana University David C. Skomp Fund. I had the opportunity to return to Zambia for additional periods of three months in  and two months in , this time with support from the Smithsonian Institution and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, respectively. Over time, I have accumulated many debts of gratitude. I thank all the individuals mentioned in this book, especially diviners Samafunda, Sanjamba, Sakutemba, Sangombe, and Mutondo, basket maker Pezo and her husband Ndonji, fisherman Kakoma and his daughter Alice, and Sapasa and his nephew Chinyama. I am indebted to my hosts Rose Chikunga, Harrison Chikunga, and Sapasa; my research assistants Roy Mbundu, Cedric Chikunga, and Henry Sawendele; the late manduna Maseka and Mutonga; the missionaries stationed in Chavuma; the Baptista brothers and their friend Lopes; and Joerg Mellentluh . For my preliminary research, conducted mostly in Kabompo, I owe much to Manuel Jordán, Ben and Kutemba Robertson, Makina’s family, and Ilse Mwanza. I am equally indebted to Paula Girshick, Michael Jackson, Phyllis Martin, Richard Bauman, the anonymous reviewers of my book manuscript, my editor Peter Agree, and the production team of Penn Press. Their sharp comments , insightful ideas, and encouragement influenced this book in countless ways. I am also grateful to Sean D’Angelo, Julia Powles, Anna Stroulia, and Boris Wastiau for their friendship and support, and to Keith, Kameshi, and Chisola, who were always there. ...

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