In this Book
- African Science: Witchcraft, Vodun, and Healing in Southern Benin
- Book
- 2018
- Published by: University of Wisconsin Press
summary
In this sensitive and personal investigation into Benin's occult world, Douglas J. Falen wrestles with the challenges of encountering a reality in which magic, science, and the Vodun religion converge into a single universal force. He takes seriously his Beninese interlocutors' insistence that the indigenous phenomenon known as àze ("witchcraft") is an African science, credited with fantastic and productive deeds, such as teleportation and supernatural healing.
Although the Beninese understanding of àze reflects positive scientific properties in its use of specialized knowledge to harness nature's energy and realize economic success, its boundless power is inherently ambivalent because it can corrupt its users, who dispense death and destruction. Witches and healers are equivalent to supervillains and superheroes, locked in epic battles over malevolent and benevolent human desires. Beninese people's discourse about such mystical confrontations expresses a philosophy of moral duality and cosmic balance. Falen demonstrates how a deep engagement with another lived reality opens our minds and contributes to understanding across cultural difference.
Although the Beninese understanding of àze reflects positive scientific properties in its use of specialized knowledge to harness nature's energy and realize economic success, its boundless power is inherently ambivalent because it can corrupt its users, who dispense death and destruction. Witches and healers are equivalent to supervillains and superheroes, locked in epic battles over malevolent and benevolent human desires. Beninese people's discourse about such mystical confrontations expresses a philosophy of moral duality and cosmic balance. Falen demonstrates how a deep engagement with another lived reality opens our minds and contributes to understanding across cultural difference.
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- List of Illustrations
- pp. ix-x
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xii
- Note on Fon Transcription and Pronunciation
- pp. xiii-xiv
- Introduction
- pp. 3-25
- Three: Whose Reality?
- pp. 80-118
- Conclusion
- pp. 181-192
- Glossary of Fon Terms
- pp. 193-196
- References
- pp. 211-226
Additional Information
ISBN
9780299318932
Related ISBN(s)
9780299318901, 9780299318949
MARC Record
OCLC
1062360978
Pages
248
Launched on MUSE
2018-12-06
Language
English
Open Access
No