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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
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Results for witchcraft (south africa)
1 results foundAuthor: Petrus, Theodore Stephen Title: An Anthropological Study of Witchcraft-Related Crime in the Eastern Cape and Its Implications for Law Enforcement Policy and Practice Summary: This research sought to investigate the phenomenon of witchcraft-related crime in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, and its implications for law enforcement policy and practice. The primary motivation for a study such as this emerged from the need to address the lack of academic knowledge about witchcraft-related crime, especially in the Eastern Cape. The study is anthropological in focus, and is thus based on anthropological techniques of data gathering. Specifically, a literature study and fieldwork (semi-structured interviews and case studies) formed the basis of the research methodology employed. The geographical focus of the study was the northeastern part of the former Transkei, an area commonly referred to as Pondoland. Interview data were obtained from two categories of informants, namely community informants and informants of the South African Police Service (SAPS). Various towns and their surrounding villages were visited during fieldwork in order to gather data through interviews. Witchcraft continues to play an integral role in the cultural interpretation of misfortune, illness and untimely or mysterious death, particularly among local Xhosa-speaking communities that are predominantly rural. Beliefs associated with witchcraft were widespread in the study area and this was linked to high frequencies of witchcraft accusations and witchcraft-related violence. Police investigations of witchcraft-related cases were, for the most part, evaluated negatively by the majority of local community informants, while the SAPS informants indicated mixed responses as to the success of their investigations of these cases. The high frequency of unreported cases suggested that witchcraft-related crime is a problem in the Eastern Cape and that the local police were struggling to deal with these cases. The traditional leadership in various communities also struggled with the problem of an ambiguity in their role regarding witchcraft cases. Traditional leaders not only had jurisdictional limitations, but also indirectly seemed to encourage witchcraft-related violence by punishing those who accused others of witchcraft. In general, the relationship between communities, traditional leaders and the police were strained by witchcraft-related cases. In addition to providing much needed data on the topic under study, this research also aimed to provide meaningful recommendations and suggestions based on the data gathered during the study. This study is by no means conclusive as there is still much scope for further research, not only anthropological research but also, more importantly, interdisciplinary research. The issue of witchcraft-related crime is one that requires a holistic approach to address and involves a number of stakeholders who should make a contribution to further study of this topic. The essential point is that, as far as the Eastern Cape Province is concerned, witchcraft-related crime must be taken seriously enough to invest in further research so that violence reaching crisis levels could be avoided. Details: Port Elizabeth, South Africa: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2009. 277p. Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed November 26, 2011 at: http://www.nmmu.ac.za/documents/theses/THEODORE%20STEPHEN%20PETRUS.pdf Year: 2009 Country: South Africa URL: http://www.nmmu.ac.za/documents/theses/THEODORE%20STEPHEN%20PETRUS.pdf Shelf Number: 123457 Keywords: CultsReligiously Motivated ViolenceViolent CrimesWitchcraft (South Africa) |