Encounters with Witchcraft

Norman N. Miller is one of America's early African specialists, living in the eastern region intermittently since 1960, first as a correspondent, then as a university teacher, researcher, documentary filmmaker, and as an adviser to African governments and two United Nations agencies. He has written or edited six books and dozens of articles on topics such as Kenya's political history, African wildlife management, HIV/AIDS policy, and traditional medicine. As a documentary filmmaker he produced the Faces of Change, a 26 film series which includes five films on Kenya. He holds a PhD from Indiana University in political science and African studies and a certificate in Swahili from UCLA. He is married to Judith von D. Miller, author of Art in East Africa and they make their home in Norwich, Vermont. He has taught part-time at Dartmouth College since 1980.

• Prologue: First Encounter1. The Colonial DaysAn Archeologist’s View of WitchcraftAncient Spirit PaintingLion-men and Colonial Witch TrialsAngry Man with a Cross-bowWitchcraft and the Congo PygmiesCrocodile Bile and the Poison Principle2. Living with WitchesThe Witchcraft Trial of MohammadiThe Woman Who Poisoned a ChiefWitchcraft Symbols in Western TanzaniaReflections on Mohammadi3. Through African Eyes: The ArtsThe Gift of an Execution MaskSeeing Witchcraft Images in NatureThe Witch’s Toolkit: Implements and ArtifactsGuns, Throwing Knives and Power SymbolsSpirit Art and the Ideas of an African Chief4. Witch-Hunters and Witch-CleansersSecrets of a Professional Witch HunterUsing Witch Hunters for Political CoercionA Famous Witch-Cleanser in MalawiFaith Healers, Snake Handlers, HerbalistsKajiwe (Little Stone), Kenyan Witch-Hunter5. Witchcraft and ViolenceMeeting Idi Amin in UgandaState-Sponsored Terror with WitchcraftSkin Gangs and Secret SocietiesOn Trial: Witchcraft Court CasesA Rough Map of Witchcraft in Eastern Africa6. The Spirit WarsHow Prophet Movements Use WitchcraftHealing the Sick by the Sea"Evil Eye" Among Desert PeopleWitchcraft violence in an African Christian ChurchMissionary Zeal: African Spirits versus Christian Spirits7. Witchcraft and Juju EconomicsSmuggling of Witchcraft Poisons and ProductsLong Distance Trade in Protective MedicinesThe Healer’s Trade: Witchcraft as a DiagnosisCommercialization and Urbanization of WitchcraftSpirit Art, Devil Art and Modern Art for ProfitWitch Beliefs as Barriers to Economic Development8. Political WitchcraftWitchcraft Threats and Mafia-Like PoliticsThe Tanzanian Holocaust: The Sungusungu KillingsMeeting Kenya’s President MoiDevil Cults in Nairobi: Alleged Satanic PracticesThe Use of Witchcraft in Uganda’s Lord’s Resistance ArmyRebellion in Kenya: The Rise of Mungiki9. Lessons Learned"Look, There is No ‘Paranormal’"Lessons from a Little BoyHow Witchcraft Really Works: An African ViewDeath by Suggestion: A Final ConfessionKilling Elders as Witches, the Rise of Senecide10. Mohammadi’s ShadowReturn to my VillageDramatic Changes Over the YearsWhy Witches are Never MentionedThe Truth About Mohammadi’s LifeThe Mystery ResolvedEpilogue: The Future of WitchcraftFurther Reading and BibliographyAcknowledgments and CreditsIndex

"This is not your usual academic treatise, yet it is full of valuable insights for anybody interested in doing field research in Africa … Very few could have produced this very readable book." — African Studies Quarterly"…an engaging and diverting account of the author's adventures during his many visits to East Africa over forty years … [an] anecdotal odyssey of adventures tied together by presenting all these travels as a quest to learn the true significance of witchcraft." — Anthropos"Norman M. Miller's Encounters with Witchcraft: Field Notes from Africa, is an educational yet entertaining discussion of the author's experiences with witchcraft in Africa … Miller's loving attention to the people he encountered, and his respect for local beliefs and customs, is apparent. Encounters with Witchcraft provides an authentic, enlightening reading experience about a subject that has been overly distorted and sensationalized in popular culture." — Journal of Folklore Research"With his entertaining, academic, and accessible style, Miller thus paints a complicated picture of witchcraft as discourse, myth, business, and tool … a coherent structure accompanied with numerous images, gives those in need of accessible reading materials for teaching African, or even world history, yet another wonderful book choice." — The Middle Ground"In Encounters with Witchcraft, Miller shares the story of his fascination with African witchcraft and his journey through Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda … With fascinating photographs and informative glossaries and maps, this intriguing memoir and history of African witchcraft addresses the violence that superstitious or religious beliefs may cause and holds up a mirror for Western society to think about their own myths and beliefs." — ForeWord Reviews"This is an astounding book, full of insights on the very murky world of witchcraft in modern Africa. It explains so much—how witchcraft–based intimidation works, how and why women are victimized, why witch-hunting goes on. The author is one of the few people in the world who could have written this account. He is a veteran fieldworker, an 'old hand' in Africa, a superb observer." — David Gregory, PhD, anthropologist