Witchcraft, disputes, and trials among the Azande (2014–2016)

Abstract

Mangu, what Evans-Pritchard translated into English as “witchcraft” and around which he built his landmark ethnography, has disappeared among the South Sudanese Azande. But other kinds of witchcraft and magic (ngua) arise continuously. Drawing on anthropological research in South Sudan’s local courts and on interviews with disputants, chiefs, and judges, this article dives into the opaque, elusive, and mercurial world of witchcraft and magic. Whereas mangu was used solely to do harm, today’s ngua can be categorized along a spectrum from benign self-protection to malevolent pillaging and attacking ngua. When witchcraft cases are brought to local customary courts, there is room for nuance, precision, and for attention to the less arcane friction which often preceded witchcraft. But when customary courts punish alleged perpetrators, clashes abound with statutory judges and United Nations officials who see witchcraft as a dangerous falsehood and the imprisoned alleged perpetrators as victims of human rights abuses.