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One of the things I found remarkable in this reading did not have as much to do with the notions of sorcery / witchcraft, but with the one of corruption: Because the whole village had decided to employ "Maji Marefu", a "witch doctor" from Tanzania, the local police officer HAD TO ignore the fact that Maji Marefu did not have a work permit for Kenya. The text literally states that the police officer "had no choice". This shows how the law is perceived to be less powerful than the consensus of the people. HOWEVER, when the village community got fed up with Maji Marefu, they did successfully use the law to get rid of him - thus, the law was eventually used, (but only?) when it had the consensus of the people.

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What particularly struck me in this reading was the strong resentments harbored by the group of Wayao, who apparently resented about not having made more diverse connections in the city. Yet it seemed that the Wayao had not expanded their social network because they felt they could not - rather than because of any material obstacle. The author does not detail if the barrier to their expanded social connections was perceived by only the Wayao, or was a shared social phenomenon, or had a material grounding. I would be interested to find out the nature of the obstructions preventing
the Wayao from creating more diverse social networks.

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An interesting journal on the relationship between humans and spirits. Despite the embodiment of a spiritual possession, spirits and humans are different beings through the phenomenon of the 'spirit self' and actual human 'self.' The spirit Masheitani is said to be created and sent to Earth by God. Despite inflicting misery upon ones life, they equally protect and assist people in their everyday lives, if diagnosed correctly. With this information, I came to the conclusion that the spirits are more or less central in a human's life which is dependant upon the presence or absence of happiness or misery in their lives; Larsen exemplifies.

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I found it particularly interesting, but also potentially problematic, that spirits, in the Zanzibari context,  are capable of breaking down social conventions (like gender roles) while at the same time their existence is hinged upon their relationship to the human condition. The spirits' actions or presence can only be witnessed or communicated with through ritual involving a host and ritual leader.  If that is so, and spirits continue to challenge the conventions of these humans, why do said conventions continue to exist in the lives of those that rely on spirits to cope with everyday life? - I don't think I have explained this very well but hopefully someone can help me understand how humans (whose perception of spirits lies at the heart of their creation) continue social conventions that spirits break down?

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I found it interesting that the spirits are known to cause illness and suffering if displeased with the treatment they are receiving (or being treated with neglect, especially in the case of Bi Salma), yet they were teaching Rukia about medicine during her sleep – medicine which presumably would be used to treat some of the illness/suffering caused by the spirits themselves. This seems contradictory, but certainly fits with the conclusion that spirits are trustworthy and predictable when handled with respect and care.

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What struck me particularly about the case of the Wayao was how aware they are of the problems that face them. I felt this especially in one of the transcripts from Juma on S59: “You can’t learn anything new there [at the kijiweni]; the ideas we exchange there are the same ideas we brought with us from home.” Despite this awareness, there appears to be an inability to change to be more like someone like Patrick. Perhaps this is because of their village’s ‘negative imprint on their mentality’, which Malefakis details on S59?

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I found it interesting to know how witchcraft and history of Tanzania is connected. I knew that there is a tradition of witchcraft in the country but I did not know socialism project (Ujamaa) and urbanization were related to strict control on traditional healers. Also, I found interesting that anti-witchcraft was in the discourse of modernization and development. If people think that witchcraft is against to modernization, how about traditional healers?

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It is interesting the way kinship is talked about by the Wayao within the kijiweni - as both a resource and an obstacle, something imbued with inherent trust which also made it a basis for distrust and fear of exploit. They way Rahim would speak with assurance that should anything happen to him he knows these boys would take him home (a place he hasn’t been able to return to in 20yrs due to ‘failing’ at city life) - but these boys are also not someone you could confide in or really trust as they may use your confessions or gossip about you behind your back - unlike Patrick a relative outsider. Its muddled this idea of kin and choice - there’s this understanding that adaptation can lead to innovation and better advice and clearly there’s room for it in the society as a whole but the actual agency to do so is just not there.

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Social control by another name? Jennifer H

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Social control by another name? Jennifer H

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This ethnographic account  vividly describes the the way that the expectation of  kin networks and ‘village thought’ frustrate the desires of these young me to break free and reinvent themselves in a new social context. Clearly there are powerful cultural expectations - their rural ‘code of conduct’ - that no one should think that they are better than anyone else and thus they constantly drag each other back and each individual perceives that there are  forces holding them back -  which they ascribe to ‘dirty magic’. In this context uchawi seems to be a name given to the invisible social control mechanisms that holds them together as a social group.

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I was really struck by the way that Larsen ‘simply’ - if only it were that easy! - describes these two individuals’ relationships with and understanding of their spirits without the kind of sociocultural asides and explanations that were offered in the other readings this week. I wonder, for example, what the Wayao street vendors’ uchawi would have looked like if Malefakis had adopted a similar  approach.

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i really enjoyed reading this paper, in its relation of spirit possession to the wider set of Swahili spiritual beliefs and practices. Giles’ analyses the changing patterns of spirit representations, she illustrates the many types of spirits which represent the Swahili conceptions of the 'other' or ‘outside groups’ which have had an impact on their society and history. For instance, the the now rare Kizugu, portrayed as either British or German highly relevant during the colonial period when the ‘west’ was impacting society. Or the Kirabu spirits which symbolise the long history of Islamic or Middle Eastern influence which have come to play a dominant role in Swahili possession cults. Gile’s cites Pouwels (1987) who suggests that the older Swahili elite anticipated the threat of Arab cultural hegemony through possession by Kirabu spirits. This paper showed me that to understand spirits anywhere in this region one must hold an understanding of the historical and cultural processes that these spirits hold.
-Rebecca Luff

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The reading focuses on  a cohort of ethnically homogeneous (Wayao) shoe vendors, living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who share a common workspace ('kijiweni'), wherein they refurbish secondhand shoes and sell them on the city streets.
I found the reading particularly interesting, because despite the fact that the vendors have very close familial and social ties with the men with whom they share their lives, respect and trust is conspicuously  absent from  their relationships and they constantly have to navigate and negotiate the tenuous, yet powerful bonds that bind them together.
It would seem that the notion of witchcraft, or 'uchawi', is conveniently deployed  as  a cultural control mechanism, in order to prevent members of the group from achieving economic ascendancy, thereby maintaining the status quo, which according to the Wayao maxim, is that no one is better than anyone else.
For the Wayao, the integrative and disintegrative  dichotomy, functions as a way of affirming members' importance within the group dynamic (validation) and  consolidating their kinship.
Laura A

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This reading emphasises the high academic value of ethnographic methodology, and proves how much insight into a social world one can get through intimate observation and experience rather than wider approaches that prioritise global trends and economic patterns for example. It is easy to feel quite detached from the content of the paper, I certainly did, purely due to my own ignorance and perhaps a touch of cynicism. But upon understanding that beyond the vaguely detailed interactions between humans and spirit and how they manifest, lies a truly real world of action and consequence that is directing peoples lives, afflicting in some cases, improving in others, and that notions of identity are defined in the process of 'revealing the spirit'. In this, it becomes clear that spirit possession is an integral part of making sense of life in the Zanzibari community.

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The title of this article immediately draws me to two words in the title 'belonging' and 'shared' realities. What this bring to the fore, for me is the question of what can spirits tell us about ourselves ? The article starts out by stating "... paradoxes people cope with in their everyday lives" (Larsen, 2014:5) which underlines straight away that the spirit world is not a periphery world 'far' from the human world, but rather part of our ongoing livity. What can the spirit world teach us about the 'human world'  if "spirits evoke ideas human potentiality and creativity as well as our limitations" (Larsen, 2014:6). What this article goes on to highlight as well is the philosophy of the human condition and the nuances surrounding individuality and belonging.

It was noteworthy to me that that Larsen chose to use and develop the concept of 'embodiment' as opposed to possession, which in some ways carries with it certain preconceived connotations. embodiment seems to carry the nuances of spirit and human, and the symbiosis of this relationship coming together in the human . I also picked up on the usage of 'permeable body'. In many ways I can see the link between this article and some of last weeks readings on health and wellness. In some ways a person may be ailed as was the case with Bi Salma and if they did not seek the appropriate help, it would not assist in their wellbeing, in accordance with their cosmology.

Its almost possible to subtly see the hierarchy or rather the influence of Arabization through Rukia's narrative when "Arabness or rather an idealized form of being Zanzibari" (Larsen, 2014:20) As well as through Rukia's account, we are able to see how her embodiement of mashetani ya ruhani "necessitated transgressions in several social conventions relating to gender, social rank, and social positioning with respect to how identity is marked and enacted" (Larsen, 2014:19). what sticks even toward the conclusion is this concept of the permeability of the self and the other . "Rather... spirits can provide humans with the means to see possible an potential openings" (Larsen, 2014:22) if humans are chaotic and spirits are considered predictable and honest, they hold a mirror to humans, revealing the shortcomings, even as they are not here "help" humans.

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It was interesting to note how success and progress within the Wayao community is viewed as a slap in the face for others. Witchcraft and black magic were argued by community members to be an essential factor in the success of Mayao vendors. Perhaps the idea of success is so far fetched for this rural community, that it is impossible to achieve - the only possible explanation of such success is the idea of black magic.

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I must say I thought the sociological value of this paper was limited by given that such a complex notion such as spirituality was not interrogated, only described. Still, the paper provides an interesting descriptive analysis of spirituality in Zanzibar and certainly opened my mind with regard to the possibilities of more encompassing knowledge practices and the modes of validation that we employ when forming a relationship with reality. After reading this paper I'm tempted to say that ideas of spirituality, while they do not satisfy strict (Western) criteria of validation (truth) they nevertheless play an important social role which shouldn't be ignored or regarded as illegitimate simply because it does not correspond with objective truth. This is a kind of epistemology which a people lives by and which provides inspiration, depth and meaning to their existences. Perhaps there should be a debate about the compatibility of such things with the current (modern) times and whether they are adaptable to a more scientific view of the world or whether that would be a bad thing.

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This article demonstrate the crucial relationship between humans and spirits. What impressed me while reading the article is this profound care and respect that spirits demand from humans, and if they don't get it,  this will considered  as a disrespect on the parts of humans, as seen in Bi Same case, punished for having neglected the presence of her spirit. I really liked this article and  in my opinion, awareness regarding this topic is needed, especially for those in the country implementing health projects, must be aware of the importance given to the spirits and find implement adequate  programs.
Stefania

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The conclusion that Malefakis makes about witchcraft essentially holding the community accountable for the progress of everyone rather than the individual reminds me of Teffo & Roux's paper on Metaphysical Thinking in Africa. They talk about the nature of personhood and the ways in which metaphysics (which includes witchcraft) affects development, education, government and legislation. The rejection of chance makes witchcraft a viable explanation for the success of an individual.

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Something I found interesting is the constant merging between Islamic terminology, interpretation, and philosophy with the manifestation of the spirit world. According to the text, it seems that a person's failure to uphold the performance of the society's interpretation of Islamic conduct (things like edep and control of the nafs) is much more shameful than to be embodied by a spirit or to embody one willfully. "Embodying a spirit is not understood in terms of...violating the integrity of the self...In contrast, a violation of a person's integrity would be found in a situation where a [person] is shamed or loses self control in public" (Larsen, 10). This was an interesting challenge to the more western notion that falling victim to a spirit is in fact a sign of weak faith and a lack on iman. In my understanding of Islamic philosophy, jinns and spirits are easily scared off with the simple utterance of God's name. It's interesting to see a point of view where the perception of spirits is not seen with such a dichotomy of good and evil and are accepted as part of Creation as well.

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The article really exposed a contradiction between the bond of kinship ties and the jealousy and envy that ensues from a shared history and past. The notion of uchawi as a form of explanation for success was enlightening in terms of maintaining a egalitarian and social order of things and honestly depressing! It seems the group are bound in the same future that was formed in their village, a hopeless future that keeps them to a limited success. Is uchawi a easy form of acceptance for ones lack of success in the city? I wonder how this could be challenged or if they want their situations to change without the burden of the jealousy and envy they face? Or I wonder does the place and economic situation you are from always so deeply influences who you are and what you will become? Poverty breeds poverty?

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This article was helpful and informative as it laid out an overview of all the spirit types across the coastal regions of east Africa. I found it particularly interesting, the correlation between East African history and the way the different spirits are represented, for example, the possession of material items like planes and guns (common items used in colonial times) by the European spirits. The belief in spirits and such similar entities, especially in the west are often seen as backward, however, when taking a deeper look in to the background and history it is interesting to see where these beliefs might have stemmed from.

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If accusations of witchcraft (uchawi) are used to discourage deviation from communitarian social norms amongst the informal shoe vendors of Dar Es Salaam, as Malefakis concludes, it logically follows that such accusations are more common in the relatively individualistic setting of the city than they are in rural (and relatively communitarian) Tanzania.  Malefakis’s conclusions therefore help us to understand why perceptions of witchcraft are more common in modern urban Africa than in non-modern rural Africa.

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I have to agree with Oliver that I found Larsen’s piece to be of little ethnographic worth. Having declared that the article would offer ‘a more precise perception of the various concerns and paradoxes people cope with in their everyday lives’ (5), Larsen discusses only two examples of spirit possession in Zanzibari society – a limited scope. Furthermore, there was a lack of temporal consideration. Larsen focused upon the ill effects spirits had upon humans they were possessing, before moving to the act of recognising the spirit and creating a harmonious relationship with it. She frequently mentions this idea of a person becoming ill because they are “ignoring the spirit”, but does not explore what this looks like. I think it would be useful to study this very early stage of the spirits possession i.e. what form does it take when it is being “ignored”? What are the power relations between spirit and human when the spirit is being “ignored”? There was too much focus on the agency of the spirits later in the process of possession and not enough on the agency of the human from the start of the process.

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This paper's approach was more descriptive than analytical or critical in my view. That said, this approach caused to me to make my own observations and cause me to want to ask more questions of the subjects of the case study.
1. The spirits cannot be described as malevolent or benevolent - they respond to the human's receptiveness of them or lack thereof.
2. In Rukia's case, they appear to reposition her, giving her agency in spaces that she may not conventionally have as a woman.
3. I wonder about the roots of this belief system ie. whether religion or culture or a combination of the two can be best used to understand both the practises and beliefs.

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Wayao street vendors reminded me of the early days of China's reform and opening up.People from the villages flock to the cities to make a living selling small goods, yearning for the prosperity and opportunities of the cities, but swallowed up by their high prices. Kinship is a very important bond and people from a village often travel to the same place in the same trade. In China we call them "migrant workers". From rural to urban areas, the ties of kinship that come with farming mix with the interests of industrial society.

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Nonfiction Book on spirit possession.

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what struck me the most from this account of the connection between humans and spirits in Zanzibar is how intertwined spirits are with the everyday life of people, and how when a spirit is said to take over the human body, it can allow the individual to process and speak on struggles/traumas and grievances they faced in their life which would otherwise be difficult to address. I also found it interesting how much arabic culture has influenced these ideas, as 'shetani' and 'jini' are also used to describe the occult and spiritual in Islam and the effect of these is also mirrored in Zanzibar society.