Devil worship, black magic, and witchcraft have long captivated anthropologists as well as the general public. In this volume, Jean La Fontaine explores the intersection of expert and lay understandings of evil and the cultural forms that evil assumes. The chapters touch on public scares about devil-worship, misconceptions about human sacrifice and the use of body parts in healing practices, and mistaken accusations of children practicing witchcraft. Together, these cases demonstrate that comparison is a powerful method of cultural understanding, but warns of the dangers and mistaken conclusions that untrained ideas about other ways of life can lead to.
- ISBN10 1785330861
- ISBN13 9781785330865
- Publish Date 1 April 2016
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Berghahn Books
- Format eBook (EPUB)
- Pages 156
- Language English
- URL http://berghahnbooks.com/title/LaFontaineWitches