Journeying into the experiences of persons accused of witchcraft: rethinking development theory and practice = Parcours des expériences des personnes accusées de sorcellerie: repenser la théorie et la pratique du développement
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2023
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Critical African Studies
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Taylor and Francis Group
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School of Social and Political Sciences
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Journal Article
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Mabefam, M. G. (2023). Journeying into the experiences of persons accused of witchcraft: rethinking development theory and practice = Parcours des expériences des personnes accusées de sorcellerie: repenser la théorie et la pratique du développement. Critical African Studies, 15 (3), https://doi.org/10.1080/21681392.2023.2232052.
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Regarding controversies and debates around ‘witch camps’ and whether or not they should be abolished, there are several issues that directly speak to the gaps in development scholarship, policy and practice. These gaps manifest in how individuals experience and understand their circumstances and how development interventions are designed, planned, and executed. In this article, I explore how individuals accused of witchcraft speak about themselves and their circumstances from three levels: rumour/gossip, accusation/confrontation, and eviction/banishment. I assert that there is discord between the perceived over-concentration of development interventions in the communities that offer refuge after displacement compared to other levels. Though intervening in such communities is essential, I argue that the broader debates are fixated on the existence (or lack thereof) of witchcraft. This leads to conversations that centre around whether such communities should be closed, and individuals accused of witchcraft allowed to return home. In these debates, the experiences of persons accused of witchcraft are footnotes in the argument. Although the study of witchcraft beliefs and practices is significant and has generated an impressive body of theories and debates, the issue of development intervention is relatively unexplored at the three levels mentioned above. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Gnani community of northern Ghana, this paper highlights the implications of the problematic development constructs and subjectivities that are framed around the closure of receiving communities, eliding a more nuanced understanding of individual persons’ concerns and desires at each of the three levels. There is a need for development to be more responsive to how individuals express themselves and understand their circumstances before support or intervention can be leveraged.
Dans les controverses et les débats autour des « camps de sorcières » et de la question de savoir s'ils doivent être abolis ou non, plusieurs questions concernent directement les lacunes dans les connaissances et la pratique du développement. Ces lacunes se manifestent dans la manière dont les personnes individuelles vivent et comprennent leur situation et dans la manière dont les interventions de développement sont conçues, planifiées et exécutées. Dans cet article, j'explore comment les personnes accusées de sorcellerie parlent d'elles-mêmes et de leur situation à trois niveaux: rumeur/commérage, accusation/confrontation et expulsion/bannissement. J'affirme qu'il existe une discorde entre la surconcentration perçue des interventions de développement dans les communautés qui offrent un refuge après leur déplacement, et d'autres niveaux. Il est essentiel d'intervenir dans de telles communautés, mais je soutiens que les débats plus larges sont obsédés par l'existence ou l'absence de sorcellerie. Cela entraine des discussions sur le fait que ces communautés devraient être fermées et les personnes accusées de sorcellerie autorisées à rentrer chez elles. Dans ces débats, on donne peu de place aux expériences réelles des personnes accusées de sorcellerie aux différentes étapes.