African Science: Witchcraft, Vodun, and Healing in Southern Benin (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780299318949)

In this sensitive and personal investigation into Benin's occult world, Douglas J. Falen wrestles with the challenges of encountering a reality in which magic, science, and the Vodun religion converge into a single universal force. He takes seriously his Beninese interlocutors' insistence that the indigenous phenomenon known as 炳e ("witchcraft") is an African science, credited with fantastic and productive deeds, such as teleportation and supernatural healing.

Although the Beninese understanding of 炳e reflects positive scientific properties in its use of specialized knowledge to harness nature's energy and realize economic success, its boundless power is inherently ambivalent because it can corrupt its users, who dispense death and destruction. Witches and healers are equivalent to supervillains and superheroes, locked in epic battles over malevolent and benevolent human desires. Beninese people's discourse about such mystical confrontations expresses a philosophy of moral duality and cosmic balance. Falen demonstrates how a deep engagement with another lived reality opens our minds and contributes to understanding across cultural difference.

Author: Douglas J. Falen
ISBN-10: 029931894X
ISBN-13: 9780299318949
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Language: English
Published: 06/02/2020
Pages: 240
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.10w x 0.60d