Questioning Misfortune: The Pragmatics of Uncertainty in Eastern Uganda (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780521594028)

This study of adversity and its social causes in rural Uganda considers how people deal with life's uncertainties--sickness, suffering, marital problems, failure, and death. Divination may identify causes of misfortune, ranging from ancestors and spirits to sorcerers. Sufferers and their families will then try out a variety of remedial measures, including pharmaceuticals, sorcery substances, and sacrifices. But remedies often fail, and doubt and uncertainty persist. The peril of AIDS can also be understood in terms of the existing pattern of uncertainty.

Author: Susan Reynolds Whyte
ISBN-10: 0521594022
ISBN-13: 9780521594028
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 01/08/1998
Pages: 274
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.26lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.75d