Acceso usuarios
Gatitu Kiguru, Phyllis W. Mwangi, Purity M. Nthiga, Caryn Kimuyu
Witchcraft is defined as the use of magical powers to cast spells, heal, see into the future or cause harm. Belief in the powers of witchcraft is widespread in Africa, and, as a consequence, people from different walks of life seek various forms of interventions from witchdoctors. As such, witchcraft in Africa is a trade, complete with a marked use of language that sustains it in modern society. This article reports on an analysis of language used by witchdoctors in Machakos County in Kenya, and respondents’ views about witchcraft. The objectives of the study were twofold: the first was to identify and describe the language strategies that mark witchcraft as a trade, and the second was to explore the socio-psychological factors governing the use of language by witchdoctors. The primary data were collected through recorded interviews with the witchdoctors. To this end, two witchdoctors – one male and one female – were purposively sampled. In addition, a questionnaire was administered to 20 respondents to collect their views about witchcraft. The analysis found that witchdoctors use various language strategies to attract and retain clientele and that these strategies are a factor of the socio-psychological environment in which the witchdoctors operate. Moreover, the study established that witchdoctors still find relevance in modern Kenyan society because of prevalent beliefs about social and medical problems. Language, then, is an important tool in the witchcraft trade as it serves to purposely obscure meaning and shroud the trade in secrecy, enhance social exclusion and sustain belief in the magical powers of the witchdoctors
