Handling Sorcery in a State System of Law: Magic, Violence and Kastom in Vanuatu.

Abstract

This paper addresses the consequences of a local sorcery accusation that came to the attention of Vanuatu state police, courts and media. The paper discusses what happens to sorcery practices when these become absorbed into a modern, bureaucratic context. The argument revolves around the national imaginary formed by state power and the mass media in people's contemporary lives. In formulating new forms of opposition to sorcery, they also create a new imaginary space of national belonging.

The challenges of maintaining indigenous ecological knowledge

“…Similarly, some knowledge is gendered (e.g., male sacred musical instruments) and cannot be taught while the opposite sex is present. Moreover, some groups within the community (especially those aligned with evangelical churches) are opposed to the teaching of IEK in the schools, often fearing that the reification of any aspect of kastom risks an increase in "dark" forms of tradition, such as sorcery (Rio 2010). This emphasizes, once again, that communities are not homogenous entities (Agrawal and Gibson 1999).…”

German Pentecostal Witches and Communists: The Violence of Purity and Sameness

“…As has already been established in general terms by Kapferer (2002), and in specific regions such as Melanesia (Rio 2010(Rio , 2014, witchcraft may be viewed as a phantasmagoric space with realm-opening capacities. From this perspective, witchcraft is analytically constituted as an intrinsic and generative part of reality that transforms, exacts and instantiatesnot necessarily reflecting tangible historical or contemporary processes.…”

Spiritual War: Revival, Child Prophesies, and a Battle Over Sorcery in Vanuatu

“…The penalty is imprisonment for two years (Forsyth 2006: 12). Since sorcery operates in the spiritual realm, however, it is impossible to prove that sorcery has taken place before a state court using normal evidentiary principles (see however Rio 2010, where some men from Malekula were sentenced by the magistrates' court). If a sorcery case is investigated in detail and considered in the context of the state legal system with its rules of procedure and evidence, it is therefore highly unlikely to ever result in a successful prosecution (Forsyth 2006: 13).…”