Beschreibung
The book deals with the phenomenon of spiritual healing and
witchcraft within the field of indigenous medicine and
African Independent Churches in the contemporary urban
setting of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Grounded in
theoretical concepts of medical and symbolical anthropology,
the study analyzes the syncretic character of medical
culture and the so-called „therapy shopping“ phenomenon.
Special attention is paid to the local conceptualization of
health, illness and body, cultural aetiology, the social and
cultural representation of spirit possession and witchcraft,
description of different types of healers and their
diagnostic and therapeutic praxis. Another part is dedicated
to the symbolical interpretation of witchcraft on the level
of theory, system and practice based on different case
studies .
