Sorcery and sovereignty : taxation, power, and rebellion in South Africa, 1880-1963 / Sean Redding.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Redding, Sean.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Black people--South Africa--Politics and government--19th century.

Black people.

Black people--South Africa--Politics and government--20th century.

Taxation--Political aspects--South Africa--History.

Taxation.

Government, Resistance to--South Africa--History.

Government, Resistance to.

Witchcraft--Political aspects--South Africa--History.

Witchcraft.

Power (Social sciences)--South Africa--History.

Power (Social sciences).

South Africa--Politics and government--1836-1909.

South Africa.

South Africa--Politics and government--1909-1948.

South Africa--Politics and government--1948-1961.

South Africa--Colonial influence.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (278 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Athens : Ohio University Press, c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Rebellions broke out in many areas of South Africashortly after the institution of white rule in the late nineteenth century and continued into the next century. However, distrust of the colonial regime reached a new peak in the mid-twentieth century, when revolts erupted across a wide area of rural South Africa. All these uprisings were rooted in grievances over taxes. Rebels frequently invoked supernatural powers for assistance and accused government officials of using witchcraft to enrich themselves and to harm ordinary people.As Sean Redding observes in Sorcery and Sovereignty, beliefs in witchcraft and supernatural powers were part of the political rhetoric; the systemof taxation-with all its prescribed interactions between ruler and ruled-was intimately connected to these supernatural beliefs.In this fascinating study, Redding examines how black South Africans¿ beliefs in supernatural powers, along with both economic and social change in therural areas, resulted in specific rebellions and how gender relations in black South African rural families changed. Sorcery and Sovereignty explores theintersection of taxation, political attitudes, and supernatural beliefs among black South Africans, shedding light on some of the most significant issues in the history of colonized Africa.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

1 sorcery and the state

2 war and revenue

3 from rinderpest through influenza

4 governing the zulu by killing them

5 taxation and flaming pigs in the transkei, 1921-30

6 legal minors and social children

7 government witchcraft

8 conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [247]-259) and index.

ISBN:

0-8214-4233-3

OCLC:

191932649