The Quest For Fruition Through Ngoma: The Political Aspects of Healing in Southern Africa - Softcover

Van Dijk, Rijk

Softcover

ISBN 10: 082141304X ISBN 13: 9780821413043

Publisher: Ohio University Press, 2000

Synopsis

This study has arisen out of a fascination with the vibrant nature of African societies, their vitality, and particularly the way in which they seem to be able time and again to overcome tribulation and turmoil.

In the southern African region, ngoma, an indigenous ritual of healing, dance, rhythm, and rhyme, is at the heart of the social effort of turning the tables for individuals and communities so that their well-being is restored.

This volume investigates ngoma in its many culturally diverse manifestations. It seeks to explore how these manifestations are perceived, how they function in relation to the needs of individuals and communities, and how they maintain their key functions in the face of modern developments and institutions.

The contributions included here transmit an appreciation of the social capability of African societies to turn misfortune, affliction, and repression into a valued experience of growth and fulfillment.

About this title

About the Author:

Rijk van Dijk is at the African Studies Centre, University of Leiden.

Ria Reis teaches Medical Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam.

Maja Spierenburg is at UNESCO, Dakar.

Review:

... rich ethnography and provocative intellectual engagement. - Michael Humphrey in ASAAP The book as a whole shows anthropology in transition, struggling with its own past and its future, as the authors discover new aspects to healing and reach for parallels elsewhere. In a concluding review, Janzen comments on the rich and varied ethnography these essays offer, traces his own scholarly quest from his studies of healing in Lower Congo to Ngoma, and notes that Ngoma is becoming a worldwide phenomenon. - Wyatt Macgaffey in BULLETIN of SOAS

About this edition

• Publisher: Ohio University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 082141304X
• ISBN 13: 9780821413043
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320
• Editor: Van Dijk Rijk, Reis Ria, Spierenburg Maja