WAR, WITCHES AND TRAITORS: CASES FROM THE MPLAS EASTERN FRONT IN ANGOLA (19661975) I would like to thank all participants in the seminar War and violence in Africa (Siegburg, 1013 Feb. 2000) for their comments, suggestions and references. Heike Behrend, who shared her ideas and views on this theme well before the conference, deserves special mention. For security reasons the identity of the informants cannot be revealed. I wish to thank all informants and Rebecca Kastherody and Dominga Antonio for their assistance during the fieldwork. Thanks also to Robert Ross and JAH readers for their assistance

INGE BRINKMAN

doi:10.1017/s0021853702008368

A B S T R A C T : Accusations, trials and executions of witches and sell-outs frequently occurred at the MPLA's Eastern Front in Angola (1966-75). These events do not fit the general self-portrayal of the MPLA as a socialist, secular movement that was supported by the Angolan population without recourse to force. The people interviewed, mostly rural civilians from south-east Angola who lived under MPLA control, suggested many links between treason and witchcraft, yet at the same time

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... ted between these accusations. Witchcraft cases were often initiated by civilian families and the accused were mostly people who had a longstanding reputation of being a witch. While the MPLA leadership was often suspicious of the accusations of witchcraft, many civilians regarded the trials of witches as more legitimate than those of treason. Civilians held that the accusation of treason was often used by the guerrillas to get rid of political or personal rivals and/or to control the population. The accusations showed few patterns and cannot be interpreted as deliberate attempts to overcome structural forms of domination, of chiefs over followers, men over women or old over young.

doi:10.1017/s0021853702008368 fatcat:wuajsdzgajhw3bxvlt2vphxtby

Citation

INGE BRINKMAN. "WAR, WITCHES AND TRAITORS: CASES FROM THE MPLAS EASTERN FRONT IN ANGOLA (19661975) I would like to thank all participants in the seminar War and violence in Africa (Siegburg, 1013 Feb. 2000) for their comments, suggestions and references. Heike Behrend, who shared her ideas and views on this theme well before the conference, deserves special mention. For security reasons the identity of the informants cannot be revealed. I wish to thank all informants and Rebecca Kastherody and Dominga Antonio for their assistance during the fieldwork. Thanks also to Robert Ross and JAH readers for their assistance." The Journal of African History 44.2 (2003) 303-325

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