Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Witchcraft in Venda: healing, violence and the symbolism of evil
This thesis argues that witchcraft in Venda must be understood in relation to both traditional healing and traditional ways of symbolising evil. While outlining the basic Venda vocabulary of witchcraft, the thesis places that discourse about witches in the context of beliefs and practices relating t...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
Department of Religious Studies
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613237773598720 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Ravele, Dokotela Elias |
| author2 | Chidester, D |
| author_browse | Chidester, D Ravele, Dokotela Elias |
| author_facet | Chidester, D Ravele, Dokotela Elias |
| author_sort | Ravele, Dokotela Elias |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis argues that witchcraft in Venda must be understood in relation to both traditional healing and traditional ways of symbolising evil. While outlining the basic Venda vocabulary of witchcraft, the thesis places that discourse about witches in the context of beliefs and practices relating to healing. As explored in detail in Chapter Three, knowledge about medicines provides a crucial background to the basic concept of witchcraft. Within the community, the healer or nanga is seen as the central figure. Without the protection provided by a =~ witches are believed to be able to operate freely in causing harm to persons and property. By virtue of his knowledge in healing, however, a == can be regarded as a witch. This irony introduces a certain ambiguity into the roles performed by traditional healers, sometimes blurring the line that divides good and evil applications of powerful medicines. The context of traditional healing, however, with its traditional medicines, roles, and techniques, provides the basic environment for identifying the harmful c~t::ct:; of witchcraft that are examined in detail in Chapter Four. Proceeding from healing to the symbolism of evil, the concluding chapter of the thesis, Chapter Five, examines the violence of witchcraft not only as a traditional way of identifying anti-social conduct but also as a modern symptom of economic competition and political rivalry. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42966 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | English eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:57.328Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Department of Religious Studies |
| publisherStr | Department of Religious Studies |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/42966 Witchcraft in Venda: healing, violence and the symbolism of evil Ravele, Dokotela Elias Chidester, D Religious Studies This thesis argues that witchcraft in Venda must be understood in relation to both traditional healing and traditional ways of symbolising evil. While outlining the basic Venda vocabulary of witchcraft, the thesis places that discourse about witches in the context of beliefs and practices relating to healing. As explored in detail in Chapter Three, knowledge about medicines provides a crucial background to the basic concept of witchcraft. Within the community, the healer or nanga is seen as the central figure. Without the protection provided by a =~ witches are believed to be able to operate freely in causing harm to persons and property. By virtue of his knowledge in healing, however, a == can be regarded as a witch. This irony introduces a certain ambiguity into the roles performed by traditional healers, sometimes blurring the line that divides good and evil applications of powerful medicines. The context of traditional healing, however, with its traditional medicines, roles, and techniques, provides the basic environment for identifying the harmful c~t::ct:; of witchcraft that are examined in detail in Chapter Four. Proceeding from healing to the symbolism of evil, the concluding chapter of the thesis, Chapter Five, examines the violence of witchcraft not only as a traditional way of identifying anti-social conduct but also as a modern symptom of economic competition and political rivalry. 2026-03-13T12:41:04Z 2026-03-13T12:41:04Z 1999 2024-07-11T07:51:28Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42966 en eng application/pdf Department of Religious Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Religious Studies Ravele, Dokotela Elias Witchcraft in Venda: healing, violence and the symbolism of evil |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Witchcraft in Venda: healing, violence and the symbolism of evil |
| title_full | Witchcraft in Venda: healing, violence and the symbolism of evil |
| title_fullStr | Witchcraft in Venda: healing, violence and the symbolism of evil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Witchcraft in Venda: healing, violence and the symbolism of evil |
| title_short | Witchcraft in Venda: healing, violence and the symbolism of evil |
| title_sort | witchcraft in venda healing violence and the symbolism of evil |
| topic | Religious Studies |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/42966 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT raveledokotelaelias witchcraftinvendahealingviolenceandthesymbolismofevil |