Abstract

Witchcraft discourse in South Africa has increasingly permeated all social structures to an extent that it has become a real threat to the process of reconstruction and development. The neglect of witchcraft accusations and their resultant consequences can lead the country to lose all the gains it stood to have after the struggle for liberation. In this thesis I am looking at the historical developments of witchcraft accusations around the world in general, and in South Africa in particular and the threats they are posing to the society. I analyse five broad areas: Human inherent nature of scapegoat, jealousy, and the role religion plays in the escalation of these problems, African world view and its consequences on interpersonal relationships, colonial and missionary attempts in suppressing African world view, ways and means of containing the conflicts arising from the problem, and the summary of the findings made. ;The research is occasioned by the untold suffering victims of witchcraft accusations have to undergo in the three Northern Provinces of South Africa. Because of their cruelty and misery they cause on the poor people of rural Provinces agent attention is needed to contain them. The accusations are not diminishing despite all governmental efforts to curtail them. At the centre of witchcraft accusations there are stress, hatred, vindictiveness, and aspiration to prestige in the use of suppressive measures against the weak. The fear that one is being victimised as either an accused or bewitched is very real even today. The relevance of the study is very much apparent when one considers the paralysing helplessness the stakeholders like government and churches have against the carnage. ;To counter this supposed danger much of resources would be put into it. The abject poverty that has grabbed rural communities of the three Provinces has direct debilitating effect on social order. The poverty conditions play a definite role in the creation, promotion and escalation of the scourge. A clear grasp and extend to which these have on society by policy makers are extremely important in the process of containing them to manageable level. ;I conclude the study by recommending to the Government, Non-Governmental Organisations and other Community Leaders, transformational paths they should follow in improving the lot of the poor. This is done by highlighting ten findings that emerged during the study. The findings were the result of analysis of archival records, literature and case studies of witchcraft accusations. ;Because the subject of witchcraft is so wide and emotive I employed several sociological and anthropological theories to cover as wide field as possible. The incorporations of so many devise theoretical approaches into the study present a better interpretive and analytical explanation of causes, effects and containment of witchcraft accusations. The overall conclusion is encapsulated by the title of the study Moloi ga a na mmala . A witch remains unidentifiable, but witch hunters and sniffers know how to identify their witches. The process remains paradoxical and yet it is practised on a daily basis