Abstract

In this study I argue that African theological reflection has not addressed witchcraft adequately. Theologians interested in the ongoing discussion on African witchcraft in general, and Wimbum tfu, need to approach the problematics of tfu from a philosophical perspective in order to understand Wimbum misgivings about certain aspects of tfu. ;The study begins with the background and world view of the Wimbum people of the Cameroon Grassfields. This approach emphasizes Wimbum understandings of tfu by analyzing three broad categories of meaning-making concepts and activities which are filled with ambiguity, by drawing data from the Wimbum area and from relevant anthropological, philosophical and theological literature. I maintain that tfu is a highly ambiguous term and should be seen in light of other concepts related to meaning-making and the handling of misfortune. In the study I focus on ethical issues raised by tfu practice. The discussion is expanded by analyzing innovations in the practice of tfu in Wimbum society. Furthermore, I analyze tfu as part of the discourse of modernity and post modernity. ;This contextual approach seeks to go beyond issues of rationality and address contextual ethics. Drawing from Mudimbe's analysis of the discourse on Africa, Winch's approach to understanding an alien society and Bernstein's hermeneutical mediation, I argue that contextual ethics ought to take a human Other seriously. I sharpen my analysis by drawing from Emmanuel Levinas's ethics. Levinas proposes a radical Other who stands over and above the schemes of the Subject. Dimensions of personhood in Wimbum life and thought which allow for such an appropriation of Levinasian concepts are explored. ;In the final chapter Levinas's phenomenology of eros, interpreted here as metaphysical desire, and his presentation of human transcendence are employed as possible resources for an ethic and theology that seeks to address the ethical problems of tfu. I conclude the study by offering suggestions on the importance of employing Wimbum moral ideals and Levinasian ideas in an attempt to provide a critique of tfu practice in Wimbum society