“The Ancestors Are Beating Us”: Men, Migration and Spirit Possession in South Africa
Although studies of migration have grown exponentially in recent years, their focus has for the most part been on individuals and groups moving from (rural) peripheries to (urban) centres, akin to the prophesies of mainstream modernist theory. In South Africa, formidable scholarship has tackled the...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Hradec Králové
2016-05-01
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| Series: | Modern Africa |
| Online Access: | http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/86 |
| _version_ | 1797331737317998592 |
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| author | Vendula Řezáčová |
| author_facet | Vendula Řezáčová |
| author_sort | Vendula Řezáčová |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although studies of migration have grown exponentially in recent years, their focus has for the most part been on individuals and groups moving from (rural) peripheries to (urban) centres, akin to the prophesies of mainstream modernist theory. In South Africa, formidable scholarship has tackled the challenges and opportunities, which urban milieus have provided for rural migrants. Much less attention has been paid to urban-rural movements and the transformations of identities, relations and powers, which these have engendered. This paper considers the dynamics of ancestral spirit possession in the case of TshiVenda-speaking migrant men and argues that urban-rural migration has constituted a significant, although highly contested and multi-faceted process in contemporary South African society. In particular, it aims to show that movements mediated by the notions and practices of spirit possession invoke experiences of place and gender, which problematise both local and analytical conceptions of “city” and “country,” “centre” and “periphery,” “manhood” and “womanhood.” |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T07:39:40Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ff6f2911253e46caa6f5fb175c84f47e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2336-3274 2570-7558 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T07:39:40Z |
| publishDate | 2016-05-01 |
| publisher | University of Hradec Králové |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Modern Africa |
| spelling | doaj.art-ff6f2911253e46caa6f5fb175c84f47e2024-02-02T17:53:59ZengUniversity of Hradec KrálovéModern Africa2336-32742570-75582016-05-0141“The Ancestors Are Beating Us”: Men, Migration and Spirit Possession in South AfricaVendula Řezáčová0Institute of Sociological Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in PragueAlthough studies of migration have grown exponentially in recent years, their focus has for the most part been on individuals and groups moving from (rural) peripheries to (urban) centres, akin to the prophesies of mainstream modernist theory. In South Africa, formidable scholarship has tackled the challenges and opportunities, which urban milieus have provided for rural migrants. Much less attention has been paid to urban-rural movements and the transformations of identities, relations and powers, which these have engendered. This paper considers the dynamics of ancestral spirit possession in the case of TshiVenda-speaking migrant men and argues that urban-rural migration has constituted a significant, although highly contested and multi-faceted process in contemporary South African society. In particular, it aims to show that movements mediated by the notions and practices of spirit possession invoke experiences of place and gender, which problematise both local and analytical conceptions of “city” and “country,” “centre” and “periphery,” “manhood” and “womanhood.”http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/86 |
| spellingShingle | Vendula Řezáčová “The Ancestors Are Beating Us”: Men, Migration and Spirit Possession in South Africa Modern Africa |
| title | “The Ancestors Are Beating Us”: Men, Migration and Spirit Possession in South Africa |
| title_full | “The Ancestors Are Beating Us”: Men, Migration and Spirit Possession in South Africa |
| title_fullStr | “The Ancestors Are Beating Us”: Men, Migration and Spirit Possession in South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | “The Ancestors Are Beating Us”: Men, Migration and Spirit Possession in South Africa |
| title_short | “The Ancestors Are Beating Us”: Men, Migration and Spirit Possession in South Africa |
| title_sort | the ancestors are beating us men migration and spirit possession in south africa |
| url | http://edu.uhk.cz/africa/index.php/ModAfr/article/view/86 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vendularezacova theancestorsarebeatingusmenmigrationandspiritpossessioninsouthafrica |