Embodying Colonial Memories Spirit Possession, Power, and the Hauka in West Africa

A study of the West African Hauka - spirits that grotesquely mimic and mock "Europeans" of the colonial epoch. The author considers spirit possession as a set of embodied practices with serious social and cultural consequences. Embodying Colonial Memories is the first in-depth study of the West African Hauka, spirits in the body of (human) mediums which mimic and mock Europeans of the colonial epoch. Paul Stoller, who was initiated into a spirit possession troupe, recounts an insider's tale of the Hauka with respect and "brotherly" deference. He combines narrative description, historical analysis, and reflections on the importance of embodiment and mimesis to social theory, with particular reference to the Songhay peoples of the Republic of Niger.

About the author

Paul Stoller is Professor of Anthropology at West Chester University. He is the author of In Sorcery's Shadow (1987), Fusion of the Worlds (1989), The Taste ofEthnographic Things (1989) and The Cinematic Griot. He is currently conducting research among West African street vendors in New York City.

Summary

A study of the West African Hauka - spirits that grotesquely mimic and mock "Europeans" of the colonial epoch. The author considers spirit possession as a set of embodied practices with serious social and cultural consequences.

Product details

• Authors: Paul Stoller, Stoller Paul
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Content: Book
• Product form: Paperback / Softback
• Publication date: 27.09.1995
• Subject: Social sciences, law, business > Social sciences (general)
• EAN: 9780415908771
• ISBN: 978-0-415-90877-1
• Pages: 240
• Dimensions (packing): 15.2 x 22.9 cm
• Weight (packing): 440 g
• Subjects: Ethnic Studies, Cultural Studies, BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Spiritualism, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism, Spiritualism, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, Colonialism & imperialism, Colonialism and imperialism, Postcolonial Theory, West Africa, National liberation & independence, post-colonialism, Black & Asian Studies, National liberation and independence, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / African Studies, Cultural Memory Studies, Ethnographic fieldwork, colonial resistance movements, ritual embodiment, Songhay anthropology, spirit possession research in Niger