Spirit Children

Illness, Poverty, and Infanticide in Northern Ghana

AvAaron R. Denham

Häftad, Engelska, 2019

Del i serien Africa and the Diaspora: History, Politics, Culture

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Beskrivning

Some babies and toddlers in parts of West Africa are considered spirit children—nonhumans sent from the forest to cause misfortune and destroy the family. These are usually deformed or ailing infants, or children whose births coincide with tragic events or who display unusual abilities. Aaron R. Denham offers a nuanced ethnographic study of this phenomenon in Northern Ghana that examines both the motivations of the families and the structural factors that lead to infanticide. He also turns the lens on the prevailing misunderstandings about this controversial practice. Denham offers vivid accounts of families’ life-and-death decisions that engage the complexity of the context, local meanings, and moral worlds of those confronting a spirit child.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2019-07-30
Mått:152 x 229 x 12 mm
Vikt:322 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Africa and the Diaspora: History, Politics, Culture
Antal sidor:216
Förlag:University of Wisconsin Press
ISBN:9780299311247

Utforska kategorier

Antropologi inom Samhälle och politik
Sociala och etiska frågor inom Samhälle och politik
Etnicitet inom Samhälle och politik

Mer om författaren

Aaron R. Denham is a senior lecturer in anthropology at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. He formerly was a mental health provider for children and families, a fellow of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders.

Recensioner i media

The work that Denham has carried out and disseminates in this finely written and sensitive book is absolutely ground-breaking."" - Ethos""Denham’s narratives on the human-spirit interactions in Nankani are fascinating. . . . Anyone who did not realise that Denham was born and raised outside of Africa might think that the book was written by a native African who was born and nurtured in this particular culture."" - Criminal Law and Criminal Justice Books""Although his book is based on a small community, the nuance with which Denham treats ‘infanticide’ contributes broadly to medical anthropology, childhood studies, and religious studies."" - Choice