In sorcery's shadow : a memoir of apprenticeship among the Songhay of Niger /

An example of a type of self-reflexive writing that is becoming more common in anthropology. Stoller and Olkes provide glimpses of physical environmental conditions, of Songhay (Niger) village scenes, of some elements of Songhay social stratification, and isolated bits of information about sorcery; there are good, though brief, life histories of particular Songhay sorcerers. However, readers should not look to this book as a source on Songhay culture since there is very little detail that is informatively descriptive of Songhay interacting with each other. Through the author's research experience readers learn about the process of engaging another culture. In Sorcery's Shadow would be useful to specialists who wish to understand the circumstances that governed the collection of data, thereby adding to the growing literature on the field research process. However, a number of books on this subject are already available, including such classics as Laura Bohannan's Return to Laughter (1964), Kenneth Read's The High Valley (1965), Charles Wagley's Welcome to Tears (CH, Apr '78), Paul Rabinow's Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco (1977)-each is ethnographically more informative and better written. Appropriate for general readers and all academic levels.-R.J. Kurtz, Grinnell College

The tribal sorcerer is both hunter and hunted in a world of power seekers. The ominous sense of a narrowly oppressive quest for power is captured in this startling field report by an anthropologist who was himself initiated into African sorcery. Stoller made five field trips to study the Songhay, proud, fierce subsistence farmers of Niger. Becoming an apprentice, then a practitioner of the black arts, he took part in one ritual attack that, he claims, paralyzed the face of the intended victim's sister. After hostile sorcerers' spells temporarily paralyzed the author's legs, he began carrying around protective charms. On his last field trip, he was joined by his coauthor wife, a sociologist; she adds a measure of objectivity to this firsthand account. Although the narrative unfolds slowly and doesn't measure up as the metaphysical adventure it might have been, it is nevertheless a responsible attempt to pierce a hidden realm. (December) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

In the last decade, anthropologists have allowed personal concerns to become an acknowledged part of their ethnographic work. In this vein, Stoller ``learned much about Songhay sorcery as an initiated apprentice,'' and consequently his book is more ``memoir'' than standard ethnography. Still, the account contains incisive information about fieldwork in Niger and about Songhay sorcerythe incantations, power attributed to plants, antagonisms between sorcerers, and details of daily life that both he and, later, Olkes collected. A good presentation of many of the ethical dilemmas anthropologists face when doing fieldwork for informed laypersons and specialists. Schneebaum's book is again more autobiography than ethnography, but in contrast to Stoller's, it contains sketchy ethnographic information. Though Schneebaum incessantly interviewed the Asmat during his four years in New Guinea, little of that information is conveyed. The book is more a search for identity: Schneebaum knew the Asmat as no other ethnographer has (or would admit to); as ``an exchange friend'' he developed intimate bonds with male friends. The lack of detailed cultural information is therefore the more regrettable. The book does, however, give us clear descriptions of Schneebaum's anthropological encounter and subsequent personal questions. Winifred Lambrecht, Brown Univ., Providence, R.I. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Compelling if somewhat unsettling account of a white American anthropologist's personal experiences with the techniques and effects of a form of present-day African sorcery. Husband-and-wife team Stoller (West Chester U.) and Olkes tell a fast-moving tale of times spent among Songhay peoples in the northwestern comer of Niger, a land replete with vast stretches of sand dunes in skin-blistering heat, mud-brick compounds, drought-stricken agriculture, pythons, egrets, and small towns in which hospitality centers around gifts of goats and chickens. In a series of extended anthropological field trips between 1976 and 1984, Stoller found himself ever more deeply enmeshed not only in learning about but also in participating in older magical power systems that lie beneath the Islamic surface. Practitioners of sorcery in the towns of Mehanna, Tillaberi, and Wanzerbe appeared with perfect timing to instruct him on names and uses of a vast number of magical powders, sacred incantations, animal sacrifices, possession dances, divination by cowry shells, and knowledge of the family of Tooru spirit deities. Portraits of individuals and community lifestyles are deftly drawn, revealing Stoller's deep respect for Songhay culture and the people within it, creating a believable, sometimes humorous, engaging blend of exotic travel and hidden mysteries--with a comforting dose of pragmatic skepticism. Unlike so many contemporary writings, this is not a book about discovering an ancient wisdom of love and compassion; despite some reports of healings and protective spells, it is primarily about the fiercely competitive and spiteful uses of powers that created an attitude of defensive, even paranoid, social interactions so intense that they eventually frightened Stoller enough to call a halt to his participation. A well-written glimpse into a generally unfamiliar world that may shed light on some of the sources of Voodoo and CondomblÉin the Americas. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.