Overview

""This ethnography is more like a film than a book, so well does Stoller evoke the color, sight, sounds, and movements of Songhay possession ceremonies.""—Choice ""Stoller brilliantly recreates the reality of spirit presence; hosts are what they mediate, and spirits become flesh and blood in the 'fusion' with human existence. . . . An excellent demonstration of the benefits of a new genre of ethnographic writing. It expands our understanding of the harsh world of Songhay mediums and sorcerers.""—Bruce Kapferer, American Ethnologist ""A vivid story that will appeal to a wide audience. . . . The voices of individual Songhay are evident and forceful throughout the story. . . . Like a painter, [Stoller] is concerned with the rich surface of things, with depicting images, evoking sensations, and enriching perceptions. . . . He has succeeded admirably."" —Michael Lambek, American Anthropologist ""Events (ceremonies and life histories) are evoked in cinematic style. . . . [This book is] approachable and absorbing—it is well written, uncluttered by jargon and elegantly structured.""—Richard Fardon, Times Higher Education Supplement ""Compelling, insightful, rich in ethnographic detail, and worthy of becoming a classic in the scholarship on Africa.""—Aidan Southall, African Studies Review

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9780226775456

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Reviews

Author Information

Paul Stoller teaches anthropology at West Chester University and Temple University. He is the author of numerous books including Money Has No Smell and Jaguar, both published by the University of Chicago Press.

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