Ritual Murder and Witchcraft in Southern Africa in relation to Unity Dow's "The Screaming of the Innocent"

Term Paper (Advanced seminar) , 2007 , 40 Pages , Grade: 1.7

English Language and Literature Studies - Literature

In 2002, Unity Dow’s book The Screaming of the Innocent was published. It deals with the topic of ritual murder in Botswana and gives detailed descriptions of the South African belief in witchcraft, traditional healing and ritual murder. Since the book is not based on a true story it is interesting to find out whether the themes Dow writes about are fictitious as well or if they can be related to Botswana’s every-day life. In an interview Unity Dow claims that ritual murder actually still happens in Southern Africa.
This essay will have a closer look on some relevant passages of the book The Screaming of the Innocent and will relate them to the religion, the witchcraft belief, the belief in witchdoctors and the topic of ritual murder in Botswana. A comparison will show
whether there are parallels between the fictitious story of the book and the real life in this specific area of Southern Africa.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Unity Dow
2.1 General Information
2.2 Her Profession as a Judge and Human Rights Activist
2.3 Her Profession as a Writer

3. Unity Dow's The Screaming of the Innocent
3.1 Summary
3.2 Beliefs and Traditions ­ Witchdoctors
3.2.1 Chapter 9 ­ The Witchdoctor
3.2.2 Chapter 19 ­ The Witch in the Yard
3.2.3 Chapter 20 ­ The Healing of Ramarago
3.3 Ritual Murder
3.3.1 Chapter 1 ­ The Victim and the Perpetrators
3.3.2 Chapter 24 ­ Description of a Murder

4. South Africa ­ Botswana
4.1 Common Facts
4.2 Religion
4.3 Witchcraft Beliefs and Witchdoctors
4.4 Muti Murders

5. Recent Cases of Ritual Murder in South Africa

6. Comparison

7. Conclusion

8. Bibliography

9. Appendix
9.1 Articles from AllAfrica.com
9.2 Interview with Unity Dow

• College: University of Duisburg-Essen
• Grade: 1.7
• Author: Jessica Narloch (Author)
• Publication Year: 2007
• Pages: 40
• Catalog Number: V186365
• ISBN (eBook): 9783869437521
• ISBN (Book): 9783656994046
• Language: English
• Tags: ritual, murder, witchcraft, southern, africa, unity, screaming, innocent