Norman M. Miller’s Encounters with Witchcraft: Field Notes from Africa, is an educational yet entertaining discussion of the author’s experiences with witchcraft in Africa. The prologue details Miller’s first encounter in March of 1960, and the book moves forward in a chronological fashion, with the final chapter concluding its discussion in 2005. Miller’s epilogue, The Future of Witchcraft, very briefly discusses the period between 2004 and 2012, but this section is very brief, general, and speculative in nature. For all practical purposes, the book covers the forty-five year period from 1960-2005.
It would be careless to say that the text’s organization is strictly chronological. While it does follow a chronological progression, each chapter also focuses on a relevant theme. For example, Chapter 7, Witchcraft and JuJu Economics, discusses the smuggling and trading of witchcraft products, and the economic impact of such activities. While the time period covered is 1995, much of what Miller says here is applicable to other eras. Other chapters, however, are firmly rooted in their historical context. Chapter 5, Witchcraft and Violence, discusses the author’s meeting with Idi Amin Dada and the interview he conducted with the former Ugandan leader in 1971.
As one would expect from a book based on nearly half a century of direct field observation, the book is written entirely from a reflective, first-person point of view. The text contains very few, if any, in-text citations, but a brief Further Readings and Bibliography section is included. The book concludes with a thorough index, which is quite helpful in navigating a book which mentions so many names and places. Perhaps the only element missing is a short glossary to cover some of the terminology that is used. In fairness to the author, he concisely and seamlessly provides definitions of local terms in context, so it may have been decided that a glossary would have been redundant.
At the beginning of each chapter, Miller provides not only the title and time period covered, but also a list of people who will be discussed, a wonderful touch that helps personalize the narrative even more. In a disclaimer on the publication page, Miller acknowledges that all the people are real, but six names were in fact changed. This hardly matters to the reader; so many people are introduced, the names can be difficult to keep straight at times. Miller’s experiences in Africa have been clearly defined by the people he encountered over the years. Instead of being highly theoretical, Miller makes his discoveries much more personal, elevating witchcraft from a conceptual idea to real-world issue that affects real people.
Miller incorporates various and numerous visual elements, including black and white photographs, maps, drawings, and sketches which lend a great deal of clarity and credibility to the overall presentation. All images are very well annotated with considerable detail. Also provided is an Acknowledgments and Photo Credits section, but the author does a fine job of clearly referencing each image when it is introduced. While the text itself is interesting reading on its own, one cannot understate the impact the visual elements have on the overall presentation.
Covering approximately a half century from the 1960s into the new millennium, Miller’s casual, yet informed, narrative style paints a historical yet personal picture of witchcraft in Africa. A major concern with any first-person narrative is that the work may end up being more about the author than the subject matter it intends to discuss. Fortunately, that is not the case here. Miller’s loving attention to the people he encountered, and his respect for local beliefs and customs, is apparent. Encounters with Witchcraft provides an authentic, enlightening reading experience about a subject that has been overly distorted and sensationalized in popular culture.
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[Review length: 619 words • Review posted on April 3, 2013]