The Mfumu: Secrets of the African Medicine Man

Folkestone, Kent, UK: Finbarr International, 1996. First Edition. Original Wraps. Very Good+ in Wraps. First Edition. Original Wraps. 'Mfumu' is the African name for the 'medicine man', also called 'witch doctor'. In reality, the etymology derives from Bantu Chichewa, the term meaning 'king.' "William Van, a European ethnographer who purportedly studied under a Mfumu in an undisclosed location in Africa..." The use of the word originates in Cameroon, and currently in Malawi and parts of Southern Africa. "European commonplace represents Africa as the dark crucible of magic and witchcraft while at the same time arguing that it is difficult or dangerous to write about this occult core. The translation of African magic as "witchcraft" threatens European understandings of self and other just as much as this translation is an attempt to contain the African occult within imperial, colonial, or neocolonial discourses."--Peter Pels. The 'translated' text provides instrutions for various instruments and diagrams for working ritual magic including objects as shells, stones, paint, and bones. The rituals both heal and curse, invoking power to spirits and attract material goods. Finbarr International ran a successful mail order business in the 1990s of occult pamphlets and magical items. Light wear along spine, else tight, bright, and unmarred. Staple bound in glossy printed wrappers. 8vo, 47pp. Illus. (b/w).