Paul Stoller’s book In Sorcery’s Shadow takes the reader through an awe-inspiring journey into the life of the Songhay in Niger. Stoller encounters many fascinating individuals during his time exploring the Songhay and their ways of life. Shen build guides on MOBAFire. League of Legends Premiere Shen Strategy Builds and Tools. Start your review of In Sorcery's Shadow: A Memoir of Apprenticeship among the Songhay of Niger. An anthropologist’s memoir of apprenticing himself to various sorcerers in Niger in the 1970s and 80s, this book has great material to work with, but is written in a rather dry, academic style.
In Sorcery's Shadow Series
Paul Stoller and Cheryl Olkes.
773 likes 27 talking about this. The Shadow Sorcery is a Lilith pantheism family tradition, engaged against patriarchy and conservative way of thinking. #Lucifer #Lilith. In Sorcery's Shadow: A Memoir of Apprenticeship among the Songhay of Niger. PAUL STOLLER and CHERYL OLKES.
The ethnography follows the chronological structure of Stoller and Olkes’s time in the Songhay region. From 1976 through to 1984, Stoller visited the Republic of Niger five times dividing his time between Mehanna, Wanzerbe and Tillaberi. Although Stoller knew it was practised, it was not until about six months into his study (during 1976 and 1977), that he first got fully introduced to the world of sorcery, initiating a change to his fieldwork topic. Whilst sitting in his hut, with a sorko (a type of Songhay magician-healer), two birds, which had been nesting in Stoller’s roof, defecated on Stoller’s head. Although provoking an enraged reactionin Stoller, Djibo (the sorko) praised God. This act was seen as the turning point in the ethnography, and he invited Stoller to embark on a journey as a sorcerer’s apprentice. As Djibo said, it was a sign; Stoller was the chosen one to enter sorcery. From what had been an objective account of local politics, could now be seen as the turning point, where the objective turned into the subjective interpretation.
The very nature of this ethnography has instigated much debate. The subjectivity creates a personal account of Stoller’s experiences, in which there is a turning point, a moment when the involvement became too much of a private matter as opposed to a write up about the Songhay people. One influential element was allowing himself to become absorbed into sorcery and turn into an apprentice, forcing all objectivity to be left behind. This signifies the beginning of personal gain over an anthropological perspective. The transition that took place, from the objective to the subjective, transpired when Stoller had his encounter with the two birds and the significant moment when Stoller agreed to meet with Djibo’s father, a senior sorko. When faced with this decision, Stoller reflected on what would be best. He had to decide whether he should do it himself, or to send someone else to learn sorcery. He was worried about his reputation amongst other anthropologists, and afraid of what he might be taught. Finally, his curiosity and own “private desire” got the better of him and as his study takes a turn into discovering sorcery, so does Stoller’s wants and beliefs.
One night in Wanzerbe, when visiting a ‘powerful’ priestess, during his visit in 1979 to 1980, Stoller, as he thought, experienced first-hand sorcery. Awaking in the night after hearing loud noises, Stoller felt a strong presence of someone or something, and whilst trying to flee the house, he found his lower body to be paralysed. In his frightened state, Stoller began reciting an incantation; a charm which would protect him from evil spirits until the feeling in his legs began to re-appear. Stoller’s initial reaction was to deliver this ‘genji how’, showing how his rational consciousness had changed. Instead of now trying to study the culture through the experience, it could be seen that his beliefs have almost fully changed, and he is living the experience through the culture.
Before my paralysis, I knew there were scientific explanations of Songhay sorcery. After Wanzerbe, my unwavering faith in science vanished… In Wanzerbe, I had crossed an invisible threshold into the Songhay world of sorcery.
Even according to Stoller himself, this was the point in which he knew that sorcery had overtaken his scientific knowledge. From this point on, Stoller began to think of himself as having a mystical power, and with the disappearance of science, came the weakening of the firm faith in anthropological objectivity.
There is a crucial moment when Stoller receives this treatment. Towards the end of his visit in 1976 to 1977, Stoller was approached by a friend, Moussa, asking him to avenge a European boss who had been abusing and eventually fired his cousin. After much debate, Stoller agreed and performed a ritual which he hoped would punish the Frenchman. On his return to Niger in November 1979, Stoller went on an immediate search for his friend to try and establish if his ritual had worked. To Stoller’s surprise, the sister of the boss had become ill, leaving a side of her face paralysed. No amounts of medical care had rehabilitated it, and so eventually, they left. As soon as they arrived in France, the sister’s face became normal. Moussa stated “…I fear you and your mind. You are a hard man with much violence deep in your heart”. Here his desires have become true. He was feared and Stoller’s aspirations had become reality.
What was a journey into the lives of the Songhay people and Stoller’s own personal discovery, turned dramatically towards the end. On his return final return in 1984, this time with his partner, Cheryl Olkes, there seemed to be a shift in the tone of the ethnography. After leaving Mehanna and arriving in Wanzerbe, Stoller’s health deteriorated. He tried logically to blame this on the food and water, however, after seeing that Olkes was fine, he then considered the “silent killer – sorcery”. As Stoller became weaker, so did his rationality. One night he could not sleep through fear and so instead recited the ‘genji how’.In the morning, Stoller and Olkes were met with the news of two deaths. Two deaths Stoller blamed himself for, believing he had deflected the evil in the night, onto these innocent victims. They both left shortly after. Believing that he had tried to be ‘fixed’ by sorcery, and recovering from an illness only when he reached the USA, Stoller considered this the moment when ethics had been breached. He had caused deaths and Olkes to become ill. For him, this was the end of the study, and yet, it is interesting to note, that Stoller’s decision was influenced by sorcery, instead of what could be considered as realistic ethics.
Stoller himself knew that he would be crossing some boundaries and behaving in a way which could be thought of as immoral and unethical. However, he asks “is it ethical for anthropologists to pry into the private lives of people in the name of science. Stoller seems to acknowledge these questionings and queries the ethics of ethnographies as a whole, claiming that every anthropologist delving into the lives of another could be seen as unethical (Stoller and Olkes, 1987; x).
In Sorcery's Shadow Quest
There are mixed reviews, as there are with many ethnographies, however, Stoller’s account does create a subjective, and maybe even too personal, account of Songhay sorcery. It could be argued that Stoller and Olkes may have romanticized sorcery, instead of portraying it just as the Songhay people see it. Nevertheless, the ethnography is written well, and gives an accurate portrayal of these beliefs (from the view of a western perspective). It may just be written by a postmodern anthropologist, and therefore delves more into the experiences than into an actual analysis. Many anthropologists have also entered unchartered territory, where they could have taken part in activities or practices, and yet chosen to exclude them from their write ups. For this, Stoller and Olkes can be credited for their brave and honest account. There have been many debates arising from this controversial work and it will continue to divide opinion amongst those who read it. However, notwithstanding the arguments over the relative values of objective research and subjective narrative, “In Sorcery’s Shadow” describes a unique first- hand experience of a previously unexplored and undescribed world.