Witch Hunts: Culture, Patriarchy and Structural Transformation

286 Pages·2020·1.481 MB·English

by  Govind Kelkar, Dev Nathan

Advance Praise
It is interesting, important and well grounded in both older and newer
approaches to witchcraft. The general argument about witchcraft, gender,
patriarchy and structural changes in the economy is also quite persuasive,
though I am sure there will be quibbles. From my point of view, the book
looks both original and important.
Arjun Appadurai, Professor of Anthropology, New York University
Very impressive! The authors manage to cover a lot of ground. Am really
impressed by the wide scope of the book, both because of all the areas and themes
covered and because of the authors’ wide reading! So many literature references
and ideas … I think the focus on witch-hunts is original and productive.
Peter Geschiere, Professor of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam,
author of Witchcraft, Intimacy and Trust
Witch Hunts provides an illuminating exploration of how beliefs in witches
function to explain misfortunes, virtually always in the context of significant
economic and social transformations. Such processes are routinely gendered,
transferring land and social power usually from women to men, and thus
creating or strengthening patriarchies. Innovative is that the authors take the
standpoint of the victims of witch hunts in accounting for such practices and
beliefs. Decades of field work in India, and archival resources from primarily
Africa and early modern Europe, provide the solid evidential basis for analyses
of similarities and differences between witch hunts across geographies and
histories. Clearly written and well organized, this will make fascinating
reading for courses in history, economics, anthropology and women’s studies.
Sandra Harding, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of
California at Los Angeles
A fascinating account, in horrifying detail, of the under-side of community
and family life. We see patriarchy at its worst in this book which is an expert
analysis of the socio-economic reasons for the treatment of women as witches,
but with rays of hope on societal mechanisms which prevent or punish
perpetrators. Highly recommended as it is both moving and knowledgeable.
Renana Jhabvala, Chairperson, SEWA Bharat (All India SEWA),
Member, UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on Women’s
Economic Empowerment in 2016–2017; Chairperson, WIEGO
(Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing)
My impression … from an African woman’s perspective: This book provides
excellent analysis and new insights of critical importance to policymakers in
Africa on a human rights issue affecting women and the elderly in Africa.
Sheila Oparaocha, ENERGIA
Based on field work data on India and drawing on voluminous body of works
on witchcraft and witch hunts across geography and history beyond continents
and across disciplines and perspectives, Kelkar and Nathan lay bare general
principles that produce, reinforce and weaken witch hunts in societies.
This they do by brilliant engagement with three critical factors of witchcraft
belief, gender struggle and socio-economic transformation by combining the
lens of political economy with cultural analysis. Large in canvas, comparative
in perspective and refreshing in analysis, the book will enrich anyone
interested in issues of gender, witch hunts, socio-economic transformation,
political economy and indigenous peoples.
Virginius Xaxa, former Professor of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics
Witch Hunts
Witch hunts are the result of gendered, cultural, and socio-economic
struggles over acute structural, economic, and social transformations in both
the formation of gendered class societies and that of patriarchal capitalism.
The book combines political economy with gender and cultural analysis to
explain the articulation of cultural beliefs about women as causing harm, and
struggles over patriarchy in periods of structural economic transformation.
Starting with field data from India and South-east Asia, the analysis
incorporates a large body of works on Africa, the Americas, and early modern
Europe. Witch Hunts is a scholarly analysis of the human rights violation of
women and its correction through changes in beliefs, masculinity, knowledge
practices, and adaptation in structural transformation.
Govind Kelkar is a feminist scholar. She is currently Executive Director,
GenDev Centre for Research and Innovation; Visiting Professor, Council for
Social Development; and Distinguished Adjunct Faculty, the Asian Institute
of Technology, Bangkok.
Dev Nathan is an economist. He is currently Research Director, GenDev
Centre for Research and Innovation; Visiting Professor, Institute for Human
Development; and Research Advisor, Society for Labour and Development.
He is co-editor of the Press’s series Development Trajectories in Global
Value Chains.

WITCH HUNTS
CULTURE, PATRIARCHY, AND
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION
Govind Kelkar
Dev Nathan
With contributions from
Tara Ahluwalia, Jiban Behera, Durga Jha, Ajay Kumar, E. Revathi, Gunshi
Soren, Sujatha Surepally, and Punam Toppo
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Information for this title: www.cambridgeindia.org/9781108490511
© Govind Kelkar and Dev Nathan 2020
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,
no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2020
Printed in India
A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-108-49051-1 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy
of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,
and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain,
accurate or appropriate.
For Pallavi, who was part of the journeys that led to this book

Contents
Acknowledgements xi
1. Introduction 1
CULTURE
2. Culture and the Epistemology of Belief in Witchcraft 25
WITCH HUNTS IN INDIA
3. Witch Persecutions and Resistance in India 45
4. Factors in Witch Hunts 71
PATRIARCHY
5. A Connected History of Patriarchy and Witch Hunts 89
6. Creating Patriarchy 106
7. Witch Hunting as Women Hunting in Early Modern Europe 126
STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION
8. Accumulation, Dispossession, and Persecution 145
9. Witch Hunts in Development: Policy and Practice 169
CONCLUSIONS
10. Articulations 191
11. Policies for Ending Witch Hunts 205
Glossary 226
Bibliography 230
Index 258