In this short text, David describes his views on magic as a political process. The phrase with which the text begins is absolutely a punch line!
"Thessalian witches, it was said, would regularly make threats against the cosmos..."
Just imagine a world where people allow themselves to build THIS kind of relationship with the gods!
Lost People: Magic and the Legacy of Slavery in Madagascar
Personally, I feel this is my best book but it's understandable that few people read it
David Graeber
A rural community in central Madagascar is divided between the descendants of nobles and descendants of slaves. Anthropologist David Graeber arrived for fieldwork at the height of tensions attributed to a disastrous communal ordeal two years earlier. As Graeber uncovers the layers of historical, social, and cultural knowledge required to understand this event, he elaborates a new view of power, inequality, and the political role of narrative. Combining theoretical subtlety, a compelling narrative line, and vividly drawn characters, Lost People is a singular contribution to the anthropology of politics and the literature on ethnographic writing.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/773764.Lost_People
This book is translated to: English
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