The Cafunfo Witch Hunt
The diamond-mining region of the Lundas in Angola’s Northeast spews immense riches into the hands of a favoured few. While this area is heavily controlled by private security and state intelligence, “traditional rulers” still hold significant sway in adjudicating and managing conflict amongst the majority Lunda-Tchokwe ethnic group, guided by a system of animist beliefs (Kimbanda). In this they are advised by high priests (Kimbandeiros) who, as interpreters of orally transmitted beliefs and guardians of knowledge, operate both as diviners and healers. Angola’s government acknowledges these customary leaders and healers, exercising indirect supervision over them through local committees of the ruling MPLA (Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola). For the most part, these civil and customary systems co-exist peacefully, but from time to time they collide; sometimes violently. Such was the case in Cafunfo last month. Extreme poverty and high levels of infant mortality have resulted in desperate villagers […]
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