Chimpanzees, sorcery and contestation in a protected area in Guinea-Bissau

Sousa, J., Hill, C. and Ainslie, A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7549-7643 (2017) Chimpanzees, sorcery and contestation in a protected area in Guinea-Bissau. Social Anthropology, 25 (3). pp. 364-379. ISSN 1469-8676 doi: 10.1111/1469-8676.12418

Abstract/Summary

In Cantanhez National Park in Guinea-Bissau the construction of meaning made upon encounters with chimpanzees is associated with local social life. If a chimpanzee makes an unprovoked attack on a person, its actions are often understood as those of a sorcerer. Chimpanzees are involved in two parallel accusation discourses, one is played in intimate spheres of sociability where sorcerers harm their kin to benefit from secret alliances, and the other addresses a wider audience perceived to benefit from chimpanzees which are being protected at the expense of other humans. Both narratives represent local criticism against transgressions to calculations of redistribution and reciprocity.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/69726
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of International Development
Uncontrolled Keywords	chimpanzees, sorcery, national park, nature conservation, reciprocity
Publisher	Wiley
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