Same-sex competition and sexual conflict expressed through witchcraft accusations.
Journal
Scientific reports
ISSN: 2045-2322
Titre abrégé: Sci Rep
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101563288
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
22 04 2022
22 04 2022
Historique:
received:
14
10
2021
accepted:
30
03
2022
entrez:
23
4
2022
pubmed:
24
4
2022
medline:
27
4
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
There is significant cross-cultural variation in the sex of individuals most likely to be accused of practising witchcraft. Allegations of witchcraft might be a mechanism for nullifying competitors so resources they would have used become available to others. In this case, who is targeted may result from patterns of competition and conflict (same-sex or male-female) within specific relationships, which are determined by broader socio-ecological factors. Here we examine patterns of sex-specific accusations in historic cases from sub-Saharan Africa (N = 423 accusations). Male 'witches' formed the greater part of our sample, and were mostly accused by male blood-relatives and nonrelatives, often in connection to disputes over wealth and status. Accusations of women were mainly from kin by marriage, and particularly from husbands and co-wives. The most common outcomes were that the accused was forced to move, or suffered reputational damage. Our results suggest that competition underlies accusations and relationship patterns may determine who is liable to be accused.
Identifiants
pubmed: 35459279
doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-10315-8
pii: 10.1038/s41598-022-10315-8
pmc: PMC9033826
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
6655Subventions
Organisme : European Research Council
ID : EvoBias
Pays : International
Informations de copyright
© 2022. The Author(s).
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