The historicity of witchcraft narratives Examples from the forest region of South Cameroon

This article compares two narratives about djambe (witchcraft, sorcellerie) current among the Maka in the forest area of Cameroon. One is an older story-a kind of foundational myth-of how djambe came to live among the people. The second is a more recent story about a form of witchcraft monopolized by the new rich who turn their victims into zombies to make them work on "invisible plantations." Both stories seem to highlight an ahistorical reality, but on closer inspection both express a reflection on changes. Through these stories it becomes clear that djambe is not a timeless tradition but a flexible and often internally inconsistent set of elements. This flexibility helps explain the ease with which local ideas about occult aggression can graft themselves onto historical changes.