"I am a man of both sides": female power and Islam in the life and work of a male spirit healer in northern Mozambique. Issue 2 (15th March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Trentini, Daria
• Is Part Of: International feminist journal of politics. Volume 23:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 198
• Page End: 220
• Publication Date: 2021-03-15
• Subjects: Islam -- matriliny -- spirit possession -- female power -- northern Mozambique; Feminist theory -- Periodicals; Political science -- Periodicals; Gender identity -- Periodicals; Sex role -- Periodicals; Women -- Periodicals; 305.42
• DOI: 10.1080/14616742.2021.1901060
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1461-6742

Abstract

ABSTRACT: How can male experiences of spirit possession contribute to feminist-influenced anthropology, which has focused mostly on the subordination of women and/or their resistance to male power? I engage with this question by examining the story of Alfio, a male Makhuwa spirit healer living in the city of Nampula in northern Mozambique, who both draws upon and negotiates with female power within spirit possession. I first provide the historical context of Alfio's story, showing how spirit possession in the matrilineal context of northern Mozambique was originally a domain of female power. I then look at how the Islamization brought about by the nineteenth-century slave trade challenged women's spiritual power, especially with the introduction of Muslim male spirits ( matxini ) into local cosmologies. Given that the spirit complex that emerged during the slave trade is still prominent in Nampula today, I draw on Alfio's story to explore the effects of Islamization on spirit possession and society. Specifically, I show how, although matriliny endured, matxini and Islam provided male healers with resources to attenuate female power and appropriate female ritual spaces. I conclude by comparing Alfio's story with those of other healers, reflecting on the implications of these changes in spirit possession for gender relations in present-day Mozambique.