Witchcraft beliefs and commonality

From what I remember, it’s not that Nigerians don’t believe in canine witchcraft (there’s the belief in associating dogs with sex demons if I remember though it’s not that unique to it either as it’s shared across Africa like Zambia). But that it doesn’t occur that often among Nigerians as it does among other demographics like Zambians, Cameroonians and Ghanaians. I could be wrong about it.

Though it could be due to my limited research on what I know about them. Not that Ghanaians are any less fond of cats either as much as dog witchcraft beliefs are more widespread among them. Same for Cameroonians to suggest some kind of balance, though that’s not the right word for it either as much as these beliefs are more prevalent among them. Witches turning into or linked with primates and leopards aren’t unique to Cameroon.

While some Cameroonians (and Gabonese) believe that witches and demons turn into gorillas, some Ugandans and South Africans associate monkeys (well certain monkeys like baboons and sometimes vervets) with witchcraft. This has a parallel especially in England that at one point monkeys too were linked to witchcraft. What’s more peculiar is that both Gabonese and Cameroonians believe in elephant witchcraft.

(That too can be found among some Sierra Leoneans.)

It’s like how the belief in cat and dog witchcraft’s near-universal among Malayo-Polynesians (as far as tumawo, djinn and aswang beliefs are around) as well as throughout Eurasia and Africa to varying degrees but fox witchcraft beliefs are very pronounced in East Asia. (Fox witchcraft’s also found in Spain and Austria but not as prominent.)

Elephant witchcraft beliefs aren’t unique to Cameroonians and Gabonese but are much more common. There were primate witchcraft beliefs in Europe before but are either more common or persistent in contemporary Africa, at least these days. Same goes for fox witchcraft in Asia.

African witches (Google Books)

You Can Defeat Demons: A Practical Guide to Casting out Evil Spirits

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1466957972
Emmanuel M. Nsofwa – 2007 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Native witches usually turn into such animals as lions, leopards, tigers, hyenas, crocodiles, snakes, or domestic animals like dogs or cats. These man … He wasa very effective evangelistin both urban and rural Zambia. One day he came for …
Spirits and Letters: Reading, Writing and Charisma in African …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=0857451421
Thomas G. Kirsch – 2011 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Resorting to quotations from the Bible in matters of witchcraft thus provided protection. … suspected of being a witch.2 In the case of suspicions of witchcraft, delegation of responsibility was also connected with Zambian national law. … suffice to defeat attacks by witches and to destroy their magical paraphernalia, and they resisted all attempts to name witches. … He disclosed that a dog had appeared in his visions (kubona chilengaano mumuya usalala [to see a vision through the Holy …
Zambian Myths and Legends of the Wild – Page 172

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=9982848003
Kenneth Kangende – 2001 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
Apart from diseases such as rinderpest which kill wildebeest in large numbers, there are many enemies in the jungle. … Adults often fall prey to lions and wild dogs. Whatever trait may attract a witch to use the tail of the wildebeest in the mihata formulations, die beast has the following negative attributes: Hunting A …
The Practice of Witchcraft Today: An Introduction to Beliefs and Rituals

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=0806516747
Robin Skelton – 1995 – ‎No preview – ‎More editions
Introduction to contemporary Wiccan practices.
Zambia, Mining, and Neoliberalism: Boom and Bust on the Globalized …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=0230115594
A. Fraser, ‎M. Larmer – 2010 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
This book paints a vivid picture of Zambia’s experience riding the copper price rollercoaster.
Witchcraft and Policing: South Africa Police Service Attitudes …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=ZozaAAAAMAAJ
Riekje Pelgrim – 2003 – ‎Snippet view
Woodsong

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1442467142
Gary Paulsen – 2012 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Gary Paulsen has had a life as exciting as fiction! Gary Paulsen, three-time Newbery Honor author, is no stranger to adventure.
How Europe Underdeveloped Africa

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1788731204
Walter Rodney – 2018 – ‎No preview – ‎More editions
The classic work of political, economic, and historical analysis, powerfully introduced by Angela Davis In his short life, the Guyanese intellectual Walter Rodney emerged as one of the leading thinkers and activists of the anticolonial …
Pentecostalism and Witchcraft: Spiritual Warfare in Africa and Melanesia

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=3319560689
Knut Rio, ‎Michelle MacCarthy, ‎Ruy Blanes – 2017 – ‎Read – ‎More editions
This open access book presents fresh ethnographic work from the regions of Africa and Melanesia—where the popularity of charismatic Christianity can be linked to a revival and transformation of witchcraft.
Killing Hope: US Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1842773690
William Blum – 2003 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Each chapter of the book covers a year in which the author takes one particular country case and tells the story – and each case throws light on particular US tactics of intervention.
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Akan Christology: An Analysis of the Christologies of John Samuel …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1620321556
Charles Sarpong Aye-Addo – 2013 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Throughout Africa, and particularly Ghana, it is believed that the meeting is simply to feast on human beings or to work out … Margaret Field observed the following in her field work among the Ga people of Ghana, where there had been admissions of being witches and confessions of their … Asare Opoku maintains that Animals such as dogs, black cats, toads, rats, or birds are used for riding as airplanes.
Witchcraft, Witches, and Violence in Ghana – Page 306

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1782385614
Mensah Adinkrah – 2015 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Culture and Development in Africa with Special References to Ghana: Some Basic Issues Volume 1. Accra, Ghana: … “The Witches of Gambaga: What it Means to be a Witch in the Northern Region of Ghana.” Jenda: A Journal of … “Boy, 15, in Dog Chains.” Mirror … “The Language of the Proverb in Akan.” in Richard M.
The Akan of Ghana, West Africa: a cultural handbook for reference

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=0961457317
Kofi Appiah-Kubi – 1999 – ‎Snippet view
Others are believed to fly nude or use a spider’s web, ride on animals’ back— such as cats, dogs, rats or birds. Their meeting places are mostly on trees, or the outskirts of towns. Their ritual is strictly spiritual. These witches construct their …
Witchcraft in Ghana: A Study on the Belief in Destructive Witches …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=tVUrAAAAIAAJ
Hans Werner Debrunner – 1961 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
A Study on the Belief in Destructive Witches and Its Effect on the Akan Tribes Hans Werner Debrunner. CHAPTER 13 … If you want to see the witches, ghosts and dwarfs, you must put the mucus of a dog’s eye into your own “. A student wrote: …
Slavery, Memory and Religion in Southeastern Ghana, c.1850–Present

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1107108276
Meera Venkatachalam – 2015 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
It has been argued that according to Akan cultural logic, therefore, the northerners, though not free from bayi, … This led the Akan to conclude that the northerners must have powerful anti-witchcraft devices in their societies, which somehow neutralised the activities of witches (Allman and … At the shrine of Suka of Achiave (Keta District) . . . the blood of a dog is also drunk by prospective members on …
African Studies Review – Volumes 26-27 – Page 112

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=dBhWAAAAYAAJ
1983 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
Witches, with the help of the substance, can change themselves into animals and birds such as dogs, cats (particularly black ones), and … This belief is quite similar to that of the Akan peoples of Ghana and Ivory Coast (Parrinder, 1963: 135).
Working Inter-Culturally in Counselling Settings – Page 35

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1134587767
Aisha Dupont-Joshua – 2003 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
The western occult practices have five levels of membership, going from the apprentice to warlock or witch, to the wizard or enchantress, to the sorcerer … Luna the moon and Diana the earth along with the underworld figure Proserpine, who ruled among night and darkness, blood and terror, tombs and dogs. … The Akan of Ghana and the Ivory Working with an African perspective in counselling practice 35.
Witchcraft, sorcery and magic in Africa: the Ibibio case – Page 137

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=rIYuAQAAIAAJ
Daniel A. Offiong – 2009 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
Witches, with the help of the substance, can change themselves into animals and birds such as dogs, cats (particularly black ones), and owls, and give of a … This belief is quite similar to that of the Akan peoples of Ghana and Ivory Coast.
The Akan of Ghana: Their Ancient Beliefs – Page 137

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=ExJPAQAAMAAJ
1958 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
… they are worshipped as Sky-Fertility-state goddesses (also the goat, scorpion and dog as subsidiary animal emblems) … The Bono formerly burnt witches, unfaithful king’s wives, and others, to prevent the saman, or shade, from surviving in …
The practice of witchcraft in Ghana – Page 103

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=2yYvAAAAYAAJ
Gabriel Bannerman-Richter – 1982 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
For example, a girl who is a witch may claim that she rendered a man impotent on moral grounds: she seized the victim’s … She may confess that she transferred the vital airs of the genetalia into beads, which Ghanaian women wear as … To Akan people, blood has a significance beyond keeping a person’s anatomy functioning; they believe that it is one of the two … If the witch has the habit of transforming herself into a dog while in the astral world, then it is as a dog that she sinks her …
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Witchcraft, Witches, and Violence in Ghana – Page 248

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1782385614
Mensah Adinkrah – 2015 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
purportedly verified to be witches through divinatory procedures or personal confessions, are summarily buried after their … tied up her son with a dog chain, beat him, and left him kneeling 248 • Witchcraft, Witches, and Violence in Ghana.
Religion and the Inculturation of Human Rights in Ghana – Page 181

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1441199470
Abamfo Ofori Atiemo – 2013 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
We were ordered not to weep, not to perform any funeral ceremony and not play any instrument. We were simply told that that was the custom for burying witches. We were forced to comply and my grandmother was buried like a dog.
For the Love of a Dog: A Memoir – Page 175

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=ERFZAAAAYAAJ
Elisabeth Rose – 2001 – ‎Snippet view
I once overheard my Ghanaian nanny convince my father that the stubborn infection in his elbow was caused by someone’s voodoo; whether for kindness, curiosity, or jest, my father agreed to see the witch doctor. In Ghana, we noticed I’d …
Spellbound: Inside West Africa’s Witch Camps

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1439143129
Karen Palmer – 2010 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
But witchcraft was also a tool for social control. In this vivid, startling work of first-person reportage, Palmer sheds light on the plight of women in a rarely seen corner of the world.
Wealth, Health, and Hope in African Christian Religion: The Search …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1498561284
Stan Chu Ilo – 2017 – ‎Preview
Witch_Camp_Report_files/Witch%20Camp%20Report%202011sm.pdf See also Gerrie Ter Haar, ed., Imagining Evil: Witchcraft Beliefs and … African World Press, 2007); Adinkrah Mensah, “Child witch hunts in contemporary Ghana,” Child Abuse & Neglect 35 (2011) 741–752; and cases cited below in this paper. … Andrew S. Biney, “Boy, 15, In Dog Chains,” The Mirror, Saturday, February 14, 1994, p1.
The practice of witchcraft in Ghana – Page 31

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=2yYvAAAAYAAJ
Gabriel Bannerman-Richter – 1982 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
Whether the transformation is partial or total, the witch also acquires the habits of the animal into whose shape she changes. For example, if she assumes the head of a dog, her appetite and behavior would be those of a dog even though she …
The Routledge International Handbook of Innovation Education

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1136698086
Larisa V. Shavinina – 2013 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Abigail’s invention convention project was entitled, the Tech Pet Feeder, a contraption that allowed a pet owner to text their … The girls made connections to witch hunts that continue to occur today such as the Witch camps in Ghana, in which …
Juju Fission: Women’s Alternative Fictions from the Sahara, the …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1433100894
Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi – 2007 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
According to the Ghanaian scholar in Religious Studies, Kofi Asare Opoku, Witches are usually women, although one occasionally … ..[Witches] are believed to ride on spiders’ webs or animals such as black cats, toads, rats, dogs or birds.
Witchcraft in Ghana: A Study on the Belief in Destructive Witches …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=tVUrAAAAIAAJ
Hans Werner Debrunner – 1961 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
A Study on the Belief in Destructive Witches and Its Effect on the Akan Tribes Hans Werner Debrunner. CHAPTER 13 … If you want to see the witches, ghosts and dwarfs, you must put the mucus of a dog’s eye into your own “. A student wrote: …
Pure-bred Dogs, American Kennel Gazette

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=E7ZYAAAAYAAJ
1976 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
… ACRES ROMP N RICHARD (D) PA517483 By Nesral Matinee lool 5-72 x Juliette De Ghana 3-73 Owner: Richard C. … DARCIE’S CHOCLAT CHIP DEVENT (D) PA599708 By Ch Mi Bar’s Devil Wind 11-65 x Praver’s Witch De Vent 10-73 …
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Akan Christology: An Analysis of the Christologies of John Samuel …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1620321556
Charles Sarpong Aye-Addo – 2013 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
170 Thus the evidence is there, in the form of confessions, that witches are believed to eat the souls of their victims. … Asare Opoku maintains that Animals such as dogs, black cats, toads, rats, or birds are used for riding as airplanes. He also …
Jonathon Goode, Honorary Witch – Page 150

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1681811057
Michael Lingaard – 2015 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
He had served the Clan for most of his life, and Ba’akan had rewarded him with command. He didn’t intend to let … If those hiding in the forest thought a Centaur was a fearsome opponent, wait until they met the war-dogs! There would be no …
Witchcraft, Witches, and Violence in Ghana – Page 125

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1782385614
Mensah Adinkrah – 2015 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
A male witch or wizard is called bari bonsam or bayibonsam in Akan. Bonsam in Akan … At night, the sound of dogs barking is not what it appears to be: it is actually witches calling each other for their nightly meeting. The existence of a …
The Peoples of the Caribbean: An Encyclopedia of Archeology and …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=1576077012
Nicholas J. Saunders – 2005 – ‎Preview
… to a supernatural force that resides in African sorcerers — while others see the West African Akan word Obajifo (witch) as the likely source. Those who practice it are known as Obeahmen, and can be considered a mix of shaman, sorcerer, and Vodoun witch doctor. … magic”; adherents of the former use commercial charms and conjuring books while the latter prefer the more traditional talismans of dog …
The Akan of Ghana, West Africa: a cultural handbook for reference

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=0961457317
Kofi Appiah-Kubi – 1999 – ‎Snippet view
Others are believed to fly nude or use a spider’s web, ride on animals’ back— such as cats, dogs, rats or birds. Their meeting places are mostly on trees, or the outskirts of towns. Their ritual is strictly spiritual. These witches construct their …
Witch

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=0743426967
Nancy Holder, ‎Debbie Viguié – 2002 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
After losing her parents in a rafting accident, Holly Cather is sent to live with her aunt and twin cousins in Seattle, where she discovers a family legacy of magic, possession, and reincarnation, and a generations-old feud.
Witchcraft in Ghana: A Study on the Belief in Destructive Witches …

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=tVUrAAAAIAAJ
Hans Werner Debrunner – 1961 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
A Study on the Belief in Destructive Witches and Its Effect on the Akan Tribes Hans Werner Debrunner. CHAPTER 13 … If you want to see the witches, ghosts and dwarfs, you must put the mucus of a dog’s eye into your own “. A student wrote: …
Gold Coast Diasporas: Identity, Culture, and Power

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Walter C. Rucker – 2015 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
” Why these ethnic labels were embraced and how they were utilized by enslaved Africans to develop new group identities is the subject of Walter C. Rucker’s absorbing study.
Son of the Native Soil: A Novel – Page 38

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S. A. Ambanasom – 2006 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
For are there not more wizards and even witches in Akan than in Anjong?’ asked Ubeno. ‘Perhaps we … Dog ceremony. No Akan man will be present at such a mockery of justice,’ said Abaago, the leader of the Akan team. ‘Was there anyone …
The Witch of Edmonton

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William Rowley, ‎Peter Corbin, ‎Thomas Dekker – 1999 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
“The play, based on a sensational witchcraft trial of 1621, presents Mother Sawyer and her local community in the grip of a witch-mania reflecting popular belief and superstition of the time…”–Back cover.

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Dreams in the African Literature [i.e. Church]: The Significance of …

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Nelson Osamu Hayashida – 1999 – ‎Preview
But again, the degree to which bad dreams are attributed strictly to witchcraft activities vary from culture to culture as we will continue to see. … Among the Lugbara of Uganda and Zaire, Middleton reports that a night- witch is one who can hring sickness or death to others. … guise of certain animals — a snake, a toad, a water frog, a lizard, a leopard, an owl, a jackal, a bat, a type of monkey 64 Maclean, 42.
Landscapes of Fear

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Yi-Fu Tuan – 2013 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
witches fly to their sabbats on the backs of goats and horses. … it standsfor intense desires and instincts; it is the oppressive nightmare of dreams; and it is an omen of war and death. … To the Lugbara of western Uganda, associates include the toad, snake, lizard,frog, jackal, leopard, bat,owl, anda kind of monkey that …
The Anthropology of Religion, Magic, and Witchcraft

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Rebecca Stein, ‎Philip L. Stein – 2017 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
This is an essential guide for students encountering anthropology of religion for the first time.
Modernizing Medicine in Zimbabwe: HIV/AIDS and Traditional Healers

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David S. Simmons – 2012 – ‎Preview
These dreams, he said, are in part the result of observing animals—monkeys and baboons—in the bush us- ing medicinal plants. 4. … In a discussion of medicine use in Uganda, Whyte and Birungi (2000) note that foreign medicines—whether African or non-African—have always held a certain attraction. 6. … “ZINATHA Wants Witchcraft Law to Be Amended,” Zimbabwe News Online, May 6, 2010.
POWER AGAINST DREAM CRIMINALS

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Dr. D. K. Olukoya – 2015 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
This book teaches you how to understand your dreams and how to deal with your dream battles. This book is a must for every serious Christian home. Read it and pray the prayer points therein and your life will no longer remain the same.
Pentecostalism and Witchcraft: Spiritual Warfare in Africa and Melanesia

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=3319560689
Knut Rio, ‎Michelle MacCarthy, ‎Ruy Blanes – 2017 – ‎Read – ‎More editions
This open access book presents fresh ethnographic work from the regions of Africa and Melanesia—where the popularity of charismatic Christianity can be linked to a revival and transformation of witchcraft.
The Thing Around Your Neck

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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – 2009 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Searing and profound, suffused with beauty, sorrow, and longing, these stories map, with Adichie’s signature emotional wisdom, the collision of two cultures and the deeply human struggle to reconcile them.
Witchcraft and the Gay counterculture: a radical view of Western …

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Arthur Evans – 1978 – ‎Snippet view
The Interpretation of Cultures

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Clifford Geertz – 2017 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
This groundbreaking book, winner of the 1974 Sorokin Award of the American Sociological Association, helped define for an entire generation of anthropologists what their field is ultimately about.
Passion Prayer of Jesus the Christ

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Michael Ini-Abasi, ‎Elisha Goodman – 2004 – ‎No preview – ‎More editions

Mythologie des Pygmées Baka (Sud-Cameroun): mythologie et contes

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=9042907231 – Translate this page
Robert Brisson – 1999 – ‎Preview – ‎More editions
Alors, le vrai personnage apparaît, c’est Gorille. La vieille femme avait aussi sa magie pour transformer Gorille en Mbuya, avec la peau des mains, du visage et les dents taillées de Mbuya. Gorille et la vieille Maman seront punis par Komba, …

Mythology of Baka pygmies (South Cameroon): mythology and tales

https://books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=9042907231 – Translate this page
Robert Brisson – 1999 – Preview – More editions
Then the real character appears, it’s Gorilla . The old woman also had her magic to turn Gorilla into Mbuya, with the skin of the hands, the face and the cut teeth of Mbuya. Gorilla and the old Mom will be punished by Komba, …

British Colonies

Africa:

Nigeria

Ghana

Cameroon

Kenya

Tanzania

Gambia

Egypt

South Africa

Uganda

Botswana

Zambia

Zimbabwe

 

Asia:

Hong Kong (now part of China)

Malaysia

Singapore

 

Europe:

Ireland

Gibraltar (Spain)

Cyprus

 

Americas:

Guyana

Jamaica

Bahamas

Barbados

St Kitts

America

Canada

 

The Pacific:

New Zealand

Australia

Shakespeare’s Folklore

I think I’ve said many times over that it’s not that William Shakespeare (and Dante Alighieri) hated dogs but rather superstitions involving them were far more common in their day. That is if you believe surviving documents like Compendium Maleficarum (which mentions demons appearing as dogs, wolves and leopards paralleling the preceding Divine Comedy), Discoverie of Witchcraft (witches turning into dogs) and the like.

That and contemporary witchcraft studies written or edited by Emma Wilby, Kathleen Sands and Julian Goodare. Such beliefs more or less survive among Zambian, Ghanaian, Cameroonian and Ugandan churches. I remember a document where people would go around looking for totems disguised as animals like cats and dogs.

(Totems seem interchangeable with demons and sorcerers as demons were also interchangeable with fairies as they appear as those animals.)

The belief in the supernatural was so strong that even Shakespeare included this in two of his plays. Again this is still a thing in Zambia, Ghana, Cameroon and Uganda to whatever degree as well as that they all have rising economies giving a good idea of what Shakespeare’s England’s like.

Not yet the British Empire yet becoming incredibly influential in the Atlantic.

Data from Geoba.se

Some of the statistics are compiled from Geoba.se which is helpful in tracking down demographic trends all over the world and useful to determine which (African) country’s in a certain demographic transition stage. This includes countries that I didn’t mention in my previous post.

I personally consider having 4 children as indicative of somewhere between Stages 2 and 3 with 3 children being the maximum for Stage 2 though I could be wrong in here.

Stage Three (though it’s not always perfect)

Namibia:

The life expectancy is 50.39 for women and 51.66 for men but the birth rate’s rather low, being around 2.03 per woman.

South Africa:

Comparable to Namibia with 49.55 for women and 51.70 for men with a birth rate of around 2.15 per woman.

Zimbabwe:

Almost equal with 59.81 for women and 58.12 for men and the birth rate’s around 3.45.

Eritrea:

Life expectancy’s 66.96 for women and 62.55 for men and the total birth rate’s 3.71 per woman.

Cote D’Ivoire/Ivory Coast:

Life expectancy’s 60.50 for women and 58.10 for men with a birth rate of around 3.31 per woman.

Intermediate between Stages 2 and 3:

Togo:

Birth rate’s around 4.32 per woman with higher life expectancy (68.55 for women and 63.13 for men).

Senegal:

Life expectancy’s 64.65 for women and 60.36 for men with a birth rate of around 4.20 per woman.

Gabon:

Life expectancy’s 52.62 for women and 51.81 for men. Birth rate’s 4.36.

Democratic Republic of Congo:

It’s recovering neatly enough. Women can live up to 59.73 and men up to 56.46 with birth rate of 4.26.

Republic of Congo:

Women can live up to 58.46 and men up to 55.66 with birth rate of 4.99.

Stage 2:

Mali:

Life expectancy’s 57.59 for women and 53.91 for men with a birth rate of around 5.73.

Zambia:

Life expectancy’s 54.90 for women and 52.62 for men with a birth rate of around 5.42.

Uganda:

Life expectancy’s 55.77 for women and 53.66 for men with a birth rate of around 6.40.

Angola:

Life expectancy’s 58.01 for women and 55.52 for men with birth rate of 5.19.

Mozambique:

Life expectancy’s 54.90 for women and 53.27 for men. Birth rate’s around 5.02.

Burundi:

Women can live up to 63.77, men at 59.87 and birth rate’s 5.54.

Survivals of Christian Values

The West, especially Europe, had long been held as the bastions of Christian civilisation especially after the fall of the Roman Empire and during the Middle Ages up to the Enlightenment. It’s unsurprising that the 18th century wasn’t just when Europe increasingly grew more secular (which continued onto the 19th century) but also when European empires began colonising* Africa and Asia to varying degrees though it may’ve started earlier than that.

It would import the very values it eventually abandoned later on. That’s practically how and why England repealed its anti-gay laws ahead of its African colonies (if they ever do at all). Likewise Europe also introduced Christianity to Africa in varying degrees, Rome practically and indirectly introduced Christianity there however when it wasn’t yet separated into various branches yet.

Some of those superstitions may’ve predated the arrival of Christianity and still coexists with it though it’s parsimonious to suggest that the demonisation and exclusion of dogs by churches (like as it was in Renaissance Europe) still exists in Cameroon, Uganda, Ghana, Zambia and to a non-African extent, Russia.

(I remember one of the reasons why dogs get excluded by Orthodox churches there is because the Devil appears as a dog.)

Not to mention that Russia’s homophobic. Both Russia and its African counterparts aren’t any better as they participate in online trolling, love of smut and animal abuse (or alternately speaking being too affectionate with animals at times). Russia’s arguably more secular than most of Africa due to such ideologies before but given the religious resurgence in Russia (and much of the former Soviet Union) it may as well be reverting to its old self again in a way.

Meanwhile the rest of Europe, save for diehards and Evangelical/Pentecostal and Charismatic converts and missionaries (from Africa), has been going secular and loose since as early as the Italian Renaissance.

*Considering that Turkey practically conquered and influenced Ethiopia, which the former’s now regarded as part of the European Union and would retroactively be considered as such, albeit one that’s relatively nicer to its colony. (Though enslaving and castrating some Ethiopians could be part of it.)

Differences between each African region (Part One)

Africa, arguably until recently and outside of Africans themselves, was often perceived as something of a blank slate to colonial empires especially with interchangeable communities even though Africa has greater genetic diversity.

That and Africans being easily generalised by demeaning cliches. If I’m not mistaken, according to one global study most Africans (especially Nigerians) aren’t that well-endowed and likely in another study, similar for Kenyans too.

(Let’s not forget that there are African men who’re capable of controlling themselves and be faithful husbands.)

Not that there aren’t any indigenous darker skinned populations in Northern Africa as Egypt also used to cover much of Sudan and there’s a community there known as the Nubians. The Berbers, which also live in Northern Africa and to some extent Niger (the Tuaregs*), often practise monogamy. They also heavily use Arabic but there’s growing recognition for Berber languages.

Afro-Asiatic languages prevail in parts of Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania (if I’m not mistaken) and are the norm in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt. Unsurprisingly, since Arabic’s something of the lingua franca in Muslim countries (though the usage varies as it’s mostly clerical in places like Indonesia and Turkey) it’s almost parsimonious that Arabic influence’s considerably stronger in Northern and Western Africa.

It should however be noted that they’re still a considerable community in Eastern Africa. Islamic populations vary from being around 25-30% in Cameroon, 50% in Nigeria, 14% in Uganda, 20% in Ghana, 11.1% in Kenya, 38.6% in Cote d’Ivoire, 35% in Tanzania and the norm in Guinea, Chad, Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Libya, Tunisia, Sierra Leone and Sudan

Let’s not forget that the Ugandan kanzu is practically the Islamic thobe because it’s adapted from it. Though admittedly, thobes/kanzu robes are also worn outside of it such as Cameroon and historically Europe (robes are also still worn by clergy regardless of the denomination). And many Sub-Saharan Africans went modest due to Islamic and Christian missionary influence.

If Arabic’s the lingua franca of Islam and that of Middle East and Northern Africa (and to some extent, extant Islamic communities) like how Latin’s the lingua franca of Catholic Europe for years, then Swahili’s the lingua franca of East Africa. At least around Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and to some extent, Democratic Republic of Congo.

There’s a colourful saying surrounding its usage: born in Zanzibar, grew up in Tanzania, fell sick in Kenya, died in Uganda and was buried in Congo (as taken from The New Times Rwanda). But the other lingua franca throughout Africa trace back to European colonialism.

Francophone Africa predictably consists of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Gabon, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Guinea, Mali, Benin, Togo and Senegal as well as Rwanda (at some point). Keep in mind that Burundi, Rwanda and DRC used to be Belgian colonies.

The rest are usually either former British or French colonies. Since Cameroon also got colonised by the British, it’s parsimonious to suggest that Rwanda and Cameroon have both Anglophone and Francophone tendencies to varying degrees.

This leads to the next one: Anglophone Africa. As one guesses, it consists of Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Ghana, Rwanda (recently so) and to a lesser degree Cameroon. Keep in mind that some of them (Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Togo and Namibia) were former German colonies.

But then again German influence’s very brief since now most of them speak English with Cameroon and Togo becoming predominantly Francophone. Eritrea, Ethiopia (especially Addis Ababa) and Libya all used to be Italian colonies. (Due to Ottoman influence, Ethiopia could also count as a former Turkish colony.)

Though Spain also imported many of its slaves from Africa, there aren’t that many African countries still using Spanish (the only one being Equatorial Guinea, which shouldn’t be confused for French Guinea) and that Libya still uses Italian, the only other major Romance language in Africa is Portuguese.

It’s widely spoken in Cabo Verde, Angola and Mozambique. Like Brazi and Macau, they are all former Portuguese colonies and Angola was used as a sort of gateway for slave traders. Quite logically, though German used to be spoken in Cameroon and the other former German colonies yet English and Afrikaans (Dutch) remained the most persistently used Germanic languages there.

(South Africa, Namibia and Botswana were former Dutch colonies.)

*Music cultures of the Pacific, the Near East, and Asia – Page 40

https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=bCsuAAAAMAAJ
William P. Malm – 1967 – ‎Snippet view – ‎More editions
Unlike most Berbers, the Tuaregs adopted the Moslem social system while sharing Berber monogamy. Their form of matriarchy is unique (only the men wear veils), as is their writing system (only the women are literate). Their music shows …

When anime dies: Africa

An old topic but very relevant should Japanese animation face increased competition from other countries. Like I said, Japan has had like a near monopoly on non-Western animation for so long that it’s about time other countries have their share in that industry. Especially if their economies are growing. South Africa’s Supa Strikaz got aired in the Philippines and Nigeria’s Bino and Fino got aired in Brazil.

Zambia’s got Super K, which is saying because Africa was largely considered very underdeveloped until recently as far as KINGS go. That’s a nifty acronym to describe sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest economies which are already making big international inroads. That too is a limited sampling but when Fela Kuti and Die Antwoord are very internationally famous, that’s saying.

Cameroon produced a game that’s in Steam! And its economy’s worse than Nigeria. In my lifetime, an African country could produce a Naruto (an internationally recognised and highly successful animation franchise). That’s all too possible given African economies are rising, thus giving increased competition in animation that could easily spell anime’s doom.

That and increased competition from many other countries in general too.

Too much competition

Some anime professional said that China could overtake Japan in ten years. That’s too possible given China’s economic conditions and that it’s already producing or co-producing many animated productions. It’s about time that China will get to do and support animation en masse, along with India as these two have fast rising economies.

China and India are expected to become the world’s largest economies in the foreseeable future and Japan has held like a near monopoly on non-Western animation for so long that it would have to compete with its fast growing rivals instead. One could even see African animation rising real quickly too.

South Africa’s Supa Strikas and Nigeria’s Bino and Fino all indicate this possibility and I think the next Naruto would be African. Albeit one that’ll really rock the world that the most successful non-Western animation in the 2020s is actually from that continent more infamous for being impoverished.

Aya of Youpogon’s a fairly well-known Ivorian comic book that got an animated adaptation so there’s that (Supa Strikas was also adapted from comics too). If you want to know how far African animation’s come, though it’s too premature to say at this point but Supa Strikas got aired on Disney Channel Asia and Bino and Fino got aired in Brazil.

Then there’s Zambia’s Super 4. Kampung’s a Malaysian comic strip that got animated and aired in some international channels as are some Korean productions. For another matter, Cameroon’s Kiro’o Games actually has a game on Steam. This increases the likelihood of an African Naruto-style phenomenon especially if African economies grow this quickly and strongly so.

However this results in a lot of unintended competition in non-Western animation given Japan has like a near monopoly on it for decades. Even if other forms of non-Western animation co-existed with Japanese anime before, but because the latter’s more prevalent and historically more lucrative so it’s enough to suggest that Japan was the face of non-Western animation.

Now well onto the 21st century with growing competition from South Korea, China, India and possibly even South Africa. A South African production has even been nominated. Now it’s going to be even tougher for anime to compete in, especially when non-Western animation productions are coming outside of Japan en masse and when America’s beginning to step up in adult animation if the likes of Rick and Morty, Bob’s Burgers, DC’s animated productions and Archer Vice are any indication.

 

Shouldn’t be forgotten

As I said (or rather as others said), dogs too were impacted in witchcraft trials and suspicions but it seems most of them don’t mention the Bible which is ironically the central text in Christianity! Though a certain pope justified his disdain for cats, it should be noted that religious authorities use the Bible to justify biases.

If it can be used to justify homophobia, it can be used to justify cynophobia as dogs and homosexuality are apparently abhorred in the Bible. Quite possibly, some historians suggest that the Renaissance was really more of a cultural movement than an actual period as some of the beliefs (and costumes) carried over there which would include demonology texts.

That is if you work backwards as mass produced books in Europe happened with Gutenberg Press. Those same beliefs would’ve been very common just not recorded (or rather not enough surviving records). One demonology text immediately understood the context of dogs in the Divine Comedy, suggesting its commonality.

Conversely speaking, though there were some suspicions of cats before even in the Middle Ages it wasn’t always that consistent where you have reports of monks and nuns owning them, some as recently as the 15th century when it came to a manuscript (as I can remember). Wales and Ireland specifically had cat laws though it seemed the more cat-tolerant places there were always British Isles (at least to my knowledge).

Unsurprisingly, according to at least two witchcraft studies in Renaissance England and Scotland, dogs outnumbered cats as the witch animals. In some French texts (with the possible exception of Demonomanie), I did find more mentions of dog (chien) than cat (chat).

There’s one text about Spanish witchcraft (however in English) detailing about the dog’s polarising reputation in Christianity, being both linked with saints and witches alike*. In many witchcraft studies and demonology texts I’ve found, dogs were just as likely to be witch animals as cats are, a belief that still survives in Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Zambia and Uganda.

*Similar things can be said of cats where they’re not only linked to monks and nuns but also saints though because cats were already common clergy pets we’d have several saints linked to them: Saint Philip, Saint Agathe/Saint Agatha, Saint Gertrude,  Saint Mary Bartholomew Bagnesi and Saint Julian of Norwich.