Of other spaces. Mobility and the religious domain in Southern Africa

* Dr Todd Sanders, London School of Economics.
* Drs Marja Spierenburg, UNESCO, Paris.

The topic of 'mobility' has long been of interest to Africanists, whether in the form of migrant labour, seasonal pastoral migrations or massive social displacements that follow drought, famine and war. In one way or another, many of these studies explore the varied structural and historical forces that give rise to - and sometimes even determine - people's movements from one locale to another. Yet frequently missing from such scholarly accounts is any notion, however minimal, of the locally-inflected understandings that underpin and give meaning to such movements. One area that has received little attention is the way in which various forms of mobility are perceived in religious or supernatural terms. This seminar presents two studies which highlight the diverse ways in which movement of people is locally and culturally understood as taking place within and accross religious domains. Central to that understanding are perceptions of space not only in geographical terms but in religious and magical dimensions as well.