‘Emigration is Luck’: Destiny, Witchcraft and Uncertainty in Migratory Journeys from the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau

Abstract

ABSTRACT This text analyses religious interpretations of the uncertainty of migratory journeys – documented and clandestine – from West Africa to Europe, based on beliefs in Islamic destiny, ‘luck’, witchcraft and sorcery in the Gambia and Guinea-Bissau. The notion of ‘luck’ is understood here as an inherent quality of destiny, which is – paradoxically – pre-determined but contingent at the same time. Destiny is pre-set by God but requires human action and is also vulnerable to occult attacks. Such metaphysical interpretations produce (as well as express) specific attitudes to migration – hope and optimism on the one hand, fear and anxiety on the other. They also lead to certain strategies meant to avoid occult threats, which may be understood as ways of navigating uncertainty. I argue that it is the religious lens of destiny, ‘luck’ and, in a different way, witchcraft that is vital in dealing with the uncertainty of migration to the global North.