Interpretations of sickness and misfortune among Beja pastoralists

Abstract

The Beja pastoralists have cultural models for spirit possession, spirit aggression, the ‘evil eye,’ sorcery and witchcraft. Spirits are very much part of their theories of bad luck and sickness. However, while spirits and the evil eye are often blamed for bad luck or sickness, witchcraft and sorcery are not. This paper argues that in order to understand why some Beja cultural theories regarding sickness and misfortune are important to the exclusion of others, one has to pay attention to their socioeconomic adaptation as well as to their cultural tradition at large. This broad and holistic focus on folk theories of sickness and misfortune is far from new in anthropology. The ambition of this article is, however, to throw new light on how a Beja view of their social environment as part of a pastoral adaptation may account for why only part of the Beja cultural repertoire of folk theories is made practically relevant in instances of ill‐health and misfortune.