AMAGQIRHA: religion, magic and medicine in Transkei

Published by Via Africa, Cape Town, 1981 , hardcover, large format, illustrated, index, 125 pages, condition: new.

'We have all heard about "witchdoctors" or, to give them their rightful name, Amagqirha, and are aware of the mystery and controversy that surround them. Despite scientific accounts, the Amagqirha remain beyond the experience of most people.

This book gives the story as told to Joan Broster by the Amagqirha themselves. It has not been written from any particular point of view, nor from a background of specialized training, but with a clearness of perception born from love and rapport. In their own words, with the author as their interpreter, the Amagqirha describe their calling and discuss the religious, magical and medicinal aspects of their profession.

Joan Broster is in a unique position to write of these prominent members of the Xhosa nation, for she was born in Transkei and has lived most of her life in close contact with the tribal people. Her natural style of writing, her warmth and her modesty add to the fascination of the subject and ensure interesting reading.

As the custodians of custom, the Amagqirha built into the fabric of their people's lives a culture that has survived through the centuries - an unwritten culture that remains the very foundation stone of tribal life.

To layman and researcher alike, Joan Broster and Herbert Bourn offer this book as a bridge in understanding between cultures. Into the old world of the Amagqirha they have travelled with pen and camera, capturing for posterity the people of a vanishing era.'