A. Korovkina

St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

E‑mail: annie90@list.ru

Cemetery Sorcery in the Maghrib: the Revealing of One Newspaper Article

Abstract. The main question of the current research is what place the modern Algerian society spares to sorcery and witchcraft. The author explores two dimensions the problem exists in: the written and oral ones. The author analyses the phenomenon on the basis of a leading article of an everyday Algerian newspaper dedicated to a case of well‑known in Maghrib cemetery sorcery and the material of her personal field research. The results of the analysis allow drawing some conclusions. Among those: the definition of magic given by Al‑Qurtubi in the 7th/13th century, as something that “everyone may learn and practice”, is still accurate in the modern Maghrib. The wide‑spread oral tradition to transfer sorcery knowledge is reinforced by highly popular books of the so‑called folk medicine. These practices concern nearly all aspects of everyday culture. Broad circulation of the topic in Mass and Social Media proves its urgent and vital character for the most population. Strong belief in sorcery and its wide distribution remains one of the main cultural peculiarities of the Maghribian society, even in the conditions of living outside the original area. It shows quite a potential for resistance to the different environment by surviving in the migrants' societies through generations.

Keywords: Maghrib, magic, sorcery, jinn, cemetery, folk culture, talisman

DOI: 10.31250/1238-5018-2020-26-1-52-58

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Received by the Editorial Board: 16.07.2018