Witches and Thieves: Deviant Motivations in Gisu Society

Abstract

In Gisu society neither theft nor witchcraft can be interpreted from the perspective of commonsense Western categories. In this article I examine Gisu concepts of the person and deviant motivations. The construction of deviance relates to the fundamental Gisu value of male autonomy which has a necessary material counterpart. In a situation of land shortage this places stress on the positions of the young and the old, making the achievement of a respectable adulthood difficult for the former, who are vulnerable to accusations of theft, just as it denies the possibility of an honourable retirement to the latter, who gain reputations for witchcraft. The significance of dispositional versus situational evaluation of action is discussed in the context of attribution theory.