Développements contemporains d'un culte de soins : le Kasara manjak (Guinée-Bissau, Sénégal)
In: Cahiers de sociologie économique et culturelle: une revue interdisciplinaire de sciences humaines et sociales, Band 35, Heft 1, S. 75-90
Among the Manjaks from the kingdom of Babok in Guinea-Bissau, the kasara (plural : isara) is a cult of counter-sorcery in which women are particularly active. Isara have been borrowed from the neighbouring Felups or Babuis. These altars have been successful in the kingdom of Babok as well as in Senegal among the migrants of this territory. The community organi¬ zation of the Kasara allows the officiating priests or officiating sisters, the people possessed or each follower to play an active role in the rituals of medi¬ cal care. We present the installation of one of these altars in Senegal and its contemporary developments through the history of its main officiating sister. The analysis of this account allowed us to note that beyond its fluctuating success the cult remains in demand particularly to respond to dismay, agony and present-day distress.