Cannibalism Myths, Empire, and Identity in Colonial Sierra Leone
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A01=Katrina HB Keefer
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Author_Katrina HB Keefer
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Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=HBJH
Category=HBTQ
Category=JP
Category=NHH
Category=NHTQ
Comparative religious studies
COP=United States
crimonology
Delivery_Pre-order
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eq_history
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
European paranoia
Human Leopards
indigenous belief systems
judicial overreach
Language_English
murder cases
PA=Not yet available
Price_€50 to €100
PS=Forthcoming
secret societies
shapeshifters
socio-political turmoil
softlaunch
West African beliefs
xenophobia
Product details
- ISBN 9781666965780
- Weight: 431g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 04 Dec 2024
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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In 1913, Sierra Leone bore witness to a Special Court convened to hear cases of cannibalism. Described as “Human Leopards,” those accused of ritually killing and eating others were associated with a criminal group, and in the wake of the cases, many accused and convicted Human Leopards were executed or exiled from the colony. Contemporary writers described these events in the rhetoric of the “civilized world” triumphing over the “barbaric,” and newspapers of the period wallowed in the lurid idea of shapeshifting cannibals lurking to murder and devour the innocent. Cannibalism Myths, Empire, and Identity in Colonial Sierra Leone by Katrina HB Keefer offers new perspectives on these trials, delving closely into the transcripts of the 1913 Human Leopard cases. Through careful analysis of evidence and modern scholarship, it’s clear that cannibalism was never at play in these murder cases, and Keefer presents a complex web of judicial overreach, colonial ambitions, xenophobic fears, socio-political turmoil, animals whose habitats were being encroached upon, and powerful initiation societies.
Katrina HB Keefer is adjunct professor of cultural studies at Trent University.
