The 1980s South African Witchcraft-Related “Necklacing” Interpretations

Record summary

During the political violence of the 1980s, some commentators interpreted necklacing and other township violence through witchcraft, ritual-purity, or “muti” frameworks, while others emphasized political coercion, policing, and crowd violence. This is useful for comparison because occult vocabulary could be imposed on events that had immediate political and social explanations. It is not a claim that necklacing was an occult practice. Researchers should locate specific Truth and Reconciliation-era retrospective testimonies, contemporary journalism, and human-rights documentation rather than rely on generalized summaries.