Sakawa rituals and cyberfraud in Ghanaian popular video movies

Date

2014

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Abstract

Sakawa indexes a cyberfraud practice in Ghana allegedly linked with occult rituals. This article examines the phenomenon as an analytically relevant example of a material understanding of religion. It then offers a critical reading of a popular sakawa video series and contrasts its thematic perspectives with the reactions of some Ghanaian political leaders to the possible motivations for the practice. This critical approach is conceived as a response to the persistent myopic view of such popular genres as irrelevant to key debates around problematic Ghanaian issues and also to calls in global media studies to de-Westernize the field.

Description

Joseph Oduro-Frimpong is a faculty of Ashesi University College

Keywords

Ghana, Ghanaian movies, sakawa, cyberfraud

Citation

Oduro-Frimpong, J. (2014). Sakawa Rituals and Cyberfraud in Ghanaian Popular Video Movies. African Studies Review, 57(2), 131-147. doi:10.1017/asr.2014.51

DOI