Revenge and Remembering: Idioms and Accusations of Witchcraft and AIDS

Inspired by rumours, the vision of a community beleaguered by HIV spreaders spurred a moral panic and resonated strongly with similar, enduring anxieties about occult attacks. It was therefore fitting that a social response to the public secret of AIDS was through an equally secretive discourse, that of witchcraft. In this chapter I argue that AIDS was comprehended and experienced through witchcraft. Like AIDS, witchcraft discourses raised concerns with moral transgressions perceived to be inspired by excessive desire and secrecy, that threatened the integrity of blood relations. Consequently, witchcraft offered legitimate opportunities to cast blame and avenge the death of loved ones, revealing the potency of emotions and the endurance of memory.