Dr. Anika Wilson
Dr. Anika Wilson joined the Walker Institute on April 23rd from UW Milwaukee. Hosted by African Studies, Dr. Wilson focused on her research of spiritual presence in Malawi.
Anika Wilson is Associate Professor and former chair of the Department African and African Diaspora Studies at UW-Milwaukee. She earned her doctorate in Folklore and Folklife Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and specializes in informal narratives (gossip, rumor). Her book Folklore, Gender, and AIDS in Malawi: No Secret Under the Sun (2013) was awarded the Elli Kongas Maranda Award for feminist scholarship in folklore in 2014. She teaches course topics related to African and African diasporic societies, expressive cultures, spirituality, and gender relations. Her current research project focuses on spirituality, sacred sites and the environment in southern Africa.
This presentation explored a moment when a community confronted the damage brought by a historic storm that caused a mudslide which destroyed crops, washed away fragile hillside farms, and swept away homes and inhabitants. Dr. Wilson examined the meaning of the events to local residents of Mount Mulanje, a site renowned as being inhabited by spirits because of its lush indigenous forests.
She began with the question, “What are their responses to the storm and other localized environmental disasters which exacerbate impacts of storms like Cyclone Freddy?” Through her research, Dr. Wilson discovered that vigilante forest protection groups describe the difficulties in safeguarding natural resources for past generations (spirits) and for future generations in a context where people are living in survival mode. She highlighted that “Using an indigenous hermeneutics approach I determine how local communities conceptualized their relationship to an environment heavily inhabited by spirits which has also become a major site for resource extraction. I also examine the clash of interests and perspectives that roil about the mountain as expressed in local legends, personal experiences narratives, and rumors.”
Dr. Wilson spoke about the spiritual mysteries surrounding Mount Mulanje, located in southeastern Malawi. She shared lessons passed down to her by local experts and stakeholders, including the guidance to "take only what you are offered and give thanks," and the reminder that "the food there is for you alone, not for another person." These words of wisdom are rooted in mysterious stories from the region—tales of untouched plates of food appearing to visitors in the forest, as well as cautionary accounts of people who disappeared after taking more than they were given.
Dr. Wilson explained that the lush forest areas on the mountain are disappearing. The locals blame the government, and the government blame the locals. However, she hopes for a bright and lush future for the mountain. One that may grow spiritually and ecologically.
African Studies is one of six area studies housed in the Walker Institute. Stay tuned for more events next year.