
Muslim in Africa Journeys from Poisoning to Pastor
Yacouba Sanou had helped his father, a Muslim traditional healer, in black magic as far back as he could remember.
Exclusive stories from the mission field
Yacouba Sanou had helped his father, a Muslim traditional healer, in black magic as far back as he could remember.
Mamadou was a shaman in West Africa who made amulets and charms inscribed with verses of the Koran for people trying to ward off illness and evil forces. In the peculiar blend of Islam and tribal animism practiced in some parts of Burkina Faso, a shaman can make a decent living as a traditional “healer” providing trinkets and incantations attributed with power to keep malicious spirits and other beings at bay.