Conclusion

Abstract

In this book I have shown how rumor, gossip, advice, and legend surrounding marriage- and sex-related conflicts in a time of AIDS serve as powerful means by which people (especially wives here) both express and mitigate their sense of vulnerability. While Western media, various nongovernmental organizations, and numerous scholars have pointed out the vulnerability of women in countries of Africa where AIDS is endemic, I have sought not to deny women’s vulnerability, but to portray it in the popular imagery of Malawians. In doing so I have found that narratives serve as powerful sources of critique, following the tradition of women’s pounding songs and possession cults. While women’s spiritual possession served as critique of growing male political and economic dominance in the colonial era, possession and the healing practices that evoked possession were also meant to be a means by which society was transformed. Similarly, the knowledge and advice women gather is meant to be “good medicine,” providing a balm to heal relationships, rather than reject marriage (as an institution), their husbands, and the family obligations and privileges entailed in marriage. These relationships are both a strength and hardship.