Chinese Genius. Viral Video, Major Projects and Occult Ecologies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

‪In the early 2010s, a viral video featuring a half-serpentine, half-human hybrid creature met with great success in most sub-Saharan African countries. Ten years later, it continues to be discussed by villagers in the Kaleta region of Guinea, where two large hydroelectric dams have recently been built. Based on ethnographic data and the analysis of digital content, this article aims to understand the reasons for such success by questioning the dissemination of the video and some of the associated narratives. These latter constitute rumours accusing the Chinese and their massive construction works of disrupting the modes of cohabitation between humans and forest or water genies. These ecological crises play out both on a political level and occultly. The attribution of magico-ritual skills to the Chinese also participates in forms of stigmatization and discursive strategies aimed at redefining and criticizing the modes of predation that the African continent is undergoing.‪