Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on the ways in which West African Muslim healers set up a clientele in the Netherlands and how they relate to their Surinamese clients, in particular. The paper is based on fieldwork in the Netherlands in 2011-2013.

Paper long abstract:

Since no longer than twenty years, West African Muslim healers from Guinee, Senegal, the Gambia and Mali establish themselves in the Netherlands. Having no colonial ties with the Netherlands, this is a relatively new development, especially when compared with France where West African Muslim networks are sustained since the beginning of the 20th century. West African Muslim healers, also called marabouts, often live and travel in various European and African countries. Such 'transnational therapy networks', as Krause (2008) indicated, function mainly through personal contacts. In the Netherlands, West African Muslim healers find a clientele consisting mostly of West Africans and Surinamese, and, to a lesser extent, Antilleans and Dutch. West Africans and Surinamese maintain, for example, marital relations. Winti, an Afro-Surinamese religion, has been banned by Dutch law until 1971. Now, Winti experts operate, like West African Muslim experts, mostly in the urban centers. This paper focuses on the ways in which West African Muslim healers set up a clientele in the Netherlands and how they relate to their Surinamese clients, in particular. The paper is based on fieldwork in the Netherlands in 2011-2013

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