Deviances and contemporary magical practices in the African novel

This essay looks at the current forms and practices of magic in Africa, particularly in the novel Le portefeuille magique by Ivorian author Younoussa BAH. These magical practices - grazing, internet scams and diabolical pacts, murders carried out with the aim of achieving dazzling social ascension - are prized by young teenagers, disoriented by the throes of capitalism and the failure of political governance in Africa. From the angle of magical poetics, narratology, stylistics and the anthropological anchoring of the literary text, the author examines the way in which the characters use and abuse magic to escape poverty. Regarded as decolonial Robin Hoods by Hanefi Nahema, the grazers demand payment of a colonial debt, which they end up redistributing to the less well-off. Behind these magical practices lies a secret, a mystery to be discovered.