They Are Paid to Bring Rain. When It Fails — or Leads to Floods — Violence Can Follow
- African rainmakers face rising violence, including assaults and killings, as erratic weather patterns disrupt subsistence farming and communities blame spiritual leaders for crop failures.
- Residents pay rainmakers between $13 and $260 to summon or block rain, creating a transactional relationship that turns violent when expectations fail and refunds are demanded.
- David Nabutsilili, 45, frequently flees his home for safety after failing to meet community demands. "People beat us because sometimes the rain is too much," he said.
- In extreme cases, violence turns lethal in South Sudan, where at least two rainmakers have been killed in two years. In June, men abducted Albino Lobillia and buried him alive.
- Climate change has significantly reduced rainfall; rainy days in the Kapoeta region fell from 90 in the 1980s to 46 by the mid-2010s. Government official Matthew Oromo noted locals lack awareness of these shifts.
23 Articles
23 Articles
My Mother Lode
They are paid to bring rain. When it fails — or leads to floods — violence can follow
African rainmakers have long served as spiritual leaders in their communities, performing rituals to implore the deities for rainfall. The rainmaking spirit usually moves across generations of a particular clan, ensuring continuity of this service. But the rainmakers are also victims of their success, with huge expectations heaped upon them among farming communities in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Now they are increasingly targeted for thei…
Africa's rainmakers still in demand but face challenges from climate change
African rainmakers have long been revered as spiritual leaders who perform rituals to bring rain, with the role often passed down through generations. But climate change is raising expectations they can't meet, leaving them increasingly blamed for drought — and in extreme cases, killed by mobs.
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