Publication Date: Feb 2016
RRP: $39.95
ISBN: 9781922235510
Format: Paperback
Size: 153mm x 234mm
Pages: 256
Category: Monash Asia Series

Witch-hunt and Conspiracy

The ‘Ninja Case’ in East Java

Nicholas Herriman

Open Access

Also available as an ebook from your favourite retailer.


‘A fascinating book on ninjas and sorcerers in East Java, from rising young scholar Nick Herrimann. Lots of rich, detailed local research in Banyuwangi, full of insights, and Herriman provides a most useful analysis of the workings of local societies under great stress.’ Professor David Reeve


This book brings unique insight and prize-winning analysis to an extraordinary story – that of a witch-hunt and ‘ninja’ craze that swept a region of Java, Indonesia, in 1998. When neighbours, family members and friends believed that one among them was a sorcerer, this suspicion would sometimes culminate in the death of the suspect. In 1998, these sporadic killings turned into an outbreak of violence. Muslim organisations attributed the escalation of these killings to political conspirators, alleging that squads of ‘ninjas’ were responsible. A paramilitary group (Banser NU) began preparing and training for an onslaught of further violence, while anxious residents throughout East Java established road-side guards. Dozens of suspected ninjas were caught and some were tortured and killed.

Using first-hand accounts, Herriman provides these events with a detailed context and history and analyses their development in terms of the interplay of national institutions and local culture and dynamics.


Nicholas Herriman

Nicholas Herriman is Senior Lecturer in Anthropology at La Trobe University. His podcasts on iTunesU, including the Audible Anthropologist and Witch-hunts and Persecution have tens of thousands of listeners. He also regularly contributes opinion pieces to the mainstream media. Based on more than one year’s...
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