| abstract |
This thesis investigates how religion and spirituality influence trust, economic behavior, and
interpersonal dynamics in an informal marketplace in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Drawing on
ethnographic interviews, participant observation, symbolic analysis, and theoretical frameworks
from anthropology and the informal economy, the research explores how spiritual protection,
moral identity, secrecy, and religious affiliation shape decision making in unregulated trade
spaces. The study focuses on Abacha Market in Freetown, where traders operate in highly
competitive environments marked by economic uncertainty, close social interaction, and limited
formal regulation.
Through insights gathered from Christian vendors, Muslim traders, customers, and members
connected to the Poro society, this research argues that informal markets are governed not only
by economic logic, but also by deeply rooted moral and cosmological systems. Practices such as
the use of anointing oil, Quranic verses, charms, ritual prayers, and symbolic objects are
examined as strategies for protection, trust building, and economic survival. The thesis also
explores how fear, jealousy, secrecy, and beliefs surrounding spiritual harm influence social
relationships, competition, and perceptions of success within the marketplace.
By analyzing the intersection of spirituality and business, this study contributes to scholarship on
informal economies by demonstrating how spiritual systems function as invisible institutions of
economic regulation, social order, and cultural meaning. Ultimately, the research challenges
purely material explanations of market behavior and highlights the importance of understanding
informal economies through their social, cultural, and spiritual dimensions.
|
