Bulletproof Shields: Magic and Religiosity in Colombian Armed Conflict

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Johanna Perez Gomez  

The paper analyses the rituals used by paramilitary right wing armed groups proliferating in Colombia since 1980, to obtain super natural protection. It focuses particularly on the magic used to obtain bulletproof shields, explaining it symbolism, the transaction with spiritual agencies it involves and its relation to people usages of everyday protection magic. Describing the imagery of the practice, is possible to disclose how this is embedded in local forms of religiosity. I examine the deep social transformation caused by paramilitary groups through the perspective of the syncretic form of religiosity they deployed in armed struggle.