The invisible material world: Christianity, sorcery, and revelations of immanence in Vanuatu

Abstract

This article examines how the invisible spiritual world takes material form in Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the archipelago since 2010, I argue that Pentecostal-charismatic Christianity, whose influence has expanded significantly in Vanuatu and elsewhere in recent decades, reinforces perceptions of immanent invisible worlds. It does so by introducing a semiotic ideology that defines new and compelling ways of understanding this invisible world, particularly in contexts of anxiety and longing. Focusing specifically on a local Christian charismatic revival movement between 2014 and 2025—a period during which thousands of sorcery remedies were collected and two accused sorcerers were tragically lynched—I argue that more attention is needed to understand how ideas about invisible material forces shape people’s lives. I also show how locally rooted Pentecostal-charismatic movements are perceived as particularly effective in articulating and addressing such forces.