Engaging the Spirit World: Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Southeast Asia (Asian Anthropologies Book 5)

In many parts of the contemporary world, spirit beliefs and practices have taken on a pivotal role in addressing the discontinuities and uncertainties of modern life. The myriad ways in which devotees engage the spirit world show the tremendous creative potential of these practices and their innate adaptability to changing times and circumstances. Through in-depth anthropological case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam, the contributors to this book investigate the role and impact of different social, political, and economic dynamics in the reconfiguration of local spirit worlds in modern Southeast Asia. Their findings contribute to the re-enchantment debate by revealing that the “spirited modernities” that have emerged in the process not only embody a distinct feature of the contemporary moment, but also invite a critical rethinking of the concept of modernity itself. Introduction : multivocal arenas of modern enchantment in Southeast Asia / Kirsten W. Endres and Andrea Lauser Can things reach the dead? : the ontological status of objects and the study of Lao Buddhist rituals for the spirits of the deceased / Patrice Ladwig Spirited warriors : conspiracy and protection on Lombok / Kari Telle From the mystical to the molecular : modernity, martial arts and agency in Java / Lee Wilson Changing spirits' identities? : rethinking the four palaces' spirit representations in the context of social and political changes in northern Vietnam / Claire Chauvet Gods, gifts, markets, and superstition : spirited consumption from Korea to Vietnam / Laurel Kendall Contests of commemoration : virgin war martyrs, state memorials, and the invocation of the spirit world in contemporary Vietnam / Kirsten W. Endres and Andrea Lauser Trans-ethnic cosmologies that won't go away : keramat symbolisms in Malaysian capitalist sacralization / Beng-Lan Goh Being a spirit medium in contemporary Burma / Bénédicte Brac de la Perrière Reconfigurations of the manora ancestral worship and spirit possession in southern Thailand / Alexander Horstmann The horror of the modern : violation, violence, and the rampage of urban youths in the contemporary Thai ghost films / Pattana Kitiarsa. Engaging the Spirit World Asian Anthropologies Contents List of Figures Preface Introduction: Multivocal Arenas of Modern Enchantment in Southeast Asia 1: Can Things Reach the Dead? The Ontological Status of Objects and the Study of Lao Buddhist Rituals for the Spirits of the Deceased 2: Spirited Warriors: Conspiracy and Protection on Lombok 3: From the Mystical to the Molecular: Modernity, Martial Arts, and Agency in Java 4: Changing Spirit Identities: Rethinking the Four Palaces’ Spirit Representations in Northern Vietnam 5: Gods, Gifts, Markets, and Superstition: Spirited Consumption from Korea to Vietnam 6: Contests of Comm emoration: Virgin War Martyrs, State Memorials, and the Invocation of the Spirit World in Contemporary Vietnam 7: Spirit Cults and Construction Sites: Trans-ethnic Popular Religion and Keramat Symbolism in Contemporary Malaysia 8: Being a Spirit Medium in Contemporary Burma 9: Reconfiguring Manora Rongkru: Ancestor Worship and Spirit Possession in Southern Thailand 10: The Horror of the Modern: Violation, Violence, and Ramp aging Urban Youths in Contemporary Thai Ghost Films Notes on Contributors Index "'The world today is as furiously religious as it ever was.' This quote from Peter Berger now appears to be undisputed in the contemporary social and cultural sciences. A look around the globe reveals that modernization does not necessarily lead to a decline of religion, neither in society nor in the minds of individuals. Moreover, the multifaceted and divergent responses to modernization processes have significantly contributed to a critical reflection on the notion of a singular modernity, and as a result it has been suggested to speak of multiple, vernacular, alternative, or "other" modernities. Southeast Asia in particular presents a rich field of inquiry into the dynamics of these "modernities" that have produced and shaped a wide variety of religious phenomena. With case studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam, these contributions reveal contemporary religious practices in Southeast Asia as thoroughly modern manifestations of uncertainties, moral disquiet and unequal rewards in the contemporary moment."--Publisher's description.