Making Spirits: Materiality and Transcendence in Contemporary Religions (Library of Modern Religion)

Du site de l'éd.: The analysis of religion has often placed an emphasis on beliefs and ideologies, prioritizing these elements over those of the material world. Through the ethnographic analysis of a variety of contemporary religious practices, Making Spirits questions the presumed separation of spirit and matter, and sheds light on the dynamics between spiritual and material domains. By examining the cultural contexts in which material culture is central to the creation and experience of religion and belief, this volume analyses the different ways in which the concepts of the material and spiritual worlds intersect, interact and inform each other in the reproduction of religious rites. Using examples such as spirit mediums, fetishes and ritual objects across a variety of cultures such as Latin America, Japan and Central Africa, Nico Tassi and Diana Espirito Santo offer insights that challenge accepted categories in the study of religion, making this book important for scholars of comparative religion, anthropology and sociology Introduction / Diana Espirito Santo And Nico Tassi -- Part I. Spirits In The Making. Materiality, Cosmogony And Presence Among Cuban Spirits And Mediums / Diana Espirito Santo -- Conchas, Candles And Flowers In The Creation Of The Concheros' Religiosity / Susanna Rostas -- 'we Worship Nature' : The Given And The Made In Brazilian Candomblé / Roger Sansi -- Part Ii. Transformations. Knowing What Has Been Done : The Techniques Of Ritual 'objects' Among The Abelam (east Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea) / Ludovic Coupaye -- Objects, Bodies And Gods : A Cognitive Ethnography Of An Ontological Dynamic In The Xangô Cult (recife-brazil) / Arnaud Halloy -- Divinity And Experiment : Conversion In A Japanese Jam Jar / Philip Swift -- Part Iii. Matter And Spiritual Power. Things We Grow With : Spirits, Matter And Bodies In La Paz, Bolivia / Nico Tassi -- Forms Of Fetishism In Kinshasa : Historical Insights And Contemporary Practices / Joe Trapido -- Making Matter Matter : The Santo Diame Ritual Of Feitio / Andrew Dawson. Edited By Diana Espirito Santo And Nico Tassi. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Du site de l'éd.: The analysis of religion has often placed an emphasis on beliefs and ideologies, prioritizing these elements over those of the material world. Through the ethnographic analysis of a variety of contemporary religious practices, Making Spirits questions the presumed separation of spirit and matter, and sheds light on the dynamics between spiritual and material domains. By examining the cultural contexts in which material culture is central to the creation and experience of religion and belief, this volume analyses the different ways in which the concepts of the material and spiritual worlds intersect, interact and inform each other in the reproduction of religious rites. Using examples such as spirit mediums, fetishes and ritual objects across a variety of cultures such as Latin America, Japan and Central Africa, Nico Tassi and Diana Espirito Santo offer insights that challenge accepted categories in the study of religion, making this book important for scholars of comparative religion, anthropology and sociology Introduction /Diana Espirito Santo and Nico Tassi --Part I. Spirits in the making.Materiality, cosmogony and presence among Cuban spirits and mediums /Diana Espirito Santo --Conchas, candles and flowers in the creation of the Concheros' religiosity /Susanna Rostas --'We worship nature' : the given and the made in Brazilian Candomblé /Roger Sansi --Part II. Transformations.Knowing what has been done : the techniques of ritual 'objects' among the Abelam (East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea) /Ludovic Coupaye --Objects, bodies and gods : a cognitive ethnography of an ontological dynamic in the Xangô cult (Recife-Brazil) /Arnaud Halloy --Divinity and experiment : conversion in a Japanese jam jar /Philip Swift --Part III. Matter and spiritual power.Things we grow with : spirits, matter and bodies in La Paz, Bolivia /Nico Tassi --Forms of fetishism in Kinshasa : historical insights and contemporary practices /Joe Trapido --Making matter matter : the Santo Daime ritual of feitio /Andrew Dawson Academic analyses of religious phenomena have often placed an emphasis on beliefs and ideologies and prioritized the understanding of religious symbols over the material of symbolization. Through the ethnographic analysis of a variety of contemporary religious forms, Making Spirits questions the presumed separation of spirit and matter, and sheds light on the relational dynamics between spiritual and material domains, on the mechanisms and techniques through which they 'make' each other. Such reciprocal interactions and transformations between the spiritual and the material are evident across spirit mediums, fetishes and ritual objects in Cuba, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Brazil, Bolivia, Japan and Central Africa. With new insights that challenge the taken-for-granted categories of materiality and transcendence, thing and spirit, this book will be invaluable for scholars in religious studies, comparative religion, anthropology and sociology. Contents 5 Contributors 7 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction 11 Materiality, Cosmogony and Presence among Cuban Spirits and Mediums 43 Conchas, Candles and Flowers in the Creation of the Concheros’ Religiosity 67 ‘We Worship Nature’ 91 Knowing What Has Been Done 115 Objects, Bodies and Gods 143 Divinity and Experiment 169 Things We Grow With 189 Forms of Fetishism in Kinshasa 215 Making Matter Matter 239 Index 263