Summoning the Spirits: Possession and Invocation in Contemporary Religion (Library of Modern Religion)

Charismatic visions and the role of mediums; possession ceremonies and ecstatic trance; the social contexts and practices of invocation: these are a number of the intriguing topics addressed by this comprehensive undergraduate textbook, the first of its kind to offer a thorough overview of the fascinating and multifaceted subject of spirit possession. The subject is now widely studied in a number of fields -- including religion, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies -- and for some time, there has been a need for a book which offers a multicultural, multi-thematic treatment which can satisfy growing demand and form the basis of focused courses in the area. __Summoning the Spirits__ meets that requirement. Avoiding technical jargon and abstruse theorizing, the book offers a representative snapshot of the way the topic is being treated by academics across the world. Its subject range, too, is global, covering such topics as Venda possession in South Africa; the Cuban practice of espiritismo (or mediumship) in Cuba; spirit possession in the Brazilian new religion of Santo Daime; invocation and divine possession amongst Wiccans; and different expressions of spirit domination in Charismatic Christianity. Analyzing themes which recur from context to context (such as agency and meaning, power and gender, cultural hybridism, and globalization), an international team of contributors presents a variety of novel and challenging approaches. This is the ideal starting-point for students looking for a way into the subject. Prophetic visions and the role of mediums; possession ceremonies and ecstatic trance; the social contexts and practices of invocation: these are a number of the intriguing topics addressed by this comprehensive undergraduate textbook, the first of its kind to offer a thorough overview of the fascinating and multifaceted subject of spirit possession. The subject is now widely studied in a number of fields - including religion, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies - and for some time there has been a need for a book which offers a multicultural, multi-disciplinary and multi-thematic treatment which can satisfy growing demand and form the basis of focused modules in the area. Summoning the Spirits meets that requirement. Avoiding technical jargon and abstruse theorising, the book offers a representative snapshot of the way the topic is being treated by academics across the world. Its subject range, too, is global, covering such topics as Vietnamese len dong possession rituals in the United States; the practice of espiritismo (or mediumship) in Cuba; spirit possession in the Brazilian new religion of Santo Daime; invocation and divine possession in contemporary Witchcraft and Paganism in Australia; and different expressions of Charismatic Christianity in Europe. Analysing themes which recur from context to context (such as agency and meaning, power and gender, cultural hybridism, and globalisation), an international team of contributors presents a variety of novel and challenging approaches. This is the ideal starting-point for students looking for a way into the subject. Charismatic visions and the role of mediums; possession ceremonies and ecstatic trance; the social contexts and practices of invocation: these are a number of the intriguing topics addressed by this comprehensive undergraduate textbook, the first of its kind to offer a thorough overview of the fascinating and multifaceted subject of spirit possession. The subject is now widely studied in a number of fields - including religion, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies - and for some time there has been a need for a book which offers a multicultural, multi-thematic treatment which can satisfy growing demand and form the basis of focused modules in the area. Summoning the Spirits meets that requirement. Avoiding technical jargon and abstruse theorising, the book offers a representative snapshot of the way the topic is being treated by academics across the world. Its subject range, too, is global, covering such topics as Venda possession in South Africa; the Cuban practice of espiritismo (or mediumship) in Cuba; spirit possession in the Brazilian new religion of Santo Daime; invocation and divine possession amongst Wiccans; and different expressions of spirit domination in Charismatic Christianity. Analysing themes which recur from context to context (such as agency and meaning, power and gender, cultural hybridism, and globalisation), an international team of contributors presents a variety of novel and challenging approaches. This is the ideal starting-point for students looking for a way into the subject Introduction: possession and invocation in contemporary context / Andrew Dawson I: Possessing the present: local negotiations of transnational processes Local spirits/multicultural rituals: the dynamics of place and identity in Vietnamese-American spirit possession rituals / Karen Fjelstad and Nguyen Thi Hien Embodied spirit(s) and charismatic power among Congolese migrants in London / David Garbin Spirits and slaves in Central Sudan / Susan M. Kenyon Gendered dynamics of the divine: trance and possession practices in diaspora Hindu sites in East London / Ann R. David II: Taking possession of the spirit: relational selves and supernatural others Process personhood and possession in Cuban spiritism / Diana Espirito Santo Embodiment and the metaphysics of virgin birth in South India: a case study / Gillian Goslinga Ta(l)king possession: exchanging words and worlds among charismatic Christians / Simon Coleman III: Possession and invocation in late-modern contexts Spirit, self and society in the Brazilian new religion of Santo Daime / Andrew Dawson Imagining spirit possession: mixing traditions and current trends in the Japanese Manga Shaman King / Birgit Staemmler The ontology of good and evil: spirit possession in contemporary witchcraft and paganism / Douglas Ezzy. "This ... work ... examines spirit possession rituals in relation to interpersonal, institutional, structural and expressive processes, and underscores the potential of possession to adapt to changing circumstances. Each chapter offers ethnographically grounded and theoretically engaged analyses of possession ..."