Introduction: Cross-cultural articulations of war magic and warrior religion
Farrer DS (2014)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2014
Journal
Book Volume: 58
Pages Range: 1-24
Journal Issue: 1
Abstract
Previous anthropology emphasized symbolic incantations at the expense of the embodied practice of magic. Foregrounding embodiment and performance in war magic and warrior religion collapses the mind-body dualism of magic versus rationality, instead highlighting social action, innovation, and the revitalization of tradition, as tempered historically by colonial and post-colonial trajectories in societies undergoing rapid social transformation. Religion and magic are re-evaluated from the perspective of the practitioner's and the victim's embodiment in their experiential life-worlds via articles discussing Chinese exorcists, Javanese spirit siblings, Sumatran black magic, Tamil Tiger suicide bombers, Chamorro spiritual re-enchantment, tantric Buddhist war magic, and Yanomami dark shamans. Central themes include violence and healing, accomplished through ritual and performance, to unleash and/or control the power of gods, demons, ghosts and the dead. © Berghahn Journals.
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APA:
Farrer, D.S. (2014). Introduction: Cross-cultural articulations of war magic and warrior religion. Social Analysis, 58(1), 1-24. https://doi.org/10.3167/sa.2014.580101
MLA:
Farrer, Douglas S.. "Introduction: Cross-cultural articulations of war magic and warrior religion." Social Analysis 58.1 (2014): 1-24.
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