Michael Lambek

Human Spirits

A Cultural Account of Trance in Mayotte

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

This book describes and interprets trance behaviour among the Malagasy speakers of Mayotte. The author argues that trance can best be understood as a social activity rather than as a psychological problem or a means of manipulating others. This book should be of particular interest to those concerned with the study of ritual, symbols and non-Western religious systems.

Produktdetails

• Cambridge Studies in Cultural Systems
• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Seitenzahl: 240
• Erscheinungstermin: 28. Februar 2009
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 14mm
• Gewicht: 364g
• ISBN-13: 9780521282550
• ISBN-10: 0521282551
• Artikelnr.: 26204423

Inhaltsangabe

List of tables and figures
Preface: cultural zero
Acknowledgements
Stylistic conventions
Introduction
Part I. Spirits and Hosts in Mayotte: 1. An overview of Mayotte society
2. Who the spirits are not: possession and Islam
3. The nature of spirits: first approximations
4. The incidence of trance
5. Possession as a system of communication
Part II. The Syntagmatic Dimension: 6. Negotiation and energence: the case of Habiba
7. Medicine and transformation: the case of Habiba continued
8. The hidden name: the case of Rukia
9. Of affines and annunciations
Part III. The Paradigmatic Dimension: 10. The trumba spirits
11. The world of possession
12. The spirits as children
Conclusion
Appendix: Additional classes of possession spirits in Mayotte
Notes
Bibliography
Index.