Sacred Realms Essays in Religion, Belief, and Society

by Warms, Richard; Garber, James; McGee, Jon

• ISBN13: 9780195175806
• ISBN10: 0195175808
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-02-05
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Sacred Realms is a comprehensive introduction to the anthropology of religion that presents and defines key concepts with fifty-five classic and current essays by leading specialists. The anthology has wide geographical scope and presents balanced accounts from anthropologists throughout the world. Divided into seventeen subject areas that cover major topics in faith, religion, and belief, Sacred Realms concludes with descriptions of five of the world's most influential religions. Features of Sacred Realms : * This anthology presents several of the classics of the literature on religion (such as Malinowski, Harris, Miner, Wallace, and Gmelch) while introducing current work in the field. The majority of essays included were originally published in the past fifteen years. * The book's six Parts are introduced by essays that concisely provide the critical concepts and key points students require. * Each essay is introduced by head notes that supply context and discuss the principal points that it makes. Each head note includes several questions for students to consider while they read the essay. * Many essays are by authors either native to or living in the societies they describe. * Essays are readable and cover a wide breadth of topics that are both interesting to students and fit well with subjects that professors commonly teach. * The world religions section (Part Six) is not found in any other anthropology of religion book. It presents highly readable, basic accounts of the largest and historically most important world religions in a balanced fashion.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: What Is Religion?
The Origins of Religion	p. 2
How Religion Began: Human Evolution and the Origin of Religion (2002)	p. 3
Ritual, Consciousness, Belief: A Speculation on the Origin of Religion (1993)	p. 11
Rational Mastery by Man of His Surroundings (1925)	p. 16
Religion and Society	p. 21
Spirit-Writing and the Development of Chinese Cults (1998)	p. 23
The Production of Possession: Spirits and the Multinational Corporation in Malaysia (1988)	p. 33
Japanese Death Rituals in Transit: From Household Ancestors to Beloved Antecedents (1998)	p. 44
Religion and the Environment	p. 56
Balinese "Water Temples" and the Management of Irrigation (1987)	p. 58
Mother Cow (1974)	p. 68
Sacred Terrain: Religion, Politics, and Place in the History of Anloga (1997)	p. 74
Religion and Mythology	p. 85
Unaesthetic Imaginings: Native American Myth as Speech Genre (1996)	p. 86
A Jatipurana (Clan-History Myth) of the Gurav Temple Priests of Maharashtra (1998)	p. 93
God the "Stone/Rock": Myth, Idolatry, and Cultic Fetishism in Ancient Israel (1996)	p. 101
Supernatural Beings and Powers	p. 114
Tribal Religion in India: A Case Study of the Bhils (1986)	p. 116
The Qawa Incident in 1968 and Other Cases of "Spirit Possession": Religious Syncretism in Fiji (1995)	p. 121
The Devil and the Saints in the Conquest of Mexico (1994)	p. 129
Is Elvis a God? Cult, Culture, Questions of Method (1998)	p. 133
Religious Specialists: Shamans, Prophets, and Priests	p. 140
Korean Shamans and the Spirits of Capitalism (1996)	p. 142
Claiming Legitimacy: Prophecy Narratives from Northern Aboriginal Women (1994)	p. 154
Oracles, Divine Kingship, and Political Representation in the Inka State (1996)	p. 165
Ritual and Ceremony	p. 176
Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites de Passage (1964)	p. 177
Play and Liminality in Rites of Passage: From Elder to Ancestor in West Africa (1991)	p. 185
Female Circumcision in Southern Chad: Origins, Meaning, and Current Practice (1996)	p. 196
Baseball Magic (2002)	p. 203
Body Ritual among the Nacirema (1956)	p. 209
Altered States	p. 212
Hallucinogenic Plants and Their Use in Traditional Societies (1985)	p. 214
The Old Woman and Her Gifts: Pharmacological Bases of the Chumash Use of Datura (1994)	p. 217
Cognitive and Optical Illusions in San Rock Art Research (1986)	p. 227
The Rave: Spiritual Healing in Modern Western Subcultures (2000)	p. 236
"The Night I Got the Holy Ghost ...": Holy Ghost Narratives and the Pentecostal Conversion Process (1988)	p. 248
Death and Funerals	p. 257
Whatever Happened to the American Way of Death? (1996)	p. 258
"Thus Are Our Bodies, Thus Was Our Custom": Mortuary Cannibalism in an Amazonian Society (1995)	p. 263
Killing Infants and the Aged in Nonindustrial Societies: Removing the Liminal (1988)	p. 281
Origins and Realities of Suttee in Hinduism (2002)	p. 288
Healing	p. 296
Magic, Medicine, and Metaphysics in Nigeria (1991)	p. 298
Effective Features of Therapy from the Healer's Perspective: A Study of Curanderismo (1986)	p. 301
Ghost Illness: A Cross-Cultural Experience with the Expression of a Non-Western Tradition in Clinical Practice (1988)	p. 311
Culture-Bound Illnesses in a Samoan Migrant Community (1988)	p. 322
Explanations of Mental Health Symptoms by the Bedouin-Arabs of the Negev (1999)	p. 327
Bewitching	p. 333
Parallels between Recollections of Repressed Childhood Sex Abuse, Kidnappings by Space Aliens, and the 1962 Salem Witch Hunts (1994)	p. 335
Spirits, Shamans, and Nightmare Death: Survivor Stress in a Hmong Refugee (1983)	p. 341
Magical Literacy: Encountering a Witch's Book in Ecuador (1998)	p. 347
New Religious Movements	p. 362
Revitalization Movements (1956)	p. 364
The Goddess and Power: Witchcraft and Religion in America (1997)	p. 373
Christian Violence in America (1998)	p. 379
Taipucam in Malaysia: Ecstasy and Identity in a Tamil Hindu Festival (1989)	p. 386
The Phenomenology of Religious Serpent Handling: A Rationale and Thematic Study of Extemporaneous Sermons (1999)	p. 396
Lubavitch: A Contemporary Messianic Movement (1997)	p. 404
Hinduism	p. 416
Buddhism	p. 426
Judaism	p. 433
Christianity	p. 445
Islam	p. 459
Index	p. 468
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