War Magic: Religion, Sorcery, and Performance

By: Douglas Farrer

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Synopsis: This compelling volume explores how war magic and warrior religion unleash the power of the gods, demons, ghosts, and the dead. Documenting war magic and warrior religion as they are performed in diverse cultures and across historical time periods, this volume foregrounds embodiment, practice, and performance in anthropological approaches to magic, sorcery, shamanism, and religion. The authors go beyond what magic ‘represents’ to consider what magic does. From Chinese exorcists, Javanese spirit siblings, and black magic in Sumatra to Tamil Tiger suicide bombers, Chamorro spiritual re-enchantment, tantric Buddhist war magic, and Yanomami dark shamans, religion and magic are re-evaluated not just from the practitioner’s perspective but through the victim’s lived experience. These original investigations reveal a nuanced approach to understanding social action, innovation, and the revitalization of tradition in colonial and post-colonial societies undergoing rapid social transformation.

Book Quality:: Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:: 9781785333309
Related ISBNs:: 9781785333293
Publisher:: Berghahn Books, Incorporated
Date of Addition:: 10/19/18
Copyrighted By:: Berghahn
Adult content:: No
Language:: English
Has Image Descriptions:: No
Categories:: Nonfiction, Health, Mind and Body, Religion and Spirituality, Social Studies, Sociology
Submitted By:: Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:: This is a copyrighted book.