Seekers and things : spiritual movements and aesthetic difference in Kinshasa / Peter Lambertz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lambertz, Peter, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sekai Kyūseikyō--Congo (Democratic Republic)--Kinshasa.

Sekai Kyūseikyō.

Temple messianique art de johrei (Congo).

Aesthetics, Japanese.

Cults.

Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo)--Religious life and customs.

Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo).

Cults--Congo (Democratic Republic)--Kinshasa.

Aesthetics, Japanese--Congo (Democratic Republic)--Kinshasa.

Congo (Democratic Republic)--Kinshasa.

Physical Description:

xi, 296 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Berghahn Books, 2018.

Summary:

Focusing on the intricate presence of a Japanese new religion (Sekai Kyûseikyô) in the densely populated and primarily Christian environment of Kinshasa (DR Congo), this ethnographic study offers a practitioner-orientated perspective to create a localised picture of religious globalization. Guided by an aesthetic approach to religion, the study moves beyond a focus limited to text and offers insights into the role of religious objects, spiritual technologies and aesthetic repertoires in the production and politics of difference. The boundaries between non-Christian religious minorities and the largely Christian public sphere involve fears and suspicion of 'magic' and 'occult sciences'.--Publisher's summary.

Contents:

Introduction

'Light in the darkness' : towards a Congolese spiritual movement 'from Japan'

Occult sciences : il-/legitimate secrecy and the infrapolitics of suspicion

Blossoming boundaries : re-/production and contestation of Japanese flower practices

Cleansing the city : ritual attachment to urban space

Experiencing faith : crisis, miracles and spiritual healing

(In) touch without contact : Johrei and the aura of the self

Vibrating words : performative silence and the power of words

Imported tradition : 'ancestor worship' as reverse orientalism

Conclusion.

Notes:

Originally presented as the author's thesis (doctoral)--Leipzig and Utrecht, 2015, under the title: Divisive matters : aesthetic difference and authority in a Congolese spiritual movement "from Japan".

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781785336690

178533669X

OCLC:

1010505213