War magic : religion, sorcery, and performance / edited by D. S. Farrer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Farrer, D. S., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War and society.

War--Religious aspects.

War.

Magic.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (180 pages)

Place of Publication:

New York, [New York] ; Oxford, [England] : berghahn, 2016.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Cross-cultural articulations of war magic and warrior religion / D.S. Farrer

Tangki war magic : the virtuality of spirit warfare and the actuality of peace / Margaret Chan

Javanese Kanuragan ritual initiation : a means to socialize by acquiring invulnerability, authority, and spiritual improvement / Jean-Marc de Grave

Discourse of decline : local perspectives on magic in highland Jambi, Indonesia / J. David Neidel

Encompassing empowerment in ritual, war, and assassination : tantric principles in Tamil Tiger instrumentalities / Michael Roberts

Shamanic battleground : magic, sorcery, and warrior shamanism in Venezuela / Zeljko Jokić

Chants of re-enchantment : Chamorro spiritual resistance to colonial domination / D.S. Farrer and James D. Sellmann

War magic and just war in Indian tantric Buddhism / Iain Sinclair.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references at the end of each chapters and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781785333309

1785333305

OCLC:

1290115092