Contemporary life and witchcraft : magic, divination, and religious ritual in europe / Alexandra Tataran.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Tataran, Alexana, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Orthodox Eastern Church.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (223 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Stuttgart, Germany : Ibidem-Verlag, [2016]

Summary:

Witchcraft is very much alive in today's post-communist societies. Stemming from ancient rural traditions and influenced by modern New Age concepts, it has kept its function as a vibrant cultural code to combat the adversities of everyday life. Intricately linked to the Orthodox church and its rituals, the magic discourse serves as a recourse for those in distress, a mechanism to counter-balance misfortune and, sometimes, a powerful medium for acts of aggression. Alexandra Tataran re-contextualizes the vast and heterogenuous discourse on contemporary witchcraft. She shows how magic, divination, and religious rituals are adapted to the complex mechanisms of modern mentalities and urban living in the specific historical and social context of post-communist countries. Based on years of first-hand fieldwork, Tataran offers insights into the experience of individuals deeming themselves bewitched and argues that the practice can also teach us a lot about particular forms of adapting traditions and resorting to pre-existing cultural models.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Introduction

Researching the Witchcraft Discourse

Writing about Contemporary Witchcraft

Chapter 1: Difficult Life Situations and Witchcraft

1.1 Witchcraft Situations and Reasons for Entering the Witchcraft Discourse

Delay of Marriage

Unhappy Marriage, Problematic Love Relationship

Inexplicable Illnesses, 'Mal de Vivre'

Milk Mana and Fertility Transfer

1.2 Symptoms, Signs, and Signals of a Witchcraft Situation

The Pink Dress

1.3 Entering the Witchcraft Discourse

Social Discourse and Personal Choice

The Apotropaic Dimension of Witchcraft Situations: Ritual Gestures and Interior Memory

Building the Narrative

Chapter 2: The Actors in Witchcraft Situations

2.1 The Witchcraft Discourse: General Lines and Specific Actors

2.2 Roles and Actors

Afflicted Actors

The 'Incidental Diagnostician'

The Fortune Teller

The Traditional Unwitcher and Magical Healers

The Orthodox Priest or Monk

2.3 Who are the Magical Aggressors?

Possessors of 'Grace'

The Regionalization of Witchcraft

Transmitting the Abnormal Gift

The Punishment of Witches

Chapter 3: Therapeutic Interventions

3.1 The Logic of the Apotropaic

Faces of Fear and Cycles of Ritual Defense

Drawing Boundaries in Contemporary Witchcraft Discourse

3.2 Forms of Therapeutic Ritual

The Evil Eye

Religious Unwitching

Informal Specialization

3.3 Protection and Combat Limits

Chapter 4: Magic and Religion

4.1 Magic, Religion, and Science as Key Concepts in Anthropology

4.2 Social Change and Insecurity: Three Examples

France

Russia

Romania

Social Change and Witchcraft Discourse: Concluding Remarks

4.3 Orthodox Religion and Magical Practice

Magic, Religion, and Processes of Secularization

Religion and Magical Practices under Communism.

Post-communist Developments

Concluding Remarks.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9783838267784

3838267788