Transforming Spirit Bodies / Sinah Theres Kloss.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Theres Kloss, Sinah, author.

Series:

Dependency and slavery studies ; Volume 17

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Dominance (Psychology).

Folklore--South America.

Folklore.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (182 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Berlin : De Gruyter, 2025.

Summary:

"Transforming Spirit Bodies" is an edited volume that focuses on the bodies and embodiments of spirits, their (im-)materialities, and their bodily transformations. The anthropological, sociological and archaeological contributions draw attention to the embodied experiences of asymmetrical dependencies among humans and spirits and how experiences of (inter-)dependence are negotiated in their interactions. Suggesting that more-than-human entities significantly contribute to agency in social interactions and power negotiations, the volume further highlights the ambivalent yet undeniable relationship between spirits and materiality. During the processes of materialization and dematerialization, in which spirit bodies transform and are transformed, more-than-human entities may share substances and agency with humans. Not only having material but also social dimensions, these dynamics are influenced by relations of power and dependency. Following posthumanist approaches, this volume therefore challenges the anthropocentric views that continue to dominate scholarly analysis of power relations, dependency, and coercion.

Contents:

Transforming Spirit bodies : materialization and embodied dependencies

Ownership and debt-peonage among the Kanamari

Shared vulnerabilities: avenging spirits, corporate groups, and other concepts (Saamaka, Suriname)

Transforming bodies in Kali worship, Guyana

Bodies and souls : the assimilation of victims through the cult of Benditas Animas in Colombia

Bodies of salvation : embodied powers among the Moqoit people of the Argentinean Chaco

"We don't grow up alone" : therapeutic paintings among Ge indigenous peoples

Shamanism, transformation of the body, and predation in ancient Amazonia.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.