
Ritual, Rapture and Remorse
A Study of Tarantism and "Pizzica</I> in Salento
Jerri Daboo(Author)
Peter Lang Verlag
Published on 8. March 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
286 pages
978-3-03911-092-6 (ISBN)
Description
This book was awarded a Special Mention Citation in the 2010 competition for the 'de la Torre Bueno Prize' by The Society of Dance History Scholars.
In the region of Salento in Southern Italy, the music and dance of the pizzica has been used in the ritual of tarantism for many centuries as a means to cure someone bitten by the taranta spider. This book, a historical and ethnographic study of tarantism and pizzica, draws upon seven hundred years of writings about the ritual contributed by medical practitioners, scientists, travel writers and others. It also investigates the contemporary revival of interest in pizzica music and dance as part of the 'neo-tarantism' movement, where pizzica and the history of tarantism form a complex web of place, culture and identity for Salentines today.
This is one of the first books in English to explore this fascinating ritual practice and its contemporary resurgence. It uses an interdisciplinary framework based in performance studies to ask wider questions about the experience of the body in performance, and the potential of music and dance to create a sense of personal and collective transformation and efficacy.
More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Peter Lang Group AG, International Academic Publishers
Edition type
New edition
Illustrations
8 ill.
Dimensions
Height: 225 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
422 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-03911-092-6 (9783039110926)
DOI
10.3726/978-3-0353-0089-5
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2011
250th Edition
Peter Lang Verlag
€103.89
Available for download
Person
The Author: Jerri Daboo is a Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Exeter. She worked as a performer and director for many years before joining the university in 2004. She has trained in acting, music and dance, and her research publications and practice focus on the body and culture in performance.
Content
Contents: Embodying Pasts and Presence - Whose History Is It? Examining the Historical Records of Tarantism - Remorse, Transformation and Scazzicare: De Martino Revisited - Revivals, Roots and Raves: the Performance of Pizzica in Contemporary Salento.