Performing the Divine
Mediums, Markets and Modernity in Urban Vietnam
Will be published approx. on 1. June 2011
Book
Hardback
254 pages
978-87-7694-075-1 (ISBN)
Description
Vietnam in the last two decades has experienced not only market reform and significant economic growth but also a related, symbiotic revival of popular religion. It is no surprise, then, that popular beliefs and rituals that once were attacked as wasteful and superstitious have again become a conspicuous feature of contemporary urban and rural life.
A new blossoming of spirit mediumship has been part of this revival, not least that involving ritual possession by the deities of the Four Palace Pantheon, which this study based in urban Hanoi brings to life with a deft handling of complex theory, historical research, ethnographic material and analysis.
This is indeed a sojourn into the world of mediumship in contemporary urban Vietnam - a spirited world full of colour, laughter, music and ritual dance that operates according to its own rules and principles - but it is also an insightful study of spirituality, performance, gender and heritage, one that highlights the fluidity of ritual practice and contestations of ritual performance among practitioners.
A new blossoming of spirit mediumship has been part of this revival, not least that involving ritual possession by the deities of the Four Palace Pantheon, which this study based in urban Hanoi brings to life with a deft handling of complex theory, historical research, ethnographic material and analysis.
This is indeed a sojourn into the world of mediumship in contemporary urban Vietnam - a spirited world full of colour, laughter, music and ritual dance that operates according to its own rules and principles - but it is also an insightful study of spirituality, performance, gender and heritage, one that highlights the fluidity of ritual practice and contestations of ritual performance among practitioners.
Reviews / Votes
"'This is an excellent volume dealing with timely and important topics for scholars of Vietnam as well as those interested in the cross-cultural study of popular religions.' (External reviewer)"More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Copenhagen
Denmark
Illustrations
33 b/w figures
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
ISBN-13
978-87-7694-075-1 (9788776940751)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Kirsten W. Endres is a senior research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Halle/Saale (Germany). She has worked and carried out field research in Vietnam since the mid-1990s. Her ethnographic research spans rural and urban communities in both northern and southern regions of the country.
Content
Note on Vietnamese Language; Preface; 1. Introduction: Inviting the Spirits; 2. Personal Fate and Spirit Identities; 3. Performing the Divine; 4. Negotiating the Rules of Proper Performance; 5. The (gendered) World of Mediumship; 6. The Heritagisation of Four Palace Mediumship; Epilogue: Return to the Realm; Glossary; Bibliography; Index