War Magic

Farrer DS (2016)


Publication Type: Authored book

Publication year: 2016

Publisher: Berghahn Books

City/Town: New York City

ISBN: 9781785333309

DOI: 10.2307/jj.6879783

Abstract

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

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How to cite

APA:

Farrer, D.S. (2016). War Magic. New York City: Berghahn Books.

MLA:

Farrer, Douglas S.. War Magic. New York City: Berghahn Books, 2016.

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