Rethinking Anthropological Models of Spirit Possession and Theravada Buddhism

Anthropological studies of spirit possession in Theravada Buddhist worlds continue to be strongly shaped by many of the theoretical presumptions embedded in the analytic models proposed by the earliest generation of scholars. The ability of subsequent theoretical developments in the discipline to in...

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Détails bibliographiques
Auteur principal: White, Erick (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Berghahn [2017]
Dans: Religion and society
Année: 2017, Volume: 8, Numéro: 1, Pages: 189–202
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Theravāda / Croyance aux esprits / Possession
Sujets non-standardisés:B Spirit Possession
B Theravada Buddhism
B historical turn
B Practice Theory
B anthropology of Buddhism
B critique of culture
Accès en ligne: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Résumé:Anthropological studies of spirit possession in Theravada Buddhist worlds continue to be strongly shaped by many of the theoretical presumptions embedded in the analytic models proposed by the earliest generation of scholars. The ability of subsequent theoretical developments in the discipline to influence analyses of spirit possession, Theravada Buddhism, and the relationship between them has been hindered in recent decades by the limited institutionalization of the anthropology of Buddhism as a shared, comparative research agenda. This article re-examines anthropological models of spirit possession in Theravada Buddhist South and Southeast Asia in light of three theoretical developments in anthropology in the final decades of the twentieth century - the critique of culture, the rise of practice theory, and the historical turn. Incorporating these developments more fully will, it is argued, advance a more analytically robust and empirically nuanced framing of both Buddhism and spirit possession as objects of future anthropological study.
ISSN:2150-9301
Contient:Enthalten in: Religion and society
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.3167/arrs.2017.080112