Yao Prông: Feast for the Helping Spirit of the Bru Shaman
Yao prông, the feast for the helping spirit, is the greatest yearly shamanic event among the Bru, a central Vietnamese hill tribe. Every Bru shaman’s house has a beautifully decorated altar, where the shaman’s helping spirit is thought to reside. Before performing, the shaman calls upon his helping...
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| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Molnar & Kelemen Oriental Publ.
2019
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| In: |
Shaman
Year: 2019, Volume: 27, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 97-116 |
| Summary: | Yao prông, the feast for the helping spirit, is the greatest yearly shamanic event among the Bru, a central Vietnamese hill tribe. Every Bru shaman’s house has a beautifully decorated altar, where the shaman’s helping spirit is thought to reside. Before performing, the shaman calls upon his helping spirit to follow him to the scene and help him in his “work,” after which the spirit returns to the altar. Once a year the whole village, i.e. the real and virtual clientele of the shaman, come together at this altar to honor the helping spirit, and, through it, the shaman. At this occasion the altar is repainted and remade, and during twenty-four hours of grandiose ceremony the shaman cures again all his former patients for a “last” time, thus bringing their illness symbolically to an end. In my paper I present a processual analysis of the feast with special attention given to the making of the altar and its symbolism, to creating ritual space and to spiritual performativity in front of the altar. |
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| ISSN: | 1216-7827 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Shaman
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