Spirit Possession and Communication in Religious and Cultural Contexts
Spirit Possession and Communication in Religious and Cultural Contexts explores the phenomenon of spirit possession, focusing on the religious and cultural functions it serves as a means of communication.
Drawing on the multidisciplinary expertise of philosophers, anthropologists, historians, linguists, and scholars of religion and the Bible, the volume investigates the ways that spirit possession narratives, events, and rituals are often interwoven around communicative acts, both between spiritual and earthly realms and between members of a community.
This book offers fresh insight into the enduring cultural and religious significance of spirit possession. It will be an important resource for scholars from a diverse range of disciplines, including religion, anthropology, history, linguistics, and philosophy.
Caroline Blyth is Senior Lecturer in Theological and Religious Studies at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
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Spirit Possession and Communication in Religious and Cultural Contexts
Edited by Caroline Blyth
First published 2021
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Contents
caroline blyth
anne aalbers
anastasia scrutton
sean mccloud
andy mills
adam yuet chau and liu jianshu
richard moyle
karen dwyer
kirsty rowan
gregory w. dawes
Guide
The inspiration for this volume began at a conference, held at the University of Auckland in July 2017. The conference, Spirit Possession: Global and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, included presentations by thirteen researchers whose work encompassed the study of spirit possession from different disciplinary perspectives, including linguistics, philosophy, anthropology, psychology, psychiatry, and religious studies. The event was generously funded by The Sainsbury Foundation, which was established in 1989 by the late George Walter Joseph Sainsbury, a retired nurseryman from Mangawhai, New Zealand. Mr Sainsbury devoted the latter part of his life to caring for his sister who was struggling with mental health problems. His wish was that The Sainsbury Foundation could be used to foster research into spirit possession.
Prior to the 2017 conference, The Sainsbury Foundation sponsored the publication of another edited volume, Spirit Possession, Theology, and Identity: A Pacific Exploration (ed. Elaine M. Wainwright, Philip Culbertson, and Susan Smith, ATF Press, 2010), which offered theological reflections on issues relating to spirit possession, the Bible, and mental illness. The chapters were written by current and former staff and students at the University of Aucklands School of Theology, each of whom wrote about spirit possession from a particular Oceanic perspective. The 2017 Spirit Possession conference extended the work begun in this volume, fostering new international and multidisciplinary conversations about spirit possession, and, in accordance with the charitable purpose of The Sainsbury Foundation, inspiring new understandings of spirit possession that could ultimately benefit those affected by it.
The current volume, Spirit Possession and Communication in Religious and Cultural Contexts, reflects many of the conversations and insights we heard during the conference. Most of the chapters are written by conference presenters; others have been generously provided by researchers whose work likewise explores spirit possession from a range of international and disciplinary perspectives. Together, they offer readers some fascinating and innovative insights into this global phenomenon, and we trust that Mr Sainsbury would approve.
Heartfelt thanks, then, to The George Sainsbury Foundation and the Foundations Trustees for their generous support in the production of this volume, as well as the conference that inspired it.
Anne Aalbers is a PhD candidate in New Testament Studies at the University of Auckland.
Caroline Blyth is Senior Lecturer in Religion at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Adam Yuet Chau is Reader in the Anthropology of China in the Department of East Asian Studies at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow at St Johns College.
Gregory W. Dawes is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Otago.
Karen Dwyer is Teaching Fellow for the Survey of English Usage, Department of English Language and Literature, University College London.
Liu Jianshu teaches in the School of Foreign Languages, Xidian University, Xian, China.
