N° 49 Sankt Augustin, July 2014

Review of Books (by Othmar Gächter)

Fry, Douglas P. (ed.): War, Peace, and Human Nature. During ceremonies, shamans act like hunters and war- The Convergence of Evolutionary and Cultural Views. riors, dealing with many states related to violence, such as Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. 562 pp. ISBN 978- collective and individual suffering, attack, conflict, and an- 0-19-985899-6. (hbk) tagonism. Indigenous religious complexes are often called to respond to direct and indirect competition with more es- Have humans always waged war? Is warring an ancient tablished cultural and religious traditions, which under- evolutionary adaptation or a relatively recent behavior – mine the sociocultural structure, the sense of identity, and and what does that tell us about human nature? In “War, the state of well-being of many indigenous groups. This Peace, and Human Nature”, Douglas P. Fry brings together book explores a more sensitive vision of shamanism, closer leading experts in such fields as evolutionary biology, ar- to the emic views of many indigenous groups. chaeology, anthropology, and primatology to answer fun- damental questions about peace, conflict, and human nature in an evolutionary context. The chapters in this book Bellier, Irène (éd.): Peuple autochtones dans le monde. demonstrate that humans clearly have the capacity to make Les enjeux de la reconnaissance. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2013. war, but since war is absent in some cultures, it cannot be 369 pp. ISBN 978-2-343-01120-2. (pbk) viewed as a human universal. And counter to frequent pre- sumption the actual archaeological record reveals the re- Le 13 septembre 2007, l’Assemblée générale des Nations cent emergence of war. It does not typify the ancestral type Unies adopte la Déclaration des droits des peuples autoch- of human society, the nomadic forager band, and contrary tones. Après plus de 20 ans de négociations compliquées, to widespread assumption, there is little support for the idea les peuples indigènes qui partagent une histoire de domina- that war is ancient or an evolved adaptation. Views of tion, de marginalisation et d’exclusion dans la construction human nature as inherently warlike stem not from the facts des États sont reconnus comme sujets de droit, jouissant du but from cultural views embedded in Western thinking. droit des peuples à disposer d’eux-mêmes. Cette reconnais- sance internationale ouvre toute une série de questions sur la place des peuples autochtones dans le monde aujour- Riboli, Diana, and Davide Torri (eds.): Shamanism and d’hui, sur les luttes menées pour les respecter comme êtres Violence. Power, Repression and Suffering in Indigenous humains, comme citoyens, comme peuples, égaux et diffé- Religious Conflicts. Surrey: Ashgate, 2014. 176 pp. ISBN rents. 978-1-4094-4386-5. (hbk) La première partie porte sur le legs colonial et les en- jeux politiques et sociaux des processus de catégorisation, Proposing a new theoretical framework, this book explores la seconde aborde les évolutions du champ juridique et des shamanism’s links with violence from a global perspective. constitutions. En mettant en évidence les héritages de l’his- Contributors, renowned anthropologists and authorities in toire et les spécificités régionales de différents processus, the field, draw on their research in Mongolia, China, Ko- les chapitres évoquent la diversité des situations dans le rea, Malaysia, Nepal, India, Siberia, America, Papua New monde, en faisant ressortir les points communs et les lignes Guinea, and Taiwan to investigate how indigenous sha- de transformation. manic cultures dealt, and are still dealing, with varying de- Les contributions d’anthropologues, de sociologues, de grees of internal and external violence. juristes et d’acteurs autochtones montrent les articulations

1 entre les domaines du social, du politique et du juridique and Faith” offers a fascinating exploration of what allows qui témoignent des mécanismes – et des résistances – à a family to pass on its most deeply-held tradition – its faith. l’oeuvre dans le processus d’ouverture d’un espace de re- connaissance des peuples autochtones. Knibbe, Kim Esther: Faith in the Familiar. Religion, Spi- rituality, and Place in the South of the Netherlands. Leiden: Mancini, Susanna, and Michel Rosenfeld (eds.): Consti- Brill, 2013. 186 pp. ISBN 978-90-04-25052-9 (hbk) tutional Secularism in an Age of Religious Revival. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 349 pp. ISBN 978- “Faith in the Familiar” is an ethnography of religious 0-19-966038-4. (hbk) change in the Netherlands, a country that has moved from strongly pillarized to strongly secularist in the space of fifty The contributors to this book come from a variety of dif- years. This book shows how people look back on this, but ferent disciplines including law, anthropology, history, also how Catholic rituals continue to play a role in the re- philosophy, and political theory. They provide accounts of, production of place. Furthermore, it shows how forms of and explanations for, present predicaments; critiques of spiritualism and new age have become part of a pluralistic contemporary institutional, political, and cultural arrange- local religious landscape, and are used to create new ways ments, justifications and practices; and suggestions with a of relating to religious authority and to reshape personal view to overcoming or circumventing several of the seem- relationships. ingly intractable or insurmountable current controversies Situating itself within general theories of religious and deadlocks. change in Western Europe, it offers a contribution to this The book is separated into five parts. Part I provides discussion from an angle that is often neglected, focusing theoretical perspectives on the present day conflicts be- on locality, rather than on globalization; on what happens tween secularism and religion. Part II focuses on the rela- to “old” religion, rather than on new religious trends, on tionship between religion, secularism, and the public popular forms of “spirituality” rather than on middle class sphere. Part III examines the nexus between religion, secu- and highbrow spirituality. larism, and women’s equality. Part IV concentrates on religious perspectives concerning constraints on, and ac- commodations of, religion within the precincts of the Herding, Maruta: Inventing the Muslim Cool. Islamic liberal state. Finally, Part V zeroes in on conflicts between Youth Culture in Western Europe. Bielefeld: Transcript religion and secularism in specific contexts, namely educa- Verlag, 2013. 241 pp. ISBN 978-8376-2511-0. (pbk) tion and freedom of speech. In the current environment of a growing Muslim presence in Europe, young Muslims have started to develop a sub- Bengtson, Vern L., Norella M. Putney, and Susan Har- culture of their own. The manifestations reach from reli- ris: Families and Faith. How Religion is Passed Down gious rap and street wear with Islamic slogans to morally across Generations. Oxford: Oxford University Press, “impeccable” comedy. This form of religiously permis- 2013. 267 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-994856-9. (hbk) sible fun and of youth-compatible worship is actively en- gaged in shaping the future of Islam in Europe and of Few things are more likely to cause heartache to devout Muslim/non-Muslims relations. parents than seeing their child leave the faith. And it seems, Based on a vast collection of youth cultural artefacts, from media portrayals, that this is happening more and participant observations and in-depth interviews in France, more frequently. But is religious change between genera- Britain, and Germany, this book provides a vivid descrip- tions common? How does religion get passed down from tion of Islamic youth culture and explores the reasons why one generation to the next? How do some families succeed young people develop such a culture. in passing on their faith while others do not? The authors seek to answer these questions and many more. For almost four decades, Vern Bengtson and his col- Bsteh, Andreas: Geschichte eines Dialoges. Dialoginitia- leagues have been conducting this large study of religion tiven St. Gabriel an der Jahrtausendwende. Mödling: Ver- and family across generations. Through war and social lag St. Gabriel, 2013. 149 pp. ISBN 978-3-85264-629-9. upheaval, depression and technological revolution, they have followed more than 350 families composed of more Einleitend schreibt Andreas Bsteh SVD zum Lernprozess than 3,500 individuals whose lives span more than a cen- des interreligiösen Dialogs: „Ohne das Wagnis einer in der tury – the oldest was born in 1881, the youngest in 1988 – Begegnung mit dem Anderen gelingenden radikalen Neu- to find out how religion is, or is not, passed down from one besinnung und Neuorientierung der eigenen Identität, die generation to the next. zu einer Vertiefung eben dieser Identität führt, ist Dialog What they found may come as a surprise: despite enor- zwischen Menschen verschiedener religiöser Traditionen mous changes in American society, a child is actually more nicht möglich“ (10). Diese Einsicht charakterisiert die in likely to remain within the fold than leave it, and even the 1975 begonnenen religionstheologischen Studientagungen nonreligious are more likely to follow their parents’ exam- in St. Gabriel (Mödling) auf hohem Niveau und die christ- ple than to rebel. And while outside forces do play a role, lich-muslimischen Dialogkonferenzen in Wien und den the crucial factor in whether a child keeps the faith is the „Vienna International Christian-Islamic Round Table“, presence of a strong fatherly bond. Mixing unprecedented deren Beiträge und Diskussionen Andreas Bsteh organi- data with gripping interviews and sharp analysis, “Families sierte und veröffentlichte.

2 Der reich illustrierte Band informiert über echte reli- The latest volume of the Collectanea Instituti Anthropos giöse Begegnungen von Menschen aus verschiedenen reli- series presents twenty essays in honor of the cultural an- giösen Traditionen und Kulturen. Ausgewiesene Fachleute thropologist María Susana Cipolletti. These include contri- christlicher, islamischer, hinduistischer und buddhistischer butions by her friends, colleagues, and students from Latin Traditionen arbeiteten im interdisziplinären Gespräch Ge- America and Europe. The articles reflect Cipollettis’ wide meinsamkeit, Eigenart und Unterschiede zwischen den range of research interests: Shamanism, ethnographic mu- Religionen heraus, um ein tieferes Verstehen des je eige- seums and collections, cultural anthropology and linguis- nen Glaubens und einen intensiveren Dialog heute zu er- tics of the South American lowlands, and last but not least, möglichen. Der vorzüglich edierte Band wird zu Recht mit Andean archaeology and history. The texts are written in „Dialoginitiativen“ charakterisiert und lädt zur Besinnung Spanish, German or English. A list of María Susana und neuen richtungsweisenden Überlegungen und Initia- Cipollettis’ publications is included. tiven ein. Some articles are particularly worth mentioning here. The essay “Las ‘Plantas de las Muerteras’ (Obba, Oya, Yansá, y Yewá),” written by the late Cuban ethnobotanist Groot, Joanna de, and Sue Morgan (eds.): Sex, Gender Victor R. Fuentes, analyzes the usage and symbolism of and the Sacred. Reconfiguring Religion in Gender History. plants in the Afro-Cuban religion of Santería. Bruno Illius Chichester: Wiley Blackwell, 2014. 337 pp. ISBN 978-1- deconstructs a public and social media hype in his article 118-83376-6. (pbk) “Der Stein der Liebe” (The Stone of Love). He shows how indigenous people in Venezuela and their mythology were “Sex, Gender and the Sacred” presents a multi-faith, multi- manipulated by governmental organizations, film-makers, disciplinary collection of essays that explore the inter- and activists of different kinds for political reasons. In the locking narratives of religion and gender encompassing end, the hoax built upon an alleged sacred stone led to a 4000 years of history. Readings reflect the societal inter- diplomatic crisis between the Republic of Venezuela and section of sexuality and religion from ancient Mesopo- of Germany. Volker von Bremen, known for applied an- tamia to Renaissance Milan, from Song China to post- thropology and development, worked for the Christian de- revolutionary Mexico, from medieval Ireland to modern velopment organizations Misereor and Brot für die Welt. Spain and Cuba, and from early modern England to con- He evaluates critically the concept of “Reducing Emissions temporary India. In sections dealing with the transnational from Deforestation and Degradation” (“REDD+”) and dimensions of religious belief, the importance of embodi- shows that this concept is not as close to the needs and ment and sexuality to spiritual subjectivity, and the poli- worldviews of indigenous peoples as is it may seem to be. ticization of faith, the essays explore diverse periods, geo- In consequence of this, he calls for a real dialogue between graphies, and communities. the propagators of “REDD+” campaigns and indigenous Contributions in gender history, religion and related people. This dialogue should not be biased by Western eco- fields assess how religious ideas and representations have nomic concepts and Western romantic concepts of pristine shaped the personal, spiritual, and social formations of both or unspoiled nature. men and women through various case studies, including Chinese and European art and iconography, same-sex de- Rocha, Cristina, and Manuel A. Vásquesz (eds.): The sire, Indo-Islamic encounters with the British raj, cross- Diaspora of Brazilian Religions. Leiden: Brill, 2013. 391 cultural transmission of African and Cuban rituals. pp. ISBN 978-90-04-23694-3. (hbk)

This book explores the global spread of religions originat- Hefner, Robert W. (ed.): Global Pentecostalism in the ing in Brazil, a country that has emerged as a major pole of 21st Century. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, religious innovation and production. Through ethnographi- 2013. 270 pp. ISBN 978-0-253-01086-5. (pbk) cally rich case studies throughout the world, ranging from the Americas (Canada, the U.S., Peru, and Argentina) and This state-of-the-field overview of Pentecostalism around Europe (the U.K., Portugal, and the Netherlands) to Asia the world focuses on cultural developments among second- (Japan) and Oceania (Australia), the book examines the and third-generation adherents in regions with large Pente- conditions, actors, and media that have made possible the costal communities, considering the impact of these de- worldwide construction, circulation, and consumption of velopments on political participation, citizenship, gender Brazilian religious identities, practices, and lifestyles, in- relations, economic morality, and the future of global cluding those connected with indigenized forms of Pente- Christianity itself. Leading scholars from anthropology, costalism and Catholicism, African-based religions such as sociology, religious studies, and history present useful Candomblé and Umbanda, as well as diverse expressions introductions to global issues and country-specific studies of New Age Spiritism and Ayahuasca-centered neo-sha- drawn from Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the former manism like Vale do Amanhecer and Santo Daime. USSR.

Beek, Walter E.A. van, and Philip M. Peek (eds.): Re- Heinrich, Hanna, and Harald Grauer (eds.): Wege im viewing Reality. Dynamics of African Divination. Berlin: Garten der Ethnologie. Festschrift für María Susana Cipol- Lit Verlag, 2013. 395 pp. ISBN 978-3-643-90335-8. (pbk) letti / Caminos en el jardín de la etnología. Publicación en homenaje a María Susana Cipolletti. Sankt Augustin: Aca- From crab divination in the Cameroon to friction oracles in demia Verlag, 2013. 414 pp. ISBN 978-3-89665-632-2. the Congo Basin, from reading cast objects in Mozambique

3 to spirit possession in Côte d’Ivoire, from Sudanese ebony violence and oppression of women. Against this back- diviners to South African Xhosa healers, divination sys- ground, Christian theologians and local churches in Africa tems throughout Africa serve their communities by resolv- seek to change men and transform masculinities. ing problems and answering questions. Divination helps Robert Schreiter: This is an important study that throws people chart a course in life by a deeper understanding of new light on several fields at once: how Christianity is per- past and present. This collection reveals the extraordinary ceived concretely in sub-Saharan Africa, how different diversity and complexity of African divination systems, masculinities are being constructed and contested in that focusing on self-knowledge, social reality, and on inter- same region, and how both of these have an impact on cultural and historical relations. combating HIV/AIDS there. Van Klinken’s contribution breaks new ground not only for African and for religious studies, but is suggestive also, of how religion and gender Kane, Abdoulaye, and Todd H. Leedy (eds.): African Mi- constructions might be transformed elsewhere as well. grations. Patterns and Perspectives. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013. 301 pp. ISBN 978-0-253-00576-2. (pbk) Loimeier, Roman: Muslim Societies in Africa. A Histori- Spurred by major changes in the world economy and in cal Anthropology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, local ecology, the contemporary migration of Africans, 2013. 358 pp. ISBN 978-0-253-00788-9. (hbk) both within the continent and to various destinations in Europe and North America, has seriously affected thou- “Muslim Societies in Africa” provides a concise overview sands of lives and livelihoods. The contributors to this of Muslim societies in Africa in light of their role in Afri- volume, reflecting a variety of disciplinary perspectives, can history and the history of the Islamic world. Roman examine the causes and consequences of this new migra- Loimeier identifies patterns and peculiarities in the histori- tion. The essays cover topics such as rural-urban migration cal, social, economic, and political development of Africa, into African cities, transnational migration, and the expe- and addresses the impact of Islam over the longue durée. rience of immigrants abroad, as well as the issues sur- To understand the movements of peoples and how they rounding migrant identity and how Africans re-create com- came into contact, Loimeier considers geography, ecology, munity and strive to maintain ethnic, gender, national, and and climate as well as religious conversion, trade, and religious ties to their former homes. slavery. This comprehensive history offers a balanced view of the complexities of the African Muslim past while look- ing toward Africa’s future role in the globalized Muslim Prince, Ruth J., and Rebecca Marsland (eds.): Making world. and Unmaking Public Health in Africa. Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives. Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2014. 292 pp. ISBN 978-0-8214-2058-4. (pbk) Kirby, Jon P.: The Power and the Glory. Popular Christi- This volume explores how medical professionals and pa- anity in Northern Ghana. Akropong-Akuapem: Regnum tients, government officials, and ordinary citizens ap- Africa, 2012. 350 pp. 978-9988-1-2295-9. (pbk) proach questions of public health as they navigate contem- porary landscapes of NGOs and transnational projects, Jon Kirby, who has worked for 36 years in Ghana, provides faltering state services, and expanding privatization. Its his experience of cross-cultural ministry and intercultural contributors analyze the relations between the public and training for development. His book relies partly on the the private providers of public health, from the state to new results of “The Popular Catholicism in Dagbon Project” global biopolitical formations of political institutions, mar- (1994–1996) – undertaken by the Tamale Institute of kets, human populations, and health. Tensions and ambi- Cross-Cultural Studies by Vincent Boi-Nai SVD, Jon Kir- guities animate these complex relationships, suggesting by SVD, and Sallifu Mahma – surveying 315 villagers, that the question of what public health actually is in Africa Catholics and non-Catholics, asking about their most cannot be taken for granted. Offering historical and ethno- important problems and if Christianity responded to them. graphic analyses, the volume develops an anthropology of He presents an intriguing analysis of a popular form of public health in Africa. Christianity moulded in the African context: Africans adapting Christianity to their problems and concerns in- cluding kingship, witchcraft, and the ancestors. Klinken, Adriaan S. van: Transforming Masculinities in Kirby reflects further on the process in which cultural African Christianity. Gender Controversies in Times of identities are fast converging toward Islam and Christianity AIDS. Surrey: Ashgate, 2013. 224 pp. ISBN 978-1-4094- while both are enriched by African religiosity. He con- 5114-3 (hbk) cludes that the overwhelming image of the gospel for the Dagomba people of northern Ghana is the “Kingdom”, the Studies of gender in African Christianity have usually power of God as experienced in their everyday lives. In focused on women. This book draws attention to men and their words, it is the naam (kingship of chieftaincy), which constructions of masculinity, particularly important in light lies at the heart of their cultural identity. This powerful of the HIV epidemic, which has given rise to a critical in- traditional concept gets a new understanding, the Power vestigation of dominant forms of masculinity. These are and the Glory of God’s Kingdom, from which all other often associated with the spread of HIV, gender-based kingdoms proceed.

4 Lentz, Carola: Land, Mobility, and Belonging in West This study – the first English-language church history Africa. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2013. 331 on Rwanda in over 30 years – examines the reactions of pp. ISBN 978-0-253-00957-9. (pbk) Catholic leaders such as the Swiss White Father André Per- raudin and Aloys Bigirumwami, Rwanda’s first indigenous Focusing on an area of the savannah in northern Ghana and bishop. It evaluates Catholic leaders’ controversial respon- southwestern Burkina Faso, “Land, Mobility, and Belong- ses to ethnic violence during the revolutionary changes of ing in West Africa” explores how rural populations have 1959–62 and after Rwanda’s ethnic massacres in 1963–64, secured, contested, and negotiated access to land, and how 1973, and the early 1990s. In seeking to provide deeper they have organized their communities despite being con- insight into the many-threaded roots of the Rwandan geno- stantly on the move as farmers or migrant laborers. Carola cide, the author offers constructive lessons for Christian Lentz seeks to understand how those who claim native sta- ecclesiology and social ethics in Africa and beyond. His tus hold sway over others who are perceived to have come research grows out of newly released archival material later. As conflicts over land, agriculture, and labor have from the Missionaries of Africa archives in Rome. multiplied in Africa, Lentz shows how politics and power play decisive roles in determining access to scarce resour- ces, and in changing notions of who belongs and who is a Ghannam, Farha: Live and Die like a Man. Gender Dy- stranger. namics in Urban Egypt. Stanford: Stanford University Sara Berry: [The book] illuminates the distinctive his- Press, 2013. 222 pp. ISBN 978-0-8047-8329-3. (pbk) torical trajectory of land claims, authority, and belonging among the Dagara and Sisala peoples of the Black Volta The much-debated topic of gender in the Middle East has region, and locates this specific case history within broader gained renewed urgency in light of the recent Arab upris- debates over transformation in access, use, and control over ings. “Life and Die like a Man” presents a unique twist on land in colonial and postcolonial Africa. traditional notions of gender by revealing how masculinity in urban Egypt is continually constructed, by both men and Garritano, Carmela: African Video Movies and Global women, and under changing economic, political, and Desires. A Ghanaian History. Athens: Ohio University religious norms. Press, 2013. 246 pp. 978-0-89680-286-5. (pbk) The product of 19 years of fieldwork, Farha Ghannam’s rich ethnography draws on the life stories and daily practi- “African Video Movies and Global Desires” is a scholarly ces of residents in one of Cairo’s low-income neighbor- study of Ghana’s commercial video industry, an industry hoods. Against a backdrop of individual experiences – that has produced thousands of movies over the last 20 work and community life, grooming, violence, marriage years and has grown into an influential source of cultural and fatherhood, and sickness and death – Ghannam intro- production. Produced and consumed under circumstances duces the idea of “masculine trajectories” to examine the of dire shortage and scarcity, African video movies narrate various paths men take in pursuit of male social norms. By the desires and anxieties created by Africa’s incorporation showing how men struggle to realize a “male ideal,” Ghan- into the global cultural economy. nam counters the prevalent dehumanization of Middle Drawing on archival and ethnographic research con- Eastern men and opens new spaces for questioning and ducted in Ghana over a ten-year period, close readings of a challenging patriarchal structures of power and their con- number of individual movies, this book brings the insights straining effects on both men and women. of historical context as well as literary and film analysis to Sherine Hafez: This is a masterful treatise on masculini- bear on a range of movies and the industry as a whole. Gar- ty in the Middle East and a timely contribution to under- ritano makes a significant contribution to the examination standing the Arab Spring and the socio-political changes of gender norms and the ideologies these movies produce. facing the region. “African Video Movies and Global Desires” is a historical- ly and theoretically informed cultural history of an African visual genre that will only continue to grow in size and Al-Rasheed, Madawi: A Most Masculine State. Gender, influence. Politics, and Religion in Saudi Arabia. Cambridge: Cam- bridge University Press, 2013. 333 pp. ISBN 978-0-521- Carney, J.J.: Rwanda before the Genocide. Catholic Poli- 12252-8 (pbk) tics and Ethnic Discourse in the Late Colonial Era. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 343 pp. ISBN 978-0-19- Women in Saudi Arabia are often described as either vic- 998227-1. (hbk) tims of patriarchal religion and society or successful survi- vors of discrimination imposed on them by others. Madawi Between 1920 and 1994, the Catholic Church was Rwan- Al-Rasheed goes beyond these images to explore the da’s most dominant social and religious institution. In re- historical, political, and religious forces that made them cent years, the church has been critiqued for its perceived enjoy far fewer rights than their counterparts in other parts complicity in the ethnic discourse and political corruption of the Muslim world. Under the patronage of the state and that culminated with the 1994 genocide. In analyzing the its religious nationalism, women have become hostage to contested legacy of Catholicism in Rwanda, “Rwanda be- contradictory political projects in which they must repre- fore the Genocide” focuses on a critical decade, from 1952 sent contradictory expectations. As symbols of both piety to 1962, when Hutu and Tutsi identities became politicized, and modernity, women’s emancipation is delayed and essentialized, and associated with political violence. thwarted.

5 Drawing on state documents, media sources, and inter- concludes with a section considering future directions in views with women from across Saudi society, Al-Rasheed Sikh Studies. explores persistent gender inequality in what many Saudis and outsiders consider a unique situation. She examines the LaDousa, Chaise: Hindi Is Our Ground, English Is Our intersection between gender, religion, and politics that per- Sky. Education, Language, and Social Class in Contempo- petuates women’s exclusion. The author unveils projects rary India. New York: Berghahn Books, 2014. 216 pp. initiated by the state, social controversies, religious rulings, ISBN 978-1-78238-232-4. (hbk) and vibrant debates that dominate discussions of the “wom- an question”. While women’s struggle for greater recogni- A sea change has occurred in the Indian economy in the tion and equality has already started, the author sees light last three decades, spurring the desire to learn English. at the end of the tunnel. Most scholars and media venues have focused on English Deniz Kandiyoti: A uniquely incisive and nuanced ac- exclusively for its ties to processes of globalization and the count of the centrality of women and gender relations to rise of new employment opportunities. The pursuit of class the state project in Saudi Arabia that narrates the multiple mobility, however, involves Hindi as much as English in and growing contradictions flowing from the marriage of the vast Hindi-Belt of northern India. religion and politics and women’s diverse responses to Schools are institutions on which class mobility de- their predicament. pends, and they are divided by Hindi and English in the rubric of “medium,” the primary language of pedagogy. This book demonstrates that the school division allows for Gellner, David N. (ed.): Borderland Lives in Northern different visions of what it means to belong to the nation South Asia. Durham: Duke University Press, 2013. 310 pp. and what is central and peripheral in the nation. It also 978-0-8223-5556-4. (pbk) shows how the language-medium division reverberates un- evenly and unequally through the nation, and that schools The collected essays portray existence at different points illustrate the tensions brought on by economic liberaliza- across India’s northern frontiers and, in one instance, along tion and middle-class status. borders within India. Whether discussing Shi’a Muslims Kira Hall: This book provides an excellent discussion striving to be patriotic Indians in the Kashmiri district of of education, language, and social class in contemporary Kargil or Bangladeshis living uneasily in an enclave sur- India. rounded by Indian territory, the contributors show that state borders in Northern South Asia are complex sites of con- testation. India’s borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma/ Rinaldo, Rachel: Mobilizing Piety. Islam and Feminism Myanmar, China, and Nepal encompass radically different in Indonesia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. 254 ways of life, a whole spectrum of relationships to the state, pp. ISBN 978-0-19-994812-3. (pbk) and many struggles with urgent identity issues. Taken to- gether, the essays show how, by looking at state-making in Islam and feminism are often thought of as incompatible. diverse, border-related contexts, it is possible to compre- Through a vivid ethnography of Muslim and secular wom- hend Northern South Asia’s various nation-state projects en activists in Jakarta, Indonesia, Rachel Rinaldo shows without relapsing into conventional nationalist accounts. that this is not always the case. Examining a feminist NGO, Muslim women’s organizations, and a Muslim political party, Rinaldo reveals that democratization and the Islamic Singh, Pashaura, and Louis E. Fenech (eds.): The Oxford revival in Indonesia are shaping new forms of personal and Handbook of Sikh Studies. Oxford: Oxford University political agency for women. These unexpected kinds of Press, 2014. 650 pp. 978-0-19-969930-8 (hbk) agency draw on different approaches to interpreting reli- gious texts and facilitate different repertoires of collective “The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies” combines the action – one oriented toward rights and equality, the other ways in which scholars from fields as diverse as philo- toward more public moral regulation. As Islam becomes a sophy, psychology, religious studies, literary studies, his- primary source of meaning and identity in Indonesia, some tory, sociology, anthropology, political science, and eco- women activists draw on Islam to argue for women’s em- nomics have integrated the study of Sikhism within a wide powerment and equality, while others use Islam to advo- range of critical and postcolonial perspectives on the nature cate for a more Islamic nation. “Mobilizing Piety” demon- of religion, violence, gender, ethno-nationalism, and revi- strates that religious and feminist agency can coexist and sionist historiography. A number of essays within this col- even overlap, often in creative ways. lection also provide a more practical dimension, written by Mark Juergensmeyer: This engaging and well-re- artists and practitioners of the tradition. searched study shows that feminism is alive and well in the The Handbook is divided into eight thematic sections largest Muslim country in the world … it encourages us to that explore different “expressions” of Sikhism. Historical, rethink what we thought we knew about Islam and femi- literary, ideological, institutional, and artistic expressions nism. It shows that the struggle for gender equality is not are considered in turn, followed by discussion of Sikhs in solely a secular Western concern, and that global feminism the Diaspora, and of caste and gender in the Panth. Each can have an Islamic face. section begins with an essay by a prominent scholar in the field, providing an overview of the topic. The following Knörr, Jacqueline: Creole Identity in Postcolonial Indo- essays provide detail and further treat the fluid, multivocal nesia. New York: Berghahn Books, 2014. 225 pp. ISBN nature of both the Sikh past and the present. The handbook 978-1-78238-268-3. (hbk)

6 Contributing to identity formation in ethnically and reli- River Iatmul people. This volume provides the vantage giously diverse postcolonial societies, this book examines point from which to rethink anthropology’s central as- the role played by creole identity in Indonesia, and in sumption about social relations by focusing on the way in particular its capital, Jakarta. While, on the one hand, it fa- which social relations are assumed and prefigured in the cilitates transethnic integration and promotes a specifically methodological approach in data gathering and in subse- postcolonial sense of common nationhood due to its hetero- quent theorization. It presents an ethnographic study of the geneous origins, on the other, creole groups of people are nature of personhood, name and marriage systems, gender, often perceived ambivalently in the wake of colonialism understandings of kinship, and concomitant issues of and its demise. Jacqueline Knörr analyzes the social, histo- ownership amongst the Sepik River Iatmul people. Written rical, and political contexts of creoleness both at the grass- from the viewpoint of a Melanesian scholar who comes roots and the state level, showing how different sections of from a country that has been the subject of much anthropo- society engage with creole identity in order to promote logical thinking, this volume engages with and examines collective identification transcending ethnic and religious the foundational assumptions of anthropology. boundaries, as well as for reasons of self-interest and ideo- logical projects. Mantovani, Ennio: The Dema and the Christ. My Engage- ment and Inner Dialogue with the Cultures and Religions Hetzel, Francis X.: Making Sense of Micronesia. The of Melanesia. Siegburg: Verlag Franz Schmitt, 2014. 297 Logic of Pacific Island Culture. Honolulu: University of pp. ISBN 978-3-87710-540-5. (pbk) Hawai‘i Press, 2013. 183 pp. ISBN 978-0-8248-3661-0. (hbk) In “The Dema and the Christ” Ennio Mantovani SVD narrates and reflects his missionary experience of 40 years Why are islanders so lavishly generous with food and ma- in today’s Papua New Guinea. It is a journey from a very terial possessions but so guarded with information? Why traditional European religious education to a proper under- do these people, unfailingly polite for the most part, laugh standing of the Melanesian religions. Some old and strong openly when others embarrass themselves? What does a culturally bound visions had to be overcome and a break- smile mean to an islander? What might a sudden lapse into through into a new dimension is reflected by highlighting silence signify? These questions are common in encounters various cultural and religious factors challenging the mis- with an unfamiliar Pacific Island culture. “Making Sense sionary endeavour. His insight is: “I came to the conclusion of Micronesia” is intended for westerners who find them- that one cannot separate one’s faith from one’s culture. The selves in contact with Micronesians – as teachers, social language of religion is cultural … sometimes I have the workers, health-care providers, or simply as friends – and impression that we forget the cultural element in the ex- are puzzled by their island ways. It is for anyone struggling pression of what we believe, thus exposing us to the danger to make sense of cultural exchanges they don’t quite under- of absolutizing what is cultural and not absolute” (16). stand. The book has five parts. After presenting the people of Francis Hetzel, the Jesuit scholar, focuses on the guts Papua New Guinea and some important aspects of their of island culture: the importance of the social map; the ten- culture, he concentrates on the religions of PNG. Then he sion between the individual and social identity; the ways in discusses his inner dialogue and the hurdles he encountered which wealth and knowledge are used; the huge impor- before overcoming his inadequate and misleading pre- tance of respect; emotional expression and its restraints; understanding. Of special interest are the chapters on his island ways of handling both conflict and intimacy; the real dialogue with key Melanesian realities und the presentation but indirect power of women. This is a collection of essays of some challenges to traditional Christianity. based on the experiences of the author’s 40 years in Micro- nesia. Even as Hetzel maps the cultural terrain of Microne- sia, he identifies those areas where island logic and the Grijp, Paul van der: Manifestations of Mana. Political demands of the modern world conflict: the “dilemmas of Power and Divine Inspiration in Polynesia. Berlin: Lit Ver- development.” In some cases, changes are being made; in lag, 2014. 320 pp. ISBN 978-3-643-90496-6. (pbk) others, the very features of island culture that were highly functional in the past may remain so even today. Overall, This book explores the role of mana in past and present he advocates restraint – in judging island practices, in our configurations of chiefly power in the Pacific. Chiefs are assumption that many of these are dysfunctional, and in often seen as transitional figures between traditional (tribal leading the charge for “development” before understand- or feudal) and modern forms of leadership, the latter cha- ing the broader context of the culture we are trying to con- racterized by rationality and the nation-state with its ac- vert. companying bureaucracy. Today, the political arena in the Pacific, although occu- pied by presidents, members of parliament and court justi- Moutu, Andrew: Names are Thicker than Blood. Kinship ces, is still ruled by chiefs supporting their authority by and Ownership amongst the Iatmul. Oxford: Oxford Uni- tradition, including the notion of mana. Mana may be de- versity Press, 2013. 218 pp. ISBN 978-0-19-726445-4. fined as divine inspiration or energy that manifests itself in (hbk) persons, objects, places and natural phenomena. Polyne- sian chiefs have mana because of their descent from This is an ethnographic study of kinship and the nature and ancient gods. Other key concepts such as asymmetrical ide- behavior of ownership amongst the much-studied Sepik ology, mythical constructions of social reality, and social

7 drama are elaborated and applied to a wide specter of Offering a comprehensive and balanced coverage, this ethnographic examples. “Companion” explores numerous aspects of Buddhism within East and Central Asia, from the time of the Buddha The configuration and reconfiguration of Tongan chief- right through to the present day. Written by an interdis- taincy and kingship in this book are analyzed as an ex- ciplinary and international contributor team, these essays tended case study of the gradual, and sometimes shock- provide fresh, scholarly perspectives on a wide range of like, integration of a Polynesian culture into a global struc- texts, traditions, doctrines, practices, and institutions – on ture, a nation-state, partly imposed from the outside topics spanning gender roles, tantric rituals, and the spread (missionarization, colonization) but also generated from of Zen into Europe, through to canon formation, the devel- within including state formation and the recent quest for opment of monastic institutions, and the role of digital democracy. Together with other Polynesian examples, this Buddhism. Together they provide a panoramic view of the forms a relevant illustration of both continuity and change extraordinary richness and variety of local Buddhist ex- in the configuration of mana and chieftaincy in processes pressions and practices within Chinese, Korean, Japanese, of globalization in the Pacific. and Tibetan cultures. Steven Heine: [This] is a thoroughly investigated and detailed yet highly accessible analysis of the development Poceski, Mario (ed.) : The Wiley Blackwell Companion of Buddhism in East and Inner Asia from traditional to to East and Inner Asian Buddhism. Chichester: Wiley modern times … a handy and insightful reference work Blackwell, 2014. 535 pp. ISBN 978-1-118-61033-6. (hbk) covering a multitude of important topics in the field.

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8 Review of Articles (by Joachim G. Piepke, Dariusz Piwowarczyk, and Vinsensius Adi Gunawan)

Werthmann, Katja: Local Religion or Cult-Shopping? to a monotheistic religion in Burkina Faso generally does A Sacrificial Site in Burkina Faso. Anthropos 109.2014: not correspond with sharply drawn confessional or social 399–409. boundaries. Conversion to Islam or Christianity may oc- cur more than once in a lifetime, and there are many mul- Imagine yourself in the West African Savannah in the tireligious families. Neither Muslims nor Christians are month of February. The air is hot and dry. The arid land- politically dominant. scape is covered with dust. You walk along bizarrely The “discovery” of the source at Dafra is attributed to formed sandstones, and then descend a cliff down a nar- a Muslim saint, the ancestor of a branch of the Kassamba- row path into a gorge. Suddenly you are in a grove filled Diaby, today a kin group in Bobo-Dioulasso specialized with shades; the air is cooler. When you reach the bottom in Islamic scholarship. Their ancestor is said to have been of the gorge, there is a large pool of water. You see many either on the way from Samatiguila (in present-day Ivory people moving around. Some of them remove their shoes Coast) to Mecca or on the way back. He passed through and walk in a line, carrying chickens to a boulder beside the area during a drought. He found the source by praying the pool where the chickens will be killed. Others pluck and then looking around, or by following an animal. In and roast chickens over a fire. The whole ground is cover- one version, he prayed for water and lightning struck the ed with feathers and blood. earth, opening up the source. In one version, he was a Each participant is told to communicate their desire leper, and when he washed with the water, his hands be- to the god(s) silently whilst the chicken is in their hands. came normal again. In yet another version, he saw that The chicken is then passed to the priest who plucks a the fish carried gold, silver, and cowries, and thus knew single long feather from its wing and inserts it vertically about the power of the place. Therefore, the Kassamba- into a mass of congealed blood, which sits on top of the Diaby of Bobo-Dioulasso have a special relationship to shrine. The chicken’s throat is then cut by the priest, and the site of Dafra. the blood drained onto this feather. The priest next ques- Dafra is said to be a place where wishes made and tions each of the participants as to what they will sacrifice confirmed by vows can be fulfilled. One important wish here as an act of gratitude should their desires be fulfilled. is fertility, and children who have been conceived after a This place and the rituals conducted there seem to be pilgrimage to Dafra are named after the site (e.g., Daf- emblematic for stereotypical assumptions about the per- rassi). When a wish has been fulfilled, an offering of sistence of timeless “traditional religion” in Africa: there thanks has to be made in accordance with the vow. An- is an altar in a sacred grove; a priest acts as intermediary other important reason for making a pilgrimage to Dafra between cult members and gods; people sacrifice ani- is to conduct an expiatory sacrifice after having breached mals; certain taboos must be observed during the pilgrim- certain interdictions concerning Dafra or the river Houet. age; and all this in a region that has been in touch with How can we explain that Dafra, a place of power in Islam for a very long time and the target of Christian mis- western Burkina Faso with a polyethnic and even inter- sionary activities for more than a hundred years. national constituency, is associated with a Muslim group The place described here is Dafra, a sacrificial site in whose members probably arrived in this region no earlier western Burkina Faso, where people make offerings in than the eighteenth century? In order to understand this, order to achieve well-being. Dafra is a place of power we need to have a closer look at the relation between associated with nature spirits, as opposed to land shrines “traditional” religion and Islam in West Africa. The dis- dedicated to ancestral spirits. Places of power are often persion of Islam in West Africa was a concomitant of seemingly “natural” phenomena, such as trees, groves, trade. For centuries, Muslim traders and craftsmen from hills, or waterfalls, that may in fact have been altered the Mande-speaking regions slowly made their way through human activities, although they are not man- along trade routes into remote areas. These Muslims made in a narrow sense of the word. Sites accepted as settled down as “guests” of agrarian communities. Some having the potential to become places of power seem adopted local religions over the course of several genera- much the same throughout Africa, and indeed throughout tions; others settled in separate villages or town wards the world. This is so much the case that few raise the where they built mosques and founded Qur’anic schools question of why these and not others. Mountains, rock for their own and other people’s children. For many cen- faces, caves, pools, waterfalls, rapids, hot springs, dense turies, converts to Islam were mainly traders or members forests and large trees all seem to have the potential to of political elites. Conversion to Islam was not neces- engage the human imagination and become imbued with sarily a one-way road. Depending on the historical and sacred authority. local circumstances, Muslim groups could become non- Dafra lies about 8 km southeast of Bobo-Dioulasso. Muslims and then perhaps Muslims again over the cen- Bobo-Dioulasso is Burkina Faso’s second-largest city turies. Even where conversion did not take place, Islam and its population of an estimated half million is pre- has had a profound influence on West African cultures, dominantly Muslim. In precolonial times, Muslims were just as Muslim communities were influenced by local a minority of traders, and conversion to Islam among the religious traditions. local populations only picked up during French colonial Local communities, however, are known to have rule in the early twentieth century. However, adherence resisted both Islamization and Christianization. It is said

9 that the appropriation of Islamic elements was in fact a the Chaozhou communities of Southeast Asia after the way to get “inoculated” against Islam. By way of what is Second World War. More recently this movement spread called “mimetic appropriation” populations incorporated back to post-Maoist China. foreign cultural elements in order to construct “anti- Although fuji may be the commonest compound to be Islams,” built with the very elements of perceived Islam. used, Dejiao adepts also refer to the luanbird’s metaphor It is not certain whether this was actually a conscious to name spirit-writing. Depending on contexts, they thus strategy or intention, but it seems plausible that local call it fuluan (to wield the luan-bird) or kailuan (to open communities appropriated foreign ritual elements or the luanbird). To justify such a metaphor, Malaysian fol- objects for their cults whenever they considered them as lowers explained that luan-bird is the usual conveyor of sufficiently powerful, be they Islamic or anything else. the Jade Emperor and of Daoist Immortals, who are the In a way, ritual practices at Dafra have as much in main “honorable masters” to provide oracles. common with “New Age” as with “traditional religion”: A spirit-writing performance starts with an incanta- people from heterogeneous social and religious back- tion inviting the gods to “descend into the ji.” While two grounds and with various desires and unequal economic mediums silently stand by the platter before the temple’s means come to communicate with those (usually) unseen main altar, concentrating hard with heads bent and eyes spiritual entities and/or forces that they believe affect closed, other male members of the congregation, gather- their lives. The main aim of current ritual practice at the ed around, strike up the incantation. They enhance the site of Dafra is individual well-being. This is neither con- address to the gods by burning incense and invitation sidered as a contradiction to the affiliation with Christia- messages into the altar’s incense pot. Each medium holds nity or Islam nor does the pilgrimage transform the pil- one of the two arms of a forked branch, between 1.5 and grims into adherents of a local religion or initiates into a 2 feet long and made of peach or willow wood. These two particular cult. For many clients, Dafra is one powerful species of tree are believed to be very auspicious: both place among others where they can seek a solution for because they are symbols of immortality and fecundity, their problems. The act of making offerings at Dafra is and because ghosts are known to fear them. Moreover, part of a shared religious tradition only insofar as it is one according to a prominent Malaysian adept of Dejiao, the among several possibilities of asking for health and pros- willow tree’s nodes are usually bagua shaped, thus evok- perity in exchange for offerings. In this sense one speak ing the universe’s charter of the Yijing divination system. of “cult shopping”: In order to obtain what they need, The same informant adds that the willow tree embodies people can either pray to the Christian or Muslim God or three specific virtues: its stems hang down to the earth, make offerings to other forces, or both. thus suggesting the polite and humble attitude to adopt during rituals; its branches on the contrary point toward the sky as a mark of braveness and straightness; and its Formoso, Bernard: Spirit-Writing and Mediumship in roots sink deep into the soil, as a sign of vitality. the Chinese New Religious Movement Dejiao in South- The ji-wielders are a pair because they express the eastern Asia. Anthropos 109.2014: 539–550. yin/yang complementary during the process of spirit- writing ritual. The medium who holds one arm of the fork According to Chinese mythology, ideographic writing with his right hand but stands on the left side while facing was created by diviners looking for a systematic method the altar, is considered as the yang and “heaven’s hand” to penetrate gods’ intentions. It is said that in immemorial (tianshou); his fellow who holds the other arm of the fork times they drawn up a system of signs, which, from the with his left hand, and stands on the right side while early beginning, was conceived as the immediate expres- facing the altar, is considered as yin. He merely behaves sion of reality. The idea that signs bring in themselves an neutrally, abstaining from disturbing the movements of incipient reality and that writing gives access to the “heaven’s hand.” When, after prayers and burning in- “source” took root in the Chinese system of thought, cense, the two “ji palms,” as they are commonly called, onwards. Chinese believe that between speech and writ- begin to shake, and the stick follows their movements by ing, writing is always weighed up as first. The general tracing characters, it means that the gods have “opened shape of energy tightening and undoing in the priest or the phoenix” by coming down. The various supports they medium’s body is thought to be the momentary core of use, as well as the ways in which their messages are universe, whose truth may only be revealed through fu or written down perfectly express the lack of liturgical ho- ‘support with the hand’. Daoism made a great use of these mogeneity within Dejiao. fu, and today fuji (spirit-writing) is believed to be the These messages, or shiyu (instruction of imperial more accurate way of communication with gods in the edicts), are read by assistants, the bayou (those reporting Chinese popular religion. the instructions) who stand around the platter and trans- The author cast greater light on two dimensions of mit them in a loud voice to clerks, the jiyu (those who Chinese spirit-writing that have been so far neglected, write the instructions), sitting nearby. When sand is used, namely, the specific psychological and sociological an assistant is in charge of levelling it after a character aptitudes of the medium which are crucial factors for the has been written. The readers and scribes are educated collective assessment of his performance and career. The men, who are able to transcript divine language into legi- analysis is based on the case study of Dejiao (teaching of ble human writing. However, they sometimes misinter- virtue), a China-born religious movement, which is root- pret the gods’ wishes. To prevent mistakes, the scribes ed in the tradition of the “halls for good deeds” (shan- submit at the end of each sequence their interpretative tang). Dejiao emerged in Chaozhou (northeast of Guang- work to the gods. If the latter disagree with a word or a dong) during the Sino-Japanese war and spread among sentence, they express their disappointment with vigor-

10 ous bangs of the tip that they knock down on the tray, and will be. Within Dejiao, like in other religious contexts, set in motion with the scrawling of the proper characters. people who are not convinced of the outcome of an oracle Between two sentences there are generally short blanks often visit another spirit medium to check the validity of in the gods’ statements, marked by the divine pen stand- the diagnosis. Moreover, the collective memory is ing by or tracing helical circles. The behavior of the prompt to forget or downplay failures and to conversely mediums during the séance is supposed to reflect the retain and magnify miracles or noteworthy events, espe- gods’ state of mind or degree of presence. Most of the cially those which reinforce the raison d’être of the time, the stick moves fast but smoothly, under the gui- devotees’ faith. dance of the gods holding the right hand of the main ji- wielder. However, under certain circumstances the “ho- norable masters” possess the whole medium’s body, Oelschlaegel, Anett C.: Plural World Interpretations. making him enter into a trance. In that case, the gods The Case of the Tyvans of South Siberia. Anthropos demonstrate aggressiveness toward specters or peculiar 109.2014: 551–566. decisions by making the stick jump up and down, forth and back, and by hammering the tray violently. Conver- “Plural World Interpretations” stands for the plurality of sely, the same acts may be the unexpected consequence world interpretation models to be observed in the world of a specter that takes possession or clings to the soul of today, and for the human ability to handle them in a flexi- the medium, who holds it thus causing the point to write ble manner. By analyzing the plurality of world interpret- inauspicious oracles. Sometimes, too, the main ji-wielder tations among the southern Siberian Tyvans, the present reproduces typical behaviors of the god who inhabits article proposes an alternative to sociocultural studies him. For instance, some of those who used to be pos- that characterize societies as “traditional” or “modern.” sessed by Jigong, the “crazy monk” of the Song Dynasty, Instead of making a strict distinction between traditional endorse the habits of the master by drinking heavily and and modern elements of culture, the present study de- speaking loudly when they deliver his poems. monstrates their coexistence and cooperation. In addi- The Dejiao fuji is frequently consistent with the “cul- tion, the term “Plural World Interpretations” will help to tivated” type of trance which is always followed by am- meet the challenge of adopting a widened perspective nesia. It should be noted that most Dejiao séances do not that shows tradition and modernity as equal, coexisting involve the generation of noise, with mediums trembling, side by side. shuddering, dashing off, falling to the ground, or having On this understanding of the term, “the past is always convulsions. These symptoms are rather typical of wuji constructed in the present.” Furthermore, one can under- (spirit-writing of the warrior) that only a minority of stand tradition as “invention.” In this way, it becomes Dejiao adepts practice. Under those circumstances, other, clear how all phenomena we call “traditional” are per- more spectacular demonstrations of spiritual possession manently changing and how difficult it is to distinguish may be displayed. These may consist of piercing one’s historical elements of culture from contemporary ones. own flesh without bleeding, self-flagellation with hob- Both traditional and modern elements of culture are in a nailed spherical sledgehammers, or “chewing” fine por- process of development and are the object of external celain cups without any outward signs of pain and with influences. These are some of the reasons for not adopt- the blood pouring of the medium’s mouth being put on ing classic terms like “tradition” and “modernity” in the talismans to empower them. present work and for replacing them by more specific Concerning the “spirit-writing of the literati” (wenji), terms. which is the dominant way of communication with gods, The Tyvans of South Siberia are one of the peoples the mediums may also sometimes display obvious signs that belong to the Turkish language family and who in of possession, through convulsive motions, tics, noisy recent years have become known to Western society by breathing, or fixed gazing when the god who possesses cultural elements like pastoralism, their nomadic way of them expresses discontent or anger. Nevertheless, most life and yurts, a neoshamanism that is very much alive, of the time, the mediums give the impression that they and the tradition of throat-singing. The settlement area of have lost all consciousness of their surroundings, but in the South Siberian Tyvans has the status of a republic of an unobtrusive and quiet way. Spiritual possession then the Russian Federation (168,600 square kilometer; becomes so internalized, as to go almost unperceived by 307,930 residents) and is located between the Altai an inexperienced spectator. The hands of the mediums Mountains and Lake Baikal in South Siberia, bordering holding the forked branch seem to be taken over by an on northwestern Mongolia. unseen external force; the mediums’ eyes usually remain Traditional rules prescribe to take nothing from na- closed during the trance, thus showing that they have ture without previously asking for the spirit masters’s been completely taken over. The feeling of calm radiat- consent, and not to modify the environment according to ing from the mediums when doing wenji is enhanced by human will. Yet most Tyvan men break this rule, e.g., by the fact that they do not shout and even speak. Fuji is cutting trees or hunting wild animals. Similarly, most certainly one of the few trance forms to be mainly based Tyvan women ignore this rule when collecting wild ber- on writing. ries, onions, or spices. Nevertheless, most Tyvans are With respect to the achievements of the mediums in aware of the target condition of correct behavior in accor- replying to individual requests, it unambiguously appears dance with their traditions. What Tyvans categorize in that the more their oracles and healing prescriptions their statements as “false behavior,” e.g., a self-serving prove to be effective, the more their performances will be and unsolicited intervention in nature, is in accordance regarded as divine planchette and the greater their fame with a mode of thinking, behaving, and acting that schol-

11 ars allocate to modern industrial societies. People of in- In recent decades, however, the situation has acquired dustrial societies mostly follow a model of world inter- a new dimension. The author examines the socio-econo- pretation that is identified as “model of human domi- mic and political characteristics of the area and analyzes nance” (dominance model). This term denotes a model of the emergence of drug trafficking as part of profound world interpretation that postulates “the human domi- processes of agrarian transformation, especially since the nance over the environment, seen as a series of more or 1980s. What are these transformations and how can the less passive objects of human agency.” The principles of drug economy of the area be understood? In recent years the “dominance model” are related to cartesian dualism, the Tierra Caliente has become the scene of particularly which, according to René Descartes (1596–1650), atrocious confrontations between rivaling drug cartels; differentiates between “mental substance” (res cogitans) hence it was also the first target of military intervention and “corporeal substance” (res extensa). The latter are after Felipe Calderon assumed power. How is this ex- seen as passive objects of human acting. plained and what are the main consequences for violence, The “interaction model” ensures harmony, balance, human rights and the drug and peasant economy? and stability in the field of reciprocal dependencies be- Maldonado Aranda argues that the problems of drug- tween human and nonhuman subjects. If a Tyvan com- trafficking and organized crime can best be understood promises this balance, he or she runs the risk of being by analyzing the violence they breed from the perspective punished by the spirits. The spirit masters will call forth of the configuration of the violent territories where those a crisis. But spirits can also compromise the stability of activities prosper. Some theses that start out from the idea respectful interactions. For example, attacks by evil spi- that drug-related violence is a product of the decompo- rits who the Tyvans regard as playful or vicious are a con- sition of the regime help us better comprehend how net- stant source of danger for humans. works of power involving politicians and traffickers were The dominance model is currently the most frequent- woven, but they do not allow us to visualize in space and ly used model of world interpretation in Tyva. As a time just how those linkages have been objectified in guideline for interpreting events, acting in, and reacting material reality; i.e., how certain rural areas emerge as to them, Tyvans usually first employ this model. “Spon- zones so deeply penetrated by the drug trade. To achieve taneous changes” of the models of world interpretations, this one must inquire into political economies at the re- therefore, often occur from a first interpretation or pro- gional and global levels. Thus, we can see how southern blem handling according to the dominance model to the Michoacán construct local sovereignties that turn out to inclusion of the interaction model after a delay of some be more efficacious than the national legal order in terms time. Often a “complementing” takes place, which means of defending their lands and resources, despite the best a shifting of the tendency from one model to the other. efforts of Mexico's post-revolutionary State to eliminate After a switch to the interaction model, a breach of rules them through policies of public intervention. The State’s of respectful interaction between human and nonhuman vision of integrating disparate regions into the nation subjects is identified as the cause of negative situations. through programs of agricultural or political moderniza- After the spontaneous switch from the dominance to the tion certainly had significant effects, but they came too interaction model “rituals of conciliation” are as typical late, as drug-trafficking had already penetrated deeply as follow-up actions. into local economic and political life. Apart from the “structural stability” of both models However, after the 1980s, the situation changed radi- of world interpretation, in Tyva the nowadays typical, cally. One effect of Mexico's economic crises and the im- accelerated “changeability of content” of the dominance plementation of structural readjustment policies was that and the interaction model is conspicuous. The frequency the State abandoned rural regions whose support had of applying both models of world interpretation is also been indispensable, despite rampant corruption and the changeable. Currently, the dominance model is more of- prepotency of many government officials. Not surpri- ten used than the interaction model, which use is concen- singly, that vacuum of power and resources was soon trated on particular circumstances. filled by illegal groups that took advantage of the situa- tion to impose criminal violence, while the State turned to the military and other forces of public security to try to Maldonado Aranda, Salvador: Stories of Drug Traf- deter the juggernaut of transnational drug commerce. But ficking in Rural Mexico. Territories, Drugs, and Cartels trafficking and organized crime grew virtually unimped- in Michoacán. European Review of Latin American ed and became intertwined with other phenomena cha- Studies 94.2013: 43–66. racteristic of century's end, such as drug prohibition poli- cies, international migration and control over it, the lack In the international media, drug-related violence, corrup- of public safety in drug-infested regions, inadequate pub- tion and militarization have received much attention. lic services, and growing poverty and social and political While this is understandable in view of the prominence exclusion: Together, these phenomena amplified the of border area operations of drug cartels, drug trafficking image among rural populations in southern Michoacán is a pervasive phenomenon in other parts of Mexico as that they had been totally abandoned, that any semblance well, not in the least in significant parts of Western Mexi- of the rule of law had long ceased to exist, and that im- co (especially in Guerrero, Colima and Michoacán). The punity and corruption were rife in the apparatus of the latter state has a long history of drug production and traf- State. After all, if the army and the Federal Police are free ficking (poppies and marihuana), and of military cam- to practice violence with exactly the same degree of ille- paigns against it, especially in the area known as the gality as the drug lords, then what arises is a network of “Tierra Caliente,” Michoacán. impunities in which justice ceases to be a concrete refer-

12 ence, and the view that drug-trafficking is actually re- formations that define life in an indigenous transborder drawing the formal limits between State and nation community. through rebellions on its margins, while at the same time challenging a historical process that has long been plagued by inequalities and exclusion. Samson, Frank: Segmented Political Assimilation. Per- ceptions of Racialized Opportunities and Latino Immi- grants’ Partisan Identification. Ethnic and Racial Studies Falconi, Elizabeth: Storytelling, Language Shift, and 37.2014: 467–495. Revitalization in a Transborder Community: “Tell it in Zapotec!” American Anthropologist 115.2013: 622–636. Latino support will progressively determine the two major US political parties’ futures. Increased Latino po- In this article, Falconi examines storytelling practices in litical power swayed elections in 2004, 2006, 2008 and a Zapotec transborder community formed by migration 2010. Identifying factors related to Latino immigrant par- between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Los Angeles, California. tisan identification become important as their population Amid dual patterns of language shift away from Zapotec numbers continue to rise. This article views political par- toward Spanish among community youth living on both ty identification as an identity into which immigrants sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, there is a growing gap assimilate. The author proposes that “perceptions of ra- between storytelling ideologies that tightly link story- cialized opportunities” (PROPs) inform Latino immi- telling to Zapotec language use and the practices of story- grants’ partisan identification. PROPs refer to estima- tellers, who increasingly use Spanish. As a discursive tions of racialized and differentiated life chances to attain genre that is linked to processes of cultural reproduction, a desired living standard, based upon conventional socio- storytelling has particular significance for understanding economic factors that improve life chances (jobs, educa- language shift in this community. In this article, the tion, income), as well as the political influence that se- author demonstrates how speakers’ ideologies about how cures or further improves life chances. Using the 2006 stories should be told are shaped by a widespread preoc- Latino National Survey's sample of 5,717 immigrants, cupation with cultural continuity amid the transforma- Samson estimates the probability of identifying as Demo- tions brought on by local migration practices. The varied crat, Republican or Independent compared to two cate- responses to this transformation within the community, gories: (1) those who “Don’t Care” about party identi- which range from acceptance to cultural revitalization fication; and (2) those who either “Don't Know” their activism, reflect distinct but overlapping ideologies of party identification (perhaps due to indecision or unfami- discursive authenticity as well as the role of traditional liarity with US partisan politics) and those who profess heritage language practices in contemporary social life. an “Other Party” identification. The results indicate that high PROPs associated with whites are related to Repub- Within the Guelavían community, language shift has lican identity and high PROPs associated with Blacks brought about the loosening of generic boundaries in differentiate Democrats from Republicans. storytelling performances and a diversification in local Racial stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination are ideologies about the right way to tell stories. The various among the key characteristics defining the context of uses of generic innovation and generic regimentation by reception and mode of incorporation that immigrants en- storytellers, framers, audience, and revitalization plan- counter in the USA. The structural presence (or absence) ners are bound up with their distinct orientations regard- of bias can limit (or maintain) the quality of opportunities ing the importance of fidelity to the discursive past versus affecting immigrants’ life chances. When immigrants en- accommodation to the present context. The in-the-mo- counter a prejudiced society, particularly manifested in ment exigencies of storytelling performances often lead the labor market, workplace, schools or neighborhoods, tellers to embrace the use of Spanish, which some Gue- they likely see their opportunities as constrained in ways lavíans perceive as an atypical language for the genre, similar to that of blacks. When immigrants encounter ob- and to draw on other strategies to imbue their stories with stacles founded upon their immigrant status (questions discursive authority (e.g., Isidro’s meta-story). Converse- about language proficiency, documentation, etc.) and ly, in the context of local revitalization efforts, the they utilize a co-ethnic community to overcome these realignment of San Juan Guelavía Zapotec with the prac- barriers, they likely see their opportunities as closer to tice of storytelling is foregrounded as a strategy for that of co-ethnics. Immigrants who do not experience any rejuvenating imperiled linguistic and cultural traditions. race- or nativity-based challenges or exceptions likely In this context, Spanish is conceived of as a vessel view their opportunities as similar to whites. Thus, immi- that has held and preserved this body of myths and stories grants can easily relate their structural mode of incorpo- over time but cannot express their true significance or ration to their social psychological perceptions of the hidden meanings. The practices of storytellers and revita- opportunities available to racialized groups. lization activists exemplify two distinct responses to the Samson’s findings reveal therefore that perceptions same overarching question – namely, how can Guela- of racialized opportunities are related to the partisan iden- víans maintain cultural, linguistic, and moral traditions tities into which Latino immigrants assimilate. PROPs amid continuing social and linguistic marginalization and associated with whites are likely to draw Latino immi- the widespread transformations brought about by trans- grants into the Republican fold, and to a lesser extent, the border migration? These challenges have inspired the Democratic one as well. Higher levels of PROPs asso- creation of multiple ways to “speak the past” into a pre- ciated with blacks and Latinos increase the likelihood of sent life with the tensions, contradictions, and trans- Latino immigrants identifying as Democrat. While mode

13 of incorporation may affect immigrants’ life chances and En resumen, el artículo pretende responder a tres pre- initially shape identification with racialized opportuni- guntas básicas, a) ¿Que es la racionalidad económica ties, these perceptions exert a social psychological effect Maya y como se configura? b) ¿La población indígena o on partisan identity independent of immigrants’ social la economía de los indígenas aplica la racionalidad eco- structural location or other assimilation indicators. nómica maya o la práctica es eminentemente capitalista? PROPs in effect take on semi-autonomous lives of their finalmente, c) ¿Cómo la racionalidad maya puede poten- own. ciar para apoyar una arquitectura económica distinta a la capitalista de Guatemala. Sin afán de vanagloriar el tra- bajo, de ese entonces, debo decir que es un reto, tratar de Racancoj Alonzo, Víctor Manuel: Racionalidad econó- superar los prejuicios etnocentristas y coloniales de los mica indígena de herencia maya. Un aporte para una nue- cuales están cargadas la academia y la ciencia en este país va arquitectura económica distinta a la capitalista. Suple- y en nuestro caso, las ciencias económicas. La realidad mento Antropológico 45.2010: 453–474. es que nadie había iniciado a indagar sobre la especifici- dad de la economía maya hasta que el autor de la presente El ensayo sustenta la tesis que la población indígena ac- ensayó inició en 1985. tual en Guatemala, que representa el 60% de la pobla- ción, es portadora de otra racionalidad económica, visión heredada de la sociedad maya; racionalidad que privile- De Maaker, Eric: Performing the Garo Nation? Garo gia como fin la vida humana y la del medio ambiente, que Wangala Dancing between Faith and Folklore. Asian fue construida por la descodificación de la relación Ethnology 72.2013: 221–239. Tiempo-Espacio y Humanidad, así como por un territorio de abundantes recursos naturales. La racionalidad maya Wangala dance originally takes place in the Wangala an- es distinta a la racionalidad occidental y capitalista que nual celebration among Ambeng Songsareks (one sub- privilegia la ganancia y desprecia la vida en general. La group of the Garo tribe) in the state of Meghalaya in Nord racionalidad de la ganancia es la hegemónica y la que se India. It is primarily a group dance, in which an equal impone en Guatemala a través del Estado, los organismos number of men and women dance in rows next to each de desarrollo y las universidades. La racionalidad econó- other. Each man carries a long wooden drum (dama), mica maya esta subyacente en la población indígena, which has two drumheads. The dance connects people to aunque ya no se presenta como un todo integro. the deities, reiterating their claim to the land they live on, and the forests and fields that belong to it. But after pe- Para entender la racionalidad maya, es necesario acla- riods of time the dance became iconic as part of the ex- rar los conceptos: economía y racionalidad económica pression of Garo culture or a newly developed political para demostrar la ambigüedad del primero y la no exis- Garo identity. It is performed during the large national tencia de una racionalidad universal sino de varias. Se festivities like Republic Day, as a modified and commo- deriva entonces que en Guatemala, por lo menos, existen ditized form of its origin. dos racionalidades que se formaron en tiempos simul- The perceptional change of the dance began since the táneos, pero en territorios y bases distintas, que hoy co- colonial and Christianization times. The Garoneses, existen en tiempo y espacio común. En Guatemala, la among them also the Songsareks were baptized and edu- población indígena aún practica la racionalidad maya, cated, what obligated them to leave their ancient culture especialmente en la agricultura del maíz, los servicios de and religion. The festivities and, of course, the Wangala carácter ancestral basados en una teoría del valor distinta. dance were forbidden. They moved to urban cities and La práctica de la racionalidad económica maya esta re- began to live modesty and modernized life. Nevertheless, configurándose por diversos fenómenos, entre estos las today the Songsareks in villages preserve their tradition. remesas, el comercio y la práctica de profesiones libera- Although there are many peoples who are able to func- les por parte de la población indígena. Por lo tanto, la tion in both domains, the alienation that some people tend recuperación y fortalecimiento de la racionalidad econó- to sense when crossing over from one domain into the mica maya son base para la construcción de otra arqui- other does not diminish. tectura económica que genere vida digna, se supere la Presenting Garo Wangala as a central element of Ga- pobreza y se construya otra concepción del desarrollo. ro culture allows for emphasizing the originality and La transformación económica de los pueblos indíge- uniqueness of Garo culture, thus allowing the Garo to nas a la visión capitalista, es impulsada actualmente por meet characteristics that the Indian state has formulated el Estado, las organizaciones internacionales y locales de for “tribes”. Moreover, it connects to popular perceptions desarrollo. Si no se fortalece la identidad sustantiva: la among the Indian audience, which locates a “tribe” such racionalidad económica maya heredada al mundo indí- as the Garo culturally in a timeless past, supporting the gena, esta población quedará como un elemento del folk- claim that they are original “indigenous” population. This lor y la otra conquista, en su versión neoliberal, se instau- explains why performances and media representations of rará con la racionalidad, que privilegia la ganancia mone- Wangala dancing are also popular with politically and taria y la acumulación de riqueza dándole poca prioridad culturally vocal Garo student unions, youth organizations a la vida humana ni la de la naturaleza. Es indudable que and political parties. These groups claim Garo prece- esta dinámica capitalista no resuelve el problema de la dence and demand rights and benefits that often discri- pobreza y el hambre; ambas son inherentes al sistema minate against other communities. capitalista; dos caras de la misma moneda; además, ha De Maaker shows in this article, that Wangala danc- creado otro problema, la crisis ambiental. ing is attributed meaning across various settings, such as

14 Songsaek villagers, urban-educated Christian Garo, poli- ces offered in the Dutch educational system by adding tically-active ethno-nationalist organizations and the or- religious subjects to endow students with the mission of ganizers of the Republic Day parade. A particular ritual dedicating their knowledge to gain God’s pleasure. The is important and is charged with a certain intentionality. religious subjects had to be instilled in the minds of the The performance emphasizes “presence” of the local cul- youth with the use of analysis to avoid the “blind ture, as a way of representing their community nationally imitation”. He tried also to cure the malaise of religious and serving to contribute to the recognition of the Garo education run by traditional boarding schools that pro- as a separate community by the Indian state. From the duce graduates with only religious knowledge, lacking perspective of the Indian state, the participation of Garo the skills to respond the reality of life. dancers in national festivals can be understood as an The writings of Natsir reflect the real mission of hum- expression of loyalty to the state. an life in this world, which, at the same time, becomes The Wangala dance performed in different ways and the goal and objective of Islamic education that should be settings allows for distinct and even contradictory inter- implanted in the minds of Muslim youth to maintain pretations. But whoever patronizes Garo Wangala, ap- peace and happiness in the community. He describes the pears to make a statement in relation to imaginations of a ideal Islamic system, which is expected to produce a “Garo nation”, and the land that is presumed to belong to person who will dedicate his life to cause of his Lord, it. who created him and the whole universe, representing the real mission of life. He was not concerned whether the knowledge came from Western or Eastern sources so Mohd Solihin, Sohirin, and Mohd Shuhaimi bin Haji long as it could increase the insight of a person towards Ishak: Integrated Education of Mohammad Natsir in the just service of community. He focused also on the Indonesia. The Islamic Quarterly 57.2013: 235–248. importance of tawhid (doctrine of oneness of God) and understanding Qur’anic text with the use of analytical Mohammad Natsir was born on 17 July 1908 in West thinking. Sumatra (Indonesia), and early in his childhood, he has been educated in Dutch schools without to reject his reli- gious aspect through studying Qur’an. Then he studied Rappoport, Dana: Space and Time in Indonesian Poly- religion, especially the reformatory thought of Jamalud- music. Archipel 86.2013: 9–42. din al-Afgani, Muhammad Abduh and Rashid Risda. In the years of 40s he served as a chief of the Bureau of Polymusic means a phenomenon in which two or more Islamic Education in Bandung, after that he was ap- groups simultaneously perform different tunes together pointed Minister of Information in the first Indonesian or separately. Derived from the same or different genres, cabinet. Natsir was often invited to many Islamic coun- but without temporal/rhythmic coordination (without a tries to give speech in conferences; in 1957 the President shared beat or beginning and ending together) and with- of Tunisia awarded him the Order of Glory for his sup- out the intention of playing together, the groups of singer port for the struggle of independence in North Africa. or musicians play side by side. Rappoport observed and The King Faisal honored him in 1980 for his services to analyzed this phenomenon among Torajas, Dayaks, and Islam and the Muslim ummah. In 1991 the Islamic Uni- Balinese in Indonesia. The observed polymusic has two versity of Lebanon and the University of Kebangsaan main types: as a result from the superaddition of the same Malaysia awarded him an honorary doctorate. repertoire, where certain homogeneity between textures, Natsir tried to build a bridge between Western and pitches, and musical time emerges; and as a result from Islamic education. He took a moderate stand and evaluat- the overlapping of different sounds. Sometimes both ed them according to the divine value system without types can occur at the same time. undermining its sources. Both east and west belong to Seven examples recorded by Rappoport show the way God and the knowledge and science coming from west- in which polymusic can emerge from large and complex ern sources contained both negative and positive aspects. rituals, carried out over an extended period of time (from These two blocs are mutually competitive and compli- three to six days) and in large space, involving the whole mentary so long they serve human justice and goodness. community (groups or villages), and characterized by Natsir believed Islam to be the source of civilization abundant and overlapping sounds. The music groups play and culture as produced by human activity. It is impera- “at the same time”, that means the loss of periodicity and tive for individual Muslim to broaden his religious in- cyclicity. Polymusic results in a lack of time and pitch sight so that the areas of teaching go beyond the sphere coordination. of spirituality to become the main impetus for the pro- Polymusic played “in the same place” involves the gress of civilization. Islam appreciates the intellectualism material place (physical location), as slaughtering field, that should be used properly to study universe. Islam ob- longhouse, a temple or its courtyards, open-air field and liges also the adherents to make journey. At least, once cages in front of a river. That shows that the polymusic is in their lives, they have to encounter different races, so aimed at divinities or ancestral spirits. This juxtaposition that they could achieve the acculturation that could be of music often occurs in places where an exchange with regarded as the main ingredient for the progress of civi- the invisible world is sought, and where cultural orienta- lization. tions structure the meaning of the sounds themselves. According to Natsir, the education system should pro- This kind of music performance can be seen as the duce students well-equipped with religious values and expression of local identities. The different groups are worldly knowledge. He was keen to maintain the scien- made up of people all from the same place and affirm an

15 idea of prestige, competition and power. The simulta- diferencias puntuales que podamos señalar de una ver- neous interplay of connections and rivalries allows the sión a otra, suele aparecer con los mismos ornamentos music to transport a system of segmentation into the sym- sacerdotales, mostrando su rostro descarnado y horrendo, bolic sphere and dramatizes the process of constructing reiterando hasta tres veces la demanda de ayuda para units of local identity. decir la misa, casi siempre con las mismas palabras. Y Juxtaposition of musics as ritual offering and territori- una vez acabada la celebración del oficio divino gracias alization (as sonorous village or family flag) are two key a la ayuda de un cristiano no difunto, el cura suele con- elements that Indonesian polymusic may not share with fesar el motivo de su aparición. Aunque podemos supo- all polymusic in the world. For Indonesians, this acoustic ner que casi siempre se trata de una misa omitida en vida. and cultural choice offers a particular aesthetic pleasure, Y tampoco faltan excepciones en las que el pecado come- never focused on sound alone, but also on the super- tido es otro directamente relacionado con las obligacio- abundance that signals ritual efficacy. nes propias del clero, como por ejemplo no llevar el viáti- co a un moribundo o tener un comportamiento ligero y distraído en el altar. Mahiques Climent, Joan: El relato folclórico del ánima Ese mismo momento en el cual el difunto aprovecha del cura y la misa no celebrada en vida. Versiones com- para entablar un breve diálogo con el buen cristiano que paradas del dominio de Oïl. Anthropos 109.2014: 583– le ha respondido a la misa también nos introduce en el 598. tema de la reversibilidad de favores, pues el cura suele aprovechar la ocasión para agradecer y premiar al asis- Dentro del conjunto de relatos folclóricos de aparecidos tente por la ayuda prestada. De todos modos, no pocos circunscritos a diferentes zonas monolingües o pluri- visionarios reciben entonces la triste noticia de su muerte lingües del área galo-románica destaca la historia tantas no lejana, dulcificada con la buena nueva de su entrada veces reiterada del cura difunto condenado a volver a una próxima en la Gloria celestial. Es verdad que los curas determinada iglesia u a otro lugar con la intención de difuntos de algunas versiones conceden otros galardones decir una misa cobrada y no celebrada en vida. La con- más diversos a sus acólitos, como la noticia de cincuenta dena se cumple casi siempre cuando un cristiano viviente años más de vida, o bien la considerable suma de 30.000 hace de acólito o simplemente está presente en la misa de francos de oro, o bien la bendición no solo para el sujeto ultratumba y responde de manera oportuna a las palabras premiado sino también para toda su familia hasta la sép- del cura. tima generación. Unas veces los visionarios pernoctan dentro de una iglesia, consciente o inconscientemente; otras, perciben Aunque se deduce que el lugar de ultratumba que ini- el prodigio desde fuera del recinto sagrado a través de una cialmente correspondería al cura difunto es el Purgatorio, insólita e intempestiva iluminación, o simplemente acu- este receptáculo no es siempre aludido en relación con su den a deshora a la iglesia al escuchar unas campanadas, destino personal tras la muerte. Uno de los elementos que creyendo que se trata de un anuncio inminente de la cele- quizás más claramente podríamos relacionar con el culto bración cotidiana del oficio divino. Todas estas situacio- de las ánimas del Purgatorio es la idea de la solidaridad nes concuerdan en el hecho de presentar a un visionario de los vivos con los difuntos. En efecto, cuando el asis- que, inicialmente, desconoce el prodigio de la misa – tente accede a responder a la misa, muchas veces se pone truncada si no hay respuesta o, en caso contrario, plena- en relieve hasta qué punto acaba pesando, más que el mente realizada – que está a punto de acontecer. Podría- temor de enfrentarse a lo desconocido, el piadoso deseo mos decir que, en apariencia, la misa compartida por el de ayudar a aquellos que, todavía manchados por el peca- cura ya difunto y el asistente todavía vivo es fruto de la do, no han comparecido en presencia de Dios. También mera casualidad, ya que ninguno de los dos toma la puede percibirse de manera bastante evidente la impor- iniciativa de buscar al otro: simplemente se encuentran y, tancia que adquiere la mediación clerical, porque, de entonces, cada uno actúa de acuerdo con su papel. hecho, muchas de las narraciones no solamente nos ha- Algunos de los rasgos son fundamentales que pueden blan del cura difunto sino también del sacerdote que extraerse a partir del corpus representado en los veinte interpreta el quid de la cuestión, que aconseja al visio- cuatro ejemplos de la tabla de este artículo. No cabe duda nario que vuelva otra noche a la misa de ultratumba, y que el personaje del cura es uno de los pilares más esta- que incluso es capaz de conjurar al espíritu del difunto o bles en la construcción de este relato, pues, a pesar de cumplir con los sufragios demandados por este.

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