Anthropologists Are Talking–About Capitalism, Ecology, and Apocalypse

SCOPUS: no.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Introduction [The Social Scientific Study of Exorcism in Christianity]

This chapter introduces this edited book as a study of exorcism within a social-scientific perspective in Western societies. Applying the sociological work of de Certeau, and the anthropological perspective of Malinowski, this chapter presents a collection of research papers which reexamines the relationship among magic, religion, and science within the context of secularization thesis. Modern practices of exorcism are considered within the Christian and global contexts with the focus on both early and late phases of modernity. The case studies presented in this volume touch on various geographical areas in Europe, North and South America, and Australia, and cover numerous Christian groups and denominations. We also emphasize the idea that exorcism is not an exclusively Christian practice and that it can be found as part of other religions, such as Buddhism, Islam, or Judaism. The study of modern practices of exorcism in non-Christian contexts is warranted to tackle understanding of this growing phenomenon around the world and to consider exorcism no longer as an atavistic ritual in conflict with science and modernity. A practical reason – a need to provide guidance and support for these victims or patients, through medicine, spiritual care, and community assistance – fosters this research project

Ghosts and the everyday politics of race in Fiji

One early morning during a fieldwork trip to Fiji’s old capital, Levuka, in 2009, I was dragged from a deep, kava-induced sleep by loud banging on the door of the rented cabin I shared with one of my friends and respondents, Ajay.1 “Hello, hello,” someone shouted, and as our visitor did not relent, Ajay reluctantly got up to answer the door while I turned around to go back to sleep. After a brief discussion with the visitor at the door, Ajay called me to come and sort the matter out. The visitor turned out to be a young, pretty, Fijian girl. Judging by her sleepy eyes and slurred speech, I figured that she must have spent the previous night much like I had— chatting and drinking yaqona2 (kava) followed by a complimentary “washdown,” that is the two or three long-necks of cold Fiji Bitter beer that many young Fijians consider the natural way to finish off a “grog session.” When I somewhat brusquely asked her what she wanted at that time of the night, she introduced herself as Judy and repeatedly explained that she was looking for her cousin who lived in the cabin. It took me several explanations and, in the end, a rather stern telling off before she eventually, quite meekly, accepted that she had mistaken our commercially rented cabin with her cousin’s house, and left. While I initially did not think much of the situation and was eager to get back to bed, I was surprised to find my friend, who was Fijian-born of Indo-Fijian heritage, visibly upset. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned to me and exclaimed, “Thank God you made her go away . . . I’ve been told many times that it is so important not to be friendly or inviting when a ghost visits you, because then you will never get rid of them.” It appeared that I had just experienced a Fijian ghost first-hand