Spirits in Culture, History and Mind

Spirits in Culture History and Mind reintegrates spirits into comparativetheories of religion which have tended to focus on institutionalized forms ofbelief ass... » 

Spirits in Culture History and Mind reintegrates spirits into comparativetheories of religion which have tended to focus on institutionalized forms ofbelief associated with gods. It brings an historical perspective to culturallypatterned experiences with spirits and examines spirits as a locus of tensionbetween traditional and foreign values. Taking as a point of departure shiftinglocal views of self nine case studies drawn from Pacific societies analyzereligious phenomena at the intersection of social psychological and historicalprocesses. The varied approaches taken in these case studies provide a richnessof perspective with each lens illuminating different aspects of spiritrelatedexperience. All however bring a sense of historical process to bear onpsychological and symbolic approaches to religion shedding new light on theways spirits relate to other cultural phenomena.Included is a provocative theoretical chapter coauthored by Robert Levy andthe editors. Unabashedly comparative at a time when most anthropologistsconfine themselves to interpreting local meanings this chapter argues for adistinction between godlike and spiritlike beings with gods representing themoral order while spirits are countered at its periphery. Issues associatedwith morality power control conformity possession selfhood the uncannyand the impingement of high religions on folk beliefs among others areaddressed in this chapter.The conclusion by Michael Lambek also excites controversy. Reflecting on theethnographic material included in the volume Lambek draws attention to theimportance of understanding spiritrelated experiences in theirhistoricalcontexts for coming to grips with the very nature of religion. «