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Self Possessed : Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization by Frederick Smith (2006, Hardcover)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherColumbia University Press

ISBN-100231137486

ISBN-139780231137485

eBay Product ID (ePID)50872976

Product Key Features

Number of Pages832 Pages

Publication NameSelf Possessed : Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2006

SubjectAsian / Indic, Sacred Sexuality, General, Anthropology / General

TypeTextbook

AuthorFrederick Smith

Subject AreaLiterary Criticism, Body, Mind & Spirit, Religion, Social Science

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.9 in

Item Weight44.7 Oz

Item Length9.2 in

Item Width6.7 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2005-056030

Dewey Edition22

TitleLeadingThe

Reviews"This comprehensive work should appear on the shelf of every serious scholar of South Asian religion... Essential." -- "CHOICE", This comprehensive work should appear on the shelf of every serious scholar of South Asian religion... Essential.

Grade FromCollege Graduate Student

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal133.4/260954

Table Of ContentList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Part I: Orthodoxies, Madness, and Method 1. Academic and Brahmanical Orthodoxies Part II: Ethnography, Modernity, and the Languages of Possession 2. New and Inherited Paradigms: Methodologies for the Study of Possession 3. Possession, Trance Channeling, and Modernity 4. Notes on Regional Languages and Models of Possession Part III. Classical Literature 5. The Vedas and Upanisads 6. Friendly Acquisitions, Hostile Takeovers, The Panorama of Possession in the Sanskrit Epics 7. Enlightenment and the Classical Culture of Possession 8. Vampires, Prostitutes, and Poets: Narrativity and the Aesthetics of Possession 9. Devotion as Possession 10. Possession in Tantra: Constructed Bodies and Empowerment 11. Tantra and the Diaspora of Childhood Possession 12. The Medicalization of Possession in ayurveda and Tantra 13. Conclusions: Identity Among the Possessed and Dispossessed Bibliography Index

SynopsisThe Self Possessed is a multifaceted, diachronic study reconsidering the very nature of religion in South Asia, the culmination of years of intensive research. Frederick M. Smith proposes that positive oracular or ecstatic possession is the most common form of spiritual expression in India, and that it has been linguistically distinguished from negative, disease-producing possession for thousands of years. In South Asia possession has always been broader and more diverse than in the West, where it has been almost entirely characterized as "demonic." At best, spirit possession has been regarded as a medically treatable psychological ailment and at worst, as a condition that requires exorcism or punishment. In South (and East) Asia, ecstatic or oracular possession has been widely practiced throughout history, occupying a position of respect in early and recent Hinduism and in certain forms of Buddhism. Smith analyzes Indic literature from all ages-the earliest Vedic texts; the Mahabharata; Buddhist, Jain, Yogic, Ayurvedic, and Tantric texts; Hindu devotional literature; Sanskrit drama and narrative literature; and more than a hundred ethnographies. He identifies several forms of possession, including festival, initiatory, oracular, and devotional, and demonstrates their multivocality within a wide range of sects and religious identities. Possession is common among both men and women and is practiced by members of all social and caste strata. Smith theorizes on notions of embodiment, disembodiment, selfhood, personal identity, and other key issues through the prism of possession, redefining the relationship between Sanskritic and vernacular culture and between elite and popular religion. Smith's study is also comparative, introducing considerable material from Tibet, classical China, modern America, and elsewhere. Brilliant and persuasive, The Self Possessed provides careful new translations of rare material and is the most comprehensive study in any language on this subject., "The Self Possessed" is a multifaceted, diachronic study reconsidering the very nature of religion in South Asia, the culmination of years of intensive research. Frederick M. Smith proposes that positive oracular or ecstatic possession is the most common form of spiritual expression in India, and that it has been linguistically distinguished from negative, disease-producing possession for thousands of years.In South Asia possession has always been broader and more diverse than in the West, where it has been almost entirely characterized as "demonic." At best, spirit possession has been regarded as a medically treatable psychological ailment and at worst, as a condition that requires exorcism or punishment. In South (and East) Asia, ecstatic or oracular possession has been widely practiced throughout history, occupying a position of respect in early and recent Hinduism and in certain forms of Buddhism.Smith analyzes Indic literature from all ages-the earliest Vedic texts; the Mahabharata; Buddhist, Jain, Yogic, Ayurvedic, and Tantric texts; Hindu devotional literature; Sanskrit drama and narrative literature; and more than a hundred ethnographies. He identifies several forms of possession, including festival, initiatory, oracular, and devotional, and demonstrates their multivocality within a wide range of sects and religious identities. Possession is common among both men and women and is practiced by members of all social and caste strata. Smith theorizes on notions of embodiment, disembodiment, selfhood, personal identity, and other key issues through the prism of possession, redefining the relationship between Sanskritic and vernacular culture and between elite andpopular religion. Smith's study is also comparative, introducing considerable material from Tibet, classical China, modern America, and elsewhere.Brilliant and persuasive, "The Self Possessed" provides careful new translations of rare material and is the most comprehensive study in any language on this subject., Religious practices and their transformation are crucial elements of migrants' identities and are increasingly politicized by national governments in the light of perceived threats to national identity. As new immigrant flows shape religious pluralism in Europe, longstanding relations between the State and Church are challenged, together with majority-faith traditions and societies' ways of representing and perceiving themselves.With attention to variations according to national setting, this volume explores the process of reformulating religious identities and practices amongst South Asian 'communities' in European contexts, Presenting a wide range of ethnographies, including studies of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Islam amongst migrant communities in contexts as diverse as Norway, Italy, the UK, France and Portugal, Migration and Religion in Europe sheds light on the meaning of religious practices to diasporic communities. It examines the manner in which such practices can be used by migrants and local societies to produce distance or proximity, as well as their political significance in various 'host' nations.Offering insights into the affirmation of national identities and cultures and the implications of this for governance and political discourse within Europe, this book will appeal to scholars with interests in anthropology, religion and society, migration, transnationalism and gender., When does the exercise of an interest constitute a human right? The contributors to Menuge's edited collection offer a range of secular and religious responses to this fundamental question of the legitimacy of human rights claims. This topical book is of interest to a range of academics from disciplines spanning law, philosophy, religion and politics.

LC Classification NumberBL1055.S63 2006