Abstract
Spirits occupy a world that simultaneously dwells between the divine and the earthly binary, while speaking to all forces of nature, marginality and extremity in between. In this paper, I discuss the conceptualizations and social agency of spiritual beings. To do justice to the diverse ways in which mythology, popular beliefs and interpretation of spirits is done across the globe, I use ethnographic examples from Africa in particular. The paper highlights how a prevailing social consciousness of the spirits reflects the transience and fluidity of human life. An examination of the nature and role of spirits in Africa allows one to understand the ways in which colonial influences brought by Catholicism and Islam added to the repertoire and syncretic imaginations of spirits. It is important to see the conceptualization of spirits in unison with sorcery and spirit possession, central to voodoo practices, also because they speak volumes about the experiences of slavery and marginalization. A discussion on spirits also requires examining the rituals and mediational forces and their performance that allow participants to safely and morally tackle adversity, voicelessness and embrace social harmony.
Presenters
Sanaa RiazProfessor, Anthropology, Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Spirits, Agency, Ethnography, Africa
