Ritual Experts Research Articles

Walking Where Jesus Walked: American Christians and Holy Land Pilgrimage. By Hillary Kaell. New York: NYU Press, 2014. Pp. xiii+269. $28.00 (paper).

<i>Walking Where Jesus Walked: American Christians and Holy Land Pilgrimage</i>. By Hillary Kaell. New York: NYU Press, 2014. Pp. xiii+269. $28.00 (paper).

Sketching with knives: Architects &amp; the confidence theory of magic

‘Isn't gravity wonderful? That's the magic trick in a way'. The Malinowskian ‘confidence theory of magic’ (1935) points to how a person, through the ritual act, becomes empowered to believe he can master nature's obstacles, and thus become equipped to undertake tasks from which he would otherwise shrink. The relation between creativity, magic and professional confidence is investigated through ethnographic fieldwork in the internationally renowned architecture company, Snøhetta, based in Oslo and New York. Crafting magic is performed by architects posing as digital experts of software technology and model making, and ritual experts who voice spells and formulas to guide the creative processes throughout competition phases. Inspired by the works of Malinowski (1922, 1935, 1948), Firth (1939) and Gell (1992), this article explores the phenomenon of magical capitalism as it enters the domain of competition and creative collaboration in organizations.

Christian Magicians, Jewish Magical Idioms, and the Shared Magical Culture of Late Antiquity

Some time in the late-fifth or early-sixth century CE, a ritual practitioner—operating in the environs of Oxyrhynchus, Egypt—created a protective amulet that reads, “Hôr, Hôr, Phôr, Elôei, Adônai, Iaô, Sabaôth, Michaêl, Jesus Christ. Help us and this house. Amen” (Ὡρ, Ὡρ, Φωρ, Ἐλωεί, Ἀδωναί, Ἰάω, Σαβαώθ, Μιχαήλ, Ἰεσοῦ Χριστέ· Βοήθι ἡμῖν καὶ τούτῳ οἴκῳ. ἀμήν). Each of the names used in the first part of this amulet, known as P.Oxy. VIII 1152 (=PGM P6a), is familiar from other ritual objects from late antiquity (approx. fourth to seventh centuries CE). But the juxtaposition of these divine names on a single amulet presents us with a puzzle: did the ritual expert who created this artifact or his client perceive there to be a difference, tension, or even contradiction between Jesus Christ and the other names listed? Or, alternatively, would they have conceptualized all of these names as belonging equally within what they would have thought of as the “Christian tradition” or some other tradition?

Spiritual Taxonomies and Ritual Authority: Platonists, Priests, and Gnostics in the Third Century C.E. by Heidi Marx-Wolf

Reviewed by: Spiritual Taxonomies and Ritual Authority: Platonists, Priests, and Gnostics in the Third Century C.E. by Heidi Marx-Wolf Dylan M. Burns Heidi Marx-Wolf Spiritual Taxonomies and Ritual Authority: Platonists, Priests, and Gnostics in the Third Century C.E. Divinations Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016 Pp. 216. $55.00. Heidi Marx-Wolf's point of departure in this intriguing monograph is that, in the second century c.e., "spirits were not ordered according to a clear and stable ontological or moral taxonomy" (1). In the following century, this changed: Origen, Porphyry, and Iamblichus "made claims to ritual expertise and called themselves high priests of the highest god . . . add[ing] a new, hieratic dimension to their identity. . . . These philosophers also asserted that they were in a unique position as experts to broker salvation for others" (2). A holistic evaluation of the spiritual taxonomies developed from this competition, then, shows us that all these individuals "were much closer—far more interconnected socially, educationally, and intellectually—than previously recognized" (3). Chapter One provides a fascinating, bird's-eye view of demonology in Origen, Porphyry, and Iamblichus. Marx-Wolf follows Elizabeth DePalma Digeser in taking Origen—the author of On Demons, mentioned by Porphyry in the Vita Plotini and Proclus in his Timaeus commentary—to be the Christian theologian Origen of Alexandria (4–5, 21–23, 40). Many readers will protest on chronological grounds, but, as, Marx-Wolf states (142n58), the issue is not essential to the argument that Porphyry's rejection of blood sacrifice in his De abstinentia is plausibly inspired by Christian polemics against sacrifice (28). Iamblichus, meanwhile, agreed with Porphyry that "it was not possible for everyone to be a philosopher and to achieve complete release from corporeality and generation" (36), and for this reason disagreed with Porphyry regarding traditional sacrifices, taking them to be necessary means of purification available to οἱ πολλοί. Chapter Two argues that the demonological taxonomies of Origen, Porphyry, and Iamblichus contain significant ambiguities and inconsistencies that result from engagement with traditional beliefs and practices concerned with demons (39–40). Again, Origen of Alexandria is taken to be the author of the work On Demons known to Porphyry (41–42), yet the ensuing discussion of Princ. and Hom. 1 Reg. makes no effort to synthesize the demonologies of these works with On Demons. Why bother to conflate the two Origens if one is to treat their works in isolation? In any event, Marx-Wolf shows how the demonological taxonomies of Origen and Porphyry are hardly coherent: souls, demons, and angels become overlapping or even exchangeable categories (52–54). Iamblichus, meanwhile, leaves the confines of traditional Platonism by incorporating archons and a plethora of contemporary ritual practices into his theurgic system (62). Inspired by recent scholarship highlighting possible "Gnostic" contributions to Neoplatonism, Chapter Three examines Origen's discussion of "Gnosticism" and the demonology of two works extant from Nag Hammadi. Wary of critiques of the term "Gnostic(ism)," Marx-Wolf uses it freely in scare quotes. She presents [End Page 497] an Iamblichaean reading of the Apocryphon of John, wherein the 365 beings governing the psychic human body are taken to be helpers in "purifying the body and providing for . . . eventual release of the spirit" (90—NHC II, 1.18.31–32 is not cited, but seems to support this view). Marx-Wolf also identifies a parallel between the teaching on postmortem souls found in Porphyry's On the Styx and a passage in Zostrianos, although it is a bit strong to state simply that the former "borrowed" from the latter (96). Chapter Four examines the adoption of hieratic rhetoric by Origen, Porphyry, and Iamblichus. They employed this terminology to "demote and discredit other ritual experts who were attempting to overcome marginalization," namely the authors of "so-called magical" texts (101; another rejected term in scare quotes). Marx-Wolf slyly observes how funny it is that Iamblichus slanders these Egyptian ritual experts in Myst., "because at the same time he was posing as one of them" (119). He, like Porphyry and Origen, "felt the need to assert their authority and expertise in idioms represented by their competitors." Spiritual Taxonomies is clearly written and well-timed, tackling...

From Outcasts to Emperors: Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjus̀rī Cult in Medieval Japan by David Quinter

Reviewed by: From Outcasts to Emperors: Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjus̀rī Cult in Medieval Japan by David Quinter James L. Ford (bio) From Outcasts to Emperors: Shingon Ritsu and the Mañjus̀rī Cult in Medieval Japan. By David Quinter. Brill, Leiden, 2015. xiv, 340 pages. €130.00. 269 pages. After decades of an almost exclusive focus on the early founders of the so-called New Kamakura Buddhism schools, a notable balancing of interest has emerged in figures and schools of "established" Buddhism of the early medieval period. David Quinter's study of the Japanese Shingon Ritsu movement founded by Eison (1201–90) and its manifest connections to the popular cult of Mañjus̀rī adds to this growing body of scholarship in English in a significant way. It also employs the increasingly interdisciplinary approach of recent scholarship in its interwoven examination of the material, social, ritual, and narrative dimensions of Eison's activities and those who followed him. Throughout, Quinter uncovers a complex matrix of religious, social, political, and economic factors that converged to influence the development of the Shingon Ritsu movement centered at Saidaiji and popular devotion to Mañjus̀rī. Much has been written on the precept revival movement initiated by Eison, alongside three companions (Kakujō, Ensai, and Ugon), with a controversial self-ordination ceremony (jisei jukai) performed before an image [End Page 407] of Kannon at Tōdaiji in 1236. The Saidaiji order that he subsequently established attracted like-minded monks perhaps disillusioned with the worldly ways of the Nara establishment and drawn to a more traditional and disciplined Sangha community. Early in his career, however, Eison was also trained in the esoteric Shingon tradition at Daigoji, Kōyasan, and Tōdaiji, so his newfound movement embodied a unique synthesis of strict precept adherence and esoteric ritual expertise in the "three mysteries" (sanmitsu) of body, speech, and mind as expressed through mudras, mantras, and mandalas. Eison circulated widely among a broad spectrum of classes conferring the bodhisattva precepts and holding public services. He and his disciple Ninshō (1217–1303), in particular, emphasized social welfare and charity among the outcasts of society (hinin) such as beggars and lepers. In 1255, Eison commissioned an image of Mañjus̀rī and installed it at Hannyaji near Nara expressly for the salvation of nearby hinin. Eison sometimes lamented the challenge of raising funds for this project through the typical kanjin (fundraising) appeals. In this detailed and nuanced study, Quinter traces the development of the Ritsu Shingon order of Saidaiji from its founder Eison through his disciples Ninshō, Shinkū (1229–1316), and Monkan (1278–1357). Woven into this historical review is a study of the unique and imaginative ways Eison and his disciples transformed the devotional cult to Mañjus̀rī by synthesizing the traditional emphasis on the bodhisattva as the exemplar of wisdom with active worldly engagement through charitable activities, memorial rites, precepts conferrals, and temple and icon construction projects. To fully understand and appreciate the resourcefulness of this complex synthesis of doctrine and praxis, one must grasp the particularities of the time and place. Quinter guides the reader skillfully through a maze of interconnected historical, political, social, and institutional factors that shaped the resulting fusion. The book is divided into a lengthy introduction, six somewhat chronological chapters, an epilogue, and ten adept translations of various primary sources. Chapter 1 traces the early decades (1230s and 1240s) of Eison's formation of the Saidaiji order and his teacher-disciple relationship with Ninshō. Chapter 2 investigates the historical precedents for the Mañjus̀rī assemblies led by Eison and Ninshō. These include the four generally cited, which are the Mañjus̀rī Parinirva¯na Sūtra, the Mañjus̀rī cult on Mt. Wutai, Gyōki's activities (first half of the eighth century), and the early ninth-century assemblies in Japan sponsored by the state. Quinter expands the horizon of analysis by examining two Mañjus̀rī assemblies in the thirteenth century and a fascinating link between early Saidaiji order assemblies and memorial rites for mothers. Chapter 3 explores Eison's notable outreach efforts on behalf of the outcast community residing near Hannyaji (Yamato Province), a Saidaiji-connected...

The Role of Rituals in Warfare during the Neo‐Assyrian Period

AbstractIn imperial Assyria during the first millennium BCE, ritual pervaded every aspect of life. As the link between the divine realm and the earthly one, the king's primary duty was to discover the gods' will and enact it. To this end, an array of ritual experts in the art of reading and reacting to divine signs aided the king. Due to the risk involved, warfare required particular attention from the experts during every phase of operations. Based on evidence from cuneiform sources (ritual texts, royal inscriptions, and letters) and monumental art (narrative sculptured reliefs), this article focuses on how ritual activity at each campaign stage affected different audiences, including the enemy, the king's officials, and the Assyrian army.

Materializing and Performing Prajna: Jōkei's Manjusri Faith and the Kasagidera Restoration

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)In studies of medieval Japanese Buddhism that privilege the new Kamakura schools, scholar-monks belonging to the Nara, Shingon, and Tendai schools are typically cast in a negative light. Despite his renown in the medieval period, the Hosso monk Jokei ... (1155-1213) is no exception. In fact, Jokei has often served as the poster child for the elitist and oppressive tendencies of scholar-monks from the established schools due to his putative role in suppressing Honen's ... (1133-1212) new Pure Land movement. Recent studies, however, have challenged standard theories on Jokei's relationship to the early Kamakura period suppression of Honen and his followers from a variety of angles.1 But most significant here among new developments in Jokei studies are those spurred by the landmark publication in Jokei koshiki shu (Taisho Daigaku 2000) of thirteen koshiki he authored and the increased attention to the performative and popularizing dimensions of his diverse cultic activities.2 As I will suggest, koshiki texts also represent a chief means by which Jokei and other Nara scholar-monks packaged their cultic concerns for broader, trans-sectarian audiences.The activities of leading medieval Nara monks have typically been characterized as reactionary responses by elites to popularizing tendencies championed in the new Pure Land, Zen, and Nichiren schools rather than as creative adaptations of Buddhist teachings and practices in their own right. Even amid revisionist studies of Japanese religion, the textual and doctrinal concerns of Jokei and other scholar-monks are often contrasted with the lived religion expressed in such activities as icon veneration, simplified chanting rituals, and pilgrimage practices. This article, however, uses Jokei's involvement in the restoration of Kasagidera ... and in the Manjusri cult-including a koshiki dedicated to Manjusri that Jokei composed-as a case study of how one leading Nara scholarmonk integrated these same on-the-ground practices with his doctrinal and other textual activities.Jokei's Monju and other koshiki texts were not composed in a vacuum. For many of his koshiki, we have colophons or other testimony by Jokei that iden- tify the context of their composition. Some were composed upon request and thus tailored to the needs of the practitioners soliciting Jokei's textual and ritual expertise. Others were initiated by Jokei himself and reflect such well-known aspects of his cultic activities as his devotion to the buddha Sakyamuni, the bodhisattva Kannon (Sk. Avalokitesvara), and the future buddha, Maitreya.3 For other koshiki, however, including his Monju koshiki ... (Manjusri Koshiki), we lack such firsthand testimony to the date, place, or other circumstances of their composition and need to reconstruct their contexts based on both the internal evidence of the texts and their fit with other examples of his cultic activities.The connections of the Maitreya cult with Kasagidera, and accordingly with Jokei's activities after his move to this mountain temple about twelve miles northeast of Nara, are well known due to a massive cliffside image of Maitreya that had attracted devotees for centuries by the time of the restoration.4 However, the interlinked significance of the Maitreya and Manjusri cults during Jokei's Kasagi years (1193-1208), the most productive period of his career, has been little explored, even though that significance is attested in diverse material constructions, textual genres, and ritual performances. Particularly important for this study is recognizing that Jokei's Monju koshiki shows close thematic connections with his other activities at Kasagidera, including his composition of the Shin'yosho ... (Essentials of the mind), one of his best-known doctrinal treatises. And particularly important for understanding Jokei's place in the medieval revival of Nara Buddhism more broadly is recognizing that in the early Kamakura period (1185-1333), Nara scholar-monks took the lead in the production of koshiki, and Jokei was the most prolific author across time periods. …

The Great, the Little, and the Authoritative Tradition in Magic of the Ancient World

Abstract This paper develops “magic” as a category useful for describing local forms of an institutional or “great” tradition (using the classic terminology of Robert Redfield): ritual acts, symbols and materials, and constructions of local ritual expertise to interpret elements of a great tradition. Ultimately the paper contributes to the historical relationship between (centralized expressions of) “religion” and “magic” (as some quality or dimension of ritual).

The Race to Death: The Production of Ritual Expertise in Brighton for Matter Out of Place

This paper brings together an instance where Indian cultural difference is recognised, and accommodated, by the state or its agents, albeit in very different circumstances. The distinctiveness of these circumstances reveals a great deal about the minority status of Indians in British society, historically, and in contemporary times. This paper explores ritual expertise as a key element in transactions of necropower and draws on case studies in Brighton to explore the accumulation of culturally specific knowledge and the right to exercise this knowledge.

Ancient Near Eastern Royal Rituals

AbstractThis article deals with royal rituals from the Ancient Near East, focusing on the evidence from cuneiform sources from Babylonia and Assyria from the first millennium BCE. I will present rituals of coronation and investiture, which can be reconstructed from various text genres, such as epics, hymns or ritual handbooks. Royal investiture was not performed only at the beginning of the king's reign, but took place regularly during the festivals of the cultic calendar, particularly during the New Year's festivals in Spring and Fall. The king, albeit considered a superhuman being by the Mesopotamians, was nevertheless prone to illness. Illness was caused, according to Ancient Near Eastern ideas, by divine wrath and the alienation of a person from his or her protective deities. Thus, sickness was treated, among other cures, by rituals to bring about the reconciliation of the patient with the divine sphere. The performance of healing rituals for the kings of the Neo‐Assyrian empire is well attested from a comprehensive correspondence of kings Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal with their ritual experts, diviners and physicians. An example from this correspondence will be presented in this contribution.

Slavery Beyond History: Contemporary Concepts of Slavery and Slave Redemption in Ganta (Gamo) of Southern Ethiopia

Slavery was officially abolished in Ethiopia by Emperor Haile Sellassie in 1942. Despite the abolitionary law slaves and their descendants have continually been marginalized in the country (especially in the peripheral parts of southwestern Ethiopia) from the time the law passed until today. In the Gamo community of southern Ethiopia, descendants of former slaves carry the identity of their ancestors and as the result they are often harshly excluded. Today, not only are they considered impure, but their perceived impurity is believed to be contagious; communicable to non-slave descendants during rites of passage. In order to escape the severe discrimination, slave descendants change their identity by redeeming themselves through indigenous ritual mechanism called wozzo ritual. However, the wozzo ritual builds the economy of former slave masters and ritual experts while leaving redeemed slave descendants economically damaged. This study is both diachronic and synchronic; it looks at the history of slavery, contemporary perspectives and practices of slavery and slave redemption in Ganta (Gamo) society of southern Ethiopia.

“Oh, Lord, Give This One a Daimon So That He May No Longer Sin”: The Holy Man and His Daimones in Hagiography

Abstract This essay examines two hagiographical accounts, each features a Christian holy man performing an unusual, though not aberrant, ritual action: casting a daimon onto or into a person. I argue that the priest Innocent in Palladius’ Lausiac History and Abba Daniel in John Moschus’ Spirituale Pratum acted in accordance with their late antique role as ritual experts and “charismatic ombudsmen” and, thus, they could manipulate power relations between the daimon and human to cleanse, protect and/or punish a human, sinful body. To grasp fully the hagiographers’ explorations of a holy man’s charismata-his power over daimones and what kinds of bodies that creates, I situate these narratives within a particularized context of contemporary and earlier Greek demonologies (Plato, Plutarch and Greek Magical Papyri, especially katadesmoi or binding spells), which reveals variant daimon/human relations through time and the consequential material, moral, and intellectual transformations relevant in these hagiographies.

Islamic ritual experts in a migration context: motivation and authority in the ritual cleansing of the deceased

In the Dutch migration context, the deployment of Islamic ritual experts in the ritual cleansing of the deceased has become very common. The imams of the local mosques are performing death rites as part of their professional duties but there is a growing number of ‘volunteers’ involved. An upcoming phenomenon in the migration context and although widely deployed, they are the same time rather invisible. What motivates these people to become involved in death rites of people they often do not know? And how is their ritual authority recognised? A multi-layered approach provides insight in the expert’s role and their motivation and authority at a personal level as well as at a social (interpersonal) and a religious (transpersonal) level. It shows the various configurations that make up each expert’s motivation and authority. This approach hands insights in the diversity of Muslim communities in a small town migration context. Tangible leads that can help professionals to provide more tailor made assistance to Muslims and migrants in cases of death. Vignettes are drawn from qualitative research data collected from fieldwork (interviews, observations and participations) conducted in Venlo (NL).

SPIRITS, POWER AND THE POLITICAL IMAGINATION IN LATE-COLONIAL GABON

ABSTRACTThrough narratives of an anti-‘fetish’ movement that swept through north-eastern Gabon in the mid-1950s, the present article traces the contours of converging political and religious imaginations in that country in the years preceding independence. Fang speakers in the region make explicit connections between the arrival of post-Second World War electoral politics, the anti-fetish movements, and perceptions of political weakening and marginalization of their region on the eve of independence. Rival politicians and the colonial administration played key roles in the movement, which brought in a Congolese ritual expert, Emane Boncoeur, and his two powerful spirits, Mademoiselle and Mimbare. These spirits, later recuperated in a wide range of healing practices, continue to operate today throughout northern Gabon and Rio Muni. In local imaginaries, these spirits played central roles in the birth of both regional and national politics, paradoxically strengthening the colonial administration and Gabonese auxiliaries in an era of pre-independence liberalization. Thus, regional political events in the 1950s rehearsed later configurations of power, including presidential politics, on the national stage.

Confucius Confronting Contingency in the Lunyu and the Gongyang Zhuan

The article argues in the first part that the Lunyu is the only early text in which Confucius is not depicted as the ultimate sage authority who knows an answer to all questions. Instead the Confucius of the Lunyu leaves questions open and points out limits of possible knowledge. The second part of the article shows that in the exegesis of the Gongyang Zhuan we find exactly the same attitudes of Confucius. The article argues in the third part that the specific character of the Lunyu construction of Confucius lies in its ascribing to him professional attitudes found in the realm of historiography and ritual expertise.

CONFUCIUS CONFRONTING CONTINGENCY IN THE LUNYU AND THE GONGYANG ZHUAN1

The article argues in the first part that the Lunyu is the only early text in which Confucius is not depicted as the ultimate sage authority who knows an answer to all questions. Instead the Confucius of the Lunyu leaves questions open and points out limits of possible knowledge. The second part of the article shows that in the exegesis of the Gongyang Zhuan we find exactly the same attitudes of Confucius. The article argues in the third part that the specific character of the Lunyu construction of Confucius lies in its ascribing to him professional attitudes found in the realm of historiography and ritual expertise.

High Priests of the Highest God: Third-Century Platonists as Ritual Experts

High Priests of the Highest God: Third-Century Platonists as Ritual Experts

Muslim Midwives between Traditions and Modernities

This article portrays the life and activity of Muslim indigenous midwives in Satun province, Southern Thailand. Their art is transmitted almost exclusively through the maternal line and their traditional knowledge has been modified, transformed and reinvented but never abandoned, even as new biomedical information and techniques have been imparted during formal training. The indigenous midwives combine new knowledge with their more traditional practices such as use of incantations, ritual expertise, pre- and postpartum massages. They maintain their status in their communities thanks to their capacity to relate to both traditional and biomedical worlds. The reception of new equipment and the burden of bureaucratic control represent new elements in their lives and create a gap with the new generation of midwives.

The People and the Dao: New Studies in Chinese Religions in Honour of Daniel L. Overmyer ed. by Philip Clart, Paul Crowe (review)

Book Reviews 85 a son dares to be skeptical about the prospect of his mother’s chastity. Nevertheless, it would be even more fascinating to hear the real woman’s voice instead of one being “channeled” by a male. If none of the author’s many female informants could provide information in this regard, their lack of interest in the origin of their ritual certainly warrants a discussion. Despite some disagreements in interpretation and a longing to hear more female voices, this reader finds the book highly recommendable. It deals with an important topic, is presented in a lucid narrative style, and is supported by an efficient background introduction (in terms of both Chinese religious history and Western theories), rich ethnographical information, and sharp analytic insight. Students and scholars in Chinese religion (especially lay Buddhism) as well as in women’s studies will appreciate this work. SHIN-YI CHAO, Rutgers University-Camden The People and the Dao: New Studies in Chinese Religions in Honour of Daniel L. Overmyer Edited by PHILIP CLART and PAUL CROWE. Sankt Augustin: Institut Monumenta Serica, 2009. Monumenta Serica Monograph Series LX. 542 pages. ISBN 978-3-8050-0557-9. €60.00 hardcover. Readers of this journal will need no introduction to the name of Daniel Overmyer. Since the publication of his 1976 classic, Folk Buddhist Religion: Dissenting Sects in late Traditional China, Professor Overmyer has made landmark contributions to the study of sectarianism, spirit writing, and baojuan 寶卷, among very much else. His interests have led him from early Ming scripture to the lived religion of present day Taiwan and northern China, prompting him to pioneer a signature research methodology that pairs texts and observation, the knowledge of the ritual expert with the needs of the faithful. This book is a testament to the impact that one man can make on an entire field of study. Deriving from a conference held in 2002 at the University of British Columbia, it includes sixteen chapters from both established and younger scholars. It begins with two chapters that might have been better presented in reverse order: a thoughtful and detailed introduction by Philip Clart to the themes of the book, followed by a tribute by Randall L. Nadeau to Daniel Overmyer’s many contributions to the study of Chinese religions. The content chapters fall into three sections, the first of which concerns popular sects and religious movements. This section begins with an exploratory attempt by Hubert Seiwert to 86 Journal of Chinese Religions apply the “religious marketplace” (a.k.a., rational choice) model to questions such as why one would choose to affiliate with heterodox sects, often at great personal risk. Although this essay ultimately fails to provide many new answers, the questions it raises are provocative and interesting. Shin-yi Chao’s chapter traces the incorporation of the officially-approved cult of Zhenwu 真武 into sectarian scripture and hagiography. Chao shows how Zhenwu was written into the patriarchal lineage and Eternal Mother eschatology of Ming-dynasty baojuan, a process that evolves into the late Qing image of Zhenwu as a pilgrim on a journey to cultivate the Way. Christian Jochim provides the first of two chapters on the Yiguan Dao, in which Jochim discusses the Yiguan Dao in Taiwan as a particular carrier and interpreter of Confucianism. This chapter is occasionally distracted by the need to argue against a onedimensional dichotomy between elite and popular traditions, but is at its most effective when it uses modern Yiguan Dao texts to demonstrate the systematic syncretism of Confucian exegesis. These ideas pair nicely with Soo Khin Wah’s subsequent chapter outlining in detail the expansion of the missionizing Fayi 發一 branch of Yiguan Dao into Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. Philip Clart remains with the topic of texts in his chapter on the “moral economy” of publishing in Taiwan. Here, the “economy” is a literal accounting of merits that are accrued in every stage of the printing and distribution of spirit-written morality treatises (shanshu 善書), and resonates with the religious economy models employed by Seiwert. Jean DeBernardi’s final chapter on the Taishang Laojun 太上老君 temple in Penang 檳城 neatly sums up many of the themes raised in this section. In tracing the revival of...

La Selva Viajera: Rutas del chamanismo ayahuasquero entre Europa y América

Este texto explora una dimensión particular des las prácticas religiosas en migración. El fenómeno chamánico constituye actualmente un paisaje multipolar, atravesado por desplazamientos regulares de expertos en rituales y de practicantes, a la vez que por la mobilidad y la constante reconfiguración de las prácticas rituales. Estas itinerancias y estancias transcontinentales marcan a las comunidades locales, llevándolas hacia una reformulación de sus propios rituales de uso interno o regional. El chamanismo en su versión transcontinental se estructura según un continuum organizacional en diversas escalas que abre, enmarca, y reproduce los itinerarios que relacionan a los territorios del chamanismo habitualmente llamado "étnico" con las recomposiciones urbanas tanto a nivel nacional como internacional. Este continuum se sitúa efectivamente en el cruce de los "chamanismos urbanos" nacionales e internacionales que se construyen alrededor de la doble figura del "indígena" y de la "selva", en cuanto recursos simbólicos revalorizados. Por ende, este texto se propone analizar el papel central de la capacidad chamánica, reclasificada como "saber", para la reformulación el replanteamiento de las jerarquías simbólicas de validez nacional e internacional, instituidas durante la colonización.