Author: Richard Werbner
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253018951
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 356
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Book Description
“A work of rare depth and profound insight that is destined to become a classic in African Studies and the anthropology of religion.” —Paul Stoller, author of Yaya’s Story: The Quest for Well-Being in the World Richard Werbner takes readers on a journey though contemporary charismatic wisdom divination in southern Africa. Beginning with the silent language of the divinatory lots, Werbner deciphers the everyday, metaphorical, and poetic language that is used to reveal their meaning. Through Werbner’s skillful interpretations of the language of divination, a picture of Tswapong moral imagination is revealed. Concerns about dignity and personal illumination, witchcraft, pollution, the anger of dead ancestors, as well as the nature of life, truth, cosmic harmony, being, and becoming emerge in this charged African setting. “Werbner’s Divination’s Grasp documents a long and distinguished career in the service of anthropology. It will be a touchstone for anthropological studies of divination for years to come.” —American Ethnologist “Richard Werbner’s superb account of moral imagination and the poetics of divination grasps the density of its subject, matching the insights of the diviner with those of the ethnographer. The book takes its place among the very best works of Africanist anthropology as a new classic in the tradition of ethnographic divination and a necessary reminder of live and deep traditions of African wisdom.” —Michael Lambek, University of Toronto Scarborough
Author: David Zeitlyn
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 100004078X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 226
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Book Description
This book offers a major contribution to the study and analysis of divination, based on continuing fieldwork with the Mambila in Cameroon. It seeks to return attention to the details of divinatory practice, using the questions asked and life histories to help understand the perspective of the clients rather than that of the diviners. Drawing on a corpus of more than 600 cases, David Zeitlyn reconsiders theories of divination and compares Mambila spider divination with similar systems in the area. A detailed case study is examined and analysed using conversational analytic principles. The regional comparison considers different kinds of explanation for different features of social organization, leading to a discussion of the continuing utility of moderated functionalism. The book will be of interest to area specialists and scholars concerned with religion, rationality, and decision-making from disciplines including anthropology, African studies, and philosophy.
Author: William Russell Bascom
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253206381
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 608
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Book Description
"The sacred texts of Ifa, repository of the accumulated wisdom of countless generations of Yoruba people, are an invaluable source not only for all students of African oral literature and Yoruba civilization, but also for future generations interested in the continuing vitality of Ifa divination and a Yoruba way of life and thought." —Henry Drewal This landmark study of Ifa, the most important and elaborate system of divination of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, remains a monumental contribution to scholarship in anthropology, folklore, religion, philosophy, linguistics, and African and African-American studies.
Author: Crystal Addey
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317148991
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 352
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Book Description
Why did ancient philosophers consult oracles, write about them, and consider them to be an important part of philosophical thought and practice? This book explores the extensive links between oracles and philosophy in Late Antiquity, particularly focusing on the roles of oracles and other forms of divination in third and fourth century CE Neoplatonism. Examining some of the most significant debates between pagan philosophers and Christian intellectuals on the nature of oracles as a central yet contested element of religious tradition, Addey focuses particularly on Porphyry's Philosophy from Oracles and Iamblichus' De Mysteriis - two works which deal extensively with oracles and other forms of divination. This book argues for the significance of divination within Neoplatonism and offers a substantial reassessment of oracles and philosophical works and their relationship to one another. With a broad interdisciplinary approach, encompassing Classics, Ancient Philosophy, Theology, Religious Studies and Ancient History, Addey draws on recent anthropological and religious studies research which has challenged and re-evaluated the relationship between rationality and ritual.
Author: Jack Goody
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 9780415329842
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 488
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Book Description
This volume is a study of mortuary customs of the LoDagaa of West Africa, in research for this project the author spent over 100 days attending funeral ceremonies and attended 25 burial services.
Author: Jack Goody
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136528849
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 488
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Book Description
Deliberately considering relevant theories put forward by earlier writers and examining them in the light of the research for this particular book, the author spent over 100 days attending funeral ceremonies and he attended 25 burial services. First published in 1962.
Author: John Michael Greer
Publisher: Aeon Books
ISBN: 1912807076
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 201
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Book Description
Here is a complete guide to the lost art of geomancy--one of the major divination systems that are a part of the Western magical tradition. Geomancy is simple, quick, and direct--anyone can get answers to a question in a matter of moments by learning how to read the patterns revealed by the 16 symbolic figures formed of single and double points. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, geomancy was used by everyone from popes to peasants because it provided practical, useful results. Often mistaken for feng shui or ley lines, or hidden within poorly explained tables and charts, geomancy has become something of a lost art--until now. Earth Divination, Earth Magic provides a fascinating look into the history, theory, and practice of geomancy, including a thorough set of instructions for both casting and interpreting a chart for yourself or a friend.
Author: Isaiyan Morrison
Publisher: Isaiyan Morrison
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 365
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Book Description
Minneapolis was once a sanctuary for Deamhan, but their peaceful existence is now threatened by the arrival of Amenirdis, the ruthless and power-hungry Queen of Limbo. As she unleashes chaos and destruction upon the city, they must fight to survive against her wrath and the influx of other supernatural creatures slithering into their territory. Amenirdis demands absolute obedience and respect, and those who oppose her face dire consequences. With danger lurking around every corner, the Deamhan must navigate a treacherous landscape filled with twists and turns, where everything and everyone is a threat. The stakes have never been higher as they fight to defend their home against all odds. Will they emerge victorious, or will they fall beneath the merciless reign of their enemies? Only time will tell as they face their greatest challenge yet.
Author: Michael Lackner
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004514260
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 570
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Book Description
The first book that systematically explores the manifold aspects of divination and prognostication in traditional and modern China.
Author: Bronwen Neil
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192644521
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 304
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Book Description
Why did dreams matter to Jews, Byzantine Christians, and Muslims in the first millennium? Dreams and Divination from Byzantium to Baghdad, 400 - 1000 CE shows how the ability to interpret dreams universally attracted power and influence in the first millennium. In a time when prophetic dreams were viewed as God's intervention in human history, male and female prophets wielded was unparalleled power in imperial courts, military camps, and religious gatherings. The three faiths drew on the ancient Near Eastern tradition of dream key manuals, which offer an insight into the hopes and fears of ordinary people. They melded pagan dream divination with their own scriptural traditions to produce a novel and rich culture of dream interpretation. Prophetic dreams enabled communities to understand their past and present circumstances as divinely ordained and helped to bolster the spiritual authority of dreamers and those who had the gift of interpreting their dreams. Bronwen Neil takes a gendered approach to the analysis of the common culture of dream interpretation across late antique Jewish, Byzantine, and Islamic sources to 1000 CE, in order to expose the ways in which dreams offered women a unique opportunity to exercise influence. The epilogue to the volume reveals why dreams still matter today to many men and women of the monotheist traditions.
