By presenting a history of Western ethnography of animism in East Timor during the Portuguese period, this intriguing study offers an original synthesis of the country's history, culture and anthropology.
The book consists of ten chapters, each one a narrative of the work and experience of a particular ethnographer. Part One deals with colonial ethnography and Part Two with professional anthropology. Covering a selection of seminal 19th- and 20th-century ethnographies, the author explores the relationship between spiritual beliefs, colonial administration, ethnographic interests and fieldwork experience. It is argued that the presence of outsiders precipitated a new 'transformative animism' as colonial control over Portuguese Timor was consolidated. This came about because increasingly powerful outsiders posed threats and offered rewards to the Timorese just as the powerful ancestor spirits had long done; consequently, the Timorese ritualised their dealings with outsiders following their established model for appealing to spirits.
Bringing colonial and professional ethnography into the one frame of reference, it is shown that ethnographers of both types not only bore witness to these processes of transformative animism, they also exemplified them.
| ISBN: | 9788776942670 |
| Publication date: | 1st April 2019 |
| Author: | Christopher Shepherd |
| Publisher: | NIAS Press |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 352 pages |
| Series: | Asian Studies Association of Australia Southeast Asia Publication Series |
| Genres: |
Social and cultural anthropology Social and cultural history Colonialism and imperialism Animism and Shamanism |
By presenting a history of Western ethnography of animism in East Timor during the Portuguese period, this intriguing study offers an original synthesis of the country's history, culture and anthropology.
The book consists of ten chapters, each one a narrative of the work and experience of a particular ethnographer. Part One deals with colonial ethnography and Part Two with professional anthropology. Covering a selection of seminal 19th- and 20th-century ethnographies, the author explores the relationship between spiritual beliefs, colonial administration, ethnographic interests and fieldwork experience. It is argued that the presence of outsiders precipitated a new 'transformative animism' as colonial control over Portuguese Timor was consolidated. This came about because increasingly powerful outsiders posed threats and offered rewards to the Timorese just as the powerful ancestor spirits had long done; consequently, the Timorese ritualised their dealings with outsiders following their established model for appealing to spirits.
Bringing colonial and professional ethnography into the one frame of reference, it is shown that ethnographers of both types not only bore witness to these processes of transformative animism, they also exemplified them.
Haunted Houses and Ghostly Encounters features in the following genres: Social and cultural anthropology, Social and cultural history, Colonialism and imperialism, Animism and Shamanism
Haunted Houses and Ghostly Encounters is available in Paperback
Haunted Houses and Ghostly Encounters was written by Christopher Shepherd and published by NIAS Press
Haunted Houses and Ghostly Encounters has 352 pages
Yes it is part of Asian Studies Association of Australia Southeast Asia Publication Series series