Burmese Supernaturalism

Melford E. Spiro

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781351530378
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Anthropology
• Index: Social Sciences

Though the people of Burma, now called Myanmar, are formally Buddhist, their folk religion a type of animism or supernaturalism is so unlike classical Buddhism that it seems contradictory. For years scholars of religion and anthropology have debated the questions: Do these folk beliefs make up a separate religious system? Or is there a subtle merging of supernaturalism and Buddhism, a kind of syncretism? In either case, how exactly does folk religion fit into the overall religious pattern? Melford Spiro's Burmese Supernaturalism has been one of the major works in this debate, both for its position on the "two religions" question and for its arguments concerning the psychological basis of religion.

The book begins with an introduction to the study of supernaturalism. The next section of the work covers various types of supernaturalism, including witches, ghost, and demons. Other areas of discussion include supernaturally caused illness and its treatment, the shaman, the exorcist, and the relationship between supernaturalism and Buddhism.

In the introduction to this expanded edition Spiro further develops the underlying logic of his argument and evaluates the most recent contributions to the field of the anthropology of religion. Burmese Supernaturalism is an intriguing study and will provide insightful reading for anthropologists, sociologists, theologians, as well as those interested in supernaturalism in Burma (Myanmar) and other cultures.

Index

A

Ackerknecht, Erwin, 227n

Ahielan hsayas (see Exorcists and exorcism)

Alaungpaya, King, 85n

Alaungpaya dynasty, 70n

Alaungsithu, King, 111

Alchemy, 36, 183, 231, 242n

Ames, Michael, 42n, 156n, 263n, 268n, 273n

Amulets, 29, 35–36, 166n (see also Tattooing; Ins)

Ananda, 44

Anatta, 69, 70

Anawrahta, King, 45n, 52, 96n, 105, 114–15, 116, 125, 135, 248, 268n

Ancestor worship, 69n–70n

A pin, 28

Apollonian-Dionysian traits (see Dionysian-Apollonian needs, traits)

Ariyas 44n

Specific Ariyas

Shin Angulimala, 44n

Shin Peindola, 44n

Shin Thiwali, 44n

Shin Upagok, 44n

Astrology, 148, 190

Autan hsayas (see Witches and witchcraft; Master witches)

Aungpinle, 106, 111

Aung Thein, U, 18, 182n

B

Babies (infants), 34–35, 83, 146, 147, 152 (see also Children)

cradle ceremony, 94

Bagyidaw, King, 250

Bali, 122n

Ba Thaw, U, 18

Ba U, U, 88–89

Bayinnaung, King, 103

Bekker, Sarah, 19, 33–34, 44n, 53n, 98, 208n, 260

Beliefs, 71–89

cognitive explanations, 80–89

motivational explanations, 76–80

perceptual explanations, 71–76

Belo, Jane, 122n

Benedict, Ruth, 257n

Berreman, Gerald, 263n

Bigandet, P., 71n

Bilus (see Ogres)

Bodawpaya, King, 52

Bourguignon, Erika, 157

British, the, 10, 11, 99, 101, 130

Anglo-Burm an war, 37n, 85n

Brohm, John, 264

Brown, R. Grant, 33n, 55n, 105, 111,...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• CONTENTS
• Introduction to the Transaction Edition
• Preface to the Expanded Edition
• I INTRODUCTION
• II THE TYPES OF SUPERNATURALISM
• III THE THIRTY-SEVEN NATS
• IV ILLNESS AND SUPERNATURALISM
• V SUPERNATURAL PRACTITIONERS
• VI CONCLUSION
• References Cited
• Index