The Possessed and the Dispossessed
eBook - ePub

The Possessed and the Dispossessed

Spirits, Identity, and Power in a Madagascar Migrant Town

  1. 399 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Possessed and the Dispossessed

Spirits, Identity, and Power in a Madagascar Migrant Town

About this book

This finely drawn portrait of a complex, polycultural urban community in Madagascar emphasizes the role of spirit medium healers, a group heretofore seen as having little power. These women, Leslie Sharp argues, are far from powerless among the peasants and migrant laborers who work the land in this plantation economy. In fact, Sharp's wide-ranging analysis shows that tromba, or spirit possession, is central to understanding the complex identities of insiders and outsiders in this community, which draws people from all over the island and abroad.

Sharp's study also reveals the contradictions between indigenous healing and Western-derived Protestant healing and psychiatry. Particular attention to the significance of migrant women's and children's experiences in a context of seeking relief from personal and social ills gives Sharp's investigation importance for gender studies as well as for studies in medical anthropology, Africa and Madagascar, the politics of culture, and religion and ritual.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1993.

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Information

Publisher
University of California Press
Year
2023
Print ISBN
9780520080010
Edition
1
eBook ISBN
9780520918450
Topic
Social Sciences
Subtopic
Ethnic & Tribal Religion
Index
Social Sciences

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Contents
  5. Figures
  6. Plates
  7. Textual Notes
  8. Acknowledgments
  9. CHAPTER I Introduction: Possession, Identity, and Power
  10. CHAPTER II The Political Economy of the Sambirano
  11. CHAPTER III National and Local Factions
  12. CHAPTER IV Tera-Tany and Vahiny
  13. CHAPTER V The World of the Spirits
  14. CHAPTER VI Sacred Knowledge and Local Power
  15. CHAPTER VII Spirit Mediumship and Social Identity
  16. CHAPTER VIII The Problems and Conflicts of Town Life
  17. CHAPTER IX The Social World of Children
  18. CHAPTER X Exorcising the Spirits
  19. Conclusion
  20. Appendices
  21. Notes
  22. References
  23. Index

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Yes, you can access The Possessed and the Dispossessed by Lesley A. Sharp in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Social Sciences & Ethnic & Tribal Religion. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.