Spirit's Princess

Spirit's Princess
Author: Esther M. Friesner
Publisher: Bluefire
Total Pages: 481
Release: 2013-04-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375873147

In ancient Japan, Himiko the privileged daughter of her clan's leader, fights the constraints and expectations imposed on young women, and instead finds her own path which includes secret shaman lessons.

Songs for the Spirits

Songs for the Spirits
Author: Barley Norton
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2010-10-01
Genre: Music
ISBN: 0252092007

Songs for the Spirits examines the Vietnamese practice of communing with spirits through music and performance. During rituals dedicated to a pantheon of indigenous spirits, musicians perform an elaborate sequence of songs--a "songscape"--for possessed mediums who carry out ritual actions, distribute blessed gifts to disciples, and dance to the music's infectious rhythms. Condemned by French authorities in the colonial period and prohibited by the Vietnamese Communist Party in the late 1950s, mediumship practices have undergone a strong resurgence since the early 1990s, and they are now being drawn upon to promote national identity and cultural heritage through folklorized performances of rituals on the national and international stage. By tracing the historical trajectory of traditional music and religion since the early twentieth century, this groundbreaking study offers an intriguing account of the political transformation and modernization of cultural practices over a period of dramatic and often turbulent transition. An accompanying DVD contains numerous video and music extracts that illustrate the fascinating ways in which music evokes the embodied presence of spirits and their gender and ethnic identities.

Spirit's Chosen

Spirit's Chosen
Author: Esther Friesner
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2013-04-23
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 037589991X

From princess to slave in the blink of an eye. . . . Himiko's world is falling apart. An attack by a rival clan, the Ookami, has left many from her tribe dead or enslaved. Amid the chaos and fear, Himiko hatches a plan to save her people. But just when it seems that she will outwit Ryu, the cruel Ookami leader, she is captured. Held against her will, Himiko starts to realize that not all of the Ookami are her enemies. Though she may not see her path as clearly as the spirits seem to, there's more adventure (and even unexpected love) for this princess turned shaman-warrior. Readers who love strong girl-centric adventures are eating up Esther Friesner's Princesses of Myth books, finding the mash-up of historical fiction and fantasy adventure irresistible! "Himiko is brave and bold. I love her!" --Tamora Pierce, New York Times bestselling author "This historical fiction/mythology/fantasy blend is perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce, Rick Riordan, and P. C. Cast." --School Library Journal

Possessed by the Spirits

Possessed by the Spirits
Author: Karen Fjelstad
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2018-05-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1501719149

The essays in this volume examine the resurgence of the Mother Goddess religion among contemporary Vietnamese following the economic "Renovation" period in Vietnam. Anthropologists explore the forces that compel individuals to become mediums and the social repercussions of their decisions and interactions.

Spirit's Chosen

Spirit's Chosen
Author: Esther Friesner
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 499
Release: 2013-04-23
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0375869085

As Himiko traverses ancient Japan in order to free enslaved members of her clan, she encounters members of many other tribes and emerges as the leader who will unify them.

Spirits without Borders

Spirits without Borders
Author: K. Fjelstad
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2011-07-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0230119700

Spirits without Borders is an ethnographic study of the transnational and multicultural expansion of Vietnam's Mother Goddess Religion and its spirit possession ritual. The work explores how and why the ritual spread from Vietnam to the US and back again and the impact of ritual transnationalism in both countries.

Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places

Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places
Author: Brad Steiger
Publisher: Visible Ink Press
Total Pages: 689
Release: 2012-10-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1578594219

A frightening collection of true ghost stories, which will turn skeptics and nonbelievers into people who sleep with one eye open! Ancient philosophers suggested that the appearance of spirits is evidence that we are part of a larger community of intelligences, a universe of interrelated species, both physical and nonphysical. Master ghost hunter and best-selling author Brad Steiger invites you to join him as he explores the many dark and nightmarish pathways leading to this shadowy world of spirits and hauntings. Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places is the defining work on spirit phenomena. It is a comprehensive classification of the spirit world touching on every possibility from time travel to parallel universes, presenting the full range of ghostly manifestations and haunted locations. A major work sure to be heralded by paranormal enthusiasts (whatever their corporeal state). Do you know the difference between poltergeists and spirits of the dead? The differences between spirits residue, spirit parasites and spirit masqueraders? With its 30 topical chapters, Real Ghosts, covers those differences and many more: Spirits Seen at Death Beds and Funerals Haunted Churches, Cemeteries, and Burial Grounds Phantoms on Roads and Highways Battlefields Where Phantom Armies Eternally Wage War Speaking to Spirits: The Mystery of Mediumship Animal Ghosts—Domesticated and Wild Spirit Parasites That Possessed Apparitions of Religious Figures Haunted Hotels, Motels, and Inns Did you know that ghosts still haunt Ohio’s State Reformatory, otherwise known as Shawshank? Or that the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is home to some of the most famous ghosts in the world? With Real Ghosts, you’ll discover that Abe Lincoln regularly consulted “spooks” and mediums, Rudolph Valentino haunts his old mansion, and the ghosts of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII, Katharine Howard, Jane Seymour, Elizabeth I, and King George III all still haunt some of England’s most famous castles. You’ll also learn how to perform a cleansing ritual to rid your home of unwanted spectral visitors. More than a collection of true ghost stories, this book plunks you square into the middle of the eerie action with captivating stories that would be at home at any midnight campfire. The only difference is these stories aren't urban legends employing hooks, needles, or long, metal fingernails for their scare. These stories exist outside of the mind and live right next door to every one of us. Real Ghosts shouldn't be read when you are home alone and the lights begin to flicker!

Traveling Spirits

Traveling Spirits
Author: Gertrud Hüwelmeier
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 423
Release: 2009-12-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1135224153

Maintaining and forging religious networks across borders have long been part of migrants' activities. However, due to the wide availability of communication technologies and the reduced costs of transportation, transnational social practices, including religious activities, have witnessed an enormous intensification in the last few decades around the world. Traveling Spirits seeks to understand these processes by investigating how religion goes global. How do religious agents create and maintain transborder connections? In what way are religious practices being transformed, reinforced or newly invented when transported to different places around the world? How are power relations negotiated within transnational religious networks? How are processes of coming and going linked to religious practices and discourses? The book’s contributors provide rich ethnographic case studies on mobile evangelists, moving spirit mediums, and traveling believers. They analyze the relationship between global, regional, national, local and individual religious processes by centering on economic activities, media representations, or politics of emplacement. Grounded firmly in cross-cultural comparison, this book contributes significantly to the literature on globalization, migration and transnational religion.

Evil Spirits and Rocket Debris

Evil Spirits and Rocket Debris
Author: Ludek Broz
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Total Pages: 254
Release: 2024-02-02
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1805392611

The Altai Republic in southern Siberia is renowned for excavations of frozen mummies from high-altitude burial sites. Less well-known is the fact that it hosts fallout zones for the second stages of rockets launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. Local inhabitants blame ‘evil spirits’ released by archaeological work and toxic fuel from rocket debris for their misfortunes. This book explores the divergent fates of such claims when confronted with state-fostered ‘rationalisms’ of science and governance.