Critical Reflections on Indigenous Religions [Hardcover]

The study of indigenous religions has become an important academic field, particularly since the religious practices of indigenous peoples are being transformed by forces of globalization and transcontinental migration. This book will further our understanding of indigenous religions by first considering key methodological issues related to defining and contextualizing the religious practices of indigenous societies, both historically and in socio-cultural situations. Two further sections of the book analyse cases derived from European contexts, which are often overlooked in discussion of indigenous religions, and in two traditional areas of study: South America and Africa.Contents: Preface; Part I Methodological Considerations: Reflecting critically on indigenous religions, James L. Cox; Why study indigenous religions?, Graham Harvey; Reflections on some problems in dealing with indigenous religions of the past: the case of pre-Christian Scandinavian religion, Jens Peter Schj??dt; Religious traditions - kinship-based and/or universal?, Ulrich Berner. Part II European Contexts: Enlightenment concepts, medieval contexts, Carole M. Cusack; Druidry and the definition of indigenous religions, Suzanne Owen; Defining the religion that lay behind the self-colonization of Europe, Emily Lyle. Part III South American and African Contexts: Don Crist??bal, Llocllayhuancupa and the Virgin: the battle of words in a colonial Quechua conversion narrative, Sabine Dedenbach-Salazar S??enz; The spirit White Feather in S??o Paulo: the resilience of indigenous spirits in Brazil, Bettina E. Schmidt; Irreecha: an indigenous thanksgiving ceremony of the Oromo to the High God Waaqa, Gemechu Jemal Geda; Ritual and symbol: funeral and naming rituals in an African indigenous community, Elijah Obinna; Bibliography; Index.James L. Cox is Emeritus Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh. From 1993 to 1998, he directed the African Christianity Project at the Centre for the Stl3K