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- Title
- THE GENDERED ALTAR: WICCAN CONCEPTS OF GENDER AND RITUAL OBJECTS.
- Creator
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Sloan, Jesse, Zorn, Elayne, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
Many ethnographic accounts within the annals of anthropological literature describe the religious beliefs and magical rituals of peoples throughout the world. Fewer scholars have focused on the relatively young Neo-Pagan religious movement. "Neo-Pagan," explains Helen Berger in Voices from the Pagan Census (2003), "is an umbrella term covering sects of a new religious movement, the largest and most important form of which is…Wicca" (Berger et al. 2003: 1). This thesis examines the...
Show moreMany ethnographic accounts within the annals of anthropological literature describe the religious beliefs and magical rituals of peoples throughout the world. Fewer scholars have focused on the relatively young Neo-Pagan religious movement. "Neo-Pagan," explains Helen Berger in Voices from the Pagan Census (2003), "is an umbrella term covering sects of a new religious movement, the largest and most important form of which is…Wicca" (Berger et al. 2003: 1). This thesis examines the relationship between practice and ideology by analyzing the material culture of Wiccan altars as used by Wiccans in Central Florida, USA. Particular attention is paid to beliefs concerning concepts of gender associated with ritual objects, and concepts of gender and sexuality as understood by practitioners. Many Wiccans see divinity as manifested in two complementary beings: the Goddess and the God. The fertility that these divine beings achieve through sexual union is the subject of an elaborate ritual called the Great Rite. A pair of Wiccans, often a masculine High Priest and a feminine High Priestess, conduct this ritual by manipulating specific objects, which are believed to be strongly gendered. I argue that Wiccan rituals reflect, construct, and reinforce the Wiccan precept of a gender-balanced cosmos through the interaction of these primary ritual actors and the gendered objects they manipulate. As a practicing Wiccan, my theoretical approach is aligned with that of the native scholar. The native scholar faces challenges distancing her or himself from research, but gains opportunities from insider knowledge. Wiccan ideology stands in contrast to heteronormative conventions of gender and sexuality. However, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Wiccans may need to actively negotiate for representation in this movement, where fertility is stressed. Wiccans continuously reinvent established practices in an attempt to create a more satisfying religious community.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2008
- Identifier
- CFE0002176, ucf:47525
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002176
- Title
- FAIRY FORTS AND THE BANSHEE IN MODERN COASTAL SLIGO, IRELAND: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF LOCAL BELIEFS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THESE TRADITIONS.
- Creator
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Tillesen, Brian, Zorn, Elayne, University of Central Florida
- Abstract / Description
-
This thesis examines issues of cultural identity and modernity, and the anthropology of spirituality and sacred sites by conducting ethnographic research on fairy beliefs in contemporary Ireland. Irish folk belief has traditionally identified a spirit world intertwined with our own which is inhabited by spirits, often collectively referred to as fairies. Belief in these spirits was once widespread. My research sought to determine the prevalence of these traditional beliefs among modern Irish...
Show moreThis thesis examines issues of cultural identity and modernity, and the anthropology of spirituality and sacred sites by conducting ethnographic research on fairy beliefs in contemporary Ireland. Irish folk belief has traditionally identified a spirit world intertwined with our own which is inhabited by spirits, often collectively referred to as fairies. Belief in these spirits was once widespread. My research sought to determine the prevalence of these traditional beliefs among modern Irish people within my research area, as well as differences in belief across variables including age, gender, and religious preference. I conducted eight weeks of ethnographic fieldwork during June-August 2008 in and around Sligo Town in County Sligo, Ireland. I selected County Sligo as a research site because it is a sparsely populated, largely rural area, identified in an earlier major study of Irish folklore as a region where belief in the Irish spirit world persisted more strongly than in other parts of the country. My primary research methodology was to conduct structured and unstructured interviews, complemented by visual site surveys. In the preparation of this thesis I utilized data from 52 Sligo residents plus ten other visitors to the area from surrounding Irish counties. While my research suggests that few Sligo residents from the project area continue to believe in the literal existence of fairies, it also shows a much more common belief in a ÂÂ"powerÂÂ" associated with sites identified as ÂÂ"fairy forts,ÂÂ" which are natural features of the landscape or the remains of ancient burials or dwellings apocryphally endowed by folk tradition with supernatural or mysterious energies. These beliefs led to a taboo against intruding on, altering, or destroying these ÂÂ"fortsÂÂ" that is still very much alive today. Additionally I was able to discuss at length the subject of the Irish death-herald spirit called the banshee (bean sidhe)¬ with several study participants. Although it can be classified under the umbrella label of ÂÂ"fairyÂÂ", my research indicates that the banshee is seen as a stand-apart element of Irish tradition by research area residents, and is believed in by those who do not otherwise profess a belief in ÂÂ"fairiesÂÂ" in general.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2010
- Identifier
- CFE0003185, ucf:48610
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0003185
