1st Edition

Shamanic Crossovers in the Southern Philippines Vocal Worlds

By Arne Røkkum Copyright 2025
266 Pages 26 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

266 Pages 26 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This book offers a close-up study of annual cycle rituals among the southern Tagbanwa of Palawan Island in the Philippines, with a particular focus on shamanic oratory and vocalized performance. Drawing on rich ethnography and extensive fieldwork, it reflects on the interconnectedness of humans, nature, and the spirit world. The chapters shed light on the role of female ( babalyan ) and male (... Read more

 Introduction: Animism as Mimetic Play  1. A Life Cycle on the Swiddens: The Dry and the Wet  2. Soul of Rice, Soul of the Dead  3. Making it Grow: The Shaman’s Seeding  4. Before the Harvest: The Shaman’s Probe  5. After the Harvest: The Shaman’s Prologue  6. After the Harvest: The Shaman’s Praise  7. A Shamanic Feast for the Spirits  8. Trapping the Shafts of the Sun  9. The Weight of Sacrifice  10. Devising a Swap  Conclusion: An Animacy of Beings and Things  Appendix 1: Ritual Cult Group  Appendix 2: Glossary.  Index

Biography

Arne Røkkum is Professor Emeritus and former curator of the East Asia collections at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway. He has been a Visiting Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan, and the National University of the Philippines, Quezon City. His previous book with Routledge is Nature, Ritual, and Society in Japan’s Ryukyu Islands.