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“The War Has Just Begun.” Nature’s Fury Against Neocolonial “Spirit/s”: Shamanic Perceptions of Natural Disasters in Comparative Perspective

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Dealing with Disasters

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Disaster Anthropology ((PSDA))

Abstract

The chapter discusses Batek (Peninsular Malaysia) and Chepang (Nepal) shamans’ perceptions and interpretations of natural disasters. Indigenous eco-cosmological systems are threatened by national and transnational policies. The increase of earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods are creating much distress and preoccupation in indigenous ontologies, well-being, and worldviews. Natural disasters are interpreted as furious revenge and an alarming warning of the Earth, natural forces and other-than-human beings who react to “postcolonial imbalance” (Langford in Fluent Bodies: Ayurvedic Remedies for Postcolonian Imbalance. Duke University Press, Durham and London, 2002) caused by neoliberalistic politics, neocolonial exploitation, as well as various forms of national and transnational structural and cultural violence. The discussion will present two case studies related to indigenous perceptions of earthquakes and tsunamis among the Chepang of Nepal and the Batek of Peninsular Malaysia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Anthropology, Panteion University, Athens, Greece

    Diana Riboli

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  1. Diana Riboli
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Anthropology, Panteion University, Athens, Greece

    Diana Riboli

  2. Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Pamela J. Stewart

  3. Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

    Andrew J. Strathern

  4. Department SARAS (Storia Antropologia Religioni Arte e Spettacolo), Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Davide Torri

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Riboli, D. (2021). “The War Has Just Begun.” Nature’s Fury Against Neocolonial “Spirit/s”: Shamanic Perceptions of Natural Disasters in Comparative Perspective. In: Riboli, D., Stewart, P.J., Strathern, A.J., Torri, D. (eds) Dealing with Disasters. Palgrave Studies in Disaster Anthropology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56104-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56104-8_2

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-56104-8

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