Christopher Ball

As Spirits Speak: Interaction in Wauja Exoteric Ritual

Journal de la Société des Américanistes February 5, 2025 Christopher Ball

As Spirits Speak: Interaction in Wauja Exoteric Ritual. This paper approaches the connections between ritual and discourse in an Amazonian society through a microanalysis of one instance of talk. I examine a Wauja (Xingu Arawak) ritual session of « bringing spirits », wherein a sick person is aided by a conversation he has with the spirit-monsters that are afflicting him, whom he hopes by...