Mediumship as Glocalized Phenomena: Reflections on a Journey into the Study of Mediumship in Brazil
Beiträge zur Praxeologie / Contributions to Praxeology January 1, 2026 Bettina Schmidt
Mediumship and other non-ordinary experiences must be understood through a "glocal" framework that builds universal concepts from local contexts. Based on anthropological research in religious and Spiritist communities in São Paulo, the paper argues that while mediumship is regarded as a set of global skills, local communities have diverse scales that make local contexts equally important. The author reflects on methodological difficulties for an anthropologist, illustrates local scales of mediumship influenced by cultural contexts, traditions, and gender, and discusses the tension between local scales and global skill, highlighting the importance of both factors for understanding mediumship in Brazil.