Focused on the growing numbers of gay and trans female ritual specialists found in the proliferating spirit possession cults of mainland Southeast Asia, Deities and Divas illuminatingly brings the scholarship of queer studies and spirit possession studies into an otherwise previously neglected dialogue. Through analytic overviews and empirical case studies, Peter Jackson and Benjamin Baumann's...
Given the title of this book and its well-known author, one can definitely be forgiven for any initial trepidation when approaching it as a serious academic publication. The Philippine babaylan (shaman) has become rather politicized recently, as the practices of Indigenous minority communities, many of whom retain some shamanic practices, have been appropriated by mainstream Filipinos seeking...