Spiritual Festivals as Embodied Sites of Becoming ‘Porous Selves’

Spiritual festivals in Estonia attract a diverse mix of attendees, including followers of new religions, enthusiasts of esoteric knowledge, and individuals on personal quests. These events serve as opportunities for self-transformation, where participants collectively engage in practices designed to help them 'open up' to themselves, others, and the world. The physical body is central to these ritualized activities, which involve synchronized movement, dance, touch, and eye contact. The paper uses Charles Taylor's concept of the 'buffered' versus the 'porous' self to analyze how these shared bodily practices can foster transformative experiences.

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Abstract

Contemporary spiritual festivals attract heterogeneous crowds of adherents of emergent religions, practitioners and aficionados of fringe knowledge, self-seekers, and many others. Focusing on the ethnographic context of Estonia, this paper approaches such festivals as occasions of self-transformation, where festival participants collectively engage in various practices that encourage them to ‘open up’ – to themselves, to others, and to the world. The physical body often takes centre stage in these ritualized activities, which are typically performed in unison and involve interacting with other bodies through synchronized movement and sound, dance, touch, or at the very least deliberate eye contact with others. Charles Taylor’s (2007) distinction between the ‘buffered’ and the ‘porous’ self provides a suitable analytical framework for exploring and understanding these activities’ transformative potential and effect.