Prologue
Signs of the Spirit May 15, 2020 DOI: 10.5622/illinois/9780252043253.003.0001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Ndau spirit possession ceremonies |
| Key findings | Argues that musicking contributes to powerful emotional and spiritual experiences, and that music, experience, and meaning are interdependent rather than isolated. The book contends that meaning is experienced during Ndau spirit possession ceremonies and shapes emotional life, with ethnographic moments revealing how past and future influence the present. |
Abstract
This book pushes past the limits of language to explain how musicking contributes to powerful emotional and spiritual experiences. Emphasis on the ethnographic moment clarifies the impact that the past and the future have on the immediacy of the present. The prologue introduces the ethnographic encounter at the center of the text and addresses three key terms in the book’s title: music, experience, and meaning. These abstract categories do not exist in isolation. There is no meaning without experience, nor music without meaning. The chapters that follow explore how meaning is experienced during Ndau spirit possession ceremonies and shapes emotional life.