On the impossibility of invariant repetition
Ritual, tradition and creativity among Sri Lankan ritual specialists
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7796858 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bob Simpson (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2004 |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 301-316 |
| Publication date | 2004-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History and Anthropology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0275-7206 • E-ISSN: 1477-2612 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0275720042000257412 |
| OpenAlex | W2136148264 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 18 |
This article sets out to explore the strategic creativity that underlies supposedly invariant ritual performance. The ethnographic focus is on a group of Sri Lankan ritual specialists and the way they present the past in terms of mythical, historical and genealogical relationships that give power and legitimacy to their performances of healing rituals in the present. The analysis brings together local notions of "tradition" with ideas of performance and embodiment. The conclusion takes up the idea that, far from being the dead weight of tradition, invariance is a performative illusion of considerable ingenuity and persuasive power. Indeed, it is a fundamental means whereby the authority and power of ritual is maximized in performance
Aesthetics · Appropriation · Art · Creativity · Epistemology · Ethnography · Harmony (color · Impossibility · Ingenuity · Legitimacy · Performative utterance · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Sociology · Visual arts · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies
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The Guru and the Conjurer
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Ritual
An Anthropology of Knowledge
Tradition
The Ritual Drama of theSanniDemons
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,36 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2025 (14) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |