Songs for the spirit
Subtitle: music and mediums in modern Vietnam
By: Barley Norton.
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Urbana
Language: eng
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9780252033995
Subjects: Folk music -- Religious aspects -- Vietnam -- History -- 20th century; Spirit possession -- Vietnam; Mediums -- Vietnam
Description: "Songs for the Spirits is the first in-depth study of the Vietnamese practice of communing with spirits through music and performance. During rituals dedicated to a large pantheon of indigenous spirits, a band of musicians performs an elaborate sequence of songs - a "songscape"--For possessed mediums who carry out ritual actions, distribute blessed gifts to disciples, and dance to the music's infectious rhythms. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and his experience of learning to perform ritual music, Barley Norton explores the transformative power of song and the multifaceted relationship between musical and ritual performance, emphasizing the importance of musical interaction, creativity, and change." "An accompanying DVD contains numerous video and music extracts that illustrate the fascinating ways in which music evokes the embodied presence of spirits and their gender and ethnic identities."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Mediumship, modernity, and cultural identity; title: Experiencing spirit possession; title: Songs for the spirits; title: The musical construction of the spirits; title: Musical creativity and change; title: Engendering mediumship; title: Ritual and folklorization in late socialist Vietnam.