Paper short abstract:

Rather than being practised at the margins of an assumed Islamic orthodoxy, Senegambian divination is embedded in and integrating other forms of Islamic ritual such as sadaqa and duwa’. In this regard, the paper will argue, Senegambian divination seems to resist categorisations of Islamic religious and ritual practices as pertaining to the realms of either ‘popular’ or ‘official’ varieties of Islam.

Paper long abstract:

Divination is one of the most wide-spread and resiliant institutions of ritual life in West African countries such as Senegal and Gambia. Rather than being practised at the margins of an assumed Islamic orthodoxy, Senegambian divination is embedded in and integrating other forms of Islamic ritual such as sadaqa and duwa'. In this regard, Senegambian divination seems to resist categorisations of Islamic religious and ritual practices as pertaining to the realms of either 'popular' or 'official' varieties of Islam. Drawing on extented ethnographic observation, case studies and the anthropological and phenomenological analysis of divination and related practices in Senegal and the Gambia, the paper sets out to develop an understanding of Senegambian divination in relation to the larger complex of Islamic praxis of which it appears to form an important part. Focusing on the existential rather than the theological or symbolic dimensions of these practices, the paper argues that, in the West African context, one of the most important dimensions of the cultural and social significance of divination and Islamic praxis lies in their contribution to the construction of a cultural space of hope and prospect for the individual as well as, possibly, society as a whole.

Paper short abstract:

By exploring vernacular concepts about the right time to start acting as a proper, pious Muslim among the inhabitants of Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), this paper discusses various notions, both ‘popular’ and ‘official’ religious ones, of what constitutes ‘true’ piety for urban Burkinabe Muslims.

Paper long abstract:

Among the 'moderate' Muslims in urban Burkina Faso those individuals who do not pray regularly or act in ways that are considered essential for 'true' piety by most practicing Muslims, often claim that they are waiting for the right time to start performing the five daily prayers on a regular basis and abide by the tenets appropriate for a 'proper' Muslim. Their explanations are based on vernacular notions of piety developed primarily in discussions among friends, in which they also significantly draw on statements made by Muslim religious leaders in their sermons and lectures so as to defend and justify their act of postponing piety. By exploring these vernacular and literal concepts about the right time to start acting as a proper, pious Muslim among the inhabitants of Bobo Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), this paper discusses a variety of notions, both 'popular' and 'official' religious ones, of what constitues 'true' piety for urban Burkinabe Muslims. It further aligns this notion of postponing piety to the more conventional notions of piety that claim one should always be a fully practicing Muslim.

Paper short abstract:

This study introduces a trend of grassroots Egyptian dance music called "mulid" that is named after festivals held in the honor of saints. It seeks to outline the ways that forms of piety are appropriated by youth culture in Egypt and expressed as popular, street-smart entertainment.

Paper long abstract:

This study introduces a trend of grassroots Egyptian dance music called "mulid" that is named after festivals held in the honor of saints. It draws musically and lyrically on mulids and the Sufi tradition of inshad (a form of spiritual, ritual-focused singing), albeit in a youthful and boisterous electronic style.

Both producers and consumers speak of the trend as building upon national "folklore" and "cultural heritage" in a way that reinforces pride in local identity and which essentially "re-popularizes" inshad. The range of approaches it takes in doing so is wide, however, from that of pure appreciation for the danceable musicality of inshad, to a quest to impart "traditional" moral messages to youth, to playful and jesting imitation of Sufi ritual and wholesome fairground fun.

This study explores the ways that notions of religion and spirituality, whether taken seriously or in a more light-hearted approach, are popular among Egyptian youth as a form of street-smart music culture. It further discusses the success of moralistic mulid songs and the religious-cultural-social attitudes of their fans. In doing so, it seeks to outline the ways that forms of piety are appropriated by youth culture in Egypt and expressed as popular, street-smart entertainment.

Paper short abstract:

The category of "the popular" as opposed to "the orthodox" implies that the popular is by definition non-normative. The paper questions this assumption by discussing the example of ritual practice at the sacrificial site of Dafra near Bobo-Dioulassso in Burkina Faso.

Paper long abstract:

Dafra is a sacrificial site near Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Fasos's second-largest and predominantly Muslim city. Dafra lies at the source of the river Houet and is situated in a gorge. In it live silurids (catfish); these are considered the tutelary spirits of Bobo-Dioulasso. Dafra has the reputation of being a powerful place where wishes made and confirmed by vows will be fulfilled. People come to Dafra because of illness, infertility, lack of money, failure in school or business, nightmares etc. Ritual practice at the site includes killing chickens and feeding their intestines to the fish. Should a wish be fulfilled, an offering of thanks in the form of an animal sacrifice has to be made. Pilgrims to Dafra come from all over Burkina Faso, neighboring countries, and even from as far as Europe or the US. Although the pilgrimage to Dafra is disapproved by representatives of the monotheistic religions, not only adherents of local religions, but also Muslims and Christians go there.

The category of "the popular" as opposed to "the orthodox" implies that the popular is by definition non-normative. Although the current ritual practice at Dafra is modeled on local religious traditions, the killing of chickens at the site seems to be a recent introduction and is not appreciated by everybody. Thus, even within the (non-emic) category of "the popular", and in spite of the absence of institutions that define and maintain "orthodoxy", there are both normative views and dissenting opinions about what constitutes proper ritual practice at Dafra.

Paper short abstract:

The paper proposes a new theoretical model for the analysis of popular piety in the context of Christian pilgrimage, drawing from social theories of pilgrimage and space and based on fieldwork at the Santa Maria delle Grazie shrine in S. Italy, where the tomb of Padre Pio is located.

Paper long abstract:

Focusing on the expression of popular piety in the context of Christian pilgrimage, this paper proposes a new theoretical model for its analysis, departing from Eade and Sallnow's proposal to see pilgrimage sites as 'religious voids', deriving their power not only from their own religious significance, but also from their character as a platform (Eade and Sallnow 1991:10) able to accommodate the different and often conflicting meanings, ideas and practices that officials, pilgrims and locals bring to the shrine . Taking on board the criticisms of Coleman and Elsner, who also stress that the "'religious void' is in fact full- crowded with material props, holy objects and […] crowded with pilgrims who may even reaffirm the sanctity of the site […]" (Coleman and Elsner 1998:49) - the paper draws on De Certeau's theories on everyday practices in order to illustrate the role of expressions of popular piety such as pilgrimage practices, in the construction of the sacred. The paper will make use of ethnographic data collected during fieldwork at the Southern Italian shrine of Santa Maria delle Grazie in San Giovanni Rotondo, Puglia, where the tomb of Padre Pio, as the recently canonized San Pio is universally known, is located, focusing on expressions of popular piety in the shaping of space and its structures. It will therefore show how the notion of the sacred is constructed through the interaction of shrine managers and shrine visitors, as this is filtered through the physical landscape of the shrine.

Paper short abstract:

Le cas à la base de ma présentation est l’«apparition» de trois saints à Lesvos (Grèce) dans les années 1960. Il nous offrira l’occasion de réfléchir à l’intrication des intérêts et enjeux des différents acteurs de la fabrication de la sainteté, ainsi qu’à la place du genre, et du «populaire», dans la religion.

Paper long abstract:

A travers le cas de l'«apparition» de trois saints à Lesvos (Grèce), nous nous interrogerons sur la dynamique sociale à l'œuvre dans la fabrication de la sainteté. Le processus fut initié par des témoignages de rêves formulés par des villageois, pour la plupart des femmes et/ou des réfugié-e-s venus d'Anatolie occidentale durant la guerre gréco-turque de 1919-1922. Sceptique, l'église locale rejeta tout d'abord ces formes de piété, les considérant comme des marques de crédulité. Dans un deuxième temps, les autorités ecclésiastiques entreprendront cependant une procédure de reconnaissance officielle des figures saintes, et ces dernières seront au centre de différentes commémorations nationales ou religieuses.

Ce cas permet de réfléchir d'une part à l'intrication des niveaux d'intérêts et d'enjeux: loin de pouvoir qualifier le phénomène de «populaire», nous montrerons comment différents acteurs interviennent et quels sont les registres auxquels chacun se réfère. D'autre part, la composition apparemment «subalterne» des acteurs initiaux offre l'occasion d'analyser la place du populaire dans la religion et en particulier celle des femmes, catégorie à laquelle se sont référées tout aussi bien les personnes qui voulaient soutenir le phénomène que celles qui cherchaient à le discréditer. En dernière instance, il s'agira de s'interroger sur les éclairages qu'apportent le genre et la subalternité dans l'analyse anthropologique.

Paper short abstract:

This paper will focus on contemporary, post-communist Polish society and a position of a so-called 'popular piety' in it. Historical, social, and cultural aspects of 'popularization' of religion in Poland will be analyzed as well as a mutual relationship between 'great' and 'little' traditions.

Paper long abstract:

Popular piety, folk or folk-like religiosity, lived religion, popular Catholicism, mass religiosity are all terms appearing in contemporary anthropological discourse concerning the state of religion in post-Communist Poland. What does it mean that 'religiosity is popular', how 'popular religion' reveals and manifests itself within a contemporary, transnational, global, and post-socialist society? I am proposing to analyze this concept in the context of Polish historical and cultural background revealing complicated and multi-leveled aspects which have made Polish Catholicism 'popular'. I will focus on two levels: 1connection between 'popular religion' and national mythology 2power of emotional private religious piety and practice.

In the Polish case it happened that a so-called 'great' tradition was historically strictly correlated with a 'little' religious tradition. During the period of Communism this mutual reinforcement developed leading toward symbiosis between 'religious' and 'national', 'private' and 'popular'. Mass religious events, which appeared at this time, started to be related with the anti-Communist resistance movement. It is important to note that their powerful influence was based not only on 'national dimension' and mythology, but also on an intensive religious practice and private emotional piety. Usage of religious symbols, objects and rituals, infused with both religious and national (ethnic) dimension, 'popularized' religion and elevated 'folk piety' on a national level. It is essential to ask how those patterns are still present in contemporary Polish post-Communist society, what kind of re-evaluation appeared after 1989, how the society re-defines itself in the context of 'religious' and 'national', 'private' and 'public', 'popular' and 'marginalized'

Paper short abstract:

Looking at the ways consumption informs and transforms the significance of religious objects and practices, this paper discusses the contradictory effects of the popularisation of the Islamic revivalist piety movement.

Paper long abstract:

Looking at the ways consumption informs and transforms the significance of religious objects and practices, this paper discusses the contradictory effects of the popularisation of a revivalist piety movement that promotes an ideology of comprehensive pious discipline but in everyday practice becomes embedded in precisely the kind of banality and ambiguity that they originally aim to overcome. Rather than class and other hierarchies in the field of religion, this presentation looks at the issue of popularity through the category of the everyday, the necessarily pragmatic and ambiguous manoeuvering people undertake in their lives as opposed to religious ideologies that on the level of discourse proclaim a coherence and unity they cannot maintain when appropriated by large segments of people with often complex and contradictory expectations towards religiosity.