L’opinion moderne a souvent laissé juger la médecine scientifique comme étant la seule véritable médecine à même de guérir toute sorte de maux, tout en n’accordant pas suffisamment d’intérêt ou en mettant à une échelle nettement inférieure d’autres formes de pratiques médicales telles que la médecine magico-religieuse et/ou divine dans le monde grec ; pratiques qui se voient dénuer de toute efficacité au profit de la médecine dite scientifique. À travers notre thèse, nous nous proposerons de démontrer que ces autres formes de thérapie estimées comme secondaires méritent d’être à nouveau considérées, au moins de manière relative, avec une approche nouvelle. Grâce à l'archéologie, l'on peut attester que la Grèce du siècle de Périclès a connu des cultes de guérison impliquant des démarches religieuses préliminaires ainsi que des rites d'actions de grâce. Souvent pour multiplier ses chances de guérison, le malade pouvait à la fois faire appel aussi bien aux expériences humaines qu'à celles irrationnelles ; et le plus souvent le recours aux pratiques irrationnelles faisait la différence : l'épiphanie ou l'intervention du dieu au cours d'un rêve suffisait à guérir le malade. Ainsi naquit l'incubation au cœur de l'interrogation médicale salutaire du patient. Dans ce processus de guérison, le sommeil des pèlerins ne s'apparente en rien au sommeil ordinaire d'une nuit quelconque, et le rêve y a par conséquent une place assez particulière, un rôle crucial : il ne s'agit pas de rêves ordinaires, mais ce sont des rêves contrôlés, codifiés et manipulés par des spécialistes dans le cadre d'un usage précis, le conseil ou une thérapie. La pratique de l'incubation devient ainsi une nécessité voire une opération ultime et indispensable pour préserver le bien le plus précieux et impérieux de l'homme, la santé. La guérison peut alors être garantie partiellement ou totalement par le rituel incubatoire, entre autres pratiques. Cette pratique revêt ainsi l'apparence d'un véritable rituel d'initiation, elle suppose la reconnaissance de l'omnipotence du dieu sauveur (Asclépios très souvent accompagné de sa fille Hygie, ou Amphiaraos d'Oropos ou Trophonios de Lébadée) et oblige le patient à un renouveau, à une purification dans le processus de guérison. Elle est vécue comme une expérience de contact avec le divin. À l'issue de cette phase incubatoire, les consultants exaucés se voyaient dans l'obligation d'apporter en contrepartie des offrandes qui constituent aujourd'hui des témoins insignes : des inscriptions votives, stèles, des ex-voto anatomiques, des statues sculptées à l'effigie du dieu, des pinakes, et des reliefs votifs, pour en faire profiter à d'autres patients atteints du même mal. Ce sont tous ces vestiges, de la Sicile à l'Asie mineure, qui couvrent une période allant du début de l’époque classique (Ve siècle av. J.-C.) jusqu’à la fin du IIIe siècle de notre ère, que vous verrez regrouper dans notre corpus, dans une perspective d'édition. / Dating between the second half of the fourth century and the third century after Christ, the steles which we study for publishing, are votive inscriptions engraved generally in Dorian dialect under the initiative of the priests and the doctors of the sanctuaries of Asclepius, Amphiaraos or Trophonios. These epigraphic documents testify of miraculous healing realized by these gods towards faithful consultants in the sanctuaries which are dedicated at Epidauros, Athens, Pireus, Lebena, Cos, Pergamon, Corinth, Oropos, Livadia... In the hope of a cure or advice, the faithful consultants are asked to spend at night in a specific room for the ritual of the incubation, after preliminary rites (ritual bath, sacrifice…). During their sleep, the god or even one of his auxiliaries, the snake or the dog, appears to them in a dream: and this epiphany or intervention is enough to cure the patient, or to satisfy the needs of the consultant. The following day, the cured patients are supposed, by way of gratitude, either to offer to the god the effigy of their sick organ (the anatomical ex-voto) or to make engrave generally on wooden tablets the narrative of their cure, which they fix then to the wall of the temple. But for the sake of preserving these stories for posterity, the staff of the temple decided to transcribe on large steles in limestone or marble, proposing us real catalogues of miraculous healings. These documents are nevertheless very important in the field of the ancient Greek medicine: a medicine which offers however a curious mixture of mantic knowledge and rational knowledge in the process of cure. While observing the tensions between the traditional faith in the divine causality and the Hippocratic rationalism, we make a comparative study of the medical words used on our steles with the glossary of the contemporary medical literature spotted in the whole of the literary medical texts. And we can notice many diseases and the means of treatments (dietetic, surgery, chiropractic, pharmacopoeia, herbal medicine…), but also the popular beliefs about dream et disease in Ancient Greece.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T19:21:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Admilson Eustaquio Prates.pdf: 8375833 bytes, checksum: 6aed1ff2c1f83087a339d8bc0ebd7da7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-10-23 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This work describes and analyzes the mistic entity Exu-Sertanejo, as an identity synthesis from sertaneja culture, that presents own traits from the Exu-Sertanejo identity, cast in the religious Afro-Sertanejo imaginary in the city of Montes Claros / MG, inside oral tradition. For both, it s necessary a field research with the objective of observing, describing and analyzing the rituals of the Afro-Sertanejo cults. The Exu legend in the North of Minas Gerais, emphasizing his violent and marginal aspect, because this history of violence can be the history of Exu-Sertanejo. We used the work of economists, historians, memorialists, anthropologists, sociologists and scientists of religion. The literature, the mapping and the criminal cases related to witchcraft were also used. The text discusses the features of the Exu-Sertanejo was described, from the mythical, ritualistic and magical aspects that make the imagination of Eux-Sertanejo in two terreiros in the city of Montes Claros. The oral tradition in the Quimbanda-Sertaneja was described and analyzed. Tradition that involves the body and bodily expressions: dances, gestures, rituals, songs and legends. In the mitology of the Quimbanda-Sertaneja, we knew the sense and the meaning, the function and the importance of the myth lived through words - spoken, played and re-employed in rituals. From the oral narratives we identified cultural elements in the symbolic construction of Exu-Sertanejo, representing a synthesis of the sertanejo identity, supporter of Afro-Sertaneja religiosity. The sertanejo ethos, as custom and habit, that is a historical and social reality, is present in the representation of a supernatural entity, giving it unique characteristics of sertaneja culture. This work presented the re-meaning or the metamorphosis of the Exu in Exu-Sertanejo / Este trabalho descreve e analisa a entidade mística Exu-Sertanejo, como síntese identitária da cultura sertaneja, que apresenta traços característicos da identidade de Exu-Sertanejo, expressos no imaginário religioso Afro-Sertanejo da cidade de Montes Claros/ MG, contido na tradição oral. Para tanto, se fez necessário uma pesquisa de campo com o objetivo de observar, de descrever e de analisar os rituais dos cultos Afro-Sertanejos. Descreveu-se a saga de Exu no Norte de Minas Gerais, enfatizando seu aspecto violento e marginal, uma vez que esta história de violência pode ser a história do Exu-Sertanejo. Utilizamos os trabalhos de economistas, de historiadores, de memorialistas, de antropólogos, de sociólogos e de cientistas da religião. Também utilizamos a literatura, a cartografia e os processos criminais relacionados ao feitiço. O texto discute as características de Exu-Sertanejo, a partir das atmosferas mítica, ritualística e mágica que traçam o imaginário do Exu-Sertanejo em dois terreiros do município de Montes Claros. Descrevemos e analisamos a tradição oral na Quimbanda-Sertaneja. Tradição, esta, que envolve o corpo e as suas expressões corporais: danças, gestos, ritos, cantigas e lendas. Na mitologia da Quimbanda-Sertaneja, compreendemos o sentido, o significado, a função e a importância que o mito vivenciado por meio das palavras - pronunciadas, reproduzidas e ressignificadas ocupa nos rituais. A partir das narrativas orais identificamos elementos culturais que contribuem na construção simbólica de Exu-Sertanejo, representando uma síntese identitária do sertanejo, adepto da religiosidade Afro-Sertaneja. O ethos sertanejo, enquanto costume e hábito, isto é, uma realidade histórico-social, está presente na representação dessa entidade sobrenatural, dando-lhe características singulares da cultura sertaneja. Este trabalho apresentou a ressignificação ou a metamorfose de Exu em Exu-Sertanejo

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Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-12-05T13:18:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Elise G. B. M. Rivas.pdf: 3552936 bytes, checksum: f7b8bcdf7f4a70bdd8671da3133040c6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-05T13:18:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Elise G. B. M. Rivas.pdf: 3552936 bytes, checksum: f7b8bcdf7f4a70bdd8671da3133040c6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-11-17 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This paper adresses black women in the macumbas of Rio de Janeiro, in the newspapers of such city, from 1870 to 1930, aiming to analyse their presence or absence in the macumbas. There are two hypothesis here considered: to verify if the presence of black women found in the researched material (that is, the newspapers of Rio de Janeiro) equals their importance in the macumbas, and to verify how much do the papers performed by man and women in the terreiros influence or not the musical macumba regarding aesthetics. The research uses a feminist perspective, so the theoretical reference privileges gender. I recollect Fiorenza’s hermeneutics of suspicion (1992) in order to find women in the newspaper, a historical look that aims to find them as characters of day by day in Perrot (2005), and a anthropologic approach of black women in the Candomblés in Bernardo (2005-2005). Also, we refer to Pollak (1989) and the underground memory, and to Weber (2013) and the separation of the issues in order to understand better the division of macumba into religious and musical. The empirical field is formed by 19 newspapers that were active in the city of Rio de Janeiro through the chosen period. Such newspapers are available in the Hemeroteca Digital of Rio de Janeiro, so the analyzed material is a primary source. Methodology used to analyze the newspapers is the approach given by Zicman (1985). It is worth mentioning that too much effort has been needed so we could find black women in both macumbas: they were there / Esta pesquisa tem como objeto as mulheres negras nas macumbas cariocas, nos jornais do Rio de Janeiro, entre os anos de 1870 a 1930, tendo como objetivo analisar a presença ou ausência das mesmas nas macumbas. As duas hipóteses elencadas são as seguintes: verificar se a presença das mulheres negras no material encontrado (os jornais cariocas) corresponde à importância delas nas macumbas, e verificar em que medida a configuração dos papéis desempenhados por homens e mulheres nos terreiros influenciaram ou não a macumba musical na esfera estética. A pesquisa é realizada sob uma perspectiva feminista, de modo que o horizonte teórico privilegia as questões de gênero. Faço uso da hermenêutica da suspeita de Fiorenza (1992) para encontrar as mulheres nos jornais, um olhar histórico que busca encontrar as mulheres como personagens do cotidiano em Perrot (2005) e uma abordagem antropológica das mulheres negras nos candomblés em Bernardo (2003-2005). Mas, também trago Pollak (1989) com o referêncial memória subterrânea e Weber (2013) com a separação das esferas para melhor entender a “separação” da macumba em religiosa e musical. O campo empírico são 19 jornais que circularam na cidade carioca no período pesquisado disponibilizados na Hemeroteca Digital do Rio de Janeiro, ou seja, o material analisado é uma fonte primária. A metodologia utilizada para análise dos jornais é a abordagem dada por Zicman (1985). Vale ressaltar que foi necessário muito esforço para podermos encontrar as mulheres negras em ambas as macumbas, mas elas estavam lá

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:17:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gisele Kliemann.pdf: 1735751 bytes, checksum: bc54a89ac7bfa01a42eca28ad8b6ec7f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-04 / The last century (XX) developed a new concept of the body that conquered a new space for its representation. The association between aesthetic and beauty brought relevance to the physical formof the body and promoted what it is being called cult to the body that is here understood as the relations and interventions around beauty that are socially idealized. The media became the efficient agent in the supervaluation of the corporal appearance and in the promotion of a constant search of an ideal body. Standardized by the values of the consumption society, he body turned itself in a body-involucre, in a body-packing. All that counts is appearance. The media stirs us up to desire this body and all the activities needed to approach it. The media spread the need for permanently improving, remodeling, reshaping the stops body. Media keep us desiring the desire of this body. Inserted in this context, the contemporary dance suffers consequences of this process in what concerns to the formation of its dancers, although not investing in only one aesthetic standard of the body. Contemporary dance sees in its dancers the action of consumerism. Dancers become eager consumers of techniques and trainings believing that they will be able to dance all types of dance. The thesis is dedicated to identify what produces thie new statement of the body, identifying the media as the central protagonist in this process. The hypothesis is that the consumeristic attitude expresses itself in dance as a form of consumption of different techniques of formation. The techniques are transformed into merchandises and the desire becomes the desire to continue to desire a body never reached. The instauration of the body as merchandise brings the need to construct a body proper, capable of being distinctively itself in the collective. The search of this body is regulated by fashion and by the media, in the net of global communication. The theoretical corpus was constituted with the corpomídia theory (KATZ&GREINER) and with theoreticians of the culture who prioritize the studies of the body (COSTA, FOUCAULT, LIPOVETSKY, SANT' ANNA, CASTRO, GARCIA). With the aim of pesent them as illustrations of these questions, three professional dance groups of the city of Curitiba are brought here / O Século XX inaugurou todo um novo conceito de corpo e, com ele, um outro espaço de representação do corpo na sociedade. A valorização de um foco estético que associa estética à beleza, fez com que o corpo passasse a ser visto como forma física e na perspectiva de um modelamento corporal, promovendo o que acabou sendo chamado de culto ao corpo aqui entendido como as relações e intervenções na busca de um padrão de beleza estabelecido culturalmente e socialmente idealizado. A mídia tornou-se o agente eficiente na supervalorização da aparência corporal e na promoção de uma busca constante de um corpo ideal. Padronizado e permeado pelos valores consagrados pela sociedade de consumo, trata-se de um corpo-invólucro, um corpo-embalagem a ser valorizado pela sua aparência. É a mídia que nos incita a desejar este corpo e todas as atividades de consumo para que nos aproximemos dele. A divulgação constante, pelos meios de comunicação, dos mecanismos permanentemente aprimorados para nos permitirem substituir, trocar, transformar e modificar o corpo, nos mantém desejando o corpo ideal. Inserida neste contexto, a dança contemporânea, que não investe num único padrão estético de corpo, sofre conseqüências no que concerne à formação de seus bailarinos. Apesar de não cultuar um único corpo esteticamente padronizado, por estar inserida na sociedade, a dança contemporânea vê em seus bailarinos efeitos da ação consumista que vem pautando os tempos presentes. Bailarinos tornam-se ávidos consumidores de técnicas e treinamentos diferenciados na fabricação de um corpo que se mostre apto a dançar todos os tipos de dança. Com o objetivo de refletir acerca de que corpo é esse que se constrói na cultura do culto ao corpo, na busca sem limites pela perfeição de uma sociedade predominantemente consumista, aqui se procura identificar os aspectos relevantes que produzem essa nova concepção de corpo, identificando a mídia como a protagonista central nesse processo. A hipótese é a de que a atitude consumista escoa também para a dança na forma de consumo de técnicas variadas de formação. Não somente as técnicas são transformadas em mercadorias, como o próprio desejo se torna o desejo de continuar a desejar um corpo jamais atingido. Trata-se da instauração do corpo como mercadoria vendável e, para tal, há a necessidade de construir um corpo seu, que se singularize no coletivo da dança contemporânea. A busca desse corpo é regulada moda e pela mídia, e pelos processos em curso na rede ininterrupta de comunicação global. Para dar conta da investigação nesse recorte, o corpus teórico foi constituído pela teoria corpomídia (KATZ&GREINER) e por teóricos da cultura que priorizam os estudos do corpo (COSTA, FOUCAULT, LIPOVETSKY, SANT ANNA, CASTRO, GARCIA. Como exemplos dessas questões na dança contemporânea são trazidos três distintos grupos profissionais de dança contemporânea da cidade de Curitiba

Aucune région du monde gréco-romain n’est véritablement restée à l’écart de ladiffusion du culte d’Asclépios, au point qu’au IIe s. p.C., on ne dénombre pas moins de 320Asclepieia. A partir du IVe s. a.C. – ou du moins c’est à ce moment que nous en avons destraces effectives – et pendant toute l’époque hellénistique, le culte se propage notamment dansle monde insulaire et dans les cités côtières d’Asie Mineure, ce qui donne lieu à laconstruction de complexes parmi les plus célèbres du monde antique (Cos, Pergame, Lébèna),mais aussi une foule de sanctuaires moins importants dont l’influence est restéeessentiellement locale ou régionale. Notre thèse porte donc sur l’étude du culte et dessanctuaires d’Asclépios dans les îles égéennes et sur les côtes occidentales de l’Asie Mineureà l’époque hellénistique et au Haut-Empire romain, essentiellement à partir de ladocumentation épigraphique. Plusieurs thèmes de recherche sont développés : notamment lesétapes de la diffusion et l’origine du culte d’Asclépios ; le rôle économique, politique et socialet la gestion des sanctuaires ; le dieu (épiclèses, fonctions, famille mythique, relations avec lessouverains hellénistiques et les empereurs) et son culte (modalités et actes constitutifs) ; lepersonnel religieux, les individus et les groupes sociaux fréquentant les sanctuaires ; lesmotifs pour lesquels ces centres furent des lieux de « pèlerinage » célèbres et enfin lesinteractions entre savoirs médicaux profanes et puissance divine de guérison. / No region of the Greco-Roman world really stayed away from the distribution ofAsclepius’ cult, to the point that in IIth s p.C., we count not less than 320 Asclepieia. FromIVth s a.C. - or at least this is when we have it effective tracks - and during all the Hellenisticperiod, the cult propagates in the Aegean islands and in the coastal cities of Asia Minor. Inthis time, the complexes among the most famous of the antique world (Kos, Pergamon,Lebena) are built, as well as of numerous less important sanctuaries the influence of whichremained essentially local or regional. In our thesis, we study the Asclepius' cult and hissanctuaries in the Aegean islands and on the western coast of Asia Minor in the Hellenisticand Roman times, essentially from the epigraphic documentation. Several themes aredeveloped : the stages of the distribution and the origin of Asclepius' cult ; the economic,political and social role and the management of sanctuaries ; the god (epithets, functions,mythical family, relations with the Hellenistic sovereigns and the emperors) and his cult ; theclergy, the individuals and the social groups frequenting sanctuaries ; the motives for whichthese centers were famous places of "pilgrimage" and the interactions between profanemedical knowledges and divine power of healing.

<p>Abstract</p><p>During the last decade many female writers of British decent have focused on identity construction and coming of age. These writers have been especially interested in exploring how people living in the diaspora are trying to cope with their ambivalent feelings towards their mixed cultural heritage. Helen Oyeyemi's <em>The Icarus Girl</em> is one of these novels. The novel depicts a young girl's struggle with the dualism within her, being both British and Nigerian, that threatens to dissolve her self-identity. This essay will explore how <em>The Icarus Girl</em> deals with the theme “double consciousness” (imposed binaries) and how the narrative's structure and stylistic devices enable the story to be read (interpreted) from two different perspectives, thus the narrative's structure offers an ambiguous double reading that corresponds to Jessamy's unresolved doubleness. The first reading suggests that the traumatic experience of “double consciousness“ is left in a status quo, or even being fatal, which in the essay is called the Western reading. The second reading suggests a recovery, i.e. that the young protagonist comes to terms with her mixed cultural heritage, the so-called West-African reading. In pursuing this aim I discuss how “double consciousness” in this novel is a traumatic state of mind transferred from mother to daughter, but also how stylistic devices, belonging to the genre of the fantastic, are used to emphasize the theme and make possible the two different readings.</p>

Oggetto d’indagine è il complesso delle celebrazioni e dei preparativi connessi con il passaggio di Maria Teresa d’Austria ed il solenne ingresso dell’arcivescovo Stampa nel 1739, casi esemplificativi di ritualità cittadina e cerimoniali pubblici della prima metà del secolo, rappresentazioni che coinvolsero la città. A confronto è stato analizzato anche il rito di possesso di Maria Teresa, compiuto in absentia nel 1741. Attraverso l’analisi comparativa delle fonti primarie, a stampa e manoscritte, nonché iconografiche, si sono ricostruiti il ruolo delle norme di etichetta, dei cerimoniali, l’intera drammaturgia degli eventi festivi. La ricerca ha altresì riportato alla luce gli apparati allestiti dal Collegio dei Giureconsulti, ignorati dagli studi. Ha evidenziato meccanismi retorici, azioni, aspetti della rappresentazione che permangono, alcuni dei quali appartengono alla sfera degli archetipi. Benché semplificati, i cerimoniali mostrano ancora marcato il culto per la regalità. L’ingresso trionfale si rivela momento significativo per ricondurre la città verso l’immaginario delle origini dell’identità cittadina e rifondare un tempo nuovo. Si evidenzia la necessità della festa, di momenti rituali di rappresentazione e di autorappresentazione; il ruolo drammaturgico e non esornativo di elementi di decoro, quali il baldacchino, l’arco, la carrozza, il ritratto, in una cultura che attribuiva ancora grande valenza alle immagini. / The object of this research is the whole of the celebrations and preparations connected with the passage of Maria Theresa of Austria and the solemn entry of Archbishop Stampa into Milan in 1739, both exemplifications of the 18th century first half civic rituality and public ceremonials, and representations which engaged the city. A confrontation has also been made with the possesso of Maria Theresa, enacted in absentia in 1741. By means of a comparative analysis of the primary sources – printed, hamdwritten and ichnographic as well – it has been possible to reconstruct the role of etiquette norms, ceremonials and of the entire dramaturgy of festival events. The research has also brought to light the apparati set up by the Collegio dei Giureconsulti, so far ignored by studies. It has highlighted rhetorical mechanisms, actions, representational aspects which remain, some of them pertaining to the archetype sphere. Even if simplified, the ceremonials still show a strong cult of regality. The triumphal entry proves to be a meaningful moment to bring the city back to the imaginary of the origins which constitutes its identity and to renovate a new era. The necessity of the feast, of ritualistic moments of representation and auto representation is pointed out; and also the dramaturgic and not ornamental role of decorative elements like the baldachin, the arch, the carriage, the portrait, in a culture which conferred great value to images.

In the years since Mao Zedongs death, the people of China have been impelled to reevaluate the legacy and character of their still iconic leader. One of the more notable trends in this process of posthumous reevaluation is the tendency of some individuals and groups (most often, the rural peasantry) to interpret the deceased Chairman along theological lines, assuming that his still efficacious spirit will provide protection and good fortune to those who honour him.<p>In exploring the genesis (and continued salience) of these beliefs and practices, the present research delves into popular Chinese religiosity, exploring the porosity of the traditional cosmology, the centrality of perceived spiritual efficacy (ling) in determining the popularity of religious cults, and the theological and cosmological resonances extant within traditional understandings of political leadership. The body of metaphors, narratives, and tropes drawn from this historical overview are then applied to popular characterizations of Mao, with the resulting correspondences helping to explicate the salience of these modern religious interpretations. To further investigate the source of Maos persistent symbolic capital, the present research also explores the role of Cultural Revolution-era ritual in valorizing and reifying the power and efficacy then popularly ascribed to the Great Helmsmans person and teachings. This studys conclusion, in brief, is that participants in the posthumous cult of Mao are utilizing these cultural materials in both traditional and creative ways, and that such interpretations speak to the exigencies of life in the turbulent, ideologically ambiguous culture of modern China. <p>In performing this evaluation, the present research makes use of the standard phenomenological/historiographic approach of religious studies scholarship, though it is also informed by narrative methods, cognitive science, and current perspectives on the role and function of ritual. In particular, the analysis of Mao-era rituals (as a source of Maos continued symbolic potency) is performed using the cognivistic typology of ritual proposed by E. Thomas Lawson and Robert N. McCauley, with additional materials drawn from the research of Catherine Bell, Roy Rappaport, Pascal Boyer and Adam Chau.

In the years since Mao Zedongs death, the people of China have been impelled to reevaluate the legacy and character of their still iconic leader. One of the more notable trends in this process of posthumous reevaluation is the tendency of some individuals and groups (most often, the rural peasantry) to interpret the deceased Chairman along theological lines, assuming that his still efficacious spirit will provide protection and good fortune to those who honour him.<p>In exploring the genesis (and continued salience) of these beliefs and practices, the present research delves into popular Chinese religiosity, exploring the porosity of the traditional cosmology, the centrality of perceived spiritual efficacy (ling) in determining the popularity of religious cults, and the theological and cosmological resonances extant within traditional understandings of political leadership. The body of metaphors, narratives, and tropes drawn from this historical overview are then applied to popular characterizations of Mao, with the resulting correspondences helping to explicate the salience of these modern religious interpretations. To further investigate the source of Maos persistent symbolic capital, the present research also explores the role of Cultural Revolution-era ritual in valorizing and reifying the power and efficacy then popularly ascribed to the Great Helmsmans person and teachings. This studys conclusion, in brief, is that participants in the posthumous cult of Mao are utilizing these cultural materials in both traditional and creative ways, and that such interpretations speak to the exigencies of life in the turbulent, ideologically ambiguous culture of modern China. <p>In performing this evaluation, the present research makes use of the standard phenomenological/historiographic approach of religious studies scholarship, though it is also informed by narrative methods, cognitive science, and current perspectives on the role and function of ritual. In particular, the analysis of Mao-era rituals (as a source of Maos continued symbolic potency) is performed using the cognivistic typology of ritual proposed by E. Thomas Lawson and Robert N. McCauley, with additional materials drawn from the research of Catherine Bell, Roy Rappaport, Pascal Boyer and Adam Chau.