Gods, ghosts, and ancestors: the folk religion of a Taiwanese village

Jordan, David K.

Book

Gods, ghosts, and ancestors: the folk religion of a Taiwanese village

University of California Press • Berkeley • Published In 1972 • Pages:

By: Jordan, David K..

Abstract
This monograph addresses the general problem of the relation between conceptual categories, here identified as 'religious' cultural constructs, and social action in a southwestern Taiwanese village setting. Jordan provides very rich data on villager's notions of supernatural beings and their methods of divination. The book's focus is on the ritual activities of family units rather than on that of descent groups, since Jordan views the latter as of more ideological than sociological significance in terms of actual social life and behavior.

Ingroup antagonisms

Special unions and marriages

Sacred objects and places

Revelation and divination

Magicians and diviners

Congregations

Organized ceremonial

Taiwan Hokkien