article
Nationalizing the sacred: shrines and shifting identities in the Israeli-occupied territories
Man (n.s.) • 28 • Published In 1993 • Pages: 431-460
By: Bowman, Glenn.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Bowman examines the multivocality of religious shrines and its significance for both local and national secular Palestinian identities. He focuses his study on ceremonies surrounding two West Bank holy shrines, the Greek Orthodox monastery of Mar Elyas and the shrine of Bîr el-Saiyideh. Both shrines have miraculous objects with curative powers beneficial to all local inhabitants. The ceremonies are communal affairs bringing together both Christian and Muslim Palestinians who are more than able to accommodate their secular and religious identities and recognize a trans-communal identity. A shift emphasizing a more secular and national identity has occurred under the Intifada, although the holiness of the shrines has remained an important focus of devotion. Bowman analyzes the multiple meanings of the shrine and identities of participating groups. He also considers the significance of the shrine of Bîr el-Saiyideh as a possible focus of an emergent Palestinian national identity.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Cultural identity and pride
- Sodalities
- Inter-ethnic relations
- External relations
- Sacred objects and places
- Religious denominations
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Palestinians
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2005
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Middle East
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Middle East
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 2004
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1983-1990
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1983-1990
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Beit Sahur, West Bank, Occupied Territories Israel
- NotesAdditional notes
- Glenn Bowman
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 458-460)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- sf 80000548
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Palestinian Arabs