This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Borchgrevink, A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Ideas of Power in the Philippines: Amulets and Sacrifice

Norwegian Institute of International Affairs

This article examines beliefs about men of supernatural power on the Philippine island of Bohol. As has been pointed out, these beliefs are quite parallel to what Benedict Anderson has described for Java, especially with regard to the requirements of ascetic practices for accumulating and retaining the supernatural powers. Particular for the Philippine case, however, is the way that this asceticism is understood through a notion of 'sacrifice', explicitly linked to Christian imagery and with strong moral overtones. This moral emphasis may be linked to another dimension where the Philippine material diverges from what Anderson describes, namely the question of legitimacy. In the Philippines, issues of legitimacy are more complex, and this means that political and supernatural forms of power while related must not be conflated.

Key Words: amulets • Benedict Anderson • asceticism • legitimacy • Philippines • power • sacrifice • Southeast Asia

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?