Magic and Fetishism

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Magic and Fetishism
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Alfred C. Haddon
SeriesCambridge Library Collection - Spiritualism and Esoteric Knowledge
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:112
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 140
Category/GenreMysticism, magic and ritual
ISBN/Barcode 9781108044424
ClassificationsDewey:133.4
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 14 June 2012
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

'A pioneer of modern anthropology', A. C. Haddon (1855-1940) contributed to the fields of embryology and evolutionary science before turning his interests to human civilisation and its history. In this work, first published in 1910, Haddon makes use of his wide-ranging knowledge of folk rituals and religious beliefs to introduce readers to basic principles of sympathetic magic, divination, talismanic powers and fetishism. A strong believer in the importance of preserving local religious practices and beliefs, Haddon uses the work to document customs from Britain to West Africa, America to Australia. Topics include forms of contagious magic, premised on a mutual influence between objects; amulets and talismans; magical names and words; and divination. In the second portion of the book, devoted to fetishism, Haddon offers an authoritative description of the fetish as a 'habitation, temporary or permanent, of a spiritual being', establishing basic definitions for an important field of cultural research.