Expériences des mondes spirituels et savoirs en Birmanie : la place de l’ethnographe
Moussons September 23, 2019 DOI: 10.4000/moussons.2876 via DOAJ
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractTransforming observed spiritual practices into ethnographic knowledge is deeply problematic because such experiences resist direct observation. Drawing on fieldwork in Burma involving spirit possession and esoteric Buddhism, the author argues that the ethnographer is inevitably caught in the observed situation. To construct knowledge about these experiences, one must analyze the interactions between the ethnographer and the people being studied, following Jeanne Favret-Saada's approach.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Practitioners of spirit possession and esoteric Buddhism in Burma |
| Keywords | Burma Knowledge Experience Ethnography Spiritual intermediation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Ethnographic knowledge about spiritual experiences can only be constructed by analyzing the interactions between the observer and the observed, as the observer is inevitably caught in the situation. |
Abstract
Transposing a field of practices into a constituted knowledge is highly problematic for the ethnographer observing practices founded on the experience of the spiritual world. How can a so-called spiritual experience be observed? How can it be transformed into an ethnographical knowledge? Drawing on two contrasted cases issued from my fieldwork in Burma, spirit possession and esoteric Buddhism, I will try to show that, in any case, the observer finds himself caught in the observed situation (see Jeanne Favret-Saada on this subject) and that in order to construct knowledge about these experiences, it is necessary to analyse the interactions between the ethnographer and the ethnographees.